Hard-boiled eggs work up well for sandwiches, and may be either used plainly pounded with butter with a seasoning of pepper and salt, or added to other ingredients like chopped tongue, ham, or corned beef. Fillets of anchovy with slices of olive, embedded in pounded hard-boiled egg and butter, and lightly dusted with Xepaul pepper, compose a very eatable sandwich. I am especially fond of a lunch-let composed of one home-made roll, a small piece of Gruyere, and two ripe plantains, but the taste of eating cheese with fruit is, I fear, un-English. The traveller's luncheon basket, and that of the sports- man are analogous. A friend of mine with whom I used to walk the paddy fields, adopted the plan of taking out a digester pot, previously filled with stewed steak and oysters, or some equally toothsome stew. This he trusted to his syce, who lit a fire somewhere or other, in the marvellous way the natives of this country do, and, as 17 194 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS. sare as there are fish in the sea, had the contents of the pot steaming hot, at the exact spot, and at the veiy moment we required it. He was a bow-legged veteran, this sjce, and a most trusty varlet. I almost think though, that our shooting became a little erratic after our stew, which was bountiful in quantity, rich in quality, and provocative of beer, of whisky and water, or brandy and soda, according to oui' supply thereof. A good cold lunch is the best for the open air, when work must follow. When I was going through the course of Garrison instruction, and accustomed to long days out surveying, I was partial to a qalantlne made of a small fowl, boned and rolled, with a block of tongue and some forcemeat introduced in the centre of it. A home-made brawn of tongue, a part of an ox head, and sheep's trotters, well seasoned, and slightly spiced, was another specialite. A nice piece of the brisket of beef salted and spiced, boiled, placed under a weight, and then trimmed into a neat shape (the trimmings come in for sandwiches, potted- meat, or " bubble and squeak") is a very handy thing for the tiffin basket ; and a much respected patron of mine recommends for travelling, a really good cold plum pudding in which a glass of brandy has been included. Cake is acceptable at every kind of luncheon ; in fact, cakes were invented for that meal, for 5 o'clock tea, weddings, and for school-boys only. oxar^^iE^GTEi^ :^^:hl. I Fritters. ^p~^ AILURE in the accomplishment of the many excel- ^JliS^ lent dishes which come nnder the head of " fritters" may be fairly attributed to three things : the first, ignorance in making the batter ; the second, a wrongly shaped utensil ; and the third, an insufficient use of the frying medium. If you once master these cardinal points, and can drum them into the head of your Ramasamy, you will have at your command a tasty and, indeed, artistic method of cookery upon which you can always rely with confidence. The charm of fritter cooking is its simplicity. The mixing of a good batter merely depends upon the accurate following of the recipe before you, whilst the culinary operation itself presents no difficulty whatever, provided a liberal supply of fat be given out, and the vessel used be a proper one. The beginner, as a rule, overcomes this part of his education after a few trials, and thenceforward has no apprehension concerning success.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Hard-boiled eggs work up well for sandwiches, and may be either used plainly pounded with butter with a seasoning of pepper and salt, or added to other ingredients like chopped tongue, ham, or corned beef. Fillets of anchovy with slices of olive, embedded in pounded hard-boiled egg and butter, and lightly dusted with Nepaul pepper, compose a very eatable sandwich. I am especially fond of a lunch-let composed of one home-made roll, a small piece of Gruyere, and two ripe plantains, but the taste of eating cheese with fruit is, I fear, un-English. The traveller's luncheon basket, and that of the sportsman are analogous. A friend of mine with whom I used to walk the paddy fields, adopted the plan of taking out a digester pot, previously filled with stewed steak and oysters, or some equally toothsome stew. This he trusted to his syce, who lit a fire somewhere or other, in the marvellous way the natives of this country do, and, as sare as there are fish in the sea, had the contents of the pot steaming hot, at the exact spot, and at the veiy moment we required it. He was a bow-legged veteran, this sjce, and a most trusty varlet. I almost think though, that our shooting became a little erratic after our stew, which was bountiful in quantity, rich in quality, and provocative of beer, of whisky and water, or brandy and soda, according to oui' supply thereof. A good cold lunch is the best for the open air, when work must follow. When I was going through the course of Garrison instruction, and accustomed to long days out surveying, I was partial to a galantine made of a small fowl, boned and rolled, with a block of tongue and some forcemeat introduced in the centre of it. A home-made brawn of tongue, a part of an ox head, and sheep's trotters, well seasoned, and slightly spiced, was another specialite. A nice piece of the brisket of beef salted and spiced, boiled, placed under a weight, and then trimmed into a neat shape (the trimmings come in for sandwiches, potted meat, or " bubble and squeak") is a very handy thing for the tiffin basket ; and a much respected patron of mine recommends for travelling, a really good cold plum pudding in which a glass of brandy has been included. Cake is acceptable at every kind of luncheon ; in fact, cakes were invented for that meal, for 5 o'clock tea, weddings, and for school-boys only. [illustration: chapter heading]. Fritters. ^p~^ AILURE in the accomplishment of the many excel- ^JliS^ lent dishes which come under the head of " fritters" may be fairly attributed to three things : the first, ignorance in making the batter ; the second, a wrongly shaped utensil ; and the third, an insufficient use of the frying medium. If you once master these cardinal points, and can drum them into the head of your Ramasamy, you will have at your command a tasty and, indeed, artistic method of cookery upon which you can always rely with confidence. The charm of fritter cooking is its simplicity. The mixing of a good batter merely depends upon the accurate following of the recipe before you, whilst the culinary operation itself presents no difficulty whatever, provided a liberal supply of fat be given out, and the vessel used be a proper one. The beginner, as a rule, overcomes this part of his education after a few trials, and thenceforward has no apprehension concerning success.

Culinary jottings