Culinary Jottings for Madras

'Wyvern' was a colonel in the Indian Army, long resident in Madras, who whiled away his spare time writing about cookery in the "Madras Athenaeum" and "Daily News". The upshot of his interesting hobby was this book, which set out to instruct the memsahibs of the day in the best ways to cope with Indian kitchen staff and cooking arrangements and in how to produce decent English and French food with local ingredients and imported supplies. It is a fascinating hybrid, for it tells the modern reader a great deal about Anglo-Indian cookery and gives a matchless description of Victorian haute cuisine. There is possibly no better introduction to good cookery than this book. So talented a teacher was 'Wyvern' that eventually he came home to Britain and set up a cookery school in London. His subsequent books, most notably "Commonsense Cookery", were also models of their type, though in many respects never improved on his first attempt published here.Leslie Forbes has contributed a bravura introduction. She has herself travelled widely in India and wrote an excellent book on Indian cookery as well as a highly regarded radio series on the topic. The chapters cover every aspect of the kitchen, from the cook and his management, the store-room, and the batterie de cuisine, to all dishes suitable for dainty dining, as well as excellent chapters on 'Our Curries', 'Camp Cookery' and 'Our Kitchens in India'. There are extensive model menus for parties of six or eight people, or for 'Little Home Dinners'.Elizabeth David once said of this book: 'I should recommend anyone with a taste for Victorian gastronomic literature to snap him up...His recipes are so meticulous and clear, that the absolute beginner could follow them, yet at the same time he has much to teach the experienced cook'.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Leslie ForbesFACSIMILE- Preface to the fifth edition- Preface to the fourth edition- Authors preface to the first edition- IntroductionThe MenuThe Cook and his ManagementCertain Kitchen RequisitesIn the StoreroomOn Stock, and Clear SoupsThick Soups and PureesRegarding our FishHints about entreesEntrees concludedSaucesSauces continuedSauces concludedRoasting and BraisingBoiling and SteamingOur VegetablesVegetables concluded Rechauffes The Savoury OmeletteOn LuncheonsFritters SaladsHors d'oevresSavoury ToastsEggs, Maccaroni and CheeseNotes on the Curing of MeatPastry-making, et CeteraA Few Nice Pies Our CurriesCurries continued, and MulligatunnyCamp Cookery Menus, Preliminary NotesMenus for a Party of EightMenus for a Dinner of SixMenus for a Party of SixMenus for a little home dinnerOn Coffee MakingTo Preserve Meat by FumigationOur Kitchens in IndiaIndex

About the Author :
Leslie Forbes has worked in London as a writer, artist and broadcaster for over 20 years. She is the author of four award-winning travel books, including the worldwide bestseller A Table in Tuscany and the presenter of many celebrated BBC radio series, several based in Italy. Her first novel, Bombay Ice, published in 1998, was an international bestseller and her second, Fish, Blood & Bone (2000) was nominated for the Orange prize.