Anglo-Indian cuisine in the spotlight for King Charles's Coronation

London: With the Coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla just weeks away, there is growing buzz around the historic milestone with a focus on Anglo-Indian cuisine at the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant.

Veeraswamy, dating back to 1926, is located in the heart of London and has this month been spotlighting the culinary interaction between Britain and India that has shaped UK gastronomy against the backdrop of the Coronation on May 6.

It involves a collaboration between the entrepreneur behind the historic eatery, Camellia Panjabi, and Indian culinary historian and author Anoothi Vishal to explore the royal antecedents of Indian food in Britain that date back to King Charles’ ancestor Queen Victoria in the 19th century.

“Charles’ Coronation is a good time to talk about the merging of cultures and how food has been shaped through this intermingling of two cultures,” said Vishal.

“Curry, as we have come to know Indian food here in the UK, really gained in fashion at the height of the Empire with Victoria putting it on her menus and the aristocracy adopting it. Curry became stylish, and from then on, we see this whole stereotype of Indian food really being reduced in many ways to the curry,” she said.

The result of this historic influence was visible in the choice of “Coronation Chicken” as the dish to mark the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II 70 years ago in June 1953.

Its creamy curry sauce recipe was credited to the food writer Constance Spry and chef Rosemary Hume of the Cordon Bleu cookery school in London, who prepared it for the Queen's coronation banquet.

While for King Charles III, the royal dish has been named a "Coronation Quiche" for the Coronation Big Lunch street picnic party element of the celebratory weekend, the Coronation Chicken is likely to feature alongside at street parties.

“We talk about chicken tikka masala and curry houses, but essentially the interaction between Indian and British food has two phases – it’s the 75 years before India’s independence and 75 years after independence,” said Camellia Panjabi, Director of MW Eat – the Indian restaurant group behind popular diners such as Chutney Mary and Amaya, besides Veeraswamy.

“The one dish that is believed to be Indian and drunk all over India is Masala Chai, which we have recently imported into this country as a delicacy. But there was no tea in India, it was introduced by the British after a dispute with the Chinese authorities,” she said, highlighting the two-way culinary exchanges.

Panjabi highlighted the major changes that have taken place in the cuisine of both countries over the years, with Indian restaurants in Britain being elevated to a fine-dining level for the 21st century. Charles’ Coronation, she believes, marks a time to celebrate not only a royal milestone but also the journey of Indian food across both countries.

This exchange was also at the centre of another key royal tour in the lead-up to the Coronation, when Charles’ son and heir, Prince William and wife, Kate Middleton, tried their hand at making naan at a popular Indian street food restaurant in Birmingham earlier this week.

“The Sharma family don’t just bring authentic Indian street food to the city but do so much in the community too, including their all-female chef team training many better cooks than us,” the Prince and Princess of Wales said in a statement to mark their visit to the Indian Streatery in the city in the West Midlands region of England, run by husband-wife duo Meena and Rakesh Sharma.

The couple dubbed it the “greatest day in their restaurant’s six-year history”, as Prince William also entertained the crowds by answering the phone to take a lunch booking.

Britain's royal officials are all geared towards the grand Coronation ceremony, which will take place at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6. The 74-year-old monarch, who became King after the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September last year, will be formally crowned at a solemn religious ceremony after arriving in a gilded horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace.

A long celebratory weekend between May 6 and 8 will include much pomp and pageantry, street parties, as well as a gala Coronation Concert. Across the UK, more than 57 locations will be putting up big screens as thousands are expected to witness the historic occasion last held 70 years ago.