INDIAN PICKLES, CHUTNEES, SAUCES, ETC.

330.—Love-apple or Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:—Five hundred tomatoes; two pounds of green ginger, ground fine; a pound and a half of garlic, ground fine; one pound of chilies, ground fine; one pound of chilies, ground fine; one pound of salt; three pounds of tamarinds; and three quarts of vinegar.

Steep the tamarinds for twelve hours in a quart of the vinegar; strain them through a sieve, rejecting the stones, and add the other two quarts of vinegar, all the ground condiments, and salt; break the tomatoes into the mixture, and boil the whole, stirring it all the time until it thickens; remove it from the fire, and when cold strain it carefully and bottle the liquid, which is the sauce.

331.—Tomato or Love-apple Chutnee

Ingredients:—Two hundred large ripe love-apples, four ounces of raisins, seven ounces of salt, four ounces of sugar, eight ounces of chilies, finely sliced, four ounces of ground garlic, and seven ounces of ground mustard-seed.

Parboil the tomatoes in a quart of vinegar, add the other ingredients, and allow the whole to stand for ten to twelve hours; then boil it for twenty to thirty minutes over a slow fire; when cold, bottle it.

332.—Tapp Sauce

Ingredients:—Three seers or six pounds of peeled and sliced mangoes, two pounds of ground raisins, a pound of ground garlic, half a pound of ground chilies, a pound and a half of ground ginger, a pound of sugar, two pounds of salt, a quart of lime-juice, and six quarts of vinegar.

Mix all the above well together, put it into stone jars, and expose it to the sun for twenty days or a month, after which drain away the liquid, which is the sauce; boil it for ten to fifteen minutes, and when cold bottle and cork it.

333.—Sweet Chutnee

The refuse of the tapp sauce makes an excellent chutnee with the addition of some thick syrup, a few dried dates, a few more whole raisins, and some hot spices. Put the whole into a pan and let it simmer for a quarter of an hour, or until the syrup is absorbed and the chutnee reduced to a proper consistency; when cool, bottle, and cork it well down.

334.—Another Way

Ingredients:—Two hundred green mangoes, peeled and sliced, four pounds of salt, three pounds of ground garlic, three pounds of ground ginger, one pound of chilies, finely sliced, four pounds of raisins, half a dozen bay-leaves, eight pounds of sugar, and four quarts of vinegar.

Make all the sugar into a syrup with two quarts of the vinegar, in which the sliced mangoes must be boiled; when half done, throw in the other ingredients, and mix up well; last of all, add the remaining two quarts of vinegar, and when the chutnee begins to thicken remove it from the fire; let it cool, and then bottle it.

335.—Sweet Mango Chutnee

Ingredients:—A hundred green mangoes, peeled and sliced, two seers of tamarinds stoned, the syrup of six pounds of sugar boiled in three quarts of vinegar, one tablespoonful of finely-pounded cinnamon, two pounds of salt, two pounds of sliced ginger, two pounds of cleaned and picked raisins, three quarts of vinegar, and one dessertspoonful of grated nutmeg.

Peel the mangoes, cut them into fine slices, and steep them in salt for thirty-six hours; drain away the salt water, and boil them in the three quarts of vinegar; when cool, remove them into a preserving-pan, mix in all the condiments and other ingredients, and allow the whole to simmer for half an hour, pouring in the syrup gradually, and mixing all the time, until the vinegar and syrup have been absorbed, and the chutnee has acquired the desired consistency; bottle and cork when perfectly cold.

336.—Hot Sweet Mango Chutnee

Ingredients:—A hundred green mangoes, the syrup of four pounds of sugar and three quarts of vinegar, four pounds of tamarinds, stoned and strained, three quarts of vinegar, eight or ten bay-leaves, one pound of green chilies, two pounds of sliced ginger, one pound of cloves of garlic, one pound of raisins, and two pounds of salt.

