The Indian Cookery Book, - [classic books for 11 year olds txt] 📗

curries. Some Europeans

like the flavour, and have it daily when procurable. Inquiry and trial

are recommended.

SAUG CURRIES

Half an anna’s worth of any saug will suffice for a party of four, for

curries made of greens, such as spinach, &c. The following condiments,

&c., are used:—One chittack and a half of mustard oil, four

teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of ground chilies, half

a teaspoonful of ground turmeric, a quarter of a teaspoonful of ground

garlic, one teaspoonful and a half of ground salt, and one cupful of

water.

 

82.—Red Saug and Omra

 

The omra should be peeled, and half fried if large. Great care must be

taken to thoroughly clean and wash the greens. Put them into a

colander and allow all the water to drain away. Then warm the oil, and

fry the ground condiments; then the saug and omra, and when crisp add

the water and cook over a slow fire until the greens and omra are

tender.

 

83.—Red Saug, Omra, and Shrimps

 

Observe in all respects the same process as that required in cooking

without the shrimps, omitting the ginger.

 

84.—Red Saug and Prawns

 

The prawns should be parboiled, and then follow all the instructions

in recipe No. 82.

 

85.—Green Saug with Prawns

 

Proceed in every particular as with the last.

 

86.—Danta Curry with Shrimps

 

The danta is a fine delicate long green pod which the horseradish-tree

yields, and contains small peas; these pods are cut into lengths of

three or four inches and cooked with shrimps. Beyond this explanation

it is not necessary to enlarge upon the instructions already given.

 

87.—Khuttah Carree, or Acid Vegetable Curry

 

Take small quantities of all kinds of vegetables in season, but the

best curry is that made of potatoes, kutchoo or artichoke, sweet

potatoes or suckercund, carrots, red and white pumpkins, and tomatoes.

 

The vegetables should be cut into large pieces, and boiled in water

with the following condiments:—Four teaspoonfuls of ground onions,

one teaspoonful each of ground turmeric and chilies, a quarter of a

teaspoonful of ground garlic, and one teaspoonful of roasted and

ground coriander-seed.

 

Prepare two large cups of tamarind water, slightly sweetened with

jaggry, strain through a sieve, and add the strained water to the

boiled vegetables with a few fresh chilies. Then melt in a separate

pot one chittack or two ounces of mustard oil. While the oil is

bubbling, fry in it a teaspoonful of the collinga, or onion-seeds, and

when sufficiently fried pour it over the boiled vegetables including

the tamarind water. Close up the pot, and allow it to simmer for

fifteen to twenty minutes, when it will be ready. It is eaten cold.

BHAHJEES

By bhahjee is meant fried. The two most generally approved vegetable

bhahjees are those made of bringals and pulwals. The following are the

condiments, &c., used:—Mustard oil according to the quantity of

vegetable to be fried, a little ground turmeric and chilies, and some

salt.

 

88.—Bringal Bhahjee

 

Take young full-sized bringals; wash them thoroughly, and slice them

about an eighth of an inch thick; dry them, steep them for half an

hour in the ground condiments and salt, fry in oil, and serve up hot.

 

89.—Pulwal Bhahjee

 

Take a dozen or more pulwals—a most excellent and wholesome native

vegetable,—scrape or pare away very finely the upper green coating,

divide them lengthways into two pieces, clear away all the seeds, &c.,

wash, drain away all the water, and steep them in ground turmeric,

chilies, and salt for half an hour or longer; then fry them quite

crisp in melted mustard oil. They are much liked by some Europeans.

 

N.B.—The vegetable called ram’s horns or lady’s fingers, known by the

natives as dharus, makes an excellent bhahjee; so does the

kerrella, a small green and intensely bitter native vegetable, which

comes into the market in March and April; it is not, however, well

suited to the European taste.

DAL OR PEAS CURRIES

Half an anna’s worth of any dal will suffice for a party of four. The

condiments are as follow:—Three-quarters of a chittack of ghee, four

teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of ground chilies, half

a teaspoonful of ground turmeric, half a teaspoonful of ground ginger,

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

half of salt, and half a dozen onions cut into six or eight slices

each.

 

90.—Moong Dal

 

Take half a pound of the raw dal, or say half a cupful; clean, pick,

and roast it; mix it up with all the ground condiments and salt, put

into a pot, pour water over the whole, some two inches above the dal,

and boil it well, until the dal has quite dissolved. Be careful not to

disturb it while in the process of boiling, but allow it to cake as it

were en masse. When thoroughly boiled, churn the dal by twirling it

in a wooden instrument called a ghootnee; then warm the ghee in a

separate pot, fry the onions, chop them, and throw into the churned

dal, after which pour the dal into the pot of melted ghee, and keep

stirring until the dal and ghee have well mixed; then put the cover

on, and allow to simmer over a slow fire for about a quarter of an

hour.

 

N.B.—The standard price of the best roasted moong dal is two annas

and a half per seer.

 

91.—Mussoor or Red Dal

 

The process in all respects for preparing and cooking the red dal is

the same as for the moong dal, excepting that, instead of fried sliced

onions, a large clove of garlic is cut up small, fried, and takes the

place of the onions.

 

The price of the best quality mussoor dal, free of husk, is two annas

per seer.

