CURRIES.
Touching the components:—
The first thing to be considered, of course, is the curry
powder, concerning which it is almost impossible to lay down
any hard and fast law since tastes vary in regard to it as much
as they do about tea. At the present time reliable preparations
are to be got in London, both locally blended and imported
from India, and although I much prefer importing my own
stuff direct from the maker in Madras, I am prepared to admit
that people can be suited fairly well on the spot without taking
that trouble. A good curry paste is an essential in curry-
making as powder, for it contains ingredients that cannot
enter into a powder. But even the best powders and pastes
require diversification, for of no flavour does the palate grow
more weary than of that of a curry invariably made upon
a standard plan with standard materials. How this can be
done will be shown hereafter.
Assuming that the necessary condiments have been procured,
the accessories are:—Butter, shallots, garlic, cocoanut, green
ginger, certain herbs and spices, turmeric (erroneously alluded
to as saffron in more than one publication), a conserve to pro-
duce a subacid, ground rice, and salt.
As regards turmeric and saffron the former (curcuma longa) is the real Oriental ingredient; saffron (crocus sativus) grows
in Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and has nothing to do
with Indian curries. The latter word has, however, been ap-
plied in error to the vernacular huldi; and in this way the
mistake to which I have alluded has crept into recipes which
may be in other respects reliable.
Some explanation is necessary as to the use of these things.
In regard to the butter, no more should be used than is
required for frying the onions. The Indian cook is prone to
overdo this, with the result that his curries are often very
greasy—molten fat is not a luxury to educated European
taste.
The small red onions known as shallots are the curry onions
of India, but common cooking onions may be used with almost
as good an effect.
One bulb of garlic will last a long time, for only a very small
atom is required occasionally.
Next as regards that most important item—the cocoanut.
This, be it understood, is added to a curry in the form of
milk, i.e., an infusion produced by scraping the white nutty
part of the cocoanut, and soaking the scrapings in boiling water.
The liquid thus flavoured, when squeezed through muslin, is
the milk required in curry-making. The quantity to be
used depends upon the nature of the curry. Ceylon or Malay
curries, for instance, require a great deal of nutty milk.
The point in connection with this adjunct, however, that must
not be missed is the period at which it should be added. If
put in too soon the value of the nutty juice will be lost,—
cooked away, and overpowered by the spicy condiments with
which it is associated. So we must reserve the milk, as we
do cream butter or the yolk of an egg in the case of a thick
soup or rich sauce, and stir it into our curry the last thing just
before serving.
It should be noted carefully that the water found inside a
cocoanut is not cocoanut milk according to the Indian culinary
vocabulary. The infusion is what is used in curry-making.
The strained milk extracted in the same way from pounded
sweet almonds can be put into a curry every advantageously:
it may be used alone or be associated with cocoanut milk.
Two ounces of the latter nut to twelve almonds will be found a
pleasant proportion. When cocoanuts cannot be got, almond
milk (lait d'amandes) makes a capital substitute: a quarter of
a pound of sweet almonds pounded with one bitter one
moistened with a cup of boiling milk, or broth, and then
strained.
The desiccated cocoanut and pounded sweet almonds sold for
puddings, &c., may be used, but as the former is rather sweet
care must be taken to correct it with the subacid. Treat the
dried cocoanut like the fresh scrapings, i.e., by infusion. One
and a half teaspoonful each of these two ingredients thoroughly
scalded by a couple of gills of boiling water, set to infuse till
cold, then strained and squeezed, will give a good milk for curry.
Green ginger should be grated like horseradish, or sliced
very finely, and then pounded, with a little butter, to a paste:
a teaspoonful of this will be found sufficient for a curry in
which a pound of meat has been used. This condiment can
be procured from the herbalists at Covent Garden, and also at
some of the various Stores.
The flavours of curries are varied by the use of spices and
herbs—powdered cloves, cardomoms, allspice, cinnamon, mace,
and nutmeg; fennel, bay leaves, chervil, sorrel, basil, thyme,
and marjoram. A saltspoonful of the spice and a teaspoonful
of finely minced herbs are enough, selection being made
according to taste.
Turmeric exists in sufficient quantity in all prepared curry
powders; in some curries however, such as Malay curry for
instance, powder is not used, and then a little turmeric is
needed.
Lastly, concerning the sweet acid, which is a necessary feature
in a good curry. English writers on the subject recommend
chopped apples, green gooseberries, and other acids in quantities
out of all proportion to the requirements of the case. A very
slight sharpness is alone necessary, and this can be produced
with lemon juice and red currant jelly, chutney with a little
vinegar—a sweet and a sour, that is to say. The natives of
Southern India use a conserve of tamarind worked with a little
coarse sugar, and there can be no doubt that tamarind is the
best of all acid ingredients. Chopped apples are unnecessary;
at all events they are not used in curry-land itself. Some
of the liquid, say a teaspoonful, out of a bottle of Madras
made lime pickle is to be commended for both flavour and acid.
Curries require broth or stock, those of cooked meats
especially, but the provision of this adjunct can generally be
managed inexpensively, as will be shown.