"Timo" > wrote in message
On Friday, 29 March 2013 16:29:07 UTC+10, Farm1 wrote:
> "Timo" wrote:
>
> Timo: It's the kind of thing they were teaching as "curry" in Home Ec
> classes in schools here (Australia) in the '80s.
>
> Where exactly do you claim this was being taught?

Queensland. In the 1980s. Alongside scones, porcupines, and a quite
undesirable steak-and-kidney pie.

> "The Commonsense Cookery Book" which has been a very longstanding school
> home ec. text included that sort of recipe but then that textbook was
> first
> published in 1914 and so dates back to pre-refrigeration days in most of
> the
> areas where home ec would have been taught.

IIRC, QLD used "Day to day cookery", which had curry recipes using curry
powder, sultanas, apples.

Doesn't matter when the books were first published. What matters is what
kind of recipes were in the 1970s/1980s editions. Go and look at the recipes
before making claims about what was or was not taught.

> In 1980 Joseph Cotta published a cookbook called "A Heritage of Indian
> Cooking" in response to requests from the customers who frequented his
> restaurant "The Shalimar" in Canberra. That restaurant was superb and
> even
> today there are still mentions of Cotta's book and his cooking that can be
> found online and he certainly never used 'Clive of India' curry powders >
> combined with cooked lamb and fruit.

Sounds like an Indian cookbook. I would expect it to have quite different
curry recipes. Why would Cotta have cooked English curries? Never seen such
a thing in an Indian restaurant, and would not expect to.

> Claiming that in 1980 'English curry', as cooked in either Australia or
> the
> UK consisted of cold cooked meat, curry powder and fruit is not correct.

Minced beef was pretty common as the meat, or (uncooked) diced beef.
Leftover roast beef was used too. Having eaten it made with all three, I am
certain that all three were used.

"Consisted of cold cooked meat, curry powder and fruit" is inaccurate. Those
were _some_ of the ingredients. Curry powder and apples and/or sultanas are
characteristic, but apples/sultanas were not universal, the meat would vary,
onions were standard, and other vegetables could be used. Flour as the
thickener for the sauce is also characteristic.

Since you are claiming that English curries, as cooked in Australia c. 1980
were different, what would you say a typical English curry recipe would have
been? As cooked in typical Australian homes, not restaurants.
-----------------------------------------------------
Ah! Queensland! You should have said up front that you were talking about
Queensland and the penny would have dropped.

As I've already mentioned, Joseph Cotta's book, which I have already
mentioned was published in 1980. I was using that book from 1980 to cook
curries in my 'typical Australian home'.

Neeldess to say, I dont' live in Queensland and would never even think of
doign so. I also know not to call a dish based on meat, curry powder and
fruit an "English curry".