The Big Book of Curry Recipes (64 page)

Pour over the fish and serve.

Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny Soup is a traditional Anglo-Indian recipe, based on the 1890s book,
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
for a classic soup of chicken cooked in a spiced shin of beef stock base.

This is a traditional Indian recipe redacted from the 1890s volume
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
, published by THACKER, SPINK & CO., CALCUTTA.

Original Recipe

108.–Mulligatawny Soup

Take a shin of beef, cut it up small, wash it thoroughly, and boil with pepper and salt in sufficient water to well cover the meat. Let it boil over a brisk fire, taking away the black scum; add a little cold water, and skim off the white scum; then reduce the fire, and allow the soup to simmer until it somewhat thickens; strain the soup, cut away all the fat, season with soup herbs, and add more pepper and salt if necessary. Give it a good boil up, and then clear it with the white of an egg well beaten up, after which add a tablespoonful of Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce, and half a wineglassful of sherry.

Prepare a shin of beef soup as above, omitting the sauce, wine, and white of egg; set the soup aside. Take a full-sized curry chicken; cut it up into sixteen or eighteen pieces, and wash them thoroughly. Warm a pot and melt it into two chittacks or four ounces of ghee; fry in it some finely-sliced onions, and set aside. Then fry in the melted ghee the following condiments, &c.:—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, half a teaspoonful of roasted and ground coriander-seed, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of roasted and ground cumin-seed.

Sprinkle a little water over these while frying; then add the cut-up chicken with two teaspoonfuls of salt. When nearly brown, add one chittack or two ounces of roasted and ground poppy-seeds; pour in the beef soup, add the fried onion and half a dozen of the kurreah fool leaves, close the pot, and allow the whole to simmer over a slow fire until the chicken be perfectly tender. Serve up hot, with limes cut in slices on a separate plate.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

For the Beef Stock:

1 shin of beef, meat cut into small pieces

salt, to taste

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 tbsp herbs, finely chopped

For the Soup:

1 oven-ready chicken, cut into 16 serving pieces

120g (4 oz) ghee

2 onions, finely sliced

4 tsp onions, ground or pounded to a paste

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground chillies

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground garlic

1/2 tsp roasted and ground coriander seeds

1/4 tsp toasted and ground cumin seeds

1 1/2 tsp salt

60g (2 oz) roasted and ground poppy seeds

6 curry leaves

lime wedges, to accompany

Method

For the beef stock, combine the beef and black peppercorns in a pan. Season to taste with salt, then pour over enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil and skim away all the scum from the surface. Add 100ml cold water and skim off any more scum. Reduce to a simmer and cook gently for about 40 minutes, or until the stock thickens a little. Turn the resultant soup into a sieve and strain the liquid. Adjust the seasonings to taste and stir in the herbs. Make up to 1.5l (6 cups) with water and set aside.

Melt the ghee in a pan, add the onions and fry for about 6 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Stir the ground onions and spices into the ghee remaining in the pan and fry until browned and aromatic. Add the chicken pieces when nearly browned sprinkle over a little water and stir in the ground poppy seeds.

Pour in the beef soup and add the fried onions back to the pot along with the curry leaves. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and stew gently for about 60 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are completely tender. Serve hot, ladled into warmed soup bowls and accompanied by lime wedges.

Mung Dhal

Mung Dhal is a traditional Indian recipe, based on the 1890s book,
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
for a classic dish of boiled mung beans that’s finished by frying in oil with onions.

This is a traditional Indian recipe redacted from the 1890s volume
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
, published by THACKER, SPINK & CO., CALCUTTA.

Original Recipe

90.–Moong Dal

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.

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.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

225g (1/2 lb) mung dhal (mung beans)

45g (1 1/2 oz) ghee

4 tsp onions, ground or pounded to a paste

1 tsp ground chillies

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground garlic

1 tsp salt

6 onions, cut into 8 slices each

2 onions, finely sliced

Method:

Wash and pick over the beans then set aside to drain. Once dry, heat a dry frying pan and when hot, add the beans and toast for a few minutes. Turn into a pan and mix will all the remaining ingredients (except the ghee). Pour in enough water to come 5cm above the level of the beans.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, cover the pot and cook for about 40 minutes, or until the beans have completely broken down. Stir the bean mixture with a wooden spoon, remove the lid and continue cooking until well thickened.

Melt the ghee in a separate pan, add the onions and fry for about 6 minutes, or until nicely browned. Pour in the cooked beans and stir until well combined. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes more then serve.

Red Saag and Omra

Red Saag and Omra is a traditional Indian recipe, based on the 1890s book,
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
for a classic dish of red amaranth greens and sour plums cooked in a spiced base.