Peel and cut the mangoes into fine slices, and steep them in salt for twenty-four to thirty-six hours; remove the mangoes from the salt water, and boil them in three quarts of vinegar; when quite cool, lay them in a preserving-pan, sprinkle over them the remaining salt, add all the condiments, tamarinds, raisins, &c., and allow the whole to simmer for half an hour, stirring all the time, with the syrup. It should not be bottled until quite cold.

337.—Tamarind Chutnee

Ingredients:—Four pounds of ripe tamarinds without the stones, a quarter of a pound each of ground chilies, ginger, and garlic, two ounces of ground cinnamon, half a pound of picked currants, half a pound of raisins (the small Cabool are the best), two pounds of soft sugar, a quarter of a pound of salt, and a quart of vinegar.

Put the whole into a glazed earthen preserving-pan, pour over it a quart of vinegar or syrup, or as much as will entirely cover the mixture, and mix all well together; then allow it to simmer over a quick fire until the vinegar or syrup is absorbed and the chutnee thickened to the required consistency; it must be stirred during the whole time it is on the fire.

N.B.—The two pounds of sugar and the quart of vinegar may be made into syrup or used separately.

338.—Cussoondee

Peel and slice fine a hundred green mangoes, steep them in salt for twelve hours, then put them under a heavy pressure for two hours, and drain away all the water; then mix with them half a pound each of ground chilies, ginger, and garlic, half a pound of bruised mustard-seed, two pounds of tamarinds without the stones, and some salt; when the whole is thoroughly mixed, pour over it as much warmed or cooked mustard oil as will entirely cover it, and cook it for ten to fifteen minutes over a brisk fire; when cold bottle it, taking care that it is kept several inches well under the oil, and that it is well corked, or it will spoil.

339.—Mango Amchoor

Peel and quarter some green mangoes; sprinkle with salt, and expose them to the sun until they begin to dry up; then rub them with dry pounded turmeric, chilies, and dry ginger; sprinkle more salt, and expose them to the sun again, until they are quite dried up, when they may be bottled and kept for use.

340.—Pickled Cabbage

Quarter a full-sized cabbage, keep it in salt for forty-eight hours, and then drain away all the water. Prepare a pickle or brine of salt and water in the proportion of eight ounces of salt to twenty-four ounces of water, and boil it with half an ounce each of peppercorns and bay-leaves; pack the cabbage loose in a wide-mouthed stone jar, and pour over it the cold pickle or brine, which should have been boiled the day before. Care must be taken to keep the mouth of the jar always airtight, or the cabbage will rot. When required for use, take out as much as will be required, steep it in fresh cold water for an hour or two, and then boil it the same as fresh cabbage.

341.—Red Cabbage Pickle

Slice the cabbage, and sprinkle salt over each layer; after twenty-four hours remove it into a colander, and allow all the salt water to drain; then put the cabbage into a pan, pour in sufficient boiling vinegar to cover it, and add a few slices of red beetroot; when cold, put it into glass bottles and cork down.

342.—Red Cauliflower Pickle

This is a very uncommon pickle, and looks particularly pretty in white bottles. Cut the cauliflower into pieces of equal sizes, sprinkle with salt, and place it in the sun for a couple of days. Make a syrup of vinegar and sugar: to every quart of vinegar put a quarter of a pound of sugar, a few sticks of cinnamon, and as much sliced or bruised and pounded red beet as will give the vinegar a deep red colour. When all the salt water has drained away, put the cauliflower into a pan, and pour over it the boiling-hot vinegar or syrup through a fine sieve, in order to leave behind the sticks of cinnamon and fibres of the beetroot; when cold, put the pickle into nice white bottles and cork.

343.—Patna or Bombay Onion Pickle

According to the size and number of bottles, take the small or button onions; remove the outer coat, wash and dry them thoroughly, throw them into a pan with some vinegar, and parboil them; set the vinegar aside, after filtering it, for shrimp, cucumber, and other salads, or for the preparation of mustard. Put the parboiled onions when cold into wide-mouthed bottles, laying them alternately with fresh red chilies, a few black peppercorns, some finely-sliced green ginger, and a little salt. Fill the bottles with vinegar, and cork them.

