India Sauce

A cupful of béchamel turned into a sharp curried sauce for fried or broiled shellfish. The whole thing takes about ten minutes once the white sauce exists.

• The white sauceThe recipe does not specify one. A standard white sauce of the period is 1 tablespoon butter cooked with 1 tablespoon flour, then 1 cup milk whisked in and simmered until it coats a spoon; a heavier version uses two of each. Season it before the curry powder goes in, since the pickles will add their own salt.
• Cook the curry powderCommercial curry powder tastes raw and dusty if it is only warmed through. Stir it into the melted butter with the flour for half a minute before adding the milk, or fry it in a teaspoon of butter separately and whisk that in. Five minutes of simmering in finished sauce is not enough on its own.
• Which picklesIn a book of this period this most likely means small cucumber pickles or mixed pickle in a sharp, clear vinegar brine, chopped fine. Sweet bread-and-butter pickles or dill spears in a cloudy brine will pull the sauce in a different direction; gherkins or cornichons are the closest match.
• Tarragon vinegarStill sold, and worth having; a plain white wine vinegar plus a few bruised tarragon leaves stands in. Using the pickle brine instead, as the recipe allows, gives a blunter, saltier result.
• Keep it below a boilOnce the vinegar is in, hold the sauce at a bare simmer. A hard boil after acid is added encourages the sauce to thin and, if you have enriched it with cream, to break.
• Yield and useAbout 1 cup. The recipe specifies neither servings nor an accompaniment; a sauce this sharp suits fried or cold boiled shellfish, loosened with a spoonful of cream if served lukewarm.
• Holding itThe sauce skins over as it sits. Cover the surface directly with buttered paper or plastic, or set the pan in a bowl of hot water and stir occasionally.