Can someone help me! I have received my great grandmothers recipe book and am having trouble with some of the measurements. The information on the internet is contradictory. All the recipes pre-date the 1950 Standardisation of Weights etc in India.

My father remembers 1 seer as being about two and a half pounds. I have found a reference that it is 2lb 6oz so that's near enough. However what is a chittack. The same reference says that it is = 1oz and that 16 chittacks = 1 seer. Even if it is a misprint and it should read 2oz it still doesn't make 1 seer, but would that be close enough?

I need to scale down some recipes, Take one hundred limes, or Take 50 mangoes, or "When tomatoes are cheap and plentiful take 12 seers......"

See here;

http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/tip_display.php?tip_id=3

If you are unable to get this link to work, go to Advice, click on Conversion charts and scroll down to the bottom of the page

Thank you Mamta, I think they sound sensible, I didn't spot them way down at the bottom!

PS

Ann, How interesting! This sounds like my dad's old recipe 'register' that is entitled 'Preservation of fruits and vegetables'. He was the chief pickle and jam maker in our house. He made many fruit conserves too, known as 'Murrabba' in India.

He used to be a chemist in a sugar factory in a place called Yamuna Nagar in India, where they made jams, chutneys and all kinds of preserves. All recipe are written in his neat handwriting. I have converted a few and they are on this site, for example tomato ketchup. I am looking at this threadbare book right now. He would be 94 now, if he was alive! regards to your dad :-)!

Mamta

Mamta, I will check out your Dad's recipes once I have scanned mine into the computer and "translated" them, the books are falling apart so they need to be looked after. Aside from food, I have also found a recipe for "red mange for cats and dogs" and also one for "flit" which I remember as a child was a can with a sort of bicycle pump action for getting rid of flies!!!!!!!

Hello Ann

Flit was a vital gadget in an Indian house in old days, for getting rid of mosquitoes. This was in the pre-antimalarial drugs days. You sprayed a room, corners, under the beds and anywahere else where they could hide, closed the room and left it to work for 30-60 minutes.Those pumps are now out of fashion in the days of pressurised cans, but still used by older generations. I am sure my mum has one lying around somewhere.

I would love to hear what recipes your dad collected from those days :-).

Mamta