Love is best expressed when food comes in to the picture, and this is exactly what happened recently, when a French husband and an Indian wife sat down to eat. This multicultural marriage had one common culinary thread: the couple’s love for home cooked parathas. What ensued between the two during their meal time will leave you in splits. The Indian wife, Sharu, who is also an Instagram vlogger, had cooked a desi meal for her French husband that consisted of dal, paratha and salad.
Sharu started shooting a video as her husband enjoyed his food wholeheartedly. Sharu suddenly asks him what he is eating. The first response of her husband is ‘dal,’ to which Sharu asks, ‘and?’ The husband took a while to think and said, “Pamatha.” Quickly realising he didn’t quite get the name right he adds, “no it’s not that? But I’m close.” Sharu corrects him and says “Paratha.” The husband laughs and says “Pamatha Paratha just one letter.” This cute exchange between the husband and wife on ‘pamatha’ was shared to Sharu’s Instagram with the caption, ‘Petition to call it pamatha from now on.” The caption is also complete with two hashtags - #indianfood #indian. The video loved by foodies all over India and has received over 8.69 lakh likes on it so far.
While Sharu and her husband who currently live in Canada, are an example of what happens when the Indian and French cultures come together, closer home we have a beautiful culinary heritage of a time when these two cultures have come together. We are talking about the cuisine of Pondicherry, which was in the olden days, a colony of the French. The French influenced every aspect of the local culture of Pondicherry, including its food.
Bloggers Karen Anderson and Pauli-Ann Carriere have documented a beautiful memoir on creole people, recording their recipes and cultural stories. In India, creole refers to the mix of French and Indian people that happened when Pondicherry was a colony of the French. The French left Pondicherry in 1954 but the culinary influences of their cuisine and people sharing a French and Indian heritage, stayed. One recipe from the book of the creole people has been documented by the two bloggers. This recipe has beautiful threads of French cuisine intertwining with the Indian cuisine. The recipe for Chicken Poulet Roti is a mouth-watering one and a must-try, if you want to get a taste of the Indo-French cuisine of Pondicherry.
Recipe for Roasted Chicken Poulet Roti by Anita Goubert and Sumeet Nair as recorded by Karen Anderson and Pauli-Ann Carriere
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons garlic cloves
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 2-inch piece cinnamon bark
1 dried red chili – goondu milagi or other mild chili like cascabels
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
3-4 lbs (1.5 kg) whole chicken
¼ cup olive oil
Method:
Mix the garlic, butter, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, chili, salt, lime juice and mustard in a mini chopper and pulse until well blended.
Coat the chicken inside and out with the spice mixture.
Truss the chicken and marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Heat an oven-proof, heavy-bottomed skillet on medium heat and add the sunflower oil, when hot, add the chicken and brown on all sides.
Transfer the chicken in the skillet to a pre-heated oven and roast at 350°F until golden brown and the juices run clear when pierced – about 60 to 90 minutes.