344.—Mangoes Pickled Whole

Peel and divide some large-sized mangoes sufficiently to admit of the stones being easily extracted; rub them over with salt, and expose them to the sun for two or three days; then dry them with a napkin, and stuff each mango with a few cloves of garlic, finely-sliced chilies and ginger, some cullungee seeds, a clove or two, and a stick or two of cinnamon; tie them securely with strong sewing cotton, and put them into bottles, with vinegar sufficient to cover them; cork the bottles well, and expose them to the sun for fifteen to twenty days. The pickle will be ready for use in three or four months.

To prevent the pickle spoiling, it is not unusual to pour a tablespoonful or two of mustard oil over it when in the bottle.

345.—Sweet Mango Pickle

Peel and quarter a hundred green mangoes, and steep them in salt for thirty-six hours; drain off the salt water, wipe the mangoes dry, and put them into a preserving-pan, with a seer or two pounds of sliced ginger, and half a seer of chilies finely sliced; pour in a syrup made of sugar and vinegar (half a seer of the former in two quarts of the latter), and allow the whole to simmer for ten to fifteen minutes; bottle when quite cold.

346.—Long Plum Pickle

Take the long plums, or what the natives call nar kollee bhyar; remove the peel, and keep them in salt in the sun for a day or two; drain away the salt water, and put them into bottles, in layers alternately with fresh chilies, cloves of garlic, ginger finely sliced, and peppercorns; add a little more salt, and pour in as much vinegar as will cover the whole; cork and expose to the sun for fifteen to twenty days. This is one of the most delicious of Indian pickles; it will not be fit for use until the plums have pickled for six months.

347.—Sweet Long Plum Pickle

Is made in every respect according to the foregoing recipe, with the addition of a syrup in the proportion of a quarter of a pound of sugar to every quart of vinegar, and a few sticks of cinnamon.

348.—Round Plum Pickle

Get the perfectly ripe fruit, which the natives call cool; put them into a damp cloth, and roll them about to free them of dust; sprinkle them well with salt, and stand them in the sun for three or four days; then drain away all the water, and bottle the plums alternately with cloves of garlic, green or fresh red chilies, sliced ginger, peppercorns, and ground mustard-seed; add a little salt, fill up the bottles with vinegar, and cork, and expose them to the sun for fifteen to twenty days.

349.—Round Plum Pickle with Mustard Oil

Is made like the above, the only difference being that some mustard oil is poured over the vinegar, and allowed to float about an eighth of an inch thick over the surface.

350.—Dry Fruit Pickle

This is the pickle of all pickles. Take equal quantities of “dry dates,” called the shawarah, khobanee, or Arabian apricots; allobhokara, a species of Arabian plum or damson; English prunes, rather of the dry sort; and Normandy dry pippins. Wash and clean them thoroughly, particularly the Arabian dry fruits, which are very dirty, and dry them well in the sun. Stew the dry dates for ten to fifteen minutes, cut them up into rings, and throw away the stones. Make a syrup of good French vinegar, in the proportion of a quarter of a pound of good clean sugar to a quart of French vinegar. After quartering the pippins, arrange them and the other fruit in a wide-mouthed bottle in alternate layers, with finely-sliced ginger, peppercorns, sticks of cinnamon, and small sprinklings of salt; then pour over the whole as much of the vinegar syrup as will entirely cover the fruit; cork the bottle well down, expose it to the sun for a few days, and it will be fit for use in a month.

351.—Green Mint Vinegar

Put into a wide-mouthed bottle enough fresh, clean mint-leaves to fill it loosely, and fill it up with good vinegar. After it has been stopped close for two or three weeks, pour off the vinegar clear into another bottle, and keep it well corked for use. Serve with lamb or kid when fresh mint cannot be obtained.

