FoodNet

Common-sense papers on cookery

1880

Page 49

Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Suppose, however, the dish required was curried mutton, which is, of course, a much more economical dish than curried sweetbreads, and it is undoubtedly I r J Coma on sbnsb Coorb ?j . one of the best methods of using up a cold joint. Cut some slices of meat off the cold joint ; avoid skin and gristle, and choose those slices as much as possible containing most fat. Then boil up the curry sauce, ready thickened and finished, in a stew-pan, remove the stew-pan from the fire, and place the slices of meat in it. and cover them with the sauce : replace the stew- pan on the hob. but not on the fire, leave it in a warm place for half an hour, and just before turning it out make it a little hotter, if you like, by carefully holding the stew-pan over the fire ; but recollect if it once boils or bubbles up the meat will get hard, and the curry will be spoilt The proper accompaniment to curry is boiled rice ; this ought properly to be served in a separate dish. The rice must be boiled till quite tender, and then the grains should be separated from one another by being tossed lightly about on a cloth in front of the fire. Curry is. as we have said, the most suitable dish for hot weather, as is abundantly proved by its being the most popular in India. In India fresh tamarinds and mangoes are, I believe, used instead of apples ; various herbs and spices are also used, which differ in different parts of the country. Many persons, especially old Indians, have recipes for currv. We have given what must necessarily form Savoury Summer Dishes. 123 the basis of curry, where the curry-powder or paste is not home-made. By many, the addition of a little grated cocoa-nut to the curry is considered a great improvement ; or where cocoa-nut cannot be obtained, a few grated Brazil nuts may be used instead. Others, too, strongly recommend the addition of powdered coriander-seeds. Coriander-seeds are, however, used in making curry-powder, and good curry-powder ought to contain sufficient. When, therefore, the powder is old, and has lost that aromatic smell which it ought to have, a little powdered coriander-seed may be added with advantage ; but it has a very decided flavour, and must be used with caution. One of the most common faults in inexperienced cooks is to have certain fancies for certain flavours, and then to let that flavour predominate. I have tasted mock -turtle soup which might have been called marjoram soup. Herbs and spices must always be used carefully, and it is generally best to err on the side of too little than too much. To illustrate this point, I would mention what is generally known as veal stuffing. Who has not, at one time or other, tasted a turkey in which it was so highly flavoured that you tasted it all through dinner? Indeed, at times you may consider yourself fortunate if you don’t taste it all through the next day. How few cooks, too, understand how to use garlic 124 Common-sense Cookf.rv. or aromatic flavouring herbs ! It is in the proper blending of these strong flavours that one can detect the hand of the artiste.