Culinary jottings

I think I am right in saying that there are very few establishments in India in which a day passes without the preparation of rice for the table. It is, as a rule, served plainly boiled, and in that form can rarely be found fault with. Friend Ramasamy commits, as I have endeavoured on several occasions to point out, mistakes of divers kinds, and of various degrees in the scale of culinary atrocities, but failure in the cooking of rice is certainly not one of them. Having at our command, then, a species of farinaceous food, cheap, nutritive, of excellent quality, and which our cooks can dress to perfection, do we take full advantage of the many opportunities we possess of developing its resources ? I am inclined to think that we do not. I have therefore introduced the subject in close connection with maccaroni advisedly, for it will be seen that in the better treatment of rice, the laws that govern the cookery of Italian pastes are often similar. The boiling of rice is, as I have said, a matter of no difficulty to us in India. The native cook thoroughly understands the process, and invariably, I may say, sends an inviting looking dish to the table in which each grain appears to have been cooked independently, snowy white in appearance, and free from impurities of all kinds. A sodden mass of " stodgy" rice as dressed by Mary Jane in England is a thing unknown to the Anglo-Indian Exile. There are, however, some who may like to know how the task is performed, so for their benefit here is the recipe : — Having thoroughly sifted, and cleansed the rice, cast it into boiling water with a pinch of sugar, a salt-spoonful of salt, and the juice of a quarter of a lime. Stir the grains as they are cooking with a wooden spoon every now and then, and in about twelve minutes test them by taking of few grains out of the water, and pinching them between the finger and thumb. As soon as the grain is tender, check the boiling by a dash of cold water, remove the vessel from the fire, and invert it, holding the rice securely with the lid yet leaving space enough for the escape of the water. When quite dry, re-invert the pan, shaking the well drained grains of rice in the hot vessel in which they were cooked. Lastly, cover the pan with a clean cloth, and let it rest on the hot-plate, or over a very low fire to complete the drying. After this, the rice will be ready and may either be sent up as it is, or dressed according to one of the following recipes : — Riz à la Napolitaine : — Empty the well boiled rice into a hot sauce-pan with plenty of butter : stir till thoroughly hot and well lubricated, add tomato pulp enough to moisten the whole nicely, and finish with finely grated Parmesan, Gruyere, or other mild dry cheese. Serve piping hot. When lifted with the fork, the grains of rice should carry with them long strings or tendrils of melted cheese as in the case of Maccaroni a V Italienne.