Luncheon and dinner ordered, the mistress should pro-
ceed to the storeroom, when both the bearer and the khit-
inutgdr should be in attendance. Another five minutes will
suffice to give out everything required for the day’s consump-
tion, the accounts, writing of orders, &c., will follow, and
then the mistress (with a sinking heart) may begin the daily
inspection of pantry, scullery, and kitchen. But before she
sets foot in the back purlieus, let her remember that if a
mistress will not give proper appliances, she cannot expect
cleanliness. If, however, this excuse is not valid, the authors’
advice is — notice the least dirt quietly, with the order that before
going for his mid-day recess the servant in fault shall come 'per-
sonally and report its removal. Let the mistress then send
another servant to see if this be true ; but let her guard
against giving herself the least trouble in the matter. For
here, again, Indian servants are like children, gaining a
certain satisfaction in the idea that at any rate they have
been troublesome.
We do not Avish to advocate an unholy haughtiness ; but
an Indian household can no more be governed peacefully,
Avithout dignity and prestige, than an Indian Empire. For
instance, if the mistress wishes to teach the cook a new
dish, let her give the order for everything, doAvn to charcoal,
to be ready at a given time, and the cook in attendance ; and
let her do nothing herself that the servants can do, if only
for this reason, that the only Avay of teaching is to sec things
done, not to let others see you do them.
Another duty Avhich must never be omitted, so long as
copper vessels are used for cooking, is their Aveekly in-
lo The Indian Housekeeper and Cook
spection to see that the tinning is entire. No more fruitful
source of clanger and disease can be imagined than a dirty
copper saucepan; and unless proper supervision is given,
we advise every mistress who has any desire to avoid
serious risk, both to her own family and her guest, to use
nothing but steel or enamelled utensils.^ In many jails also,
nowadays, glazed earthenware utensils may be had, which
will stand a charcoal fire, and are invaluable for milk, fruit,
and soups. In fact, a much larger variety of articles can now
be had of native manufacture than was possible ten years ago.
It need hardly be said that, wherever practicable, it is clearly
the Indian housekeeper’s cluty to encourage native industry,
and at the same time, by never offering an unfair price or
submitting to one, striving to prevent the evils of our civilisa-
tion going hand in hand with the good. ^ ^
Page 9
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
Luncheon and dinner ordered, the mistress should proceed to the storeroom, when both the bearer and the khitinutgdr should be in attendance. Another five minutes will suffice to give out everything required for the day’s consumption, the accounts, writing of orders, &c., will follow, and then the mistress (with a sinking heart) may begin the daily inspection of pantry, scullery, and kitchen. But before she sets foot in the back purlieus, let her remember that if a mistress will not give proper appliances, she cannot expect cleanliness. If, however, this excuse is not valid, the authors’ advice is — notice the least dirt quietly, with the order that before going for his mid-day recess the servant in fault shall come 'personally and report its removal. Let the mistress then send another servant to see if this be true ; but let her guard against giving herself the least trouble in the matter. For here, again, Indian servants are like children, gaining a certain satisfaction in the idea that at any rate they have been troublesome.
We do not wish to advocate an unholy haughtiness ; but an Indian household can no more be governed peacefully, without dignity and prestige, than an Indian Empire. For instance, if the mistress wishes to teach the cook a new dish, let her give the order for everything, doAvn to charcoal, to be ready at a given time, and the cook in attendance ; and let her do nothing herself that the servants can do, if only for this reason, that the only way of teaching is to sec things done, not to let others see you do them.
Another duty which must never be omitted, so long as copper vessels are used for cooking, is their weekly in-
lo The Indian Housekeeper and Cook
spection to see that the tinning is entire. No more fruitful source of clanger and disease can be imagined than a dirty copper saucepan; and unless proper supervision is given, we advise every mistress who has any desire to avoid serious risk, both to her own family and her guest, to use nothing but steel or enamelled utensils.^ In many jails also, nowadays, glazed earthenware utensils may be had, which will stand a charcoal fire, and are invaluable for milk, fruit, and soups. In fact, a much larger variety of articles can now be had of native manufacture than was possible ten years ago. It need hardly be said that, wherever practicable, it is clearly the Indian housekeeper’s cluty to encourage native industry, and at the same time, by never offering an unfair price or submitting to one, striving to prevent the evils of our civilisation going hand in hand with the good. ^ ^