Over the years the Scottish
haggis has undergone many guises from its traditional serving with mashed
neeps (swede,
rutabaga or turnip) and
tatties (potatoes) on St Andrews Day or Robert Burns Night, to celebrate the Caledonian national bards birthday. These days there are many ways to eat the
Haggis. There is
haggis samosas, haggis pakoras, haggis pasty,
haggis spring rolls,
haggis wontons, haggis lasagne, Haggis tostados,
haggis Tex Mac
nachos, haggis
quesadillas and even
haggis wraps with winter
Tzatziki.
I personally think the wider appeal of the haggis in the past few years has come about come about because of the versatility of the 'vegetarian haggis'. Previous to that not even hardcore meat eaters could stomach the thought of eating the 'real haggis' made from sheeps stomach stuffed with oatmeal, sheeps lung, heart and liver, but disguise it and it becomes a far more appealing product.

It’s only been in the past few years that Scotland has begun to recognise the contributions made by its ethnically diverse communities. Most notable for me is perhaps the visibility of Scottish
Sikh communities whom whilst proudly retaining their own cultural and religious identity, have openly embraced aspects of Scottish identity. As part of
Scotlands hidden 'Black history' I have learned about the Scottish
Sikh Prince, I also became aware of the contributions of the New Scots: the Polish Tartan, the Scottish-Sikh or
Leith Tartan.
Such cultural influences have also impacted on cuisine. In the cities of Scotland, you will often see a
Punjabi-style haggis on menus at pubs and restaurants. To the traditional
haggis recipe additional ingredients such as onions, cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, green chillies and other spices are added and
Naan bread,
rotis and
chappatis replace the traditional '
neeps' and '
tatties'.
 |
Jeevan Singh of the band The Tartan Dhollies, wearing Leith Sikh tartan. © the artist From Portrait of The New Asians by photographer Herman Rodriguez 2006 |
The traditional Burns Night supper ritual would begin with the
haggis being ceremoniously led into the room by a man dressed in complete Scottish outfit and bagpipes. However, at a
Sikh Burns Night supper, this duty is performed by a Scottish
Sikh piper wearing his
turban and kilt to identify both his religious, social and cultural heritage. This should not be a surprise, after all, Indian and Pakistani pipe bands have been popular sight at Scottish piping events in Paisley, Glasgow and Edinburgh for a long time now. Also did you know that many of the bagpipes and kilts imported into Scotland are manufactured in the Indian and Pakistani Punjab.

I have read some instances when the haggis was led into the room by a
Bhangra or
dhol band. Anyway, back to the Burns Supper Night. At a traditional Scottish Burns supper night, the Scottish
dirk is traditionally stabbed into the
haggis skin during the Burns
Ode to a Haggis address, however at a Scottish Sikh event this is often replaced with a
kirpan, a spiritual Sikh dagger.
Many people will be or are horrified at integration of cultural identities, and more so at the fusion of such cuisines, but think about it, many countries, even towns and cities identities are based on imports or cuisines that are fusion food. Take Dundee Marmalade for example or even a cup of Tea in Great Britain. Anyway, I digress again. Last year in acknowledgment of Scotlands diverse communities, BBC Radio Scotland transmitted a programme
Ravi Burns. In place of Burns's 'Address to A Haggis', the Scottish Sikh comedian actor Sanjeev Kohli gives us
Ode to a
Samosa: "
Wee sleekit, cowrin' triangular tastie, oh what a picnic is in thy pastry'. The novelist Alasdair Gray also recited '
To a Mouse' against a background of
sitars.

Now back to my dish. You may already know that every South Asian (m)
Ummi Ji whether she is from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh will have her own traditional recipe for
pakoras, but the one I am using for this recipe combines both Scottish and
Punjabi cuisines. I served these with curried
neep chips and mint-yogurt chutney. This is my effort for a belated Burns Supper. I hope you will all approve.
To see more about the
Portrait of The New Asians Exhibition see here link to
National Library of Scotland
Mushroom haggis pakoras with curried neep chipsServes 4
Ingredients
For the pakoras
200g gram flour also known as chickpea or besan flour
1 tablespoon of garam masala
1 generous tablespoon of dried methi, also know as dried Fenugreek leaves
1 teaspoon cumin or Ajwain seeds (also known as Bishop weeds seeds)
Salt and red chilli powder to taste
1 fresh green chilli, minced
Tepid water as required
1 small Vegetarian Haggis
6 – 8 large Portobello mushrooms
Sunflower or olive oil for frying
Method
To make the pakora batter, put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and minced green chilli and mix. Add water gradually and mix the batter until smooth but not thick. Leave aside for 5-10 minutes.
Steam the haggis for 20 minutes, then break it up with a fork so that it can cool down.
In the meantime, wipe clean the mushrooms and cut out the core.
Heat the oil in a frying pan for 5 minutes. Scoop out a tablespoon of haggis on the mushroom, press and spread it gently with the back of the spoon. Add more haggis if required but not too much. Do this with all the mushrooms. When this is done, gently place the mushroom into the batter to coat, I use my hands, but use a spoon if you wish to ensure batter covers the mushroom.

Heat the vegetable oil. Place 2 – 3 mushrooms into the pan, ensuring not to crowd them out and fry for 3-4 minutes until golden-brown. Turn the mushroom over so that it is evenly golden. Once cooked, remove from the pan and place onto a kitchen towel to dry.
For the curried neep chips
One large swede, turnip or rutabaga, peeled and sliced into chips
Toss in generous coating of olive oil
Bake in a moderate hot oven, turning now and again until slightly golden.
In the last 10 minutes, sprinkle over either 1 teaspoon curry powder or garam masala and a sprinkling of salt. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Then serve warm.