A Voyage to East India, Account of voyage · Section 10
SECTION. X.
Of their Diet, their Cookery in dreſſing it, &c.
AND though this Countrey affords very much variety of excellent good proviſions, yet the Mahometans feed not freely on any fleſh, but on that which is ſtrange, and forbidden (of the Hindooes diet I ſhall ſpeak afterwards) but for the Mahometans they are a people, as I conceive, not much given to their Palate, but are very carefull of, and temperate in their diet, as having learn'd by experience, that full bellyes do more oppreſs, than ſtrengthen the body, that too much of the Creature doth not comfort but deſtroy Nature. It being a tryed truth, that Gluttony reacheth, and kills thoſe whom ſwords cannot touch. All diſeaſes of the body for the moſt part being contracted to it by ſur…etts, in one kinde or other, and therefore they keep themſelves to a thin diet, and eat not to pamper and pleaſe their appetite, but to ſatisfy and ſupport nature, which is contented with a little every where, but with leſs in hot Countreyes, where mens digeſtion of food is not ſo quick and good; this being further a tried truth, that thoſe bodyes are moſt ſtrong, active, and healthy, which are moſt temperate.
Therefore though they have abundance of fleſh and foul, and have fiſh too, yet are they temperate in all of them. For Swines fleſh it is an abomination unto the Mahometans, and therefore they touch it not. And for other kinde of fleſh, they eat very little of them alone, to make their full meals of them, for they dreſs no kinde of fleſh in great peeces, or whole joynts, nor ſcarce any of their Foules whole.
For boyling of fleſh in water, or Baking or Roſting any fleſh, are peeces of Cookery (if I obſerved well) they know not; but they ſtew all their fleſh as their Kid, and other Veniſon, &c. cut into ſippets, or flices, or little parts, to which they put Onions and Herbs and Roots, and Ginger (which they take there Green out of earth) and other Spices, with ſome Butter, which ingredients when as they are well proportioned, make a food that is exceedingly pleaſing to all Palates, at their firſt taſting thereof moſt ſavoury meat, happily that very diſh which Jacob made for his Father Iſaac, when he got the bleſſing Gen. 27.
With their fleſh and herbs, &c. they ſometimes ſtew Henns and other foul cut in peeces, which is like that the Spaniards call an Olio, but more toothſome.
But their great common ſtanding diſh there is Rice, which they boyl with more art than we: for they boyl the grain ſo as that it is full and plump and tender, but not broken in boyling: they put to it a little green Ginger, and Pepper, and Butter, and this is the ordinary way of their dreſſing it and ſo tis very good.
Sometimes they boyl peeces of fleſh, or Hens, and other foul cut in peeces in their Rice, which diſh they call Pillaw; as they order it, they make it a very excellent, and a very well-taſted food.
Once my Lord Ambaſſadour had an entertainment there by Aſaph Chan, who invited him to dinner (and this was the only reſpect in that kinde he ever had, while he was in Eaſt India) That Aſaph Chan was a man made by his great alliances, the greateſt ſubject and favourit in all that Empire; for his ſiſter was the Mogols moſt beloved wife, and his daughter was married unto Sultan Caroon the Prince, and very much beloved by him, but of all theſe, more afterward.
This Aſaph Chan entertained my Lord Ambaſſadour in a very ſpacious and a very beautifull Tent, where none of his followers beſides my ſelf, ſaw, or taſted of that entertainment.
That Tent was kept full of a very pleaſant Perfume; in which ſents the King and Grandees there take very much delight. The floor of the Tent was firſt covered all over with very rich and large Carpets, which were covered again in the places where our dinner ſtood, with other good Carpets, made of ſtich't Leather, to preſerve them which were richer; and theſe were covered again with pure white and fine Callico Clothes, and all theſe covered with very many diſhes of ſilver, but for the greater part of thoſe ſilver diſhes they were not larger than our largeſt trencher-plates, the brimms of all of them gilt.
