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A History of Slavery and
Emancipation in Iran, 1800–1929
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
A History of Slavery and
Emancipation in Iran, 1800–1929

Behnaz A. Mirzai

University of Texas Press Austin

Copyright © 2017 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2017

Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-­7819
http://utpress.utexas.edu/rp-­form

♾ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO
Z39.48-­1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper).

Library of Congress Cataloging-­i n-­Publication Data

Names: Mirzai, Behnaz A., author.

Title: A history of slavery and emancipation in Iran, 1800/1929/ Behnaz A. Mirzai.
Description: First edition. | Austin : University of Texas Press, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016024726 | ISBN 9781477311752 (cloth : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781477311868 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781477311875 (library e-­book) |
ISBN 9781477311882 (non-­library e-­book)
Subjects: LCSH: Slavery—Iran—History. | Slave trade—Iran—History. | Blacks—
Iran—History. | Slaves—Emancipation—Iran—History. | Iran—History.
Classification: LCC HT1286 .M57 2017 | DDC 306.3/620955—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016024726

doi:10.7560/311752
To my sons Behrouz and Rouzbeh
In memory of my father, Mahmoud
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
 Contents

A Note to the Reader ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

chapter one . Commerce and Slavery on Iran’s Frontiers,

1600–1800: An Overview 26

chapter two . Slavery and Forging New Iranian Frontiers,

1800–1900 35

chapter three . The Trade in Enslaved People from Africa

to Iran, 1800–1900 53

chapter four . Patterns of Enslavement 74

chapter five . Slaves in Nineteenth-­Century Iran 91

chapter six . Slave-Trade Suppression Legislation 131

chapter seven . Antislavery Debates Within Iran 159

chapter eight . Emancipation 180

Final Thoughts 206

Glossary 215

Notes 217

Bibliography 291

Index 315
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
 A Note to the Reader

In the hopes of explaining the transformations of the slavery system in

Iran not only to academic specialists in Iranian history, but also of reaching
an audience unfamiliar with the history of Iran and literature on slavery in the
Middle East, I have avoided the use of specialized jargon.
My aim is to maintain the spellings of names exactly as they appear in ar-
chival sources in the endnotes unless there is a major discrepancy, in which
case I employ the correct modern spelling.

Transliteration

In this book, I have used the transliteration system of the International Journal
of Middle East Studies for Persian, Arabic, and Turkish words.

Transl ations

Translations of all foreign sources (Persian, Arabic, Turkish, and French) are
mine.

Dates

Dates in this book are written in the Gregorian style. In endnotes, the dates
of English sources are Gregorian, Persian documents of SAM and books are
cited in Hijri Shamsi (modern Iranian or solar calendar), and Persian docu-
ments of VUK are Hijri Qamari (Islamic or lunar calendar) unless noted Sh.
(Hijri Shamsi).

Units of Measure
Weights
Man is an Iranian unit of weight equal to 3 kg.
Ray is an Iranian unit of weight equal to 11.87 kg.1

Currency
It is impossible to determine the exact value of coins used in Iran. The most
common coin in circulation was the toman. Some coins were minted in Iran
while others were foreign. The exchange in every province and city differed
 x A Note to the Reader

considerably, and there was a constant fluctuation in the value of coins. The
following rates have been determined based on information extracted from
historical sources. In the book the value is given in the original currency con-
verting into toman in parenthesis, but it should be noted that the rate of ex-
change is approximate.

1) The German crown (GC) was one of the most common coins circulating
at Musqat, having been imported from Baghdad. In 1825, GC100 =
Br 217.2
2) Bombay rupees (Br) were a currency imported from India in exchange
for goods shipped from Bushehr. In 1842, £1 = Br 10.3 In 1917, 100
Rupees = 183 Qran.4
3) The toman (T) was an Iranian gold coin used chiefly in circulation with
a fluctuating value. One toman consisted of ten silver qran.5 In the mid-­
nineteenth century, T1 = $5.6 In the late nineteenth century, T1 = $1.6.7
4) The mahomedee (M) was a copper coin. In 1825, $1 = Ma20, or T1 =
Ma100.8
5) The British pound (£). In 1883, £1 = T2.5.9
6) The Spanish dollar ($). In 1840, £1 = $2.5.10 In 1853, £1 = $4.11
7) The pence (Pe). In 1883, T1 = Pe100.12
8) Shamees (Sh) was a currency used in Basra. In 1847, £1 = Sh13.3.13
9) Piastres (PI) were silver coins minted in the Ottoman Empire. In 1840,
PI 15 = $1.14
10) Manat was a Russian currency. In 1910, 1 manat = 1.5 qran.15
 Acknowledgments