This is a traditional Indian recipe redacted from the 1890s volume
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
, published by THACKER, SPINK & CO., CALCUTTA.

Original Recipe

82.–Red Saug and Omra

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.

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.

Modern Redaction

The red saag in this recipe is red amaranth greens, you can substitute spinach or rapeseed greens. The omra took longer to track down, but it appears to be a sour plum, the hog’s plum.

Ingredients:

400g (1 lb, scant) red saag (red amaranth greens) or spinach or rapeseed greens, thoroughly washed and drained

100g (4 oz) omra (hog’s plum) or any sour (ie unripe plum), peeled

90ml (6 tbsp) mustard oil

4 tsp onions, ground to a paste

1 tsp ground chillies

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp garlic, ground to a paste

1 tsp sat

250ml (1 cup) water

ghee or butter, for frying

Method:

Heat ghee or butter in a pan, add the peeled plums and fry for about 6 minutes, or until part-cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the oil to the butter remaining in the pan. When it stops foaming, add the spices and stir-fry for 1 minutes. Chop the red saag and add to the pan along with the plums. Fry until the greens have wilted and are starting to crisp up then stir in enough water to just cover the contents of the pan.

Bring to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for about 40 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and the fruit are tender. Serve hot and be careful of the plum stones.

Seam, Potato, and Peas Chahkee

Seam, Potato, and Peas Chahkee is a traditional Anglo-Indian recipe, based on the 1890s book,
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
for a classic vegetarian curry of broad beans, potatoes and peas cooked in a spiced base.

This is a traditional Indian recipe redacted from the 1890s volume
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
, published by THACKER, SPINK & CO., CALCUTTA.

Original Recipe

75.–Seam, Potato, and Peas Chahkee

Take twenty seams, four new potatoes, and a quarter of a seer of green peas; divide each seam into three pieces, and throw into a bowl of water; divide each potato into four pieces, and throw into water; shell the peas, wash all thoroughly, put into a colander to drain, and cook with the following condiments:—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 salt, and one cupful of water. Warm the oil, let it bubble well, and fry the ground condiments; when these are quite brown put in the vegetables and salt; let the whole fry, stirring it well; then add the water, and allow it to simmer over a slow fire until the vegetables are quite tender.

N.B.–A cauliflower may be added if required for a change.

Modern Redaction

The seam in this recipe can apply to fresh butter beans or to fresh broad (fava) beans; whichever one is available fresh.

Ingredients:

20 large, fresh beans (butter beans or broad beans), sliced crossways into three pieces each

225g (1/2 lb) fresh green pea pods

4 new potatoes, quartered

90ml (6 tbsp) mustard oil

4 tsp onions, ground to a paste

1 tsp ground chillies

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp garlic, ground to a paste

1 tsp salt

250ml (1 cup) water

Method:

Pod the peas, wash well and set aside to drain.

Heat the mustard oil in a pan and when hot, use to fry the spices until browned. Add the vegetables and the water, bring to a simmer and season with the salt. Cover the pan and cook for about 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.

Serve hot.

Sliced Hilsa Fish Fried in Curry Condiments

Sliced Hilsa Fish Fried in Curry Condiments is a traditional Indian recipe, based on the 1890s book,
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
for a classic dish of spiced hilsa fish steaks fried in mustard oil.

This is a traditional Indian recipe redacted from the 1890s volume
THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK
, published by THACKER, SPINK & CO., CALCUTTA.

Original Recipe

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.

Modern Redaction

Hilsa, also known as Ilish (
Tenualosa ilisha
) is an anadromous fish, living most of its life in the sea and spawning in fresh water. This oily fish is a classic ingredient in Bengali cuisine, though the bony nature of the fish means it needs some dexterity in its eating. Substitute tilapia or similar in the recipe below.

Ingredients:

2 large hilsa (or tilapia), cleaned by the gills then cut into thick steaks

2 tsp onions, ground to a paste

1 tsp ground chilies

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp ground garlic

90ml (6 tbsp) mustard oil

Method:

Pat the fish steaks dry. Combine the spices and salt in a bowl then rub this all over the fish steaks. Set aside to marinate for 60 minutes in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, heat the mustard oil in a frying pan, add the fish steaks and fry for about 6 minutes per side, or until nicely browned and crisped on the outside and cooked through. Serve hot.

South Asian Curries.

Of course, the heartland of curry is in the South Asian region of the Indian sub-Continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) and these countries have already been covered in the main curry chapters. What is covered in this chapter are the remaining countries of South Asia, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar.

Buddhist monks first introduced curries to these countries in the 7th century, but the countries have also been influenced by their other neighbours and their own histories.