We ſate in that large Room as it were in a Triangle; The Ambaſſadour on Aſaph Chans right hand a good diſtance from him, and my ſelf below; all of us on the ground, as they there all do when as they eat, with our faces looking each to the other, and every one of us had his ſeveral meſs. The Ambaſſadour had more diſhes by ten, and I leſs by ten, than our entertainer had, yet for my part I had fifty diſhes. They were all ſet before us at once, and little paths left betwixt them, that our entertainers ſervants (for onelyonly they waited) might come and reach them to us one after another, and ſo they did. So that I taſted of all ſet before me, and of moſt did but taſt, though all of them taſted very well.
Now of the proviſion it ſelf, for our larger diſhes, they were filled with Rice, dreſſed (as before deſcribed) And this Rice was preſented to us, ſome of it white, in its own proper colour, ſome of it made yellow with Saffron, and ſome of it was made green, and ſome of it put into a purple colour, but by what ingredient I know not, but this I am ſure, that it all taſted very well; And with Rice thus ordered ſeveral of our diſhes were furniſhed; and very many more of them with fleſh of ſeveral kinds, and with Hens, and with other ſorts of foul cut in peeces, as before I obſerved in their Indian Cookery.
To theſe we had many Jellie, and Culices; Rice ground to flower, and then boyled, and after ſweetned with Sugar-Candy and Roſe-water to be eaten cold. The flower of Rice mingled with ſweet Almonds, made as ſmall as they could, and with ſome of the moſt fleſhy parts of Henns, ſtewed with it, and after, the fleſh ſo beaten into peeces, that it could not be diſcern'd, all made ſweet with Roſe-water and Suger-Candy, and ſented with Amber-Grec…e; this was another of our diſhes, and a moſt luſcious one, which the Portugals call Mangee Real, Food for a King. Many other diſhes we had, made up in Cakes, of ſeveral formes, of the fineſt of the wheat-flower, mingled with Almonds, and Sugar Candy, whereof ſome were ſented and ſome not. To theſe Potatoes excellently well dreſſed; and to them divers Salads and the curious fruits of that Countrey, ſome preſerved in Sugar, and others raw, and to theſe many Roots Candied, Almonds blanched, Reyſons of the Sun, Prunellas, and I know not what, of all enough to make up that number of diſhes before named; and with theſe quelque choſe, was that entertainment made up.
And it was better a great deal, than if it had conſiſted of full & heaped up diſhes, ſuch as are ſometimes amongſt us provided, for great and profuſe entertainments. Our bread was of very good excellent wheat, made up very white and light, in round Cakes; and for our drink, ſome of it was brew'd for ought I know, ever ſince Noah his flood, that good innocent water, being all the drink there commonly uſed (as before) and in thoſe hot Clymates (it being better digeſted there than in other parts) it is very ſweet, and allayes thirſt better than any other liquor can, and therefore better pleaſeth, and agreeth better with every man, that comes and lives there, than any other drink.
At this entertainment we ſat long, and much longer than we could with eaſe croſs leg'd, but all conſidered, our feaſt in that place was better than Apicius, that famous Epicure of Rome, with all his witty Gluttony (for ſo Paterculus calls it, ingenioſa Gula,) could have made with all proviſions had from the Earth, and Air, and Sea.
My Lord Ambaſſadour obſerved not that uneaſy way of ſitting at his meat, but in his own houſe had Tables and Chayres &c. ſerved he was altogether in Plate, and had an Engliſh, and an Indian Cook to dreſs his dyer, which was very plentifull, and cheap likewiſe; ſo that by reaſon of the great variety of proviſions there, his weekly account for his houſe-keeping came but to little.
The meaner ſort of people there eat Rice boyled with their green-Ginger, and a little Pepper, after which they put Butter into it, which is their principal diſh, and but ſeldom eaten by them: but their ordinary food is made (not of the flowr of wheat▪) but of a courſe well taſted grain, made up in round broad and thick Cakes, which they bake upon their thin iron plates (before ſpoken of) which they carry with them, when as they travell from place to place; when they have bak'd thoſe cakes, they put a little butter on them, and doubtleſs the poor people find this a very hearty food▪ for they who live moſt upon it, are as ſtrong as they could be, if they had their diet out of the Kings Kitchin. I ſhall here ſay no more of this, but proceed to ſpeak