Pepper Water

These recipes are from Gwen's 55th Class Reunion web page, taken from The High Clerc Cookery Book, Fifth Edition, 1951. Pepper Water is a very spicy, thin curry sauce and is to be poured over the Dry Curry (recipe below) and rice.

Ingredients:

• 6 black peppers
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard
• 2 red chillies
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 1 garlic
• White tamarind (size of a large lime)
• 1 small piece saffron (turmeric)
• 1 teaspoon seeragam (cummin)
• 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
• 1 dozen curry leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 measure stock
• 1 ground cocoanut

Instructions:

1. Mash saffron in a mortar and grind pepper, seeragram, mustard, chillies and garlic.
2. Soak tamarind in water and extract the contents.
3. Now mix the ground stuff with water. Boil.
4. Remove it from fire after the first boiling. Strain.
5. Fry onion till brown. Add curry leaves.
6. When the frying sound stops, pour in the mixture and remove it from fire at once without giving it time to boil.
7. Serve hot.

Dry Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cooked beef or mutton
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon ground re chilli, coriander and saffron
• 1 large tablespoon oil
• 20 curry leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large onion
• 2 cups cocoanut milk

Instructions:

1. Grind cooked meat fine.
2. Heat oil, all onion and fry a delicate brown.
3. Add curry leaves, fry until sizzling stops, add curry powder and mix well.
4. Add ground meat and pour cocoanut milk over this mixture.
5. Remove from hot fire and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is dry.
6. Use broth for making pepper water.