It is downright nonsense to say that native cooks cannot work upon English principles. They manage very well on boardship, where their services are highly prized, yet their appliances are wholly European. The kitchen at the Madras Club, and those of several private houses, both here, and on the Hills, are fitted up entirely upon the Home system, yet the cooks do not complain. No : it seems pretty clear that if no other alternative present it- self, Ramasamy can fall into the way of using a range readily enough. I know of a case in which a young and zealous native chef absolutely begged his mistress to permit him to pre- pare his jellies, pastry, &c., in a spare room in the house, alleging as his reason that the kitchen was too hot and smoky : and I am perfectly sure that the majority of good Madras cooks would appreciate a similar concession. The reciisants would, in all probability, be gentlemen who have become wedded to practices whereof their consciences are afraid. Pilferings of all kinds would, to begin with, become far more difficult, long absences would be soon detected, work properly the cook's could not be thrust upon the cook's maty, and drinking and gossiping during working hours would be knocked on the head. The furnishing of this " working room" could be man- aged without much trouble, and certainly inexpensively, in the manner already mentioned : — with a dresser of strong wood, a pastry table with marble slab, a cup-board, a rack for plates and dishes, a gauze safe, and a set of shelves. Delicate operations, such as the composition of high class sauces, the boiling of a jelly, or the simmering of fruit, could be carried on upon a mineral oil stove, or by means of a charcoal fire placed in a sheltered corner of the veran- dah close to the room ; and such articles of diet need never be carried into the kitchen at all. But when pro- perly dressed, and prepared for roasting, stewing, boiling, 506 OUR KITCHENS IN INDIA baking, &c., savoury meats, pastry, and puddings, ^vould, of course, be transported to the cooking-room. In cases \rbere there is no isolated building near the house susceptible of conversion into a kitchen, the cook- room, such as it may be, would have to be utilized ; but if properly ventilated, fitted up with a range, racks, tables, &c., frequently inspected, and reserved exclusively for the work I have mentioned, its evils might surely to be re- duced to a minimum. Another great thing to obtain, to my mind, is a really clean place, not only for the preparation of food, but also for its keeping during the day. Think for a moment of the dish of neck of mutton cutlets that the cook takes away to the cook-room at 10 a.m., after his mistress has inspected the market supplies. The cutlets re-appear at dinner time, it is true, but dare we consider how the poor things spent their day before the hour of their cooking arrived ? In my ideal room they would be trimmed im- mediately . upon a clean dresser, flattened with the cutlet bat, and then arranged neatly upon a large flat dish, dusted over with pepper and salt, lightly dredged with flour, and consigned till wanted in the gauze safe ; or, if so required, they might be placed in marinade^ and then put away beyond the reach of flies. The trimmings would, of course, be collected upon a plate, and sent out to the kitchen for the production of broth for sauce.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

It is downright nonsense to say that native cooks cannot work upon English principles. They manage very well on boardship, where their services are highly prized, yet their appliances are wholly European. The kitchen at the Madras Club, and those of several private houses, both here, and on the Hills, are fitted up entirely upon the Home system, yet the cooks do not complain. No : it seems pretty clear that if no other alternative present itself, Ramasamy can fall into the way of using a range readily enough. I know of a case in which a young and zealous native chef absolutely begged his mistress to permit him to prepare his jellies, pastry, &c., in a spare room in the house, alleging as his reason that the kitchen was too hot and smoky : and I am perfectly sure that the majority of good Madras cooks would appreciate a similar concession. The récusants would, in all probability, be gentlemen who have become wedded to practices whereof their consciences are afraid. Pilferings of all kinds would, to begin with, become far more difficult, long absences would be soon detected, work properly the cook's could not be thrust upon the cook's maty, and drinking and gossiping during working hours would be knocked on the head. The furnishing of this " working room" could be managed without much trouble, and certainly inexpensively, in the manner already mentioned : — with a dresser of strong wood, a pastry table with marble slab, a cup-board, a rack for plates and dishes, a gauze safe, and a set of shelves. Delicate operations, such as the composition of high class sauces, the boiling of a jelly, or the simmering of fruit, could be carried on upon a mineral oil stove, or by means of a charcoal fire placed in a sheltered corner of the verandah close to the room ; and such articles of diet need never be carried into the kitchen at all. But when properly dressed, and prepared for roasting, stewing, boiling, baking, &c., savoury meats, pastry, and puddings, would, of course, be transported to the cooking-room. In cases where there is no isolated building near the house susceptible of conversion into a kitchen, the cookroom, such as it may be, would have to be utilized ; but if properly ventilated, fitted up with a range, racks, tables, &c., frequently inspected, and reserved exclusively for the work I have mentioned, its evils might surely to be reduced to a minimum. Another great thing to obtain, to my mind, is a really clean place, not only for the preparation of food, but also for its keeping during the day. Think for a moment of the dish of neck of mutton cutlets that the cook takes away to the cook-room at 10 a.m., after his mistress has inspected the market supplies. The cutlets re-appear at dinner time, it is true, but dare we consider how the poor things spent their day before the hour of their cooking arrived ? In my ideal room they would be trimmed immediately . upon a clean dresser, flattened with the cutlet bat, and then arranged neatly upon a large flat dish, dusted over with pepper and salt, lightly dredged with flour, and consigned till wanted in the gauze safe ; or, if so required, they might be placed in marinade^ and then put away beyond the reach of flies. The trimmings would, of course, be collected upon a plate, and sent out to the kitchen for the production of broth for sauce.

Culinary jottings