Given my abiding certainty of the importance of sharing the subject

of this book with the wider academic community, this work has been a labor
of perseverance. It is the culmination of many years of research as well as
the support of those in archival organizations and research institutions in the
Middle East, Africa, and Europe, and from descendants of diasporic enslaved
people communities scattered throughout Iran and the Persian Gulf region.
There is a considerable demand from scholars, teachers, and students for a
book on the subject of slavery and emancipation in Iran. Teaching the course
“Slavery in the Middle East” without recourse to a textbook on the subject in-
spired me to seriously consider reworking my dissertation, “Slavery, the Abo-
lition of the Slave Trade, and the Emancipation of Slaves in Iran, 1828–1928,”
and preparing it for publication.
Although it began as a doctoral thesis, in 1999 my research was hindered
by circumstances beyond my control: these included the relocation of many
Iranian archives along with complications and changes associated with docu-
ment release policies and catalogue systems. Notwithstanding, I was always
able to count on the support of staff and other archivists at various insti-
tutions. At Brock University, the staff of the James A. Gibson Library de-
serve special appreciation. In Iran, these included Mahmoud Esmaeilnia,
Ramin Seirafi Far, and Beheshte Daneshmand at the archive of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs; Farimah Baqeri, Kobra Moqimi, and Roqayeh Shokri at
the Research and Document Information Division of the National Archive
and Library; Parvin Sadr Seqat al-­Islami, manager of the Gulestan Palace;
Javad Hasti and Zahra Asadian at the Photo Collection Center of Gulestan
Palace; Mr. Khalili and Mr. Moradi at the Library, Museum and Document
Centre of Iran Parliament; Abdulkarim Mashayekhi at the Centre of Iranian
Studies—the Bushehr Branch; as well as staff at the Ministry of Environment
and the Central Library of the University of Tehran. I would also like to ex-
press my gratitude to the founder of the Jumaʾ Al Majid Center for Culture
and Heritage in Dubai for sharing his archives and assigning staff to assist
me, including Shaikha Al Mutairi as well as the staff at the Zanzibar National
Library in Tanzania, who were immensely helpful. In Europe, I am grateful
to the staff at National Archives of United Kingdom and British Library in
London and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris.
At these institutions and elsewhere, I have been able to count on the assis-
tance and suggestions of many scholars at various stages in the preparation
 xii Acknowledgments

of this book and related publications, including two documentary films. In

that regard, I would like to express my appreciation to Mohamad Tavakoli-­
Targhi, Hichem Ben-­El-­Mechaiekh, Lawrence Potter, Barry Grant, Martin
Mhando, and Gwyn Campbell. I specially thank Abdul Sheriff and Olivier
Pétré-­Grenouilleau for reading chapters of this book and for their helpful
suggestions. Edward Alpers, Ehud Toledano, and Indrani Chatterjee deserve
special acknowledgment for the critical reading of the entire manuscript and
offering detailed comments. During my long journey from graduate school
to this book, I learned enormously from intellectual discussions and guidance
of my then classmate, Olatunji Ojo, now my colleague at Brock University,
to whom I thank for his generosity and thoughtful comments. I particularly
want to single out and thank Houchang Chehabi for his continuous support,
assistance, and many useful suggestions. Also, I would like to thank Paul
Lovejoy for supervising my dissertation that developed into the current book.
While working on this project, I was fortunate enough to share my re-
search with many academics whose comments and insights nurtured my own
ideas. Several organizers of academic forums and conferences deserve special
thanks: Yann Richard, who invited me to deliver a talk on slavery in Iran at
the Sorbonne University in Paris in 2000; Gwyn Campbell, who in 2000 orga-
nized the events: Slave Systems in Asia and the Indian Ocean: Their Structure
and Change in the 19th and 20th Century and Unfree Labour & Revolt in Asia
and the Indian Ocean Region in 2001 at Université d’Avignon; the Intercultural
relations in multicultural societies event at the universities of Tehran and Soreh
in 2008; the UNESCO Slave Route Project events: The cultural interactions re-
sulting from the slave trade and slavery in the Arab-­Islamic world in Morocco in
2007, and Slave Trade and Slavery in the Arab Islamic World: Untold Tragedy and
Shared Heritage in Nigeria in 2012; and Mohamad Tavakoli-­Targhi at the Uni-
versity of Toronto who organized the Iranian Studies Seminar Series in 2013.
At the grassroots level, I would also like to thank Mansureh Ettehadieh,
the late Abdulhusayn Navai, and the late Ehsan Naragi, who shared their
own personal and family memories of slavery in Iran. I am also thankful to
the local people of various Iranian villages and cities—in particular, in Balu-
chistan—who assisted me during my fieldwork in southern Iran. Similarly,
Reza Tabanda Gunabadi of the Gunabadi Niʿmatullahi Sufi order, was an in-
valuable source of information about his family.
I would like to single out for thanks and gratitude several other colleagues
and friends who have helped along the way: Femi Kolapo, the late Dennis D.
Cordell, Mark Spencer, Yacine Daddi Addoun, Chouki El Hamel, and the late
Homa Nateq. I am particularly indebted to the Social Sciences and Humani-
ties Research Council of Canada and Brock University in St. Catharines,
 Acknowledgments xiii

