🐓 🥥 Spayty

Bamboo Coconut Chicken Curry from the Baghdadi Jewish Kitchen

Spayty - Baghdadi‑Indian bamboo coconut chicken curry in full regalia

This was always a favorite dish in our home. It’s one of mine too.

Spayty — a chicken curry with bamboo shoots — might sound unusual at first.

I was fascinated the first time I encountered it.

Sure, Thai curries often pair bamboo shoots and coconut milk with chicken — red curry, green curry, yellow curry — but bamboo in a Jewish Indian dish?

🔍 I started digging into its origins.
No one quite knows where the name spayty comes from, but one thing is clear: this dish is specific to Baghdadi Jewish kitchens in Kolkata, and it’s not found in mainstream Indian cuisine. It survives through family memory — not restaurants.

So yes, it’s uncommon.
But it works. Beautifully.

The texture. The mild sweetness. The way the bamboo soaks up the spiced coconut gravy.
It’s unexpected and completely satisfying.
On paper, it sounds Thai. But in practice? It’s Indian—without being Indian.

When I ran my restaurant in Basel, I put Spayty on the menu as a Shabbat special.
It became an instant hit.

✨ Where It Comes From

This dish, sometimes simply called Bamboo Chicken Curry, reflects the adaptability of the Baghdadi Jews who settled in India and Southeast Asia.

Copeland Marks recorded a version in The Varied Kitchens of India, staying close to what families in Kolkata were still cooking into the 20th century.

• No dairy, of course — coconut cream replaces yogurt.

• It follows the hamis method: a slow-cooked base of fried onions, garlic, and spices stirred in gentle circular motions with a wooden spoon until thick, rich, and fragrant.

The dish is best served with steamed rice or pilau, and if you’re lucky, with a spoon of hulba (fenugreek relish) and a simple zalata on the side.

Personally, I prefer matchstick-cut bamboo shoots — not the wide slices or chunky wedges. They absorb flavor more evenly and don’t overwhelm the mouthfeel. You can find good quality ones in small tins at Thai or East Asian grocery stores.

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This kind of culinary layering mirrors the cultural history of Kolkata’s Jewish community.

In a recent episode of the Lost Cultures: Living Legacies podcast, longtime Kolkata resident and writer Jael Silliman reminds us that Baghdadi Jews in India weren’t merely tolerated — they were embraced.

“Whatever they sought to do, they could do that,” she says.

Calcutta (now Kolkata) was a city of pluralism: synagogues stood beside mosques, churches near markets.
And in kitchens, dishes like Spayty — Middle Eastern in spirit, Indian in method, Southeast Asian in ingredient — could become family staples, without feeling out of place.

The Calcutta Magen David synagogue

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🥣 Spayty – Bamboo Chicken Curry

From the Baghdadi Jewish kitchen, as recorded by Copeland Marks
Serves: 4–6

Ingredients

• 1 medium chicken (1.5–2 kg), jointed

• 1 medium onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tsp fresh ginger — blended into a paste

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 3 tsp cumin powder

• 5 tsp coriander powder

• 1 tsp chili powder (optional)

• 1.5 tsp. Salt and 0.5 tsp. black pepper, or to taste

• 2–3 tbsp neutral oil

• 1 can bamboo shoots in brine, cut into matchsticks

• 1 bar coconut cream (or ½ cup canned coconut cream)

• ½ cup boiling water

🔪 Preparation

1. Make the Hamis Base
In a wide pan, heat the oil. Add the onion-garlic-ginger paste. Sauté until fragrant. Add turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili (if using), salt and pepper. Stir into a thick paste — this is your hamis.

2. Brown the Chicken
Add chicken pieces to the pan. Coat them in the paste and cook for 5–10 minutes until lightly browned.

3. Add Bamboo & Simmer
Add bamboo matchsticks and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10–15 minutes.

4. Add Coconut Cream
Dissolve coconut bar in boiling water (or add canned cream). Stir into the curry. Cover and simmer gently — or bake at 180°C — for 30–45 minutes until chicken is tender and sauce thickens.

5. Finish in Oven
Uncover and bake at 200°C for 10 minutes for a slight golden finish.

6. Serve
Taste and adjust salt or spice. Serve hot with rice or pilau, plus zalata and hulba if you have them.

📷 Spayty – Baghdadi-Jewish Bamboo Coconut Chicken Curry, modern plating

You probably want the recipe, right?

Well, here it is.

Spayty - Bamboo Coconut Chicken Curry

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This is food that traveled — not through metaphor, but through trade routes and real people.
But I didn’t love it because of what it represents.
I loved it because it tastes good.
And I still do.