Salted Tongue | Goan or Anglo Indian Style
"Call me anytime, Madam. Day or night. No problem."
How things have changed. The year is 2023. The place is Bangalore, India. Instead of venturing out to the meat market, the butcher now comes to the house with all the cuts of meat that the Memsahib of the house is interested in. Like Jack the Ripper, he meticulously lays out his choice of cleavers and knives on the kitchen counter before cleaning, slicing and dressing various cuts to the madam's liking.
The madam of the house is my septuagenarian mother, who orders quite frequently from Salim, the travelling butcher.
"Salim, I want to make a lovely roast tongue. My children are coming and if there's no tongue they won't be happy. In fact, why not make it two tongues. I'll make the other one into a tongue curry. Did you bring two tongues?" inquired my mother.
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| My mother's Salted Tongue or Tongue Roast |
"Yes, Madam. Two tongues. Just like you asked. Also, some mutton chops. They are very good, Madam. You must try," said Salim in fluent English, though accented just enough to determine that he was probably a descendent of the Shivaji Nagar or Johnson Market folk of Bangalore.
"Yes, I'll take the mutton chops too. And also that cut of silverside. And next week when you come, I want a good cut of beef to make a roast," said Mother.
"I have a potluck dinner to go to on the 10th, I think, and I said I'll bring a roast," continued Mother, head down and tapping away furiously on her I-phone to see if she got the dinner party date right.
"Yes, Madam. Anything you want, you just call me and I'll bring it," said Salim earnestly, as he cleaned up the kitchen counter and put away his knives.
"By the way, Salim. I've texted you a couple of times before and I didn't hear back from you," said Mother a bit absent-mindedly as she checked her WhattsApp messages on her phone. It's amazing how the smart phone has become an indispensable part of one's life.
"Oh, is that so, Madam? Next time, call me, Madam. Best to call. Anytime. Day or night," said Salim as he packed up his cooler bag.
He handed Mother a folded piece of paper. "Here is the bill. Rs. 1,500."
"Ah, very good, Salim. Thank you so much," said Mother opening up her purse and counting out his money. That was a reasonable amount for all that she had bought and for his home delivery service. "I'll see you next week then, Salim."
Such a nice young man, thought Mother, as she closed the door behind him. So clean and presentable. Who would think he's a butcher. But just imagine if he got stopped for a bag check by the police. She had a good chuckle as she imagined the mustachioed constables' faces when they opened up his butcher bag.
"Here's the bill, dear," Mother said, handing the bill off to my father before waltzing out of the room.
"What is this?" grunted my father.
"The meat bill," Mother exclaimed drifting back into the room. "Only Rs.1,500. Very reasonable."
"What did you buy? I can't understand anything on this bill," growled my father, thrusting the bill back into her hands.
Mother glanced down at the bill that she hadn't bothered to look at earlier. And then she took another look, followed by a close peer which turned into a long stare.
"What the devil is this?" she exclaimed with furrowed brows. "It's just a random set of alphabets followed by some numbers. I can't make any sense of it. There's a P and a B and and an X , but I didn't buy any pork. Only tongue, mutton chops and silver side. So, B stands for beef, perhaps? But what would X stand for?" she pondered in deep contemplation trying to solve this puzzle.
"I don't know," thundered my father, annoyed at being disturbed with mundane things that made no sense, compounded with Mother trying to solve her puzzle out loud.
"He doesn't know how to write," dismissed my father impatiently, closing the case and the door behind my mother.
"Oooohh," said Mother as realization suddenly dawned on her. He can't write. Which means he probably can't read. Which would explain why her texts to Salim had gone unanswered.
"He can't read or write!" she gushed excitedly as one does when they solve a crime, or a puzzle. "No wonder he's been asking me to call him with the orders rather than text!"
Goan or Anglo Indian Tongue Roast
Tongue Roast or Salted Tongue is something that you'd find on Goan or Anglo Indian tables. In my mother's recipe, she salts and cures her tongue using curing salt before pressure cooking it. While it's also called tongue roast, she doesn't use an oven to roast the tongue, but just cooks it in the pressure cooker. So, I suppose its more like a Tongue Pot Roast.
How to Make Salted Ox Tongue or Corned Beef Tongue
Below are the preparatory step to clean, prick, salt and cure a beef tongue for 4-5 days before cooking.
The entire recipe follows soon after.
Step 1: Clean Tongue
Soak tongue in cold water for 1-2 hours. Remove the salivary glands. Then, wash it well.
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| Soak tongue in water to clean |
Step 2: Prick Tongue
Using a serving fork/ long fork, prink the tongue completely on both sides, through and through. |
| Prick tongue |
Step 3: Rub with Curing Salt Mixture
Cut 2 limes in half. Dip the limes in a mixture of salt, Prague powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, and pepper powder and rub it into the tongue.
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| Salt tongue |
Step 4: Allow to Cure for 4-5 days
Place the tongue in a bowl along with the cut limes. Cover with a plate slightly smaller than the bowl, so that the plate sits on the top of the tongue. Place a heavy weight on top of the plate to push the tongue down. A bag of unopened rice is a good option to weight the tongue. Place in refrigerator.
Turn the tongue over twice a day, prick the tongue some more and then use the cut limes to rub the salt juice that come out of the tongue back into the tongue. Cover, weight and refrigerate. Do this for 4-5 days.
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| Weight tongue while curing |
Anglo Indian Salted Beef Tongue Recipe
Ingredients:
☐ 1 handful of kosher salt
☐ 1/2 teaspoon Prague Powder #1/ pink salt/ curing salt
☐ 1/2 can Coca-Cola
☐ 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
☐ 1/4 teaspoon clove powder
☐ 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
☐ Worcestershire sauce, a dash
☐ Water, sufficient to cover tongue when cooking
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Clean Tongue
Soak tongue in cold water for 1-2 hours. Remove the salivary glands. Then, wash it well.
Step 2: Prick Tongue
Using a serving fork/ long fork, prink the tongue completely on both sides, through and through.
Step 3: Rub with Curing Salt Mixture
Cut 2 limes in half. Dip the limes in a mixture of salt, Prague powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, and pepper powder and rub it into the tongue.
Place the tongue in a bowl along with the cut limes. Cover with a plate slightly smaller than the bowl, so that the plate sits on the top of the tongue. Place a heavy weight on top of the plate to push the tongue down. A bag of unopened rice is a good option to weight the tongue. Place in refrigerator.
Step 4: Allow to Cure
Turn the tongue over twice a day, prick the tongue some more and then use the cut limes to rub the salt juice that come out of the tongue back into the tongue. Cover, weight and refrigerate. Do this for 4-5 days.
Step 5: Cook Tongue
Remove the tongue from the refrigerator. Discard the juices. Run the tongue quickly under a tap of running water to remove a little bit of the salt.
Put tongue in a pressure cooker. Add 1/2 a can of Coca-Cola. Add water to cover the tongue. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
After 1 whistle, turn heat down to low. Cook for 55 minutes.
The tongue is cooked when a fork inserted into tongue goes half way through easily.
Step 6: Peel Skin
Once the cooked tongue has cooled sufficiently, while the tongue is still warm, remove the skin off the tongue starting from the tip and peeling upwards. The skin should peel off like peeling a potato. Remove the skin from both the top and underside of the tongue.
Step 7: Store or Serve
Store the tongue in the fridge in the cooking liquid.
Slice the tongue when cold and serve.
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For more of my Anglo Indian Recipes, visit "My Cookbook Index" or click the "Anglo Indian" label below.