Curried Oysters

Serve curried oysters with a separate dish of rice.

Peel and cut into thin slices a moderate sized Spanish onion; put a lump of butter into a stewpan, place it over the fire, and when the butter boils put in the onion and fry it until nicely browned. Next stir in three tablespoonfuls of curry powder, add more butter if necessary, and mix well over the fire. Pour in gradually a sufficient quantity of broth, put the lid on the pan and let the whole boil up. Grate a cocoanut and peel and chop a very sour apple, or, instead of the apple, a few tamarinds would be best if they could be obtained; put them into the stewpan with the other ingredients, and boil the whole slowly until the cocoanut is tender. Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour smooth with a little water, and stir it into the above mixture; season to taste with salt, stir and boil for five minutes. Put two or three tomatoes, freed from their seeds, into a stewpan with a hundred oysters and their liquor, also the milk of the cocoanut. Stir them occasionally, and stew slowly for a few minutes. Add this to the former mixture. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, turn the curry on to a hot dish, garnish with croutons of fried bread, or sippets of toast, and serve with a separate dish of rice.