India On A Plate: A 150 Year Story Of How A Chinese Dish Got Indianised & Gave Us Hakka Noodles

Triggered by Mao ZedongĄ¯s communist regime and the first world war, the 18th century saw the migration of Hakka Chinese, people who are originally from the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of China, to the ports in Calcutta and Madras.

When they settled in East-Kolkata, they gave India its only Chinatown. More than 200 years later, it is estimated that today, close to 2000 Chinese-Indians reside in Tangra in East Kolkata. It was in 1995, with the Supreme Court's decision to shift tanneries over growing concerns for the environment that the Chinese had to migrate again and settle outside India. Sadly, today, it seems India's Chinatown won't stand for long. But one legacy shall remain. And that is Hakka Noodles.

Sucheta Das/Reuters

Here's the story behind the Indian-Chinese cuisine you so love.

Our now favourite Chinese food has also become a metaphor of the friendly community the Chinese and Indians coexist in. Tangra, at first look, doesn't boast of much and only a handful of surviving restaurants are functional. But it's the food they serve here that still draws many to these restaurants.

While the Chinese came to India long back, it was only a 150 years ago that Hakka noodles were born. They brought with them the flavours of their motherland. It was only a matter of time Indians showed an interest in the dish too. And not long after the now famous fusion between Chinese cuisine and Indian spices happened. This, they served in what was the first Chinese restaurant in India.

Allindiarecipe

Join Kubbra Sait and Indiatimes as we discover India's flavouful history with #IndiaOnAPlate:

Image courtesy: Allindiarecipe