As I intend to give detailed instructions for game purees
in their turn in my menus, I will not pursue the subject
any further in this chapter. Neither will I discuss the
treatment of tinned soups just yet, for I shall reserve that
branch of Indian soup-making for consideration hereafter
in a chapter devoted to " Camp cookery."
N.B. — Caution your butler to be careful to help the
soup at a dinner party with judgment. One ladleful in
each basin is ample.
— ♦ —
Regarding our Fish.
^ISH, under skilful hands, offers," says Brillat
Savarin, " inexhaustible resources of gustatory
enjoyment ; whether served up entire, in pieces,
or sliced ; done in water, in oil, or in wine ; hot or cold ;
in all cases it receives a hearty welcome." "We, who live
at Madras, on a coast which yields a perennial supply of
good fish, (to borrow a well-known figure of speech) should
surely lay these words to heart.
With a market as fairly well supplied as ours, we ought
never to be at a loss for variety, or for scope to exercise
our cook's ingenuity. The fair hostess should always be
able to soothe herself with the reflection that with the
fish, at all events, her guests will be well satisfied. Now,
do we avail oarselves, as we ought to do, of the many
opportunities we undoubtedly possess of turning Madras
fish to a good account ? I certainly think not : indeed I
fear that only a few of us appreciate the true value of this
most excellent article of our daily food.
At the ordinary Madras dinner party, you may rely
almost for certain on having boiled seer fish, with a sauce,
and a few slices of cucumber and beetroot, or a spoonful of
salad ! on the side of your plate. Or the fish may be
pomfret, similarly served. " Tartar e,'' " a parody of liollan-
daise,'^ and melted butter with essence of anchovy, com-
REGARDING OUR FISH. 53
pose apparently the whole repertoire of sauces within the
reach of the local clief.
N.B. — I have never been able by the way to trace the
origin of the Madras custom of serving a portion of salad
with a thick eggy dressing on the same plate as the slice
of Jwt fish. To put salad on a hot plate is to begin with
an unpardonable offence, while the association of salad
with hot fish is incongruous in the extreme. The same
remark applies to the service of cold cucumber and beet-
root with hot fish. Delicately stewed cucumber, hot, little
orlys of oysters, ov petit s houchees of prawn or lobster, may
accompany the fish, if you like ; otherwise it should be
presented with its sauce alone. The proper time for serv-
ing the salad is with " the roast,'' when it should be sent
round on separate plates, and as cold as possible.
Page 30
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
As I intend to give detailed instructions for game purees in their turn in my menus, I will not pursue the subject any further in this chapter. Neither will I discuss the treatment of tinned soups just yet, for I shall reserve that branch of Indian soup-making for consideration hereafter in a chapter devoted to " Camp cookery."
N.B. — Caution your butler to be careful to help the soup at a dinner party with judgment. One ladleful in each basin is ample.
— ♦ — Regarding our Fish.
^ISH, under skilful hands, offers," says Brillat Savarin, " inexhaustible resources of gustatory enjoyment ; whether served up entire, in pieces, or sliced ; done in water, in oil, or in wine ; hot or cold ; in all cases it receives a hearty welcome." "We, who live at Madras, on a coast which yields a perennial supply of good fish, (to borrow a well-known figure of speech) should surely lay these words to heart.
With a market as fairly well supplied as ours, we ought never to be at a loss for variety, or for scope to exercise our cook's ingenuity. The fair hostess should always be able to soothe herself with the reflection that with the fish, at all events, her guests will be well satisfied. Now, do we avail ourselves, as we ought to do, of the many opportunities we undoubtedly possess of turning Madras fish to a good account ? I certainly think not : indeed I fear that only a few of us appreciate the true value of this most excellent article of our daily food.
At the ordinary Madras dinner party, you may rely almost for certain on having boiled seer fish, with a sauce, and a few slices of cucumber and beetroot, or a spoonful of salad ! on the side of your plate. Or the fish may bepomfret, similarly served. "Tartare," "a parody of hollandaise,"^ and melted butter with essence of anchovy, com-
pose apparently the whole repertoire of sauces within the reach of the local clief.
N.B. — I have never been able by the way to trace the origin of the Madras custom of serving a portion of salad with a thick eggy dressing on the same plate as the slice of hot fish. To put salad on a hot plate is to begin with an unpardonable offence, while the association of salad with hot fish is incongruous in the extreme. The same remark applies to the service of cold cucumber and beetroot with hot fish. Delicately stewed cucumber, hot, little oeufs of oysters, or petits bouchees of prawn or lobster, may accompany the fish, if you like ; otherwise it should be presented with its sauce alone. The proper time for serving the salad is with " the roast,'' when it should be sent round on separate plates, and as cold as possible.