An antique list of recipes found at a British abbey contains the oldest mention in England of curry and has now been turned into a cook book.
The unusual book dating from 1793 was discovered in the archives of a Benedictine monastery – and now painstakingly transcribed.
It was used by monks to make various dishes including ‘calves head turtle fashion’ and ‘fricassee of pigs feet and ears’.
The curry recipe lists ingredients as curry powder, sugar, and other spices not widely available in the UK but which passed through Bristol due to the ‘slave trade triangle’.
Its curry recipe is three spoonfuls of curry powder, a tea-spoonful of salt, two large onions, chicken, lemon rind, veal gravy and butter.
The curry was served with rice and the author suggested swapping chicken for lobster, veal or rabbit,
It was discovered in the library of Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset.
The book was written at a stately home near Bristol, Begbrook House, and later donated by the Parsons family – and now turned into a modern cook book.
Frances Bircher, heritage officer at the abbey, said: “We have made a huge amount of different recipes and tasted them.
“At the time, Bristol would have had ships that would have been part of the ‘triangle’.
“There is a range of ingredients – there are things you can still pick up in supermarkets today, and there is a lot of veal which seems less acceptable.
“There’s calf head, and pigs ears and feet. The chicken curry recipe is chicken breast and curry powder.
“It is a bit more normal. Lots of the recipes you can make today.
“Some of them are a bit more extreme – the whole animal was used, it is quite an efficient way of cooking.
“All the recipes need a bit of attention as there are no standardised cooking temperatures.
“A lot of the houses would have had their own cook books and if a member of the family went to visit another house and enjoyed a meal, they might bring it back in the book.”
Other recipes include ‘calves head turtle fashion,’ and ‘fricassee of pigs feet and ears’.
In one recipe for Sally Lunn buns, famous in the nearby city of Bath, egg white was spread across the dough with a feather.
It was donated to the Abbey in the 19th Century, but for decades the archives of the monastery were untouched, until a mammoth project began in 2015 to document what was inside.
The monks were fascinated by the discovery of the recipe book, which will go on sale titled Downside Abbey Presents: Bristol Georgian Cookbook, and even visited a nearby Michelin restaurant to see how top chefs cooked the recipes.
Ms Bircher said chefs at the Pony and Trap, which has held a Michelin Star since 2011, were surprised at how uncomplicated the recipes were, with the chicken curry requiring only curry powder, stock, onions and chicken breast.
She added: “I think a lot of the chefs enjoyed how simple the recipes were to make.
“Some of them you have to leave for a few days. They are quite simple recipes, with simple ingredients. It is home cooking.”
Extra care was taken to keep the original spellings in the new edition, rather than to modernise them, and it will include pictures of the handwritten script.
Ms Bircher added: “It was an unusual find in a monastery in the heart of Somerset.”
