To make a Dish of Curry.—Cut an onion into slices and fry it with an apple, finely chopped, in two ounces of dripping; then add slices of cold meat; mix a dessert-spoonful of curry powder and one of flour in half a pint of water; pour it over the meat, and shake the whole over the fire till it boils.
Cur′ry Powder. Prep. (Kitchener.) From coriander-seed, 1⁄4 lb.; turmeric, 1⁄4 lb.; cinnamon-seed, 2 oz.; cayenne, 1⁄2 oz.; mustard, 1 oz.; ground ginger, 1 oz.; allspice, 1⁄2 oz.; fenugreek-seed, 2 oz.; all dried thoroughly, pounded in a mortar, rubbed through a sieve, and mixed together.
The famous Ceylon curry powder is said by Dr Balfour to have the following rather indefinite composition:—A piece of green ginger, two fragments of garlic, a few coriander and cumin seeds, six small onions, one dry Chili, eight peppercorns, a small piece of turmeric, half a dessert-spoonful of butter, half a cocoa-nut, and half a lime. For it to be in perfection the powder should be made the day on which it is cooked.
Obs. The above must be regarded as merely a substitute for Indian curry powder, which contains many ingredients not to be obtained in England. It should be kept in a bottle closely corked or stoppered. The curry powder sold at the present time consists of coriander-seed, turmeric, cayenne, fenugreek-seed, and a large proportion of sago-flour.
CUS′CONINE. See Aricine.
CUSPA′′RIA. Syn. Cusparia bark (B. P.), Angostu′′ra b.; Cor′tex angostu′′ræ, C. cuspa′′riæ, Cusparia (Ph. L. and E.), L. “The bark of Galipea cusparia” (Ph. L.), or Galipea officinalis (Ph. E.). A valuable drug, imported directly or indirectly from South America.—Dose, 10 gr. to 30 gr., as a tonic, stomachic, and febrifuge, in similar cases to those in which Cascarilla, Calumba, and Cinchona, are commonly given.
| Characters. | False Angostura. | True Angostura. |
| Form | Thick, rugous, rolled upon itself. Edges cut perpendicularly. | Flat or rolled up, little wrinkled, edges bevelled. |
| Colour | Brown, or greenish-yellow, presenting protuberances or excrescences, produced by the great development of the corky layer, which has a still more yellow colour. | Greyish-yellow. |
| Taste | Very bitter. | Bitter. |
| Reaction with Nitric Acid. | Red colour when dropped upon the bark. | Yellow colour. |
Angostura or cusparia bark has fallen into comparative disuse, in consequence of nux vomica or false angostura bark having formerly, in several instances, been mistaken for it, and administered with fatal results. The leading characteristics of these two barks have been pointed out by M. Gibourt. (See previous table.)
CUSPAR′IN. Syn. Angostu′′rin, Angostu′′ra. The bitter principle of Cusparia-bark. It is neutral; crystallises in tetrahedrons; is easily fusible; soluble in rectified spirits, in acids, and in alkaline solutions. It is precipitated of a whitish colour by tincture of galls.
CUS′TARD. A composition of milk, or cream, and eggs, sweetened with sugar, and variously flavoured. Custards may be cooked either in the oven or stew-pan.