Kolkata nostalgia & gastronomy
Bharer Chaa:Tea served in clay pots. At the Maidan, from shining brass vessels on a rainy day. This is also good at Calcutta Stock Exchange street (Lyon's range).
Boudir Lebu Cha (Deshapriya Park): This is the evergreen Lemon tea.
Here's the Must-have dessert list:
Mishti Doi & Rosogolla from Mithai (Beckbagan)
Sandesh (all types) from Balaram (Bhowanipur) (Naram pak & Ice
cream sandesh), Nakur’s at Shimle. Bhim Nag in Boubazar.
Pantua from Bancharam
Indrani from Ganguram
Rabri from Ganguram
Darbesh & Kheer er chop from Sen Mahasay in Shyambazar.
Amritti from Bhim Nag/Ganguram, Maniktala (Jalebis are no match)
Patishapta - A delicate crepe with a filling of coconut and gur at Puntiram.
Chhanar payesh - Better than rabdi anyday and does not weigh your stomach down, at Putiram (College Street)
Miscellaneous:
Alukabli - Another must try at Vivekananda Park or opposite Menoka
Cinema. This is a chat like stuff with boiled potatoes, germinated choleys, ginger juliennes etc. with juice of lemon. I had to wipe my mouth while writing about it.
Kuler achar - the best outside Gariahat market. This is a chutney made with a particular berry which is available in the winter. Try this along with Aloo Posto, hot rice & Urad dal.
Shukno mashla makha tetul - Available with the churanwalas outside all
schools, much to the delight of the students and dismay of the parents, it is made with tamarind.
Bikrampurer kashundi - Mustard just pales next to this, available in most Bengali grocery shops. Bhetci macher fry with sliced onions & Kashundi. Dijon take a back seat here.
Aamer morobba - the best outside Gariahat market, this is a mango preserve.
Mochar chop - A delight even for the staunchest non vegetarians, banana flower stuffing in a potato cover braided with bread crumbs & deep fried, at the Tele bhaja shops in Baghbajar & Shyam bazaar. Plucking out the small florets is a big job so most ladies today simply don’t cook it at home these days.
Kumro phul bhaja - In tiny little food joints around Chittaranjan Avenue. These are pakoras made with the fresh yellow flowers of Pumpkin. We often eat them with hot rice to which gawa ghee has been added.
Dulaler tal mishri- Candies made from the juice sapped from Palmyra trees. Tasty & good for cough & cold. These were all the medicines we took as a child when noses began to run.
Ujjala's Chanachur ( no comparison anywhere): Even Haldiram's don't any where come Close to it.
Dab er sarbat at Paradise at College street. One of the young managers used to practice tabla sitting there & it was great to hear him play while sipping the Sarbat on a summer afternoon.
Cakes, pastries & patties at Nahum’s in new Market. I still can visualize the shop during X-Mass time, ginger loaves, marzipans, cinnamon rolls, plum cakes, mince pies & for us who had ordered months in advance with full payment bottles of resin wine, the excise department just kept their eyes closed during this period & no one ever complained.
Baked beans on toasts at Flury’s.
Simply delicious:
Kasha mangsho- a mutton curry at the Golbari at Shyambazar. Quarter of a plate used to be enough for one person. Even with a lot of research I haven’t yet cracked the trick I must admit. Although it is referred as Punjabi food in Kolkata I haven’t found it anywhere in Punjab.
Muri ghonto - Defies description, this one is rice cooked with rohu fish heads. Check out at Suruchi Elliot road.
Daab Chingri from Kewpies (Elgin Lane): This is Prawn cooked in coconut.
Chicken Cutlet near Samur (Bhowanipur)
Moghlai Parota from Anadi Cabin (S N Banerjee Road). This is a crisp paratha with egg & mince filling. Another once famous place was "Delkhosh".
Chelo Kabab from Peter Cat: This can't be explained.....
Double Egg Chicken Roll from Kusum (Park Street )
Steak at Oly pub (with beer!!): This joint is also at Park Street.
Champ & Biriyani at Royal hotel in Chitpoor. Close competition for Karims in Delhi although the menu is different.
Kochuri & Tarkari from Tasty Corner (Mandeville Gardens) & various tele bhaja shops at residential localities.
Kabiraji Cutlet from Regent (S N Banerjee Road). The speciality of this dish is the fluffy & crunchy wrapping made with egg whites. Thanks to a Bengali lady who has dared to open a Bengali restaurant where we live in Delhi & has imported some good cooks from Kolkata. We get to eat this stuff now!
Bijoli Grill's Fish Roll.
Pabda Paramaditya, a delicate fish cooked in a very tasty gravy at Aheli.
Bread & hot mutton stew at Dekker’s lane at lunch time on working days only.
Roti & mutton curry at Aminia. What a treat after a film at one of the many theaters near by or after a tiring shopping at the New Market..
Pulao & mutton rezalla at Shiraz.
Drinking:
The country liquor bar at Khalashi tala, in our time writers, film makers, ad men, actors would sit & discuss various things over the drinks, there would also be groups of smugglers & wagon breakers, thieves plotting out the night’s activities, harassed men pouring out their woes to patient listeners. Fights would break out once in while but a word like “Poolish asche..” would calm down the people. Rickshaw pullers who used to hang around were experts in guessing the level of inebriation and quoted accordingly. I really miss the sound of their bells at night.
MUTTON KOFTAS
It is Koftas tonight. From the courts of the Ottoman Sultans the concept of Koftas descended.½ kg mince meat, there shouldn’t be much of fat. Binding is impaired.
2 onions sliced not very thinly
2 onions chopped
3 to 4 table spoons of tomatoe puree.
4-5 green chillies
5-6 whole garlic cloves
1 tbsp chopped ginger
3 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tbsp yoghurt
1 egg beaten
4 eggs-hard boiled
oil for frying
salt to taste
In a non stick pan cook the minced meat for about 20