Canada, for their financial support. I thank all my colleagues at Brock Uni-
versity in my department and beyond. Students in my “Slavery in the Middle
East” seminars at Brock University have also offered thought-­provoking ques-
tions and inspired me with their interest in the subject. Special thanks are also
due to Sarah King Head and Kristin Roth, who provided incisive critiques
and editorial assistance for the manuscript. In particular, I would like to thank
Jim Burr, the senior editor of the Middle East studies for his help and advice.
Also, I wish to thank Michael Izady for preparing the maps.
My final acknowledgment is to my parents. Last and most significant is my
heartfelt appreciation that goes to my sons Behrouz and Rouzbeh. I dedicate
this book to both of you.
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
A History of Slavery and
Emancipation in Iran, 1800–1929
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
 12 Introduction

While Middle Eastern and North African religion, mores, and values shaped
society and politics even when its constituent nations were at their weakest
and most passive, Charles Issawi notes that they were never able to shake
off the impact of foreign economic intervention: “The Middle East was the
‘periphery’ and subjected to impulses emanating from the ‘center.’ ”42 First
drawn by the rich natural resources available in the Persian Gulf and the Indian
Ocean during the sixteenth century, European powers initiated commercial
contacts with Iran. Local economies were damaged internally by lawlessness,
insecurity, and political instability and were continually weakened by the in-
cursions of neighboring countries through open conflict and territorial losses.
Nobel Prize–­winning economist Amartya Sen has observed that local peace,
order, human freedoms, and economic development are all closely intercon-
nected.43 Without these guarantees, the descent into chaos is inevitable—as
it was for Iran, a country that increasingly embraced the institution of slavery
at a time when it was declining elsewhere in the world.
Although the oil industry in the early twentieth century relied to some ex-
tent on the persistence of the slave trade in the Middle East (especially in the
Arab states of the Persian Gulf),44 it also came to provide the kind of wealth
that allowed Iran to break free of these ties. Exportation of oil that started
just before World War I began to yield large revenues to the governments
in the late 1930s.45 To this day, the world’s dependency on Middle Eastern
oil and natural gas, as reflected in the geostrategic importance of the Persian
Gulf, began with the signing of the first oil concession between Muzaffar al-­
Din Shah (1853–1907) and the British businessman William Knox D’Arcy in
1901.46
We cannot understand slavery in Iran unless we are sensitive to the nuances
of the country’s complex social character in terms of its transformation of tra-
ditional, social, political, and economic institutions as per communal struc-
tures, reform movements, foreign influences, and employment patterns over
this period. Indeed, notions of family, community, government, religion, and
culture all developed within these contexts. It would be perhaps more accu-
rate to avoid conceptualizing slave systems in terms of “Islamic,” “African,”
“Indian Ocean,” and “Atlantic Ocean” and instead discuss the particular roles
enslaved people played in the society and the place slavery played in the
economy. As Cooper aptly notes, the study of a slave system “involves ana-
lyzing the ways in which the various influences on slavery—economic, insti-
tutional, social, political, and ideological—reinforced, contradicted, or trans-
formed one another.”47 Toledano also asserts that a differentiated approach
to the complex realities of slavery is required: “Here is a continuum of various
degrees of bondage rather than a dichotomy between slave and free.”48 As else-
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 TO ROAST GROUSE.

