Pioneers of Singapore River. History of Tamil Muslim Biryani in Singapore

Bollywood Biryani SingaporeGrowing up in Singapore, I am accustomed to and very fond of the briyani here. While tracing the origins of Singapore hawker food, I was surprised that briyani in Singapore is connected to the Singapore River and birth of the Port of Singapore. For the history of biryani in Singapore, we have to go back to the Chola dynasty, a maritime superpower of its time which ruled southern India from 300BC to 1279. The Cholas were great seafarers and warriors whose influence reached Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.

Image credit: WikipediaAfter the Chola empire fell in 1279, their base in the Coromandel Coast of India (marked < ) became part of a succession of empires until it came under the British East India Company in 1757. The British referred to the people from the Coromandel Coast of India as Chulia from their illustrious ancient name Chola. In 1819, Raffles of the British East India Company signed the river agreement with the Sultan and Temenggong of Johor to permit him to set up a free port based on the Singapore River. As soon as the ink dried, Raffles quickly got into action to develop the port. He urgently needed two things (among others) - lightermen to serve the ships at harbour and labour to built the quays and other port infrastructure. Naturally, Raffles looked to India which was ruled by the British East India Company (his employer).

Image credit: WikipediaChulias from Marakayar on the Coromandel Coast of India was the natural choice. The Chulias from Marakayar were proud and respected seafarers. They were descended from Arab seafarers who married coastal Indian women and settled on India's Coromandel Coast around 600AD (i.e. during the Chola dynasty). They were Tamil Muslims and spoke Tamil. Chulias were already working with the British East India Company in the British ports of Madras (today's Chennai on the Coromandel Coast) and Penang, and were thus the ideal workforce to kick start Raffles's vision of the Singapore free port.

Image credit: WikipediaFrom 1819 to 1900, lighterage on Singapore River was mostly handled by Chulias from Marakayar of Coromandel Coast of India. The Chulia lighter craft is the huge tongkang. The tongkangs were large craft and no one but the Chulias had the skill to manoeuvre them safely in the narrow confines of Singapore River.

Jackson Plan 1823. Image credit: National Archive of SingaporeBy 1822, there were 1,000 Chulias in Singapore. Most were traders and money changers, while 330 were lightermen on the Singapore River. The number of Chulia lightermen grew to 1,750 in 1837. By the 1840s, 500 Chulia tongkangs were plying the Singapore River. The Chulias were settled in Chuliah Campong (village) on the right bank of Singapore River at Clarke Quay.

Today, this area is a shopping, F & B, and entertainment hub. A Chuliah Street ran through the enclave, linking it to a "Kling chapel" which is today's Chulia Mosque built in 1826. With the advent of steamships, opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and new harbour at Tanjong Pagar Dock Company in 1864, the demand for relatively large tongkang craft slowly declined.

Twakow 1960. Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeFrom around the mid-1800s, the smaller twakow operated by Chinese (Teochew and Hokkien) gradually took over the role of tongkangs in Singapore River. By the early 1900s, Chulia tongkangs no longer operated in Singapore River. In addition to Chulias (and Chettiars), early Indian settlers in Singapore included convicts brought here in the 1820s - 1870s. They were deployed in municipal works and construction. Many of Singapore's land reclamation works, early roads, bridges and grand colonial buildings like Istana, St. Andrews Cathedral, etc were built by Indian convict labour. Indian convicts built the Boat Quay embankments and performed maintenance work at Singapore River like road sweeping etc. The day's work done, the convicts returned to their cells in Bras Basah jail.

Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeMany Indian convicts married local women and settled down in Singapore after serving their term. The British developed a settlement along Serangoon River to house these new migrants. The area became known as Little India. After the tongkang's heydays passed, the Chulias gradually moved out of Chuliah Campong and joined their Indian compatriots in Little India. The original Chulia enclave then became the Teochew enclave where the historic Ellenborough Market was located. As mentioned earlier, today this space is occupied by Central Mall @ Clarke Quay. Chuliah Campong no longer exists today, but their food legacy remains. One of them, Tamil Muslim style biryani. Tamil Muslim Biryani - A Chulia Culinary Legacy This is how Tamil Muslim biryani is cooked at the Coromandel Coast of India today. Ghee is boiled in the large pot. Ground spices like chili pepper, ginger, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves, mint, coriander, shallots, etc., are then poured inside the pot and stir fried in the hot ghee to release their flavours. Then, the chunks of goat meat are added. The goat meat is stir fried with the spices and ghee in the pot. After the goat meat is partially cooked and well coated with spices, water and yogurt are added to the pot. Cashew nuts followed. Then, the pot is covered and the contents allowed to simmer. Rice is then poured into the pot and stirred in the spice, meat and curry. Some salt is added, and the pot covered to cook the rice. When nearly done, more mint, coriander and ghee are added. The pot is covered again and this time red hot embers are heaped on the cover. When fully cooked, the rice is rich with flavour and aroma. The spice infused meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. The Tamil Muslim biryani is served on banana leaf.