Among other adjuncts that may be written down as ^
indispensable are the ingredients needed to produce that I
suspicion of sweet-acid which it will be remembered, forms
a salient feature of a superior curry. The natives of the
south use a rough tamarind conserve worked, sometimes,
with a very little jaggery or molasses, and a careful prepa-
ration of tamarind is decidedly valuable. Why, however,
should we not improve upon this with red currant jelly
and if further sharpness be needed, a little lime or lemon
juice ? In England, and I daresay in India also, chop-
ped apple is sometimes used, and perhaps chopped mango,
in the fool-days of the fruit, would be nice. A spoonful
290 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS.
of sweetish chutney and a little vinegar or lime juice can
be employed, but I confess that I prefer the red currant
jelly as aforesaid.
There are also certain green leaves which are undoubt-
edly not to be despised as flavouring agents. By their
means flavours can be effectively changed. I will speak
of them again when discussing the process of curry-making
step by step.
Xy^i^^ ^ Then there is that most important item the cocoanut.
This, as everyone knows, is added to a curry in the form
I of " milk," I.e., an infusion produced by scraping the
/ white nutty part of the cocoanut, and soaking the scrap-
^ ings in boiling water. This, strained, is the "milk"
required in curry-making. The quantity to be used de-
pends upon the nature of the curry. Malay curries, for
instance, require a great deal of " milk." The point in
connection with this adjunct, however, that must not
be missed, is the period at which it should be added. If
put in too soon, the value of the nutty juice will be lost,
— cooked away, and overpowered by the spicy condiments
with which it is associated. So we must reserve the
•' milk," as we do cream or the yolk of an g^^ in the case
of a thick soup or rich sauce, and stir it into our curry the
last thing just before serving.
The strained milk extracted from pounded sweet
almonds can be put into a curry very advantageously : it
may be used alone, or be associated with cocoanut milk.
One ounce of the latter, to twelve almonds, will be found
a pleasant proportion. When cocoanuts cannot be got,
almond milk makes a capital substitute.
Curries cannot afford to dispense with the assistance of
some stock or gravy. It is not uncommon to hear people
say that they have eaten far better curries in England
than in India, the chief reason being that Mary Jane will
OUR CURRIES.
291
not undertake to make the disk without at least a break-
fast-cupful and a half of good stock.
Let us now consider attentively the actual details of
curry-making, and since we cannot proceed to work with-
out a good powder or paste, we can hardly do better than
commence operations by studying the recipe for a house-
hold curry-stuff, concerning which I have already spoken.
If faithfully followed, it will, I am sure, be found most
trustworthy. It runs as follows : —
4 lbs.
of turmeric ... ... Hind, liuldi.
8 lbs.
of coriander-seed ... ,
, dhunnia.
2 lbs.
of cummin- seed ... ,
, jeer a.
1 lb.
of poppy-seed ,
, Jchush-Jchush.
2 lbs.
of fenugreek ... ... ,
, may t hi.
1 lb.
of dry-ginger ... ... ,
, S07lt.
|lb. ✪ Household Curry Stuff
Page 165 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1885. 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
Among other adjuncts that may be written down as indispensable are the ingredients needed to produce that I suspicion of sweet-acid which it will be remembered, forms a salient feature of a superior curry. The natives of the south use a rough tamarind conserve worked, sometimes, with a very little jaggery or molasses, and a careful preparation of tamarind is decidedly valuable. Why, however, should we not improve upon this with red currant jelly and if further sharpness be needed, a little lime or lemon juice ? In England, and I daresay in India also, chopped apple is sometimes used, and perhaps chopped mango, in the fool-days of the fruit, would be nice. A spoonful
of sweetish chutney and a little vinegar or lime juice can be employed, but I confess that I prefer the red currant jelly as aforesaid.
There are also certain green leaves which are undoubtedly not to be despised as flavouring agents. By their means flavours can be effectively changed. I will speak of them again when discussing the process of curry-making step by step.
Then there is that most important item the cocoanut. This, as everyone knows, is added to a curry in the form I of " milk," I.e., an infusion produced by scraping the / white nutty part of the cocoanut, and soaking the scrap- ^ ings in boiling water. This, strained, is the "milk" required in curry-making. The quantity to be used depends upon the nature of the curry. Malay curries, for instance, require a great deal of " milk." The point in connection with this adjunct, however, that must not be missed, is the period at which it should be added. If put in too soon, the value of the nutty juice will be lost, — cooked away, and overpowered by the spicy condiments with which it is associated. So we must reserve the •' milk," as we do cream or the yolk of an egg in the case of a thick soup or rich sauce, and stir it into our curry the last thing just before serving.
The strained milk extracted from pounded sweet almonds can be put into a curry very advantageously : it may be used alone, or be associated with cocoanut milk. One ounce of the latter, to twelve almonds, will be found a pleasant proportion. When cocoanuts cannot be got, almond milk makes a capital substitute.
Curries cannot afford to dispense with the assistance of some stock or gravy. It is not uncommon to hear people say that they have eaten far better curries in England than in India, the chief reason being that Mary Jane will
not undertake to make the disk without at least a breakfast-cupful and a half of good stock.
Let us now consider attentively the actual details of curry-making, and since we cannot proceed to work without a good powder or paste, we can hardly do better than commence operations by studying the recipe for a household curry-stuff, concerning which I have already spoken. If faithfully followed, it will, I am sure, be found most trustworthy. It runs as follows : —
4 lbs.
of turmeric ... ... Hind, liuldi.
8 lbs.
of coriander-seed ... ,
, dhunnia.
2 lbs.
of cummin- seed ... ,
, jeer a.
1 lb.
of poppy-seed ,
, Jchush-Jchush.
2 lbs.
of fenugreek ... ... ,
, may t hi.
1 lb.
of dry-ginger ... ... ,
, S07lt.
|lb.
Records on this page
Household Curry Stuff