352.—Another Way

Fill a wide-mouthed bottle with fresh, full-grown, green mint-leaves; pour in a quart of vinegar; after ten or fifteen days strain away the liquor, and re-fill the bottle with fresh leaves; pour back the liquor, and after it has steeped for ten or fifteen days longer, strain and bottle for use as required.

353.—Horseradish Vinegar

To three ounces of finely-scraped horseradish add a quart of vinegar and a drachm of cayenne, some black pepper and celery-seeds, and one ounce of bruised onions; after eight or ten days filter the vinegar, which will serve as an excellent relish for cold beef, salads, &c., and for the preparation of mustard.

354.—Chili Vinegar

Pick, clean, and put into a glass-stoppered bottle one chittack or two ounces of birds’-eye chilies, and pour over them a pint and half of the best vinegar; after a month’s time filter through blotting-paper a pint of the vinegar; add to what remains half a pint more of vinegar, and expose it to the sun for a few days, when the second portion will also be ready for use.

355.—Essence of Chilies

Pick one chittack or two ounces of the best dried Patna chilies; expose them to a hot sun for an hour; then pound them to as fine a powder as possible; put the powder into a stoppered bottle with a teaspoonful of salt, pour over it as much vinegar only as will form a limp paste, and expose it to the sun for a few days; then pass it through muslin, adding to it as much more vinegar as will reduce it to the consistency of some thick sauce.

356.—To Preserve Lime-juice

Squeeze and strain a pint of lime-juice; put into a basin one pound of double-refined sugar finely pounded and sifted, add the lime-juice, and stir it with a silver spoon till the sugar is perfectly dissolved. Bottle it, and cork it tightly; seal the cork, or tie bladder over it, and keep it in a dry, cool place.

357.—To Purify Lime-juice

To a quart of strained lime-juice add an ounce of well-burnt and finely-pounded animal charcoal; in twelve hours filter it through blotting-paper, and put it into small phials; cork these tightly, and keep them in a cool place; a thick crust will form beneath the corks, and the mucilage will fall to the bottom.

358.—Green Mint-juice

If for immediate use, extract it with water, but if required to keep for a few days, take brandy for the purpose. Pick and clean half a dozen large stalks of good fresh mint, and pound the leaves in a mortar with a dessertspoonful of water, or with brandy, then put them into muslin and squeeze out all the liquor. Juice may be extracted a second time by a little more water or brandy being added, and the leaves rebruised and pressed through muslin.

359.—Green Ginger-juice

Is extracted in the same manner as mint-juice.

360.—Juice of Onions and Garlic

Is extracted by pounding the condiment in a mortar with a little water, and squeezing the juice through muslin.

361.—Mustard

There are various ways of preparing mustard for the table, each with its admirers, yet in nine houses out of ten it is often so execrably done as to mar the best dinner, through the loss of its piquancy and pungency. Be the quantity ever so small, it should never be prepared in a cup, but in a soup or other deep plate. The dry mustard, with a little salt, should first be well rubbed down with the back of a spoon; the water, vinegar, or other liquid should then be gradually added, and mixed gently until the required consistency has been obtained; it should then be mixed briskly, turning the spoon one way only, and in a few minutes the pungency of the mustard will tell on the eyes; put it immediately into the mustard-pot, and cork it, removing the cork only when the mustard is required for use. It is a mistake to suppose that the little silver or plated lid to a mustard-pot is intended, or is sufficient, to preserve the piquancy and pungency of the condiment. The practice which prevails in some houses of allowing the spoon to remain immersed in the mustard, which has probably been prepared with vinegar, the spoon perhaps being a plated one, is very objectionable.

It is scarcely necessary to give any further instructions, excepting that hot water should not be used. Some like mustard prepared simply with water; others prefer weak vinegar and water. It is also prepared with plain vinegar, with tarragon vinegar, with vinegar taken from pickles and capers, and with onion and garlic juice. The best mustard for roast beef is that prepared with horseradish; the most delicate flavoured is that made with tarragon vinegar, or vinegar taken from capers.