Do you remember devouring your first ever spice bag? I do, because it was practically yesterday when I dove into Xian’s tantalising offering of boneless fried chicken and chips with a scanty topping of onions. It was heavenly. It was greasy. It was exactly what I hoped a good treat after a good day should taste like.
But, can you imagine my surprise when I, an Indian, spotted an Indian Spice Bag on Thindi’s menu? Cue the shock, and intrigue followed by a strong sense of undeniable curiosity. Thindi uses their signature spice blend to add an unprecedented twist to the classic spice bag — a prime example of the Indianisation of Irish food. As per the internet, they’re the first ones to come up with an Indian spice bag in the country. Think: gunpowder fries, succulent chicken, some veggies (gotta look out for your health, right?), and blazing Indian spices — enough to make a grown man cry or at least tear up, especially after pairing it with their Tikka masala curry sauce.
The Indianisation of Irish food isn’t limited to Ireland. It stretches as far as the United Kingdom. I haven’t had the good fortune of checking it out, but the fusion restaurant named Sharkey’s in London has managed to combine both cuisines in a country that colonized both India and Ireland! This restaurant opened in April 2022. A coffee shop by day and an experimental as well as experiential dinnertime spot by night. When I was researching this place, I was fascinated by their decor, which includes cookbooks centered around Irish and Indian cuisine. Talk about being dedicated to the theme of your food establishment! On the menu? Chaat potatoes slathered in a sticky, sweet and spicy honey and naga curry sauce, among other things. To conclude, we’ve just been to London and back to reinforce the Indianisation of Irish Food!
To put things in historical perspective, Indian food has always been an integral part of Irish culinary history and it’s only natural for the longstanding cuisine to hybridise signature Irish dishes. Did you know that the first Indian restaurant opened in Dublin in 1908 but closed a few years later? Counties like Cork and Waterford were also spice ports since late medieval times.
And perhaps, Irish food has always been a little Indianised too because when you thinks of drisheen, you can’t help but think about how the traditional Irish blood pudding becomes more fragrant, courtesy of mace (a spice derived from the dried, lacy outer covering of the nutmeg seed) and how spiced beef contains juniper, cloves, and more. Unsurprisingly, these spices have always been proud trailblazers of Indian cuisine.
It’s the intertwining of two cuisines that makes it a much more adventurous affair to properly understand the foods of any country and the way I see it — the Irish and Indians get the best of both worlds, thanks to this very Indianisation of Irish food.
For students who are far away from home and constantly craving the taste and feel of familiar delicacies and for the daring Irish who wouldn’t mind eating something new once in a while (overlooking the spice factor), I’d say that this fusion is a breath of fresh air in the culinary world.
Oh, and if you’ve ever shopped for coriander, chili, or turmeric at Tesco and used them in your meals — congratulations, you’ve consciously or inadvertently Indianised your Irish meals.
Here’s hoping that there are more creative crossovers of both cuisines in the future, because there’s beauty in eating Indian food on foreign soil and a delectable thrill in eating dishes with spicy, ingenious twists!
