Post 3: The Butter Chicken Pie is New Zealand’s Everyday Cosmopolitanism

Butter chicken pie is one dish that illustrates New Zealand's culinary diversity. At first glance, it appears to be an unusual combination, the iconic meat pie which is a bakery and gas station staple, packed with an Indian-inspired curry. That is precisely why I believe it is such an effective visual representation. The butter chicken pie demonstrates how cross-cultural interaction occurs more through common daily cuisine. 

In New Zealand, pies are almost a national institution. It is related with convenience and comfort. Meanwhile, butter chicken gained popularity as a result of South Asian migration and the spread of Indian cuisine in former British colonial territories. The butter chicken pie mixes both traditions to create something distinct. Shows how New Zealand is neither "authentically" Indian, nor purely British in origin. As Tammi Jonas notes in "Eating the Vernacular, Being Cosmopolitan," cosmopolitan eating is frequently associated with the vernacular, basicaly suggesting that global flavors are absorbed through familiar local habits and patterns.

Butter chicken's appeal is due in part to the fact that it is mild, creamy, and identifiable to mainstream customers, therefore Indian food is being transformed into a form that seems comfortable and marketable in New Zealand. Though this does  raise concerns about authenticity and power, since the version of the meal being praised is also the most easily altered to local preferences.

To me, butter chicken pie represents both inclusivity and simplicity. It depicts New Zealand as a multicultural dining scene, but it also reminds me that cosmopolitanism is frequently achieved through adaptation and marketing.