Banquets of the nations

Put into a basin two pounds of lentil flour which has been perfectly dried, two pounds of onions, a tablespoonful of parsley and sorrel (all finely chopped), a dessertspoonful of salt, and the same quantity of finely ground green ginger. Mix all thoroughly. Pour in sufficient water, very gradually, to make it into a paste which will stand by itself when dropped off a spoon. The mixture must be continually and smartly beaten when the water is being added so that it foams much like whipped cream. Boil eight slices of lemon peel in a deep pan half full of ghee. When the peel is thoroughly cooked take it out, and with a tablespoon drop the mixture in the shape of rocks into the boiling ghee, and allow to brown on all sides. Continue doing this till all the mixture is finished. Be careful to remove all floating particles before putting in additional mixture. These must be eaten hot. CENTRAL PROVINCES (Brahmin) Karanji. (Cocoanut Croquettes.) Mix one pound coarse wheatflour, one ounce rice powder, four ounces ghee, and a little milk : knead, and roll out. Now mix half ounce rice powder and two ounces ghee. This is applied to the first, and the whole wrought together. Then the whole is made into small balls the size of a walnut and flattened with the hands into thin cakes. Mix one and a half pounds grated cocoanut, four ounces poppy seeds, four ounces currants, half that quantity of cloves, and two pounds sugar. This is called "puran." A little puran is put in the middle of each cake. They are then doubled over so as to enclose the puran, and the edges, after being wet, closely pressed, thus forming a purse shape. The cakes or croquettes are then cooked in boiling ghee. Sa-oo Bhahjees. (Baked Apples.) Peel and core as many apples as you require. Plug up the bottoms with pieces of other apples, and fill the centres with a mixture made of the following ingredients — viz., one ounce of the best ghee, two ounces of sugar, and one of lime-juice. Put rather more than an ounce of ghee in the bottom of a baking pan, on which lay the apples, sprinkle plenty of sugar on top, and cover the pan. Put them in the oven, and after ten minutes baste with their juice and ajlittle more sugar ; do this several times till three-parts done. Now add six ounces of lime-juice 273 s diluted to half its strength with water. Great care must be taken that the sugar and butter does not char. The liquid should be much of the same consistency and colour as dark golden syrup. [illustration: "273"] Shrikhand. (Sugared Cream.) Reduce ten pounds of milk to a fourth of its bulk by boiling on a slow fire, so as to get a good thick cream, and put it into a towel and hang up to drip. When it is well drained take a chatty (deep dish or pan) and tie a rough towel over it. Then put a lump of the curd and a handful of sugar on the towel, and with the hand press the mixture through the towel into the chatty ; continue doing this till all the curds are finished and three pounds of sugar used. Mix a thimbleful of saffron with a little milk, and add it along with a few ground cardamoms and some small pieces of broken sugar candy to the mixture. Hulluah. (Cinnamon Sweet.)