Cracking mystery of good food: Of detective books and meals

Rahul Verma

A good detective book teases the brain cells, but it triggers the taste buds, too. A longstanding fan of crime thrillers and whodunits, I sometimes find myself moving away from the plot and deep into the food that the detectives eat.

If you enjoy the books of Lawrence Sanders, you will know what I am talking about. His characters Archy McNally and Francis X Delaney prepared and ate the most mouth-watering sandwiches: put together, for instance, with a piece of roast beef, red onions, beefsteak tomatoes and garlic-spiced mayonnaise or black bread with slices of beef, cheese, onion, sardines, horseradish, tomato slices and mayonnaise.

I have just received a most enjoyable book — about food in Agatha Christie’s books. In ‘Recipes for murder; 66 dishes that celebrate the mysteries of Agatha Christie’, the author, Karen Pierce, recounts many of the dishes that appear in the books. She gives the context of the dish, the socio-cultural history, and then adds her own recipes at the end of each chapter.

Food in Christie’s books is no surprise, for the great festive meals she had while growing up have been recorded. The Christmas table, for instance, was laden with oyster soup and turbot, roast turkey, sirloin of beef, plum pudding, mince pies, trifle, and chocolates.

Hot chocolate often pops up in her books. Pierce writes about the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot starting the day with his favourite fare — a cup of hot chocolate and a pastry. “Since 1894, Belgium has ranked as one of the world’s foremost chocolate producers. No wonder, Poirot enjoys it so much,” she writes. Her recipe for hot chocolate is simple: in a saucepan, over medium heat, add 4 cups of milk, a cinnamon stick and one vanilla pod till the mixture boils. Take it off the heat, add 2/3rd cup of dark chocolate pieces and mix till the chocolate melts completely. Whisk the hot chocolate vigorously until it froths at the top. Add sugar as needed. “Dust with nutmeg and perhaps serve with just one (more) pastry,” she writes.

Poirot likes his omelettes just so — but was greatly unhappy with the food served in the house where he was putting up in ‘Mrs McGinty’s Dead’. He teaches the lady of the house, Maureen Summerhayes, how to make the perfect omelette (see recipe). In ‘Cat among the Pigeons’, a book that came out several years later, a young student tells Poirot that her aunt Maureen makes “smashing” omelettes. “He replies that he hasn’t lived in vain,” Pierce writes.

Unlike Poirot, who is fastidious about what he eats and drinks, Kinsey Millhone is not so choosy. Sue Grafton’s feisty private detective is often found slathering over a juicy quarter-pounder with cheese, but mostly makes do with a simple sandwich of pickle and hardboiled egg, lashed with salt.

One of my favourite authors of all time, James Lee Burke, has delicious descriptions of Creole and Cajun food in his crime novels, set in New Orleans. I love the idea of po’ boy sandwiches — French bread cut lengthwise and stuffed with fried seafood, roast beef, chicken breast or ham.

Sicilian crime writer Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Salvo Montalbano enjoys good food, too. Sometimes, he goes in for a plate of grilled rock lobster or hake in a sauce of anchovies and seafood antipasto; sometimes he simply has roasted chickpeas and salted pumpkin seeds.

Some experts believe that there is a link between solving crimes and having a good meal. Both, it has been argued, produce a sense of satisfaction. I agree. A good book and a good meal will make you want to reach out for more.

THE PERFECT OMELETTE

Ingredients

Salted butter 2 tbsp

Large eggs 2

Whole milk 2 tbsp

Salt and pepper To taste

Filling of choice: Mushrooms, grated cheddar cheese, herbs or seafood

Method

• In a frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. In a small bowl, crack the eggs and beat well.
• Add milk to the eggs, plus salt and pepper. Mix well. When the pan becomes hot enough to make a drop of water hiss, pour in the egg mixture. Do not stir. Cook for 1 minute, cover, and cook for 3 more minutes.
• When the centre has set firmly, turn the omelette over and cook for 1 more minute.
• Add filling of choice down the centre of the eggs, then gently fold half the omelette over, lining up the edges.
• Cook for 1 more minute until the filling warms.
• Slide it onto a plate and serve on its own or with accompaniments.

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