Betty Lives!

Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen

Elizabeth David

1970

When I was in my early twenties I had a British boyfriend who was wonderful in many ways but also dreadfully British.  Every time a waiter asked if he wanted coffee my boyfriend would raise an eyebrow and ask in his whithering accent: “Is it an American coffee or is it a proper coffee?” It never failed to make me want to crawl under the table and hide.  It also brought to mind one of my favorite authors, Robertson Davies, who describes a character in his book as being “English, in the exaggerated manner of the English abroad.”

I think that quote can often be extended to the English When They Write About Food, although not in every case. I love Simon Hopkinson, for example, and I think Jamie Oliver has some great recipes even though he looks dirty.  But Nigella Lawson makes my skin crawl.  If you haven’t seen it already, go check out this take-off on British cooking shows called Posh Nosh.  Think of Nigella while you watch and you will die laughing.

Elizabeth David is wonderful and a legend and if you would like to know more about her accomplishments you can read this. According to David, khichri is “the dish from which the English evolved kedgeree.” Kedgeree is a nasty combination of curry, smoked haddock and hard-boiled eggs so it’s a mystery to me how they arrived there from khichri, which turned out quite delicious.

Six peppercorns, the seeds of six cardamom pods and six allspice berries are ground and combined with 1/4 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves.  She also suggests some cumin and turmeric to suit individual tastes so I added 1/4 tsp each of those as well.  The recipe begins with one ounce of clarified butter, melted.  I had no ghee, misread the recipe and melted four ounces of butter instead but extra butter never hurts.  One onion, thinly sliced, is sauteed in the (pool of) butter, then the spices get added, then four ounces each red lentils and Basmati rice.  Stir around in the fat, then add “1 heaped dessertspoonful” of salt, one Tbl Tamarind pulp and three glasses of cold water.  The mixture is cooked over medium heat, uncovered, for 20 minutes and then covered and cooked for an additional 20 minutes over low heat.  Because I was using brown rice the second cooking was closer to 35 minutes.  Finally, you add a squeeze of lemon juice and  serve.  One thing that I’ve noticed repeatedly in older recipes is that there is a final addition of something a little acidic to brighten the flavors and I’ve come to appreciate that in all my cooking.  The khichri was delicious and I served it as instructed with a yogurt and mint raita and also some sweet chutney.  Additionally, I roasted cauliflower with some garam masala and toasted some naan that was in the freezer.