Handle the birds very lightly in plucking off the feathers; draw
them, and wipe the insides with clean damp cloths; or first wash, and
then dry them well; though this latter mode would not be approved
generally by epicures. Truss the grouse in the same manner as the
black game above, and roast them about half an hour at a clear and
brisk fire, keeping them basted, almost without intermission. Serve
them on a buttered toast which has been laid under them in the pan
for ten minutes, or with gravy and bread sauce only.
1/2 hour to 35 minutes
Obs.—There are few occasions, we think, in which the contents of
the dripping-pan can be introduced at table with advantage; but in
dressing moor game, we would strongly recommend the toast to be
laid in it under the birds, as it will afford a superior relish even to the
birds themselves.
 A SALMI OF MOOR FOWL, PHEASANTS, OR PARTRIDGES.
(ENTRÉE.)

This is an excellent mode of serving the remains of roasted game,

but when a superlative salmi is desired, the birds must be scarcely
more then half roasted for it. In either case carve them very neatly,
and strip every particle of skin and fat from the legs, wings, and
breasts; bruise the bodies well, and put them with the skin and other
trimmings into a very clean stewpan. If for a simple and inexpensive
dinner, merely add to them two or three sliced eschalots, a bay leaf,
a small blade of mace, and a few peppercorns; then pour in a pint or
rather more of good veal gravy or strong broth, and boil it briskly until
reduced nearly half; strain the gravy, pressing the bones well to
obtain all the flavour, skim off the fat, add a little cayenne and lemon-
juice, heat the game very gradually in it, but do not on any account
allow it to boil; place sippets of fried bread round a dish, arrange the
birds in good form in the centre, give the sauce a boil, and pour it on
them. This is but a homely sort of salmi, though of excellent flavour if
well made; it may require perhaps the addition of a little thickening,
and two or three glasses of dry white wine poured to the bodies of
the birds with the broth, would bring it nearer to the French salmi in
flavour. As the spongy substance in the inside of moor fowl and
black game is apt to be extremely bitter when they have been long
kept, care should be taken to remove such parts as would endanger
the preparation.
 FRENCH SALMI, OR HASH OF GAME. (ENTRÉE.)

Prepare underdressed or half-roasted game by the directions we

have already given, and after having stripped the skin from the
thighs, wings, and breasts, arrange the joints evenly in a clean
stewpan, and keep them covered from the air and dust till wanted.
Cut down into dice four ounces of the lean of an unboiled ham, and
put it, with two ounces of butter, into a thick well-tinned saucepan or
stewpan; add three or four minced eschalots (more, should a high
flavour of them be liked), two ounces of sliced carrot, four cloves,
two bay leaves, a dozen peppercorns, one blade of mace, a small
sprig or two of thyme, and part of a root of parsley, or two or three
small branches of the leaves. Stew these over a gentle fire, stirring
or shaking them often, until the sides of the saucepan appear of a
reddish-brown, then mix well with them a dessertspoonful of flour,
and let it take a little colour. Next, add by degrees, making the sauce
boil as each portion is thrown in, three quarters of a pint of strong
veal stock or gravy, and nearly half a pint of sherry or Madeira; put in
the well-bruised bodies of the birds, and boil them from an hour to an
hour and a half; strain, and clear the sauce quite from fat; pour it on
the joints of game, heat them in it slowly; and when they are near the
point of boiling, dish them immediately with delicately fried sippets
round the dish. When mushrooms can be obtained, throw a dozen or
two of small ones, with the other seasonings, into the butter. The
wine is sometimes added to the vegetables, and one half reduced
before the gravy is poured in; but though a sauce of fine colour is
thus produced the flavour of the wine is entirely lost.
 TO ROAST WOODCOCKS OR SNIPES.

[In season during the winter months, but not abundant until frost sets
in.].
Handle them as little and as lightly as possible, and pluck off the
feathers gently; for if this be violently done the skin of the birds will
be broken. Do not draw them, but after having wiped them with clean
soft cloths, truss them with the head under the wing, and the bill laid
close along the breast; pass a slight skewer through the thighs,
catch the ends with a bit of twine, and tie it across to keep the legs
straight. Suspend the birds with the feet downwards to a bird-spit,
flour them well, and baste them with butter, which should be ready
dissolved in the pan or ladle. Before the trail begins to drop, which it
will do as soon as they are well heated, lay a thick round of bread,
freed from the crust, toasted a delicate brown, and buttered on both
sides, into the pan under them to catch it, as this is considered finer
eating even than the flesh of the birds; continue the basting, letting
the butter fall from them into the basting-spoon or ladle, as it cannot
be collected again from the dripping-pan should it drop there, in
consequence of the toast or toasts being in it. There should be one
of these for each woodcock, and the trail should be spread equally
over it. When the birds are done, which they will be, at a brisk fire, in
from twenty to twenty-five minutes, lay the toasts into a very hot dish,
dress the birds upon them, pour a little gravy round the bread, and
send more to table in a tureen. Woodcock, 20 to 25 minutes; snipe, 5
minutes less.
 TO ROAST THE PINTAIL, OR SEA PHEASANT.