 

92.—Mussoor Dal with Amchoor or with Tamarind

 

Put the amchoor, or, if preferred, tamarind, into the pot with the

dal; allow it to dissolve, and when the dal is going through the

process of bring churned remove the hard stones of the amchoor or

seeds of the tamarind.

 

93.—Mussoor Dal Chur Churree

 

Instead of only half a dozen onions, take a dozen, and cut them into

fine slices lengthways. Warm the three-quarters of a chittack of ghee,

fry and set aside the sliced onions, then fry all the ground

condiments; next put in and fry the dal, having previously washed it

well, soaked it in water for about a quarter of an hour, and drained

it through a colander. When thoroughly fried and browned, add only a

little water, barely sufficient to cover the fried dal, and allow to

simmer from ten to fifteen minutes, or until the dal has dissolved.

Serve up, strewing over it the fried onions. If chunna ka dal be used,

soak it for an hour.

 

Other dals are occasionally served up, but very rarely at European

tables. The price of the best clean chunna ka dal rarely exceeds two

annas per seer.

 

94.—Dal Foolaree

 

Is much liked by Europeans, but is rarely served up well, owing to the

trouble and time required in making it properly.

 

For the recipe see No. 223.

BURTAS OR MASHES

Burtas are mashes of potatoes and other vegetables, cold meats, dry

fish, &c.; they are palatable, and much liked by most Europeans as

accompaniments to curry and rice. The ingredients to almost every

burta are the fine large white Patna onions, fresh green chilies, and

the juice of fresh lemons.

 

95.—Potato Burta

 

Take a moderate or middling sized white Panta onion; remove the outer

coats, and slice very fine; then slice or cut up two hot green

chilies, and squeeze over the onion and chilies the juice of a fresh

lime: allow to soak. Take eight or ten well-boiled potatoes, half a

teaspoonful of salt, and a teaspoonful of good mustard oil; bruise the

potatoes down with a large silver or plated fork, adding, when they

are half bruised, the onions and chilies, with as much only of the

lime-juice as may be agreeable: mix all well together with a light

hand, so that the potatoes may not cake, and yet be well and

thoroughly mashed and mixed.

 

96.—Brinjal Burta

 

Prepare the sliced onions, chilies, and lime-juice in the manner

directed for potato burta. Take two fine young brinjals of large size;

carefully and thoroughly roast them in a quick ash fire; remove the

ashes and burnt parts of the skin, if any; then open the brinjals, and

with a clean spoon remove the contents to as near the skin as

possible, to which add a good teaspoonful of salt and teaspoonful of

mustard oil; work these with a spoon to a perfect pulp, throwing away

the lumps or shreds if any; then mix with it all the onions, chilies,

and lime-juice. If not to your taste, add more salt or lime-juice,

according to fancy.

 

97.—Dry Fish Burta

 

Prepare onions, chilies, and lime-juice as before. Take a part of the

Arabian dried beckty and well broil it; remove all the bones, and

pound the fish to nearly a powder; mix it thoroughly with a

teaspoonful of mustard oil, and add the onions, chilies, and

lime-juice.

 

98.—Red Herring Burta

 

Take onions, chilies, and lime-juice. Place the herring, with its

original paper packing, on a gridiron, or on a frying-pan, and warm it

well; then clear it of all skin, very carefully pick out all the

bones, bruise the herring, and mix it thoroughly with the sliced

onions, chilies, and lime-juice.

 

N.B.—This is an inimitable burta.

 

99.—Cold Corned-Beef Burta

 

Steep sliced onions and chilies in lime-juice; have the red

well-corned part of a cold round of beef nicely pounded; add to it the

onions, chilies, and as much of the lime-juice as may be desirable.

 

100.—Cold Tongue Burta

 

The remains of a well-corned cold tongue make an excellent burta, as

per recipe for cold beef burta.

 

101.—Cold Ham Burta

 

Is made in the same way as the beef and tongue burtas.

 

102.—Green Mango Burta

 

The condiments for this burta are a quarter of a teaspoonful of ground

chilies, half a teaspoonful of ground fresh mint-leaves, half a

teaspoonful of ground ginger, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a

teaspoonful of sugar.

 

Take two ordinary large-size green mangoes; peel, divide, and throw

them into clean water, remove the stones, then bruise them to a

perfect pulp with the aid of the curry-stone and muller. Care must be

taken that the stone is perfectly clean, and will not impart the

flavour of garlic or turmeric to the burta. Mix the sugar well with

the pulp; if the mango be very acid, add a little more sugar; then mix

it with the salt and ground condiments; more salt or sugar may be

added if required.

 

103.—Tomato Burta

 

Bake in an oven a dozen good-sized tomatoes until the skin cracks;

break them down, and mix with them a little ground chilies, ginger,

salt, and half a teaspoonful of good mustard oil. A small squeeze of

lemon-juice may be added if desired.

SOUPS

A digester is best adapted for boiling soups in, as no steam can

escape, and consequently less water is required than in a common pot.

 

To extract the substance or essence of meat, long and slow boiling

over a charcoal fire is absolutely necessary. In the first instance,

however, it is desirable to boil up the meat with pepper and salt on a

quick, brisk fire, and take away all the black scum which rises to the

surface; then pour a little cold water into the pot to raise up the

white scum, which