This week brings us news of two Madras-London connections that will soon cease to exist. The first is the British Council Library. The other is the Michelin-starred Veeraswamy in London. The 100-year-old restaurant – since it opened in 1926 – was an icon of Indian cuisine.
The demise of this centenarian is not due to decline in popularity, but due to the expiry of the lease of its premises. The Crown Estate, which owns the property, does not want to renovate it, and a petition is being prepared to present to King Charles. Veeraswamy’s only hope at present is that it stands as an example of British-Indian relations.
This helped me trace its origins. I always believed that Veeraswamy was a cook from Madras who moved to England and set up a business. But that was not the case. It was founded by Edward Palmer, who promoted Weerasammy (which was the original and colonial spelling) & Co. in 1896 to export curry powder, primarily to the UK, which was sold under the Nizam brand name. This was because the Palmers as a family had a lot to do with Hyderabad. General William Palmer was the ancestor – he served as Warren Hastings’ confidential secretary and then rose to high positions in the army and administration. he was in 18th century. Palmer married Faiz Baksh, a Bibi from Awadh (there are dubious claims that she was of royal lineage), and the son born to this union was John Palmer, who promoted Palmer & Co., which in 19th Century made a fortune from indigo and then lost everything in several shady deals.
The succeeding Palmers all adopted Muslim wives, and Edward Palmer, the originator of Veerasvamy, was probably born of a similar union. Legend has it that the company name was derived from the name of his mother’s ancestors, but this is highly unlikely, as Veeraswamy is a Hindu name. It was probably inspired by the specific names of domestic servants in Madras. best seller Notes from MadrasFor example, a cookbook written by Colonel Kenny Herbert and published by Higginbothams in 1878 uses Ramasamy as the name of all Indian cooks!
So, Veerasavamy was a marketing ploy – and it seems it worked. Edward Palmer, whose father was an agent for the Bank of Madras, moved to England in the late 1800s and founded Veeraswamy & Company. The curry powder business was successful, and in 1924, he was invited as advisor, Indian catering, to the Government of India at the British Empire Exhibition held at Weebley. This led to the emergence of Restaurant Veerasamy in 1926. And almost the first dish on the menu was Madras Chicken Curry and Rice. The cookbook written by Palmer is of most interest.
Topic Indian Cooking, for use in all countriesThe authorship of the book published by Herbert Joseph Ltd. is given to EP Veeraswamy! It is quite clear that Edward Palmer had made the brand name a part of his identity. In the preface he claims that he had a passion for cooking since childhood and that although he was sent to England to study medicine, he abandoned it to concentrate on food. The book is dedicated to Palmer’s (unnamed) mother, whom he wrote was the greatest exponent of Indian cooking.
Was she from Madras, or at least Tamil? Reading the book will make you think so. Tamil equivalents are carefully mentioned in the glossary of terms e.g. Yelumshika (Lemon), winch (Tamarind), exhaust (curd), and thaing (Coconut). He calls boiled rice as ‘boiled rice’ thieves. None of these words could be known outside Madras city or the greater Presidency. He notes that Madras is particularly famous pappadums. And then there are many such dishes whose name has Madras attached to it – Shrimp Pilau, Lamb Pilau, Chicken PilauMutton (atu) curry, and beef (madu) Curry – Just to give you some examples. page on Woodday (vadai) is what Madras is famous for, and is rarely made at home. He says that Hindus make it and sell it on the streets, just like crumpets and muffins are sold in England. recipe for Woodday starts with oolunthoo.
What all Madras cuisine has in common is the liberal use of curry paste, which brings us to the fact that the spice was synonymous with this city for colonial tastes. Venkatachalams was already a well-known name in the same line and it appears that Veerasavamy was a rival. It is unclear when Palmer left the curry powder business and focused solely on restaurants. Even by 1930, he seems to have sold his interest in restaurants and retired, becoming a lecturer on Indian food at various venues. He died in 1947.
(Shriram V. is a writer and historian)