[All wild-fowl is in full season in mid-winter: the more severe the

weather, the more abundant are the supplies of it in the markets. It
may be had usually from November to March.].
This beautiful bird is by no means rare upon our eastern coast, but
we know not whether it be much seen in the markets generally. It is
most excellent eating, and should be roasted at a clear quick fire,
well floured when first laid down, turned briskly, and basted with
butter almost without cessation. If drawn from the spit in from twenty-
five to thirty minutes, then dished and laid before the fire for two or
three more, it will give forth a singularly rich gravy. Score the breast;
when it is carved sprinkle on it a little cayenne and fine salt, and let a
cut lemon be handed round the table when the bird is served; or omit
the scoring, and send round with it brown gravy, and Christopher
North’s sauce made hot. (For this, see the following page.)
20 to 30 minutes.
 TO ROAST WILD DUCKS.

A bit of soft bread soaked in port wine, or in claret, is sometimes

put into them, but nothing more. Flour them well, lay them rather
near to a very clear and brisk fire, that they may be quickly browned,
and yet retain their juices. Baste them plentifully and constantly with
butter, and, if it can be so regulated, let the spit turn with them
rapidly. From fifteen to twenty minutes will roast them sufficiently for
the generality of eaters; but for those who object to them much
underdressed, a few additional minutes must be allowed. Something
less of time will suffice when they are prepared for persons who like
them scarcely more than heated through.
Teal, which is a more delicate kind of wild fowl, is roasted in the
same way: in from ten to fifteen minutes it will be enough done for
the fashionable mode of serving it, and twenty minutes will dress it
well at a good fire.
 A SALMI, OR HASH OF WILD FOWL.

Carve the birds very neatly, strip off the skin, and proceed as for
the salmi of pheasants (page 292), but mix port or claret, instead of
white wine, with the gravy, and give it a rather high seasoning of
cayenne. Throw in the juice of half a small lemon before the salmi is
served, place fried sippets round the dish, and send it to table as hot
as possible.
For a common hash boil the skin and trimmings of the wild-fowl in
some good broth, or gravy (with a couple of lightly fried eschalots or
not, at choice), until their flavour is imparted to it; then strain, heat,
and thicken it slightly, with a little brown roux, or browned flour; add a
wineglassful of port wine, some lemon-juice, and cayenne; or
sufficient of Christopher North’s sauce to flavour it well; warm the
birds slowly in it, and serve them as soon as they are thoroughly hot,
but without allowing them to boil.

[The following receipt having, from inadvertence, been omitted

from the chapter to which it properly belongs—as the reader has
already been informed—a place is given to it here.]
 CHRISTOPHER NORTH’S OWN SAUCE FOR MANY MEATS.

Throw into a small basin a heaped saltspoonful of good cayenne

pepper, in very fine powder and half the quantity of salt; add a small
dessertspoonful of well-refined, pounded, and sifted sugar; mix these
thoroughly; then pour in a tablespoonful of the strained juice of a
fresh lemon, two of Harvey’s sauce, a teaspoonful of the very best
mushroom catsup (or of cavice), and three tablespoonsful, or a small
wineglassful, of port wine. Heat the sauce by placing the basin in a
saucepan of boiling water, or turn it into a jar, and place this in the
water. Serve it directly, it is ready with geese or ducks, tame or wild;
roast pork, venison, fawn, a grilled blade-bone, or any other broil. A
slight flavour of garlic or eschalot vinegar may be given to it at
pleasure. Some persons use it with fish. It is good cold; and, if
bottled directly it is made, may be stored for several days. It is the
better for being mixed some hours before it is served. The proportion
of cayenne may be doubled when a very pungent sauce is desired.
Good cayenne pepper in fine powder, 1 heaped saltspoonful: salt,
half as much; pounded sugar, 1 small dessertspoonful; strained
lemon juice, 1 tablespoonful; Harvey’s sauce, 2 tablespoonsful; best
mushroom catsup (or cavice), 1 teaspoonful; port wine, 3
tablespoonsful, or small wineglassful. (Little eschalot, or garlic-
vinegar at pleasure.)
Obs.—This sauce is exceedingly good when mixed with the brown
gravy of a hash or stew, or with that which is served with game or
other dishes.
 CHAPTER XVI.

