New Delhi Restaurant
Indian Chinese cuisine is the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes. It is said to have been developed by the tiny Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata for over a century. Immensely popular with Indians, it is widespread in major Indian metropolitan cites such as Mumbai, New Delhi and most importantly Kolkata (formerly Calcutta); and is also enjoyed by Indian and Chinese communities in Malaysia, Singapore and North America. Indeed, in a curious twist, Indian Chinese has followed the mainstream Indian expatriate community as they have spread across the world, providing expatriate Indians with a taste of authentic Indian Chinese.
The cuisine is believed to have originated with the Chinese of Calcutta and Chinese food is still popular there. At present, the Chinese population in Calcutta constitute an odd 20,000. [1] People of Chinese origin mostly live in India's only China Town located around Tereti Bazar and Bowbazar area which has since been relocated to Tangra, Calcutta. Most of these immigrants were Cantonese and Hakka. Chinatown in India still boasts a number of Chinese restaurants specializing in Hakka cuisine and Indian Chinese variants.
In the early 1900's, the Hakka Chinese migrated from Canton Province, China to Calcutta, India, to escape from opium warfare and other political issues. It is in India that the Hakka Chinese were faced to taste traditional Indian pungent cooking. Years gone by, the Hakka has grown to love eating spicy and pungent food. Hence, they created many home meals that incorporated Chinese wok cooking with many traditional Indian ingredients.
So, who are the Hakka? It's likely that much of the Chinese food served around the world has an Hakka influence. They have been the far-seeking migrants of China, searching for better lands to settle in for almost 2,000 years.
History books say the Hakkas are an ethnic group of Han Chinese who settled the area of northeast China known as Manchuria. When Genghis Khan moved in during the 13th century, the Hakka packed up and left for southeast China (Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong). They were called "Hakka" by the locals.
Over the centuries, the Hakka left the motherland for Malaysia, northern India, Pakistan, the Caribbean, North and South America, Europe and East Africa.
Hakka men tended towards careers in education and service in the military. Consequently, Hakka women did a large share of the farming. That's probably why Hakka women rebelled against the trend towards foot-binding in China.
Because the Hakka were forced to settle in less-than-ideal lands, their diet relied heavily on dried and preserved ingredients such as fermented bean curd and salty mustard greens.
Some popular dishes include dumplings in a hot, sweet, and sour sauce; Chinese fried rice, a spicier and more Indian-like version of the classic dish; chili cauliflower, marinated in hot peppers and garlic and deep-fried; and Hakka noodles.
The noodle dish that takes its name from the Chinese province of Hakka is one of the more popular Indian-Chinese dishes. Narrow and flat, almost square in shape, Hakka noodles are made with durum wheat, with or without eggs. The vegan variety is still rich in flavor, but light.
Hakka noodles, usually served as a main course, are stir-fried with cabbage, carrots, red bell peppers, and snow peas. They're not especially saucy in the pan, but a hot, vinegar-based sauce and soy sauce accompany them at the table. And though Indians eat their cuisine with their fingers or, in more formal settings, a fork, the Indo-Chinese continue, as always, to use chopsticks.
