curry is always spoken of as being so
far superior to English curry is that in
India fresh meat is always used for it.
On the other hand, in England ninety -
nine times out of a hundred curry is
made from the remains of beef and
mutton that have been cooked before. Of
course, when fresh meat is used it is far
superior to meat already cooked. There
are various additions that can be made
to curry. One very popular one is
when the curry sauce is made to add a
little grated cocoa-nut. This certainly
improves the flavour, but of course it is
entirely a question of taste. In mixing
curry in India the natives use cocoa-nut
oil, consequently the addition of a little
cocoa-nut tends to give this same flavour.
Another great improvement is to add a
few bay -leaves to the curry, serving the
bay-leaves in the curry. This is usually
done on board the Peninsular and
Oriental Company’s boats. In pre-
paring the meat for curry it is far the
best plan to have the meat shredded.
This requires patience, but too often
cooks are apt to imagine that any meat,
however roughly cut, is good enough to
curry. Indeed, there is an old saying
that a good cook can curry an old boot.
This is, however, a very great mistake.
.Many a dish of curry is spoilt owing to
the careless way in which pieces of skin,
gristle, etc., are added, and which,
owing to the thickness of the curry
sauce, find their way to the mouth
without being detected. In currying
rabbit it is best first of all to parboil
the rabbit to remove all the meat from
the bones, and to use the rabbit bones
in making some good stock for the gravy
to be added to the curry sauce. So,
too, in curried fowl, let the fowl be par-
tially roasted, and when in an under-
done state it should be cut up, the bones
removed and chopped up and used to
make the sauce. It is far better thus to
utilise the bones than to let them be
sent down on the plate. The amount
of nourishment to be extracted from the
bones of chickens and rabbits when they
can be boiled for a long time is very
great indeed. So far as economy is
concerned, it is always cheaper to bone
the joint or bird than to cook it as it is.
Another improvement to curry is the
flavour of powdered coriander seed.
Curry powder contains coriander seed,
but when the powder has been kept for
a long time, and, possibly through care-
lessness, the stopper of the bottle has
been left loose, the flavour of coriander
is apt to escape. A little powdered
coriander seed should be added when
the powder has been kept for a long
time. In making curry sauce cooks
should always remember that part of
the thickness is due to the onion,
celery, carrot, etc. , that have been rubbed
through the sieve. Should the sauce be
thin a little brown roux — (see Roux,
Brown) — should be added for the pur-
pose of thickening it. In all cases
where roux is added very great care
should be taken to remove the fat.
Care should also be taken in mak-
ing curry sauce to remove the fat
used in frying the onion and vege-
tables. One way to remove fat from
sauces, soups, etc., is to allow the sauce
or soup to simmer gently by the side of
the fire so that it will throw up the fat.
It is a great mistake to suppose that
when the sauce or soup has got cold,
and the cake of fat has settled on
the top, that by removing this all
the fat is taken from the soup or
sauce. Such is not the case.
Page 69
Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
curry is always spoken of as being so far superior to English curry is that in India fresh meat is always used for it. On the other hand, in England ninety - nine times out of a hundred curry is made from the remains of beef and mutton that have been cooked before. Of course, when fresh meat is used it is far superior to meat already cooked. There are various additions that can be made to curry. One very popular one is when the curry sauce is made to add a little grated cocoa-nut. This certainly improves the flavour, but of course it is entirely a question of taste. In mixing curry in India the natives use cocoa-nut oil, consequently the addition of a little cocoa-nut tends to give this same flavour. Another great improvement is to add a few bay -leaves to the curry, serving the bay-leaves in the curry. This is usually done on board the Peninsular and Oriental Company’s boats. In preparing the meat for curry it is far the best plan to have the meat shredded. This requires patience, but too often cooks are apt to imagine that any meat, however roughly cut, is good enough to curry. Indeed, there is an old saying that a good cook can curry an old boot. This is, however, a very great mistake. Many a dish of curry is spoilt owing to the careless way in which pieces of skin, gristle, etc., are added, and which, owing to the thickness of the curry sauce, find their way to the mouth without being detected. In currying rabbit it is best first of all to parboil the rabbit to remove all the meat from the bones, and to use the rabbit bones in making some good stock for the gravy to be added to the curry sauce. So, too, in curried fowl, let the fowl be partially roasted, and when in an underdone state it should be cut up, the bones removed and chopped up and used to make the sauce. It is far better thus to utilise the bones than to let them be sent down on the plate. The amount of nourishment to be extracted from the bones of chickens and rabbits when they can be boiled for a long time is very great indeed. So far as economy is concerned, it is always cheaper to bone the joint or bird than to cook it as it is. Another improvement to curry is the flavour of powdered coriander seed. Curry powder contains coriander seed, but when the powder has been kept for a long time, and, possibly through care-
lessness, the stopper of the bottle has been left loose, the flavour of coriander is apt to escape. A little powdered coriander seed should be added when the powder has been kept for a long time. In making curry sauce cooks should always remember that part of the thickness is due to the onion, celery, carrot, etc. , that have been rubbed through the sieve. Should the sauce be thin a little brown roux — (see Roux, Brown) — should be added for the purpose of thickening it. In all cases where roux is added very great care should be taken to remove the fat. Care should also be taken in making curry sauce to remove the fat used in frying the onion and vegetables. One way to remove fat from sauces, soups, etc., is to allow the sauce or soup to simmer gently by the side of the fire so that it will throw up the fat. It is a great mistake to suppose that when the sauce or soup has got cold, and the cake of fat has settled on the top, that by removing this all the fat is taken from the soup or sauce. Such is not the case.