The Khaki Kook Book Part 2

15. Salt Fish Curry.

Cut the salt fish into rather small pieces, and soak until no longer very salty.

While it is soaking, fry in plenty of oil or crisco one bunch of green onions, cut up tops and all, a teaspoonful of curry powder, and three half-ripe tomatoes. The tomatoes may be dipped in batter or crumbs. When these are fried add the salt fish. Simmer together for a while. Serve with rice. Eggplant is excellent in this curry instead of tomatoes.

16. Ma.s.sala Fry of Fish.

Make a paste of flour and water and two teaspoons of curry powder and a little salt. Dip the fish in this curried paste, and then dip again in bread or cracker crumbs. Fry in the usual way. This is a delicious way of preparing any kind of cutlets or chops. In fact, any kind of meat may be fried in the same way.

17. Egg Curry.

Fry a sliced onion with a teaspoonful of curry powder; then add a little flour for the gravy. When this is mixed quite smooth, add a teacup of water or milk or cocoanut milk. Cook until it thickens, then add six hard-boiled eggs. Cut in halves lengthwise. Serve with rice.

18. Poached Egg Curry.

Prepare the curry as for No. 17. When gravy begins to simmer, poach the eggs in it.

19. Eggplant Curry.

Cut round slices of eggplant. Remove the outer rind, dip each slice in batter and fry.

Make the curry sauce in the usual way. When it thickens, carefully put in the eggplant; simmer gently together until the vegetables are well cooked. This is excellent made with half-ripe tomatoes. In each case it is a fine meat subst.i.tute. Always serve with rice.

20. Curried Stuffed Eggplant.

Make a curry mince as for No. 9. See that when the meat is cooked there is plenty of liquid. Thicken this mince and gravy with bread crumbs and let stand. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, and steam or bake in a very slow oven. When about half cooked, scoop out the center of about each half. Be careful to save the vegetable that you scoop out and mix it with the curry and breadcrumb mixture. Stuff the eggplant sh.e.l.l with this mixture, cover the top with crumbs, and bake. Excellent either hot or cold. A half pound of meat is enough to nicely stuff one eggplant.

21. Stuffed Curried Mango Peppers.

To prepare the mango peppers for stuffing, cut off the tops and remove the seeds. Let stand in salt water until required. Then prepare plenty of rice according to No. 52. Keep in a warm place until required.

Fry Hamburg steak with onion and curry powder according to No. 9. A pound of steak will be plenty for a nice big dish of peppers. Use no water in this mince, but when the meat and onions are partially fried add a cupful of the boiled rice, and mix all together. Stuff the peppers with this mixture of rice and meat.

Put in a roaster and cover with tomato sauce. This sauce may be made from any tinned tomato soup, diluted and more highly seasoned, or it may be made from stewed tomatoes from which the seeds and skins have been removed. Make sauce a little thick. Bake very slowly or steam. Serve with the remainder of the rice.

This is such a hearty dish that one needs prepare nothing else to be served with it.

22. Mixed Vegetable Curry.

All vegetables such as peas, beans, potatoes, carrots, etc., make excellent curry. They may be either freshly prepared or left-overs.

Fry them all together with plenty of onions in a little crisco; add as much curry powder as is desired. If tomatoes are not used, acidulate a combination of tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. Makes a fine curry.

These vegetable curries are usually eaten with chupatties (No. 69).

23. Split Pea Curry.

Soak the peas for two or three hours. Fry in the usual way the onion and curry powder. A teaspoonful of curry powder is enough for a cupful of soaked peas. Mix the peas with the fried mixture. Add plenty of water and cook until the peas are soft enough to mash up into a pulp. Serve with rice. An acid is desired with this curry.

24. Edible Leaves Curry.

This may not sound especially inviting, but in a pinch one might want to try it. The Hindus make curries from many things that we would throw away. Turnip tops, beet tops, radish tops, the young and tender leaves of many jungle plants, also the leaves of many trees; all these are used in making excellent curries. Dandelion greens, spinach, Swiss chard, may all be used in the same way. Prepare the onion and curry powder in the usual way; then add the greens. It is a good plan to add a few potatoes to give body to the curry. Use very little water in cooking. Serve with puris or chupatties. (Nos. 69, 71).

[Ill.u.s.tration: TAJ MAHAL AGRA]

II.

Savory Dishes from Other Countries.

One of the economies in cooking is in the proper seasoning of foods.

This is the secret of many an attractive dish made from left-overs, or cheap meats. Every garden should contain a little patch of mint, parsley, sage, coriander, while those who have no garden could easily grow these in window boxes or pots. It is not an extravagance to have on hand plenty of pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, kitchen bouquet, and condiments of various kinds. A little of these goes a long way in seasoning, and many a dish which would be very flat and unattractive, by their judicious use is made savory and satisfying.

Garlic is also another seasoning which we use but little, but which is used most extensively throughout the Orient. If properly used it gives a delightful flavor to food. Very little is required. Indeed, often one needs to just rub the sides and bottom of the cooking vessel with the garlic before putting it on the fire. The salad dish may be treated the same way. However, very few would object to a little finely-minced garlic in almost any meat dish, and much in flavor is often gained thereby.

Most of the recipes which follow are quite new to Americans.

25. Mulligatawney Soup.

This is a very famous soup which has been a.s.sociated with India since the beginning of the English regime. In India it is usually made with chicken, but beef or mutton do very nicely. Stew a pound of mutton.

Sc.r.a.ppy mutton, such as neck or ribs, does very nicely. When meat is tender remove from soup.

Fry an onion with a teaspoonful of curry powder. When nicely browned stir into it a tablespoonful of peanut b.u.t.ter; also about a half cup of fresh cocoanut. Mix these up together to a smooth paste and add to the mutton broth. Also pick the mutton from the bones and add to the soup.

If the peanut b.u.t.ter does not thicken it sufficiently, thicken with a little flour. Serve with rice. Sometimes the rice is boiled with the mutton, but usually it is boiled separately (No. 52). Lemon juice is usually served with this soup.

26. Tamales (Mexican).

Take a pound of meat. Mutton, chicken, or beef may be used. It must be cut in bits. If the meat has not sufficient fat, add crisco or b.u.t.ter, or whatever one uses. Stew until meat is very tender. Into this soup add a cup of tomato sauce or a cup of boiled and strained tomatoes highly seasoned. Then stir in enough cornmeal to thicken it as for mush. Cook for a few minutes and then turn all into a rice boiler or steamer, and cook until the cornmeal loses its raw taste. When a little cool, add a few raisins, ripe olives, almonds, or peanuts, the latter cut up fine.

Make pretty hot with cayenne, and also add a little pimento. Mold into little rolls, and wrap each roll up in corn husks, tying each end, so that the mixture will not escape. Just before eating, steam up again, and serve hot. If one is in a hurry, a dish can be lined with corn husks, the mixture piled in, and corn husks placed over the top of the dish. This is called "tamale pie." If corn husks are not available, it is very good without them. The mixture can either be steamed in a bowl and turned out or it can be sliced cold and fried like mush. It is not necessary to add the raisins, olives, and nuts unless one wants to be rather luxurious.

At the table open up the rolls, remove the husks, and eat with tomato sauce. A good sauce for tamales is made by stewing tomatoes with a little onion and green pepper, straining and highly seasoning.

Worcestershire sauce is always good in tamale sauce.

This tamale mixture is fine for stuffing green mango peppers. Indeed, it makes a fine forcemeat for most anything.