MADRAS MULLIGATAWNY CURRY

As this dish is usually served up and partaken of in the place of ordinary soup, reference will be made to it hereafter under the head of “Soups.”

Before proceeding to remark on fish, vegetable, and peas curries, a few useful hints and suggestions may be offered on meat curries generally.

In many families the remains of cold meat, if not required for other purposes, are made into curry: cold roast or boiled mutton is admirably adapted for the purpose; and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred consumers cannot tell the difference. If there be any difference or advantage, it is decidedly in favour of the cold meat: the roasting joints are always of a superior quality to meats sold under the designation of “curry meats.”

The remains of cold roast beef make the best cofta curries, croquets, &c., and if the beef be under-done no fresh beef will make a better doopiaja.

Vegetables are sometimes put into gravy meat curries, never into doopiajas; but, as a rule, the introduction of vegetable into any meat curry is objectionable, from the fact that all vegetables in the process of boiling or cooking throw out a liquid, some more and some less: the potato throws out the least, but of a disagreeable character. It is true potatoes may be boiled before being put into a curry, but the piquancy and peculiarity of flavour looked for in a curry is so palpably destroyed that the innovation may be discovered with closed eyes. The introduction of vegetable into gravy fish curries, however, is no innovation, as the condiments used for the one answer for the other; both are cooked in oil, and the ginger omitted.

66.—Gravy Fish Curries

The condiments are as follows:—Mustard oil, one chittack or two ounces; water, two cups; four teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of ground turmeric, one teaspoonful of ground chilies, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of garlic.

It will be noticed that mustard oil is used instead of ghee, and no ginger.

Too much care cannot be observed in thoroughly cleaning, rubbing, and washing the fish in salt and water before cooking it for the table. Fish, if properly washed, when served up will never be offensive, unless it be bad when purchased.

67.—Hilsa Fish Gravy Curry

The head and tail are thrown away, and the fish cut into slices of rather more than half an inch thick; these should be washed in several waters with salt, to rid them of all “besine,” before they are curried.

The acid of tamarind is considered an improvement, or “amchoor,” which is sliced green mangoe dried in salt.

68.—Beckty Fish Gravy Curry

Is sliced and washed in salt like the hilsa before being cooked. It is not usual to put any acid in the beckty fish curry.

69.—Prawn Doopiaja

Take one chittack and a half of mustard oil, four teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of ground turmeric, one teaspoonful of ground chilies, a quarter of a teaspoonful of garlic, twelve curry onions cut lengthways, each into six or eight slices, one cupful of water, and twelve large prawns.

Clean and thoroughly wash the prawns, rejecting the heads, or taking only their substance pounded and squeezed out with unroasted coriander-seed, and after parboiling the prawns make the doopiaja in all respects according to the ordinary mode.

70.—Sliced Hilsa Fish Fried in Curry Condiments

Take two teaspoonfuls of ground onions, one teaspoonful of ground chilies, two teaspoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of ground turmeric, a quarter of a teaspoonful of ground garlic, and one chittack of mustard oil.

After slicing a hilsa in the manner directed for a curry, and having thoroughly cleaned and washed it with salt, rub into the slices all the ground condiments and the remaining salt, and allow them to remain for at least an hour. Warm the oil, and fry the slices of fish of a very light and bright brown. Serve up hot.

71.—Sliced Beckty Fish Fried in Curry Condiments

Slice, wash, and fry exactly as directed above. Fish served up in this manner is well suited to some European tastes, and makes an agreeable change to the ordinary mode of frying fish for breakfast.

72.—Egg Curry

Take six or eight eggs, boil hard, shell, cut into halves, and set them aside; take ghee, ground condiments, and sliced fried onions, in all respects the same as for a chicken doopiaja, and observe precisely the same method of cooking, keeping in mind the fact that, the eggs being already cooked or boiled, a smaller quantity of water and a shorter time to simmer will suffice.

73.—Egg Curry with Green Peas

This is a favourite curry with some families in winter, when the English green peas are procurable. The method of preparing it is exactly the same as recipe No. 71, allowing the curry to simmer until the peas are quite tender.

74.—Egg Curry, with Chunna Ka Dal

Parboil and dal, say half a cupful; curry the dal first; when about nearly cooked, throw in the hard-boiled eggs, and finish the simmering immediately the dal is soft or tender.