The Curry Cook's Assistant Part 8

No. 54.--ECONOMICAL CURRY PASTE.

1 lb. Coriander Seed.

1/4 lb. Dry Chillies.

1/2 lb. Mustard Seed.

2 oz. Garlic.

2 oz. ---- 1/2 lb. Dried Peas.

1/2 pint Vinegar.

1/4 lb. Saffron.

1/4 lb. Pepper.

2 oz. Dry Ginger.

1/2 lb. Salt.

1/2 lb. Brown Sugar.

2 oz. c.u.min Seed.

1/2 pint Lucca Oil.

N.B.--Few Bay Leaves in Ceylon and India. Using Carugapilbay or _Curry Leaves_, black.

_Mode._--Grind all the above with the vinegar using to moisten the ingredients, using a Curry stone or stone-made pounder. When all the above nice and thin as a paste, put in a jar and pour over the Lucca oil, and cover it up. Use a large spoon for Madras Curries. The above good for mushroom, snipe, partridge, and other brown Curries of superior quality.

No. 55.--CURRY POWDER (a Recipe).

2 lbs. Coriander Seed.

1/2 oz. Chillies.

4 oz. Pepper.

7 oz. c.u.min Seed.

7 oz. Mustard Seed.

1 oz. Bay Leaves.

8 oz. Carum Seed.

2 oz. Saffron.

Make all the above into powder, and calculate the weight--ought to equal. Use one and a-half tablespoonful for brown Curries only.

No. 56.--CURRY POWDER (a Recipe).

1 lb. Coriander Seed.

1/4 lb. c.u.min Seed.

6 oz. Saffron.

10 oz. Dry Chillies.

2 1/2 oz. Vantheyam (Tamil name) Fenugreek.

4 oz. Ginger.

1 Handful chopped-up Bay Leaves.

Pound smooth all these, and bottle it in, well corked, and use as above.

The above three recipes are from Mr. Symon Nayajam, cook, of Madras and Colombo, Ceylon.

No. 57.--CURRY POWDER (a most excellent).

2 Large Old Fowls.

1 lb. Coriander.

1/8 lb. Chillies or Cayenne.

6 oz. Saffron.

2 Large Spoons c.u.min Seed.

1 oz. Dry Ginger.

2 oz. Garlic.

4 Large Spoons of Rice Powder, as No. 48; or 4 Large Spoons of Dried Peas (roasted and ground).

1/2 Handful Dried Bay Leaves.

1 Tablespoon Peppercorns.

2 doz. Cloves.

1/4 lb. b.u.t.ton Onions, 1/4 lb. b.u.t.ter or Ghee.

_Mode._--Clean the fowls and cut them in small pieces, the giblets and all. Put into a large saucepan, and add a few quarts of water, and boil it very tender--I mean simmer gently for two days. The bones, meat, etc., should be mashed up. Now take out all the bones, and keep to a side. Take a large saucepan, put in the b.u.t.ter and sliced onions, and fry it to a brown colour. Now add all the Curry Powders, garlic chopped up, bay leaves, dry ginger, cloves, pepper, all in powders, and fry gently for a few minutes. Now add the gravy of boiled fowls, with the meat, etc., and let it simmer so a few minutes. When all these are reduced to three quarts, just dish it on a flat dish and let it cool for a day, or till it gets hard as a brick. Now pound this in a stone-made mortar to a smooth powder, and bottle it, well corked, and use for Brown Curries, a dessertspoon to a pound, with sliced onions, milk or gravy, and lemon juice.

N.B.--The above recipe is a most excellent of all the Curry Powders and Pastes, only second to none. In India we can prepare the above with tamarind included, for acid taste, and few other ingredients which can get fresh in Ceylon and India, but I think not procurable in England.

No. 58.--TOMATO CURRY.

For a pound of young or green tomato, ingredients same as for Potato Curry, No. 35, or for Brown Curry same as No. 4, Madras Curry. Treat it same as the Cabbage Curry. But I recommend that tomatoes should be made Brown Curry--tastes nice. Tomato curried is better than all the vegetables if it is properly made. Ripe tomato not nice when curried, only for salads.

No. 59.--CURRIES UNDER VARIOUS NAMES.

As to my opinion, Curries can be made from anything, if you could procure the proper Curry Powders, etc. Almost every Curry is made one or two ways, by only reducing, exceeding, or mixing the various Curry stuffs. Some Curries are hot, some dry, some juicy, some sour, and so on. Then the cooks celebrate the names in the menu as Delhi Curry, Agra Curry, Madras Curry, Curry a la Punjab, Bengal Curry, Mysore Curry, and several other names too numerous to mention in this little work. But I myself and several parties who have visited India will be glad to recommend Madras Curries as best; and Ceylon Singhalese Curry (yellow) is good, made of cocoanut juice, Maldive fish, lemon, Curry leaves, saffron, etc. Several cooks add too much ghee or b.u.t.ter, lard, etc., but it only spoils the taste of the Curry; and some cooks put too much spice, and give it too much flavouring. Reasonable ingredients couldn't spoil a Curry. A small girl of 10 years of age will make a Curry, as Curries are easily made in India and Ceylon.