To Make Currey the Indian Way

To Make Currey the Indian Way is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic dish of blanched chickens that are finished by frying in butter with eggs, turmeric, black pepper and ginger before being finished with chicken stock and cream; a recipe that is the oldest version of an Indian-style curry in the English language. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: To Make Currey the Indian Way.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

40 minutes

Total Time:

60 minutes

Serves:

4–6

Rating:

Tags : Curry Spice Recipes Chicken Recipes Milk Recipes British Recipes

This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Aft of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.

Original Recipe

To make a currey the Indian way.

Take two ſmall chickens, ſkin them and cut them as for a fricaſey, waſh them clean, and ſtew them in about a quart of water, for about five minutes, then ſtrain off the liquor and put the chickens in a clean diſh ; take three large onions, chop them ſmall, and fry them in about two ounces of butter, then put in the chickens and fry them together till they are brown, take a quarter of an ounce of turmerick, a large ſpoonful of ginger and beaten pepper together, and a little ſalt to your palate : ſtrew all theſe ingredients over the chickens whilſt it is frying, then pour in the liquor, and let it ſtew about half an hour, then put in a quarter of a pint of cream, and the juice of two lemons, and ſerve it up. The ginger, pepper, and turmerick muſt be beat very fine.

Modern Redaction

This is a truly important recipe, as it represents the first recipe we have for an Indian-style curry. It includes two classic curry ingredients, turmeric and ginger, but there are no cardamoms or cumin and no chillies. It's also finished with cream and this could be the true antecedent of that most British of curries, the Tikka Masala. If you would like to compare this recipe against modern and traditional curries, then please check out this site's curry recipes page

Ingredients:

1 chicken, skinned and jointed into serving pieces
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
2 tsp dried ginger
400ml chicken stock
100ml double cream
juice of 1 lemon

Method:

Prepare and joint the chicken, then place in a large pan and pour over 1l water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Strain off the liquid (reserve 400ml) then set the chicken pieces aside.

Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onions and fry for about 5 minutes, or until translucent then add the chicken pieces and fry until beginning to brown. Scatter the spices over the top, stir to combine and cook for a few minutes more.

Now add the 400ml reserved chicken stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are tender. Reduce the heat then stir in the cream and lemon juice. Bring just to a simmer (do not allow to boil) then take off the heat and serve accompanied by boiled rice.

Find more Hannah Glasse Recipes Hereand more Traditional Georgian Recipes Here.