The Memsahib's Cookbook

Recipes from the Days of Raj

by Rhonda Aitken

Judy Piatkus, 1989 [First Edition], ISBN 0861888855, colour decorations throughout, hardcover, dust-jacket

Near Fine Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, dust-jacket shows minor edge and shelf wear with minor rubbing to edges and corners (see photographs)

"This delightful cookery book celebrates another way of life - that of the memsahibs.  They were ordinary Englishwomen who found themselves living thousands of miles away in India in temperatures of nearly 100F, coping with mosquitoes, strange foods and cultures and the extreme difficulties of dealing with a large number of household staff of different faiths and customs.
The Memsahib's Cookbook is a collection of the Anglo-Indian recipes the memsahibs devised with their cooks during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, all updated for cooking today.  Some are old favourites such as Mulligatawny Soup, Kedgeree and Koftas; others are less well-known but equally delicious, such as the Chinese-style Sargeant's Chicken, Charred Mince and the very hot Saheb's Sauce.
Alongside the recipes are the writings of EHA (Edward Hamilton Aitken), who was born in Bombay in 1851 and wrote about nature and family life in an Indian village.  In his day he was better known than Kipling, an his shrewdly observed stories about the butler, Domingo the cook, and the Doodwallah abound with fun, and add a special dimension to this book."