The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook
Giving the Duties of Mistress and Servants, the General Management of the House and Practical Recipes for Cooking in All its Branches

This thorough and accessible late-nineteenth century domestic guidebook provided an indispensable companion to managing the British household in India.

Flora Annie Webster Steel (Author), Grace Gardiner (Author)

9781108021937, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 November 2010

348 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2 cm, 0.44 kg

Flora Annie Steel and Grace Gardiner's classic work of Anglo-Indian household life was first published in 1888 and went through ten editions thanks to its great utility. Tailored specifically for the British community in India, the book covers household hints, domestic finances and house management, a glossary of common domestic terms, and a variety of recipes. For readers today, it provides a valuable insight into life in British India, as well as revealing contemporary attitudes to the native Indian people. Steel and Gardiner were witty and well-travelled women of lively intelligence, and the book makes entertaining and accessible, if highly opinionated, reading. Topics covered include the care of domestic and farm animals, clothing and dressmaking, practical cooking tips, camp and missionary life, and how to cope with the idiosyncrasies of the Indian servant. For more information on Steel, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=steefl

Preface
1. The duties of the mistress
2. The storeroom
3. Hints on breakfasts, dinners, luncheons, etc.
4. The duties of the servants
5. Cows and dairy
6. Hints on poultry
7. Dogs
8. Gardening
9. Hints on camp life
10. Hints to missionaries and others in camp and jungles
11. Hints on management of young children
12. Simple remedies
13. Table of wages
14. Hints on outfits
15. Preliminary remarks on cooking
16. Advice to the cook
17. Advice on boiling, frying, roasting, stewing, baking
18. Soups
19. Fish
20. Sauces
21. Plain entrees
22. High-class entrees and garnishes
23. Garnishes
24. Savouries
25. Dressed vegetables
26. Salads
27. Game
28. Hot puddings
29. Cold sweets
30. Pastry
31. Bread, cakes, and biscuits
32. Confectionery
33. Jams, preserves, pickles, chutnies, liqueurs
34. Eggs
35. Ices
36. Sandwiches, supper dishes, etc.
37. Miscellaneous
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB]