Curry

[Loyalist Dave]

Basically, you mix equal parts of:
Turmeric
Coriander
Cumin
White Ginger
Nutmeg
Mace
Cayenne pepper

Now I've found that one needs Fenugreek as well, and perhaps some cloves, to get the expected aroma.

Here's the original recipe:


From The Virginia Housewife 1828
CURRY POWDER
One ounce turmeric, one do. coriander seed, one do. cummin seed, one do. white ginger, one of nutmeg, one of mace, and one of Cayenne pepper; pound all together, and pass them through a fine sieve; bottle and cork it well -- one tea-spoonful is sufficient to season any made dish.

In case one wants to carry something other than the hunters salt and cayenne for seasoning food.

:wink:

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

Very good Dave..... :thumbsup:

Curry continually pops up in English cook books...IIRC Spence has even posted some Virginia gazette ads mentioning curry for sale... :hmm:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I'm not very sure..., but I think "to curry" was a verb prior to it being used to describe a type of seasoning (and later a family of seasonings) for there is a book, circa 1780 called The Forme of Cury which is alleged to be recipes from the Middle Ages, and which of course might be before the time when "curry" from India was known.
:idunno:

Perhaps later in the 18th century as the British moved into India in force, the term was applied to the specific Indian spice combinations?

On the other hand the fellow who presented his compilation of ancient recipes might have been a fraud???


LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

I think curry is a general term like BEER...It encompasses thousands of different variations.

 

[Claude Mathis]

"Where did curry come from?" - http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/24432750

 

[BillinOregon]

Yum! So many curries, so little time!

 

[coloradoclyde]

Aside from spices being a major export from India, So was saltpeter....

 

[coloradoclyde]

The Hindoostane Coffee House was the first Indian restaurant in the United Kingdom. It was opened by Sake Dean Mahomed, a captain in the British East India Company, in George Street, London in 1810. It closed a year later for lack of business.

Sake Dean Mahomed sounds like an interesting fellow... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake_Dean_Mahomed

 

[George]

Thackeray wrote other important stuff besides The Luck of Barry Lyndon.

Poem to Curry

William Makepeace Thackeray

Three pounds of veal my darling girl prepares,
And chops it nicely into little squares;
Five onions next procures the little minx
(The biggest are the best, her Samiwel thinks),
And Epping butter nearly half a pound,
And stews them in a pan until they’re brown’d.

What’s next my dexterous little girl will do?
She pops the meat into the savoury stew,
With curry-powder table-spoonfuls three,
And milk a pint (the richest that may be),
And, when the dish has stewed for half an hour,
A lemon’s ready juice she’ll o’er it pour.

Then, bless her! Then she gives the luscious pot
A very gentle boil ”“ and serves quite hot.
PS ”“ Beef, mutton, rabbit, if you wish,
Lobsters, or prawns, or any kind fish,
Are fit to make a CURRY. ”˜Tis, when done,
A dish for Emperors to feed upon.

Spence

 

[coloradoclyde]

Do you have a date for that?

 

[George]

1846.

Spence

 

[George]

If you are so fortunate as to have curry to eat, for goodness sake do it right.

Hints on Etiquette and the Usages of Society, with a Glance at Bad Habits, London, 1836:

Eat peas with a dessert spoon; and curry also.

Spence

 

[coloradoclyde]

Isn't a desert spoon of the era quite dainty?