Kedgeree The Traditional British Breakfast Adopted from India

There I was in The Wolseley (a restaurant so fancy I had to round my lips to pronounce the name), staring at my Kedgeree thinking, “is that it?”

I first read about Kedgeree on TasteAtlas, which called it:

the culinary lovechild of Indian flavours and Victorian comfort food.

Yes, though not as famous as Chicken Tikka Masala, it’s another Indian cuisine the British adopted during its colonisation of India. English Kedgeree is an adaption of Indian Kitchiri – a dish made of rice and lentils, categorized as nursery food in some parts of India; hence it being a comfort food.

The Wolseley

Finally, one late morning, after taking the wrong bus 38 route, we walked into The beautiful Wolseley. It’s packed with equally beautiful people, art, silverware and food. Their website mentioned not to take any intrusive photographs. In my mind meant there could be celebrities, so I started looking around. There was a guy who looked like the healthier version of Draco Malfoy who was wearing sunglasses while eating.He could either be Thomas Felton or just a hangover rich guy.

Alas, I reminded myself that I was there for research, so we put it in our order. I got Kedgeree and English Breakfast tea, essentially an English breakfast with an English breakfast.

The tea came first, in a pot fit for a Kween. It was really nice. I suspect the fancy tableware added to the whole dining experience.

The Kedgeree

Then came the Kedgeree, my first ever.

It was a plate of biryani rice with a poached egg on top and pieces of white fish hidden inside the rice. It looked like true comfort food, and I could see why people (the Brits) would add it to their breakfast routine.

Then I took a spoon ━ it lacked flavour. Actually, it almost had no flavour, which didn’t make much sense since it got semi-wet seasoned rice, fish and egg with green (herbs?) garnish.

Has Kedgeree gone too far from its’ ancestor Khichuri after decades of adaptation? Is the adaption of Kedgeree done by removing the key spices? Or has Kedgeree always tasted like this?

To be fair, it didn’t taste horrible, just bland. If you come from porridge-for-breakfast culture, imagine eating rice porridge with a boiled egg sans all the usual condiments. It tasted like how food would taste when I am sick. And no matter how much salt and pepper I dumped into it (only when no waiter was looking at our table), it still tasted bland.

It was almost comforting but not enough.

I did finish my £21.75++ Kedegree only because I kept stealing the Devilled Lamb Kidney Fafa adventurously ordered for himself. It was to die for, bursting with flavours and perfectly paired with bread.

I’d recommend going to The Wolseley if you feel like treating yourself in London. The place is beautiful and has an amazing vibe but stay away from the Kedgeree.

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