Curries, Potted Meats, &c.

The great superiority of the oriental curries over those generally

prepared in England is not, we believe, altogether the result of a
want of skill or of experience on the part of our cooks, but is
attributable in some measure, to many of the ingredients, which in a
fresh and green state add so much to their excellence, being here
beyond our reach.
With us, turmeric and cayenne pepper prevail in them often far too
powerfully: the prodigal use of the former should be especially
avoided, as it injures both the quality and the colour of the currie,
which ought to be of a dark green, rather than of a red or yellow hue.
A couple of ounces of a sweet, sound cocoa-nut, lightly grated and
stewed for nearly or quite an hour in the gravy of a currie, is a great
improvement to its flavour: it will be found particularly agreeable with
that of sweetbreads, and may be served in the currie, or strained
from it at pleasure. Great care however, should be taken not to use,
for the purpose, a nut that is rancid. Spinach, cucumbers, vegetable
marrow, tomatas, acid apples, green gooseberries (seeded), and
tamarinds imported in the shell—not preserved—may all, in their
season, be added, with very good effect, to curries of different kinds.
Potatoes and celery are also occasionally boiled down in them. The
rice for a currie should always be sent to table in a separate dish
from it, and in serving them, it should be first helped, and the currie
laid upon it.
 MR. ARNOTT’S CURRIE-POWDER.

Turmeric, eight ounces.[95]

Coriander seed, four ounces.
Cummin seed, two ounces.
Fœnugreek seed, two ounces.
Cayenne, half an ounce. (More or less of this
last to the taste.)

95. We think it would be an improvement to diminish by two ounces the

proportion of turmeric, and to increase that of the coriander seed; but we
have not tried it.

Let the seeds be of the finest quality. Dry them well, pound, and
sift them separately through a lawn sieve, then weigh, and mix them
in the above proportions. This is an exceedingly agreeable and
aromatic powder, when all the ingredients are perfectly fresh and
good, but the preparing is rather a troublesome process. Mr. Arnott
recommends that when it is considered so, a “high-caste” chemist
should be applied to for it.
 MR. ARNOTT’S CURRIE.

“Take the heart of a cabbage, and nothing but the heart, that is to
say, pull away all the outside leaves until it is about the size of an
egg; chop it fine, add to it a couple of apples sliced thin, the juice of
one lemon, half a teaspoonful of black pepper, with one large
tablespoonful of my currie-powder, and mix the whole well together.
Now take six onions that have been chopped fine and fried brown, a
garlic head, the size of a nutmeg, also minced fine, two ounces of
fresh butter, two tablespoonsful of flour, and one pint of strong
mutton or beef gravy; and when these articles are boiling, add the
former ingredients, and let the whole be well stewed up together: if
not hot enough, add cayenne pepper. Next put in a fowl that has
been roasted and nicely cut up; or a rabbit; or some lean chops of
pork or mutton; or a lobster, or the remains of yesterday’s calf’s
head; or anything else you may fancy; and you will have an excellent
currie, fit for kings to partake of.
“Well! now for the rice! It should be put into water which should be
frequently changed, and should remain in for half an hour at least;
this both clears and soaks it. Have your saucepan full of water (the
larger the better), and when it boils rapidly, throw the rice into it: it will
be done in fifteen minutes. Strain it into a dish, wipe the saucepan
dry, return the drained rice into it, and put it over a gentle fire for a
few minutes, with a cloth over it: every grain will be separate. When
served, do not cover the dish.” Obs.—We have already given
testimony to the excellence of Mr. Arnott’s currie-powder, but we
think the currie itself will be found somewhat too acid for English
taste in general, and the proportion of onion and garlic by one half
too much for any but well seasoned Anglo-Indian palates. After
having tried his method of boiling the rice, we still give the
preference to that of Chapter I., page 36.
 A BENGAL CURRIE.

