For this I will take a pound of "halibut cut into squares, and half a pound of cucumber which has been cut into small fillets, and separately cooked, simply as garnish. I prepare the onions as in the first curry, using the same quantity of them and of butter, but not browning them. I only fry them till they are soft. I make the same nutty infusion. I mix the following "curry stuff":—In a soup-plate I put one large tablespoonful of creme de riz, or rice flour, one dessertspoonful of powdered turmeric, saltspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of powdered cinnamon, and one of powdered cardamoms. I mix these to a paste as in the first case, using fish broth or milk. I add this "curry stuff" to the fried onions as soon as the latter are soft, and cook it for at least seven minutes to get rid of the crudity of the turmeric.

Spices at a market in India.

Now I begin to moisten with a pint of fish broth, as in the case of the first curry, adding a tablespoonful of grated green ginger, and the cocoanut and almond, after straining off the milky liquid produced by the infusion which I put aside for the present. I have next to bring the contents of the casserole to the boil, and then simmer twenty minutes to extract the flavor of the ginger, etc.; then I must pass the whole through a hair sieve. The next thing I do is to re-heat the strained sauce, for at present it is actually nothing more than sauce, and then put in the fish, which is just simmered till tender, very carefully or it will cook to pieces. Lastly I put in the pieces of cooked cucumber, the squeeze of a lemon, and the strained nutty infusion, with a tablespoonful of cream. The curry is now ready to be served with rice, dished separately.

Please note the following points in this curry:—First that it is made without curry-powder, next that it requires a larger quantity of green ginger than the ordinary Madras curry, then that its sauce is strained through a hair sieve, for it should be smooth and creamy. Observe too, that I cook the strained cocoanut and almond in the sauce, besides saving the infusion for final addition. The best Ceylon curries are made locally with shell-fish —prawns, crabs, and langoustes (the sea cray fish). In England we can also use shrimps and lobster. Salmon or any other firm fish is excellent in this manner. It is customary to associate cucumber or vegetable marrow fillets with these curries, and very nice ones are made with vegetables alone—sprigs of cauliflower, both kinds of artichokes, mushrooms (which are overwhelmed in ordinary curry by the condiments), and well soaked haricots are specially adapted to this method. Hard boiled eggs cut in halves lengthwise are often put into a Ceylon curry sauce, while poached eggs masked with it are generally much liked. Cold cooked fish may be thus resuscitated successfully, while a fricassee of cold cooked chicken a la Cingalese is indeed excellent.

Now let us return to our Madras curry. Time does not admit of its being sufficiently simmered, I must therefore assume that this has been done, and that the time has come for the last touches. I taste the sauce to see whether the subacid is sufficiently noticeable, also whether any more salt is needed. Corrections are made accordingly, and then the nutty infusion is poured into the curry through a strainer, the nutty sediment being well pressed to expel all the milk. The curry can now be served, rice dished separately accompanying.

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