The Indian Cookery Book by - (good fiction books to read txt) 📕

the yolk and

white of an egg well beaten up; form into balls of equal sizes;

flatten them, pass them on iron or plated skewers about eighteen

inches long, rub them well over with ghee, wrap them in plantain-leaf,

and roast or broil them over a charcoal fire. Serve them up hot,

removed from the skewers. These are usually eaten with chappatee.

 

HUSSANEE CURRIES, OR CURRIES ON STICK

 

The ingredients and condiments necessary for the curries on stick are

as follow:—One chittack and a half of ghee, one teaspoonful and a

half of salt, four teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of

turmeric, half a teaspoonful of ginger, half a cupful of water, a

quarter of a teaspoonful of ground garlic, one teaspoonful of chilies,

half a cupful of tyre or dhye, some finely-sliced ginger, and as many

small curry onions cut into half as may be required. Six silver pins

five inches long, or, in the absence of these, six bamboo pins, are

required.

 

47.—Hussanee Beef Curry

 

Cut up two pounds of beef into small squares not exceeding one inch,

and pass them on the silver or bamboo pins alternately with half an

onion and a slice of ginger. Half a dozen sticks with be ample for

four hearty consumers.

 

Warm the ghee and brown the ground condiments; then put in the sticks

of meat, and brown, stirring the whole; after this add the tyre and a

little water, and allow to simmer over a slow fire for nearly two

hours, when the curry will be ready. Serve up on a curry-dish without

removing the sticks.

 

48.—Hussanee Mutton Curry

 

Remove the meat from a shoulder of mutton, and cut it into small

squares; the same instructions will apply to the preparation of mutton

curry on stick as those given for beef curry on stick. Time to simmer:

half an hour.

 

49.—Hussanee Veal Curry

 

Cut squares enough from a shoulder of veal, and observe the

instructions given in the foregoing recipe. Time to simmer: one hour.

 

50.—Hussanee Curry of Udder and Liver

 

The udder and liver should be parboiled before being cut up for

passing on the sticks; but in all other respects the instructions

given for the beaf and mutton curries on stick will apply to the udder

and liver curry on stick. Time to simmer: fully one hour and a half.

KURMA OR QUOREMA CURRY

This, without exception, is one of the richest of Hindoostanee

curries, but it is quite unsuited to European taste, if made,

according to the original recipe, of which the following is a copy:—

 

51.—Quorema Curry, Plain

 

Take two pounds of mutton, one pound of tyre or dhye, two chittacks of

garlic, one dam of cardamoms, four chittacks of bruised almonds, four

mashas of saffron, the juice of five lemons, one pound of ghee, four

chittacks of sliced onions, one dam of cloves, one chittack of pepper,

four chittacks of cream, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of ground

garlic.

 

The following is the recipe of the quorema curry usually put on a

gentleman’s table:—Two chittacks and a half or five ounces of ghee,

one cup or eight ounces of good thick tyre, one teaspoonful of ground

chilies, four teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of

coriander-seed, six small sticks of ground cinnamon, two or three

blades of lemon-grass, one teaspoonful and a half of salt, a half

teaspoonful of ground ginger, a quarter of a teaspoonful of ground

garlic, eight or ten peppercorns, four or five ground cloves, five or

six ground cardamoms, two or three bay-leaves, a quarter of a cup of

water, the juice of one lemon, and twelve large onions cut lengthways

into fine slices.

 

Take two pounds of good fat mutton, and cut it up into pieces nearly

one inch and a half square. Warm the ghee, fry in it the sliced

onions, and set aside; then fry all the ground condiments, including

the ground hot spices. When quite brown, throw in the mutton and salt,

and allow the whole to brown, after which add the tyre, the hot spices

with peppercorns and bay-leaves, the lemon-grass, the water, and the

fried onions finely chopped; close the pot, and allow it to simmer

over a gentle coal fire for about an hour and a half or two hours, by

which time the kurma will be quite ready. The blades of lemon-grass

are never dished up.

 

52.—Kid Quorema

 

Cut up a fore-quarter or a hind-quarter of a kid into eight or ten

pieces, and cook it exactly as directed in the foregoing recipe. This

is rather preferred to mutton quorema.

 

53.—Fowl Quorema

 

Take a young full-ground tender fowl; cut it up as for an ordinary

curry, cook it with all the condiments in the proportions given, and

observe all the directions laid down in recipe No. 51.

 

N.B.—Most Europeans give the preference to the fowl quorema.

MALAY CURRIES

The condiments and other ingredients necessary are as follow:—One

chittack or two ounces of ghee, one teaspoonful and a half of salt,

four teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of ground

turmeric, one teaspoonful of ground chilies, half a teaspoonful of

ground ginger, a quarter of a teaspoonful of ground garlic, the milk

of a large cocoanut, say two cups, two blades of lemon-grass, three or

four cloves, ground, three or four cardamoms, and as many small sticks

of cinnamon, ground.

 

The coriander and cumin seeds must on no account be put into malay

curries, or the delicate flavour of the cocoanut will be destroyed.

 

It will be necessary to provide what the natives call a

narial-ka-khoornee, which, interpreted, means “cocoanut scraper.” It

is a small circular flat piece of iron, about the size and thickness

of a Spanish dollar, the edges being notched. It is of rude

construction, and fixed on a conveniently shaped wooden frame, also of

rude construction. The best of the kind may be procured for two annas.

