little salt in the water, till tender, but not soft; drain, and lay it on a sieve reversed, before the fire, to dry. Turn it with a fork, as lightly as possible, but do not use a spoon. Serve it in a dish by itself; or round the dish in light heaps, the curry in the middle. After it is boiled, some cooks pour cold water over, and then set it before the fire to dry. Every particle ought to be distinct, yet perfectly tender.—Another way is, to wash it in warm water, pick it carefully, pour boiling water over it in a stew-pan, cover that close, and keep it by the side of the fire to be quite hot. In an hour's time, pour off the water, set the stew-pan on the fire, and stir briskly with a fork till the rice is dry, but not hard.—The Hindostanee mode is this: when well picked, soak it in cold water a quarter of an hour; strain and put it into boiling water rather more than enough to cover it; boil it ten minutes, skimming, if necessary; then add a gill of milk for each lb. of rice, and boil it two or three minutes; take it off the fire, strain, and put it back into the saucepan over a slow fire; pour on it ½ oz. of butter melted, and a table-spoonful of the water in which it was boiled; boil it slowly, another eight minutes, and it will be ready.—In Carolina they soak the rice two hours in salt and water, wash it, put it in a bag of cheese cloth, then steam it twenty minutes, and each grain will be separated.
A Pillau.
Stew some rice in broth, or melted butter, till tender, season with salt, pepper, and mace. Prepare a boiled fowl, or mutton chops, or veal cutlets, dressed as you like; place them in a hot dish, and if fowl or veal, slices of boiled bacon over; cover the meat with the rice, glaze it with beaten egg, and place it before the fire, to brown. Garnish with hard-boiled egg and slices of lemon.—Or: half roast a breast of veal, cut it in pieces, season with pepper and salt (curry powder, if you like), and stew them in gravy, or broth. Place a high border of rice round a dish, the veal in the centre, thin slices of bacon on it, and cover with rice, glaze with yoke of egg, and brown it. A turkey capon, or old fowl, larded, may be dressed in this way; or cold poultry, or rabbit.
