Edit History

6 hours ago, C. sapidus said:

Apparently "kedgeree", which I have made in the past, is the anglicized version of khichiri.

Nice.

Originally खिचड़ी in Hindi (khichri and various other transliterations), kedgeree was described by visitors to India hundreds of years ago, long before British rule.. The Arab traveller Ibn Batuta wrote in 1340 that

Quote

The munj (mung bean) is boiled with rice, and then buttered and eaten. This is what they call Kishri, and on this dish they breakfast every day.

The word for lentils in Hindi, दाल। (daala) covers many more species than the English and includes mung beans.

Under British influence and for British Raj colonialists, flaked fish or smoked fish replaced the pulses and chopped hard-boiled eggs came into the dish. Fish-based kedgeree is still popular in the UK and even in India. I was served an excellent version several years ago in Kolkata.

I’ve often thought of making it here in China, but the only smoked fish I can source is much more heavily smoked / cured than that used in India or the UK and tends to overpower the spices in the dish. I know it can be made with fresh, unsmoked fish, but for me the whole point of kedgeree is that smokiness. I occasionally make the traditional version with lentils, but with fish I tend to just go for a Chinese fried rice.

6 hours ago, C. sapidus said:

Apparently "kedgeree", which I have made in the past, is the anglicized version of khichiri.

Nice.

Originally खिचड़ी in Hindi (khichri and various other transliterations), kedgeree was described by visitors to India hundreds of years ago, long before British rule.. The Arab traveller Ibn Batuta wrote in 1340 that

Quote

The munj (mung bean) is boiled with rice, and then buttered and eaten. This is what they call Kishri, and on this dish they breakfast every day.

The word for lentils in Hindi, दाल। (daala) covers many more species than the English and includes mung beans.

Under British influence and for British Raj colonialists, flaked fish or smoked fish replaced the pulses and chopped hard-boiled eggs came into the dish. Kedgeree is still popular in the UK and even in India. I was served an excellent version several years ago in Kolkata.

I’ve often thought of making it here in China, but the only smoked fish I can source is much more heavily smoked / cured than that used in India or the UK and tends to overpower the spices in the dish. I know it can be made with fresh, unsmoked fish, but for me the whole point of kedgeree is that smokiness. I occasionally make the traditional version with lentils, but with fish I tend to just go for a Chinese fried rice.