 

54.—Cocoanut Milk

 

The nut is scraped or rasped with the aid of the “khoornee” into very

fine particles; it is then put into a deep vessel, and boiling water

poured over it until the whole of the scraped cocoanut is covered.

After allowing it to steep for ten or fifteen minutes, it is carefully

strained through a clean napkin into another vessel or cup, the pulp

is returned into the original vessel, and more boiling water is poured

over it. This operation of steeping in boiling water and straining is

continued until you have obtained the required quantity of the

extracted milk of the cocoanut. The pulp is thrown away. If the

cocoanut be a small one, or its nut not hard and deep, it will be

necessary to provide a second cocoanut. Good cocoanuts are sold at an

anna to an anna and a half a piece.

 

55.—Chicken Malay Gravy Curry with White Pumpkin or Cucumber

 

Take the usual full-sized curry chicken, and divide it as before

directed; get either six cucumbers or a quarter of a white pumpkin;

remove the green skin and the part containing the seeds, then cut it

up into sixteen pieces of about two inches square, and steep in water.

 

Fry in the ghee all the ground condiments, including the ground hot

spices; when brown, add the cut-up chicken and salt; fry to a fine

bright light brown; then put in the pumpkin, having previously allowed

all the water to drain away through a colander; pour in the two cups

of cocoanut milk, the lemon-grass, and hot spices, and allow the

whole to simmer over a slow fire for about half an hour, when the

curry will be ready: the blade of lemon-grass is not dished up.

 

56.—Prawn Malay Gravy Curry with White Pumpkin or Cucumber

 

Select the bagda prawns (/bagda chingree/), whenever they are

procurable, in preference to any other description. The shell and head

are of a dark colour in comparison with what are called /jeel ka

chingree/, the shell and head of which are very perceptibly several

shades lighter than the bagdas.

 

It is impossible to quote any price as a guide, the fluctuation being

almost incredible. Fine large prawns, not lobsters—prawns which,

without their heads, would be about the size of the ordinary dried

Normandy pippins sent out to this country for tarts—may be obtained

one day at two annas for twenty, and the next day they will not be

procurable at less than eight annas for the same number. This remark

applies generally to fish of every description brought for sale into

the Calcutta market.

 

With one other remark of importance, we shall proceed to the

instructions necessary for the preparation of prawn malay gravy curry.

 

The prawns should be parboiled after removing the heads, to rid them,

as the natives call it, of besine, which means all disagreeable

character of fishy smell and taste.

 

As a rule, the heads of prawns should always be rejected, which, in

the process of frying, absorb largely the ghee, and in the cooking

dispel a liquid from their spongy formation.

 

In all other respects, the prawn malay gravy curry is cooked like the

chicken malay gravy curry, omitting the ginger; but an additional

blade or two of the lemon-grass would not be amiss, which, on the

curry being dished, are thrown away.

 

57.—Chicken Malay Gravy Curry with Pulwal

 

Take a fat chicken, clean it, remove all the flesh and pound it to a

pulp, and prepare it in every respect as directed in recipe No. 34 for

a cofta curry, omitting the suet. Take a dozen large-sized pulwals,

scrape or pare away the outer skin, split them down one side, extract

all the seeds, &c., and throw the pulwals into cold water; wash and

drain away all the water, then stuff them with the prepared forcemeat,

tie them with fine sewing cotton, and cook them in the milk of the

cocoanut, exactly as directed in recipe No. 55.

 

58.—Prawn Malay Gravy Curry with Pulwal

 

Take bagda prawns; shell and clean them, pound to a pulp, and prepare

as directed in recipe No. 37 for prawn cofta curry. Take a dozen

pulwals, peel them finely, cut them open lengthways, clear them of all

seeds, &c., wash and dry them, then stuff them with the prepared prawn

mince; tie the pulwals with sewing cotton, and cook in cocoanut milk

as directed in recipe No. 56.

 

59.—Chicken Malay Doopiaja

 

The condiments and ingredients are as follow:—One chittack and a half

or three ounces of ghee, one teaspoonful and a half of salt, four

teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of ground turmeric, one

teaspoonful of ground chilies, half a teaspoonful of ground ginger, a

quarter of a teaspoonful of ground garlic, one cup of strong cocoanut

milk, and one dozen onions cut lengthways into fine slices.

 

Cut up the chicken in the usual manner, warm the ghee, fry and set

aside the sliced onions, then fry brown the ground condiments, after

which add the chicken and salt. When fried brown, pour in the cocoanut

milk and the fried onions finely chopped, and allow to simmer over a

slow fire: the Malay doopiaja will be ready in an hour.

 

60.—Prawn Malay Doopiaja

 

Take sixteen or twenty large bagda prawns, throw away the heads,

parboil the prawns, and then doopiaje in all respects as for a chicken

Malay doopiaja, omitting the ginger.

 

PORTUGUESE CURRY (VINDALOO OR BINDALOO)

 

This well-known Portuguese curry can only be made properly of beef,

pork, or duck. The following is a recipe of the vindaloo in general

use:—

 

Six ounces or three chittacks of ghee or lard, one tablespoonful of

bruised garlic, one tablespoonful of ground garlic, one tablespoonful

of ground ginger, two