Thirty years ago fair house-keepers were wont to vaunt themselves upon their home-made curry powders, their chutney s, tamarind and roselle jellies, and so forth, and carefully superintended the m-aking thereof. But fashion has changed, and although ladies arc, I think, quite as fond of a good curry as their grandmothers were, they rarely take the trouble to gather round them the elements of success, and have ceased to be cumbered about this particular branch of their cook's work. This is an important point, for if we enquire closely into the causes that have led to the alleged decay of the curry- making knack, we shall certainly find that the chief of them is want of care in the preparation of powders and pastes, and the loss of recipes which in days gone by were wrapped in silver pajier, and preserved Avith miniatures painted on ivory, locks of hair, love sonnets, and other precious secrets of a lady's escritoire. I say *' chief " advisedly, for there can be no doubt that modern improvements in our cuisine, and modern good taste, have assisted in a measure in elbowing ofE the once delectable plats of Indian origin ; and that the best curry in the world would never be permitted to appear at a petit- diner composed by a good disciple of the new regime. Curries now-a-days are only licensed to be eaten at breakfast, at luncheon, and perhaps at the little home dinner, when they may, for a change, occasionally form OUR CURRIES. 287 the piece de resistance of that cosy meal. Having tlms lost " caste," so to speak, it ought hardly to surprise us that curries have deteriorated in quality. The old cooks, who studied the art, and were encouraged in its cultiva- tion, have passed away to their happy hunting-grounds ; and the sons and grandsons who now reign in their stead have been taught to devote themselves to more fashionable dishes. While, however, it cannot be denied that the banish- ment of curries from the menu of our high-art banquets, both great and small, is, for many reasons, indispensably necessary, there can be no doubt that at mess and club dinners, at hotels, and at private houses, as already shown, these time-honoured dishes will always be welcome. Has not the time arrived then for us to endeavour to resuscitate the ancient cunning of our cooks, and to take some pains to attain that end ? The actual cooking of a curry presents no special diffi- culty. A cook who is an adept with the stew-pan, and \ who has mastered the art of slow, and very gentle simmer- I ^m^ will, whether a Frenchman, an Englishman, or a mild Hindu, soon become familiar with the treatment of this particular dish. The knotty points are these : — First the powder or paste, next the accessories, and lastly the order in which the various component parts should be added. Concerning powders, it behoves us to proceed with cau- tion, or we shall soon lose ourselves in a maze of recipes. Speaking of them generally, however, it is not, I think, commonly known that curry-powders improve by keeping it carefully bottled. One of the causes of our daily failures is undoubtedly the lazy habit we have adopted of per- mitting our cooks to fabricate their " curry-stuff," on the spot, as it is required. Powder should be made in large I 288 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Thirty years ago fair house-keepers were wont to vaunt themselves upon their home-made curry powders, their chutneys, tamarind and roselle jellies, and so forth, and carefully superintended the making thereof. But fashion has changed, and although ladies arc, I think, quite as fond of a good curry as their grandmothers were, they rarely take the trouble to gather round them the elements of success, and have ceased to be cumbered about this particular branch of their cook's work. This is an important point, for if we enquire closely into the causes that have led to the alleged decay of the currymaking knack, we shall certainly find that the chief of them is want of care in the preparation of powders and pastes, and the loss of recipes which in days gone by were wrapped in silver paper, and preserved with miniatures painted on ivory, locks of hair, love sonnets, and other precious secrets of a lady's escritoire. I say *' chief " advisedly, for there can be no doubt that modern improvements in our cuisine, and modern good taste, have assisted in a measure in elbowing ofE the once delectable plats of Indian origin ; and that the best curry in the world would never be permitted to appear at a petitdiner composed by a good disciple of the new regime. Curries now-a-days are only licensed to be eaten at breakfast, at luncheon, and perhaps at the little home dinner, when they may, for a change, occasionally form the piece de resistance of that cosy meal. Having tlms lost " caste," so to speak, it ought hardly to surprise us that curries have deteriorated in quality. The old cooks, who studied the art, and were encouraged in its cultivation, have passed away to their happy hunting-grounds ; and the sons and grandsons who now reign in their stead have been taught to devote themselves to more fashionable dishes. While, however, it cannot be denied that the banishment of curries from the menu of our high-art banquets, both great and small, is, for many reasons, indispensably necessary, there can be no doubt that at mess and club dinners, at hotels, and at private houses, as already shown, these time-honoured dishes will always be welcome. Has not the time arrived then for us to endeavour to resuscitate the ancient cunning of our cooks, and to take some pains to attain that end ? The actual cooking of a curry presents no special difficulty. A cook who is an adept with the stew-pan, and \ who has mastered the art of slow, and very gentle simmer- I ^m^ will, whether a Frenchman, an Englishman, or a mild Hindu, soon become familiar with the treatment of this particular dish. The knotty points are these : — First the powder or paste, next the accessories, and lastly the order in which the various component parts should be added. Concerning powders, it behoves us to proceed with caution, or we shall soon lose ourselves in a maze of recipes. Speaking of them generally, however, it is not, I think, commonly known that curry-powders improve by keeping it carefully bottled. One of the causes of our daily failures is undoubtedly the lazy habit we have adopted of permitting our cooks to fabricate their " curry-stuff," on the spot, as it is required. Powder should be made in large

Culinary jottings