Slice and fry three large onions in two ounces of butter, and lift
them out of the pan when done. Put into a stewpan three other large
onions and a small clove of garlic which have been pounded
together, and smoothly mixed with a dessertspoonful of the best pale
turmeric, a teaspoonful of powdered ginger, one of salt, and one of
cayenne pepper; add to these the butter in which the onions were
fried, and half a cupful of good gravy; let them stew for about ten
minutes, taking care that they shall not burn. Next, stir to them the
fried onions and half a pint more of gravy; add a pound and a half of
mutton, or of any other meat, free from bone and fat, and simmer it
gently for an hour, or more should it not then be perfectly tender.
Fried onions, 3 large; butter, 2 oz.; onions pounded, 3 large; garlic, 1
clove; turmeric, 1 dessertspoonful; powdered ginger, salt, cayenne,
each 1 teaspoonful; gravy, 1/2 cupful: 10 minutes. Gravy 1/2 pint;
meat, 1-1/2 lb.: 1 hour or more.
 A DRY CURRIE.

Skin and cut down a fowl into small joints, or a couple of pounds of
mutton, free from fat and bone, into very small thick cutlets; rub them
with as much currie-powder, mixed with a teaspoonful of flour and
one of salt, as can be made to adhere to them: this will be from two
to three tablespoonsful. Dissolve a good slice of butter in a deep,
well-tinned stewpan or saucepan, and shake it over a brisk fire for
four or five minutes, or until it begins to take colour; then put in the
meat, and brown it well and equally, without allowing a morsel to be
scorched. The pan should be shaken vigorously every minute or two,
and the meat turned in it frequently. When this is done, lift it out and
throw into the stewpan two or three large onions finely minced, and
four or five eschalots when these last are liked; add a morsel of
butter if needful, and fry them until they begin to soften; then add a
quarter of a pint of gravy, broth, or boiling water, and a large acid
apple, or two moderate-sized ones, of a good boiling kind, with the
hearts of two or three lettuces, or of one hard cabbage, shred quite
small (tomatas or cucumbers freed from their seeds can be
substituted for these when in season). Stew the whole slowly until it
resembles a thick pulp, and add to it any additional liquid that may
be required, should it become too dry; put in the meat, and simmer
the whole very softly until this is done, which will be in from three
quarters of an hour to an hour.
Prawns, shrimps, or the flesh of boiled lobsters may be slowly
heated through, and served in this currie sauce with good effect.
 A COMMON INDIAN CURRIE.

For each pound of meat, whether veal, mutton, or beef, take a

heaped tablespoonful of good currie powder, a small teaspoonful of
salt, and one of flour; mix these well together, and after having cut
down the meat into thick small cutlets, or dice, rub half of the mixed
powder equally over it. Next, fry gently from one to four or five large
onions sliced, with or without the addition of a small clove of garlic or
half a dozen eschalots, according to the taste; and when they are of
a fine golden brown, lift them out with a slice and lay them upon a
sieve to drain; throw a little more butter into the pan and fry the meat
lightly in it; drain it well from the fat in taking it out, and lay it into a
clean stewpan or saucepan; strew the onion over it, and pour in as
much boiling water as will almost cover it. Mix the remainder of the
currie-powder smoothly with a little broth or cold water, and after the
currie has stewed for a few minutes pour it in, shaking the pan well
round that it may be smoothly blended with the gravy. Simmer the
whole very softly until the meat is perfectly tender: this will be in from
an hour and a quarter to two hours and a half, according to the
quantity and the nature of the meat. Mutton will be the soonest done;
the brisket end (gristles) of a breast of veal will require twice as
much stewing, and sometimes more. A fowl will be ready to serve in
an hour. An acid apple or two, or any of the vegetables which we
have enumerated at the commencement of this chapter, may be
added to the currie, proper time being allowed for cooking each
variety. Very young green peas are liked by some people in it; and
cucumbers pared, seeded, and cut moderately small, are always a
good addition. A richer currie will of course be produced if gravy or
broth be substituted for the water: either should be boiling when
poured to the meat. Lemon-juice should be stirred in before it is
served, when there is no other acid in the currie. A dish of boiled rice
must be sent to table with it. A couple of pounds of meat free from
bone, is sufficient quite for a moderate-sized dish of this kind, but
three of the breast of veal are sometimes used for it, when it is to be
served to a large family-party of currie-eaters; from half to a whole
pound of rice should then accompany it. For the proper mode of
boiling it, see page 36. The small grained, or Patna, is the kind which
ought to be used for the purpose. Six ounces is sufficient for a not
large currie; and a pound, when boiled dry, and heated lightly in a
dish, appears an enormous quantity for a modern table.
To each pound of meat, whether veal, mutton, or beef, 1 heaped
tablespoonful of good currie-powder, 1 small teaspoonful of salt, and
a large one of flour, to be well mixed, and half rubbed on to the meat
before it is fried, the rest added afterwards; onions fried, from 1 to 4
or 5 (with or without the addition of a clove of garlic, or half a dozen
eschalots); sufficient boiling water to nearly cover the meat:
vegetables, as in receipt, at choice; stewed, 1-1/4 to 2-1/2 hours: a
fowl, 1 hour, or rather less; beef, 2 lbs., 1-1/2 hour, or more; brisket
of veal, 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
Obs.—Rabbits make a very good currie when quite young.
Cayenne pepper can always be added to heighten the pungency of a
currie, when the proportion in the powder is not considered sufficient.
 SELIM’S CURRIES.

