Tempting Curry Dishes

Murrey, Thomas J.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 34K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Tempting Curry Dishes by Thomas J. Murrey. Author: Murrey, Thomas J. (Thomas Jefferson). Language: English. Class: TX: Technology: Home economics. Release Date: Jan 2, 2012

Editor's review

This is a slim curry cookbook, a public-domain home-economics text in the Project Gutenberg collection. Practical in orientation, Murrey centers on curry and offers various methods for mixing, cooking, and pairing it, in plain language and clear steps that bear the typical look of nineteenth-century British and American household cookbooks. Its appeal lies in showing how early curry was received in Western kitchens: how spices were simplified and ingredients localized, giving readers a cross-section of culinary exchange. For food-history enthusiasts and anyone curious to try vintage curry methods, it is a light and interesting read. Note that the measures and stove conditions differ from modern kitchens; adapting them requires your own conversions and adjustments, and it should not be taken as an authoritative contemporary recipe book.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century British and American household cooking and recipe texts
Food-culture enthusiasts curious about the early forms of curry in Western cuisine
Hands-on cooks who enjoy making retro dishes and are willing to convert measurements themselves
Professionals researching public-domain home-economics documents or translating recipes

Not a good fit for

Beginners who need modern, precise measurements and standardized steps
Professional chefs seeking authentic South Asian curry flavors
Readers who only want richly illustrated, beautifully designed food books

Reading tips

Skim the table of contents first, pick one or two recipes with easily available ingredients to try, and record your conversions.
As you read, compare with modern curry methods and note differences in spice combinations and cooking logic.
Convert the book's measurements to grams and milliliters before cooking.
Take notes on food culture as you read, focusing on ingredient substitutions and localization.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can the recipes in this book be followed directly?

You can use them as a reference but should not copy them outright. The measurements, stove conditions, and ingredient names differ from those of modern kitchens, and the steps are rather brief. Convert the measurements and confirm ingredient equivalents first, then adjust heat and timing according to modern safe cooking practices.

Is this about authentic Indian curry?

No. The book reflects how nineteenth-century British and American household cookbooks understood and adapted curry; spices and ingredients were often simplified and localized, so it is far from native South Asian curry and is better read as a document in the history of culinary exchange.

Is it long, and what reading pace suits it?

It is a short public-domain recipe book, suited to browsing in spare moments. You can try recipes one by one or read it as a brief essay on food history; there is no need to finish it in one sitting.

Comments

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About the author

Murrey, Thomas J. Author

Thomas J. Murrey is an English-language author of food and cookery books about whom very little biographical information is available; neither his nationality nor his dates of birth and death have been reliably recorded. Five works are held under his name, including Fifty Salads, Fifty Soups, Tempting Curry Dishes, Oysters and Fish, and Breakfast Dainties. These titles show that his writing centred on the everyday table, covering salads, soups, curry dishes, oysters and fish, and breakfast dainties, usually presented in compilations of fifty items with an emphasis on completeness and clear, practical steps that home cooks could follow. Handbooks of this kind are plain and instruction-oriented rather than discursive, reflecting the character of popular household cookery books in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Because public sources are limited, further research is needed on his life and background; for now, he can be known only through his surviving works.