"Curried Balls" Recipes for Cooking FS Rations

Discussion in 'General' started by guinness, Oct 4, 2010.

  1. guinness

    guinness Junior Member

    Hello all.

    Apols if this has been done before. Quick search on the site shows that while there are several threads relating to WW2 food, recipes and rations there's not that much info on actual Army recipes and the rather unglamorous organisation of the all important cookhouse.

    What prompted the search was that a colleague at work has just lent me her husband's late grandfather's Army Service Corps cookbooks and frankly, they're fascinating.

    First is the Army Service Corps "Catering & Cooking for Field Forces 1945" manual - 106 pages of info published by ALFSEA on Recipes, Rations, Cookhouse Organization, Improvised Cooking Apparatus (incl excellent diagrams), priciples of cooking, reconstitution of dehydrated foods, pay rates and training for cooks, loads of interesting stuff.

    Second is a 1942 pamphlet issued by the QMG India "Recipes for Cooking FS Rations". Superb little pamphlet of recipes based on FS Scale of rations for 100 men.

    I'll whet your appetite with the delightfully entitled "Curried Balls" - listed as a breakfast dish (100 men) in the FS Recipe book

    Ingredients
    25lbs Meat
    8lbs Bread
    6lbs Onions
    1lb Curry Powder
    1lb Dripping
    3lbs Flour
    2oz Salt
    1oz Pepper
    Stock as required

    Method
    Make a curry gravy by peeling and cutting 3lbs of onions into rings and frying to a light brown colour in boiling fat. mix the curry powder into a smooth paste by adding cold water . Add this mixture to the fried onions and boiling fat, then boil for 10 minutes; stirring to prevent burning

    Soak the bread and squeeze out the water. Remove the meat form the bone and cut into suitable sized pieces, then pass the meat through the mincer, together with the bread and the remaining onions. Season with the pepper and salt. Add sufficient flour to bind and shape the mixture into small balls. Place balls in gravy and bake in a moderately heated oven for 1 hour.

    Sounds alright, curried meatballs, though I'm not sure about its qualities as a breakfast and I assume that a meal like that would be camp and depot food?

    There's even a full Christmas Day bill of fare which matches the menu in a programme of ALFSEA Christmas activities that my dad kept from Christmas 1945 in Singapore.

    If anyone's interested I'll scan or type out the contents pages/chapter headings and maybe a few more recipes etc..I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on the delights of Faggots from Dehydrated Meat or Mock Ham o_O
     
    dbf likes this.
  2. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    Pardon my foreign ignorance, but in "1 lb Dripping" what is it?

    The recipe sounds delicious, thanks! :)
     
  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  4. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Very Senior Member

  5. idler

    idler GeneralList

    Good stuff - it would certainly be interesting to see more of the 'Indianised' recipes. Forget Delia, welcome to the WW2Talk Kukri Kourse!
     
    dbf likes this.
  6. Recce_Mitch

    Recce_Mitch Very Senior Member

    As ex ACC I would be very interested in seeing 1942/1945 recipes.

    Cheers
    Paul
     
  7. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Very Senior Member

    But have to ask...

    ....reconstitution of dehydrated foods, pay rates....


    What's a dehydrated pay rate??? Is it something to do with the recession? :unsure:
     
  8. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

  9. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Very Senior Member

    LOTS of taste! ;)
     
  10. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    Let's put it another way: whose balls are being curried?

    :lol:
     
  11. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Very Senior Member

    25lbs Meat


    Whose balls? The recipe is wonderfully...non-specific...on that! :lol:
     
  12. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

    Let's put it another way: whose balls are being curried?

    :lol:
    Who cares? Beats the hell out of salted fish.
     
  13. idler

    idler GeneralList

    25lbs of balls - how many bags is that?
     
  14. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Very Senior Member

    ....hmm, the "Scotsman's kilt" joke comes to mind...
     
  15. idler

    idler GeneralList

    There are no curried balls in the Manual of Army Catering Services: Part II: Recipes, 1945 but it does have a near equivalent (please excuse the decimals):

    129. Curried Beef and Rice

    37.5lb beef (bone in) or
    28.25lb beef (boneless)
    8lb onions
    2lb flour
    1lb apple rings
    20 pts brown stock
    1.5lb curry powder
    7lb rice
    1oz black pepper
    8 bay leaves
    4oz salt
    2lb dripping

    Method
    1. Soak the apple rings overnight.
    2. Chop the onions finely, and fry to a light golden colour.
    3. Add the beef cut into small dice and colour also.
    4. Add curry powder.
    5. Cook for 5 minutes, add flour and cook to a sandy texture.
    6. Add chopped apple rings, boiling stock and seasoning.
    7. Bring to boil and simmer for 1.5 hours.
    8. Plain boil the rice (See recipe No. 206).
    9. Serve meat with a border of rice.


    206. Plain boiled rice

    5lb rice

    Method
    1. Pick and wash.
    2. Rain into boiling salted water; stir, bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until the grains are tender.
    3. Drain into a colander, refresh under running cold water, then hot water.
    4. Drain well, and place on a baking dish in a cloth, and dry off in an oven.


    The rice seems to be a bit of a palaver. Does the ALFSEA manual adopt the 'local' method for cooking the rice: bring to boil, then leave with the lid on to absorb the water on a very low heat?

    And don't forget, if you're trying this at home, remember to invite 99 others to dinner.
     
  16. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Very Senior Member

    Ah - isn't Peace a wonderful thing after so many years!

    37.5lb beef (bone in) or
    28.25lb beef (boneless)

    Wasn't just "meat" any more - you could at last rely on real beef...;)
     
  17. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    I often wonder who it was who thought up one of our breakfasts one day fresh out of action for two days - and the cookhouse was operating - we lined up as usual to be served a lonely - small - lambs heart - on a tin plate surrounded by a yellowish gravy(sic) of indetermined origin - and we were asked for "any complaints" by the 6'4" Orderly Officer who was a burly South African International Rugby Player - he received no complaints but many civilians had a small portion of meat that day - I can still see that thing lying in that gravy.....
    Cheers
     

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