(Captain White’s.)
These curries are made with a sort of paste, which is labelled with
the above names, and as it has attracted some attention of late, and
the curries made with it are very good, and quickly and easily
prepared, we give the directions for them. “Cut a pound and a half of
chicken, fowl, veal, rabbit, or mutton, into pieces an inch and a half
square. Put from two to three ounces of fresh butter in a stewpan,
and when it is melted put in the meat, and give it a good stir with a
wooden spoon; add from two to three dessertspoonsful of the currie-
paste; mix the whole up well together, and continue the stirring over
a brisk fire from five to ten minutes, and the currie will be done. This
is a dry currie. For a gravy currie, add two or three tablespoonsful of
boiling water after the paste is well mixed in, and continue the
stewing and stirring from ten to twelve minutes longer, keeping the
sauce of the consistency of cream. Prepare salmon and lobster in
the same way, but very quickly, that they may come up firm. The
paste may be rubbed over steaks, or cutlets, when they are nearly
broiled; three or four minutes will finish them.”[96]
96. Unless the meat be extremely tender, and cut small, it will require from ten to
fifteen minutes stewing: when no liquid is added, it must be stirred without
intermission, or the paste will burn to the pan. It answers well for cutlets, and
for mullagatawny soup also; but makes a very mild currie.
 CURRIED MACCARONI

Boil six ounces of ribband maccaroni for fifteen minutes, in water

slightly salted, with a very small bit of butter dissolved in it; drain it
perfectly, and then put it into a full pint and a quarter of good beef or
veal stock or gravy, previously mixed and boiled for twenty minutes,
with a small tablespoonful of fine currie-powder, a teaspoonful of
arrow-root, and a little lemon-juice. Heat and toss the maccaroni
gently in this until it is well and equally covered with it. A small
quantity of rich cream, or a little béchamel, will very much improve
the sauce, into which it should be stirred just before the maccaroni is
added, and the lemon-juice should be thrown in afterwards. This dish
is, to our taste, far better without the strong flavouring of onion or
garlic, usually given to curries; which can, however, be imparted to
the gravy in the usual way, when it is liked.
Ribband maccaroni, 6 oz.: 15 to 18 minutes. Gravy, or good beef
or veal stock, full pint and 1/4; fine currie-powder, 1 small
tablespoonful; arrow-root, 1 teaspoonful; little lemon-juice: 20
minutes. Maccaroni in sauce, 3 to 6 minutes.
Obs.—An ounce or two of grated cocoa-nut, simmered in the
gravy for half an hour or more, then strained and well pressed from
it, is always an excellent addition. The pipe maccaroni, well curried,
is extremely good: the sauce for both kinds should be made with rich
gravy, especially when the onion is omitted. A few drops of eschalot-
vinegar can be added to it when the flavour is liked.
 CURRIED EGGS.

Boil six or eight fresh eggs quite hard, as for salad, and put them
aside until they are cold. Mix well together from two to three ounces
of good butter, and from three to four dessertspoonsful of currie-
powder; shake them in a stewpan or thick saucepan, over a clear but
moderate fire for some minutes, then throw in a couple of mild
onions finely minced, and fry them gently until they are tolerably soft:
pour to them, by degrees, from half to three quarters of a pint of
broth or gravy, and stew them slowly until they are reduced to pulp;
mix smoothly a small cup of thick cream with two teaspoonsful of
wheaten or of rice-flour, stir them to the currie, and simmer the whole
until the raw taste of the thickening is gone. Cut the eggs into half
inch slices, heat them quite through in the sauce without boiling
them, and serve them as hot as possible.