No better mode of cooking exists than the chula arrange-
ment for charcoal, at present in use in most parts of India,
and which closely resembles that seen on the Continent. It
is convenient, economical, safe, and suitable in every way to
the requirements of the climate. But it is not necessary that
the whole erection should be made of mud and loose bricks,
as is very generally the case. Good bricks, well set and sur-
mounted by a strong sheet of iron clamped to the bricks, with
holes cut to correspond to the round brick chulas below, will
make as good and as cleanly a kitchen range as any cook
need desire. A hot case with an oven beneath it can be
built on one side, and leave the cook no excuse for bad cook-
ing. Such an oven is very simply made; it is merely a frame-
work of sheet iron with a door in front, let into the bricks
w'ith a place for charcoal below and above, and a space of
about one inch left between the iron and bricks at the back
to act as a flue.
Housekeeper and Cook 67
The expense of such simple arrangements is trifling in
the extreme, and no practical cook who has ever personally
superintended the working of that diabolical invention, a
native tizal or oven, will ever allow one in her kitchen. The
mischief it can do to the best made cakes is simply incredible ;
and it is impossible to say which is more difficult, to get the
lid on, or, having succeeded in that, to get it off agiun. The
mere sight of a tizal with two crooked legs, the missing third
supplied by a tottering pile of bricks, and three inches of
dust and ashes inside to prevent the utter cremation of the
wretched cake, is enough to dishearten any one. No one
need be astonished if, in the frantic effort to get the lid full
of burning coals off or on, the whole frail structure collapses,
and khitimilgdr, charcoal, ashes, cake, and tins are mingled in
hopeless confusion. If the initial expense is not a bar, we
strongly recommend every housekeeper to have a kerosene
oil stove with an oven on a table in a verandah, where she
can use it for dainty cooking.
A point which must be insisted on in a cook-room is the
raising of the washing-up place or sink so far from the ground
that the refuse water will fall into a proper and movable
receptacle outside, and not filter into the ground. It cannot
be right that food should be cooked in a house whose very
foundations are saturated with sewage. The sink, then,
should be at least two feet from the ground, with a high
ledge round, and a stand for water vessels on one side.
These are best made of old kerosene tins with iron handles,
and in each should be a tin-dipper — any empty tin will serve
the purpose. Every kitchen should contain two tables — a
dishing-up table, which is best close beside the range, if
not part of it, and a working table. Besides the latter
there should be another stand for two water vessels, as
it is by no means advisable that water which has been
standing, so to speak, in the sink should be used for
cookiiig.
The cook should be provided with a cupboard which locks
for his stores, and an open bunker for his charcoal. Shelves
for saucepans, and a row of hooks for different utensils, are of
course necessary.
With regard to the utensils themselves, the best and
safest are the steel saucepans now so much used at home.
68
The Complete Indian
Page 45
Presented as published in 1898. 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
No better mode of cooking exists than the chula arrangement for charcoal, at present in use in most parts of India, and which closely resembles that seen on the Continent. It is convenient, economical, safe, and suitable in every way to the requirements of the climate. But it is not necessary that the whole erection should be made of mud and loose bricks, as is very generally the case. Good bricks, well set and surmounted by a strong sheet of iron clamped to the bricks, with holes cut to correspond to the round brick chulas below, will make as good and as cleanly a kitchen range as any cook need desire. A hot case with an oven beneath it can be built on one side, and leave the cook no excuse for bad cooking. Such an oven is very simply made; it is merely a framework of sheet iron with a door in front, let into the bricks with a place for charcoal below and above, and a space of about one inch left between the iron and bricks at the back to act as a flue.
Housekeeper and Cook 67
The expense of such simple arrangements is trifling in the extreme, and no practical cook who has ever personally superintended the working of that diabolical invention, a native tizal or oven, will ever allow one in her kitchen. The mischief it can do to the best made cakes is simply incredible ; and it is impossible to say which is more difficult, to get the lid on, or, having succeeded in that, to get it off agiun. The mere sight of a tizal with two crooked legs, the missing third supplied by a tottering pile of bricks, and three inches of dust and ashes inside to prevent the utter cremation of the wretched cake, is enough to dishearten any one. No one need be astonished if, in the frantic effort to get the lid full of burning coals off or on, the whole frail structure collapses, and khitimilgdr, charcoal, ashes, cake, and tins are mingled in hopeless confusion. If the initial expense is not a bar, we strongly recommend every housekeeper to have a kerosene oil stove with an oven on a table in a verandah, where she can use it for dainty cooking.
A point which must be insisted on in a cook-room is the raising of the washing-up place or sink so far from the ground that the refuse water will fall into a proper and movable receptacle outside, and not filter into the ground. It cannot be right that food should be cooked in a house whose very foundations are saturated with sewage. The sink, then, should be at least two feet from the ground, with a high ledge round, and a stand for water vessels on one side. These are best made of old kerosene tins with iron handles, and in each should be a tin-dipper — any empty tin will serve the purpose. Every kitchen should contain two tables — a dishing-up table, which is best close beside the range, if not part of it, and a working table. Besides the latter there should be another stand for two water vessels, as it is by no means advisable that water which has been standing, so to speak, in the sink should be used for cooking.
The cook should be provided with a cupboard which locks for his stores, and an open bunker for his charcoal. Shelves for saucepans, and a row of hooks for different utensils, are of course necessary.
With regard to the utensils themselves, the best and safest are the steel saucepans now so much used at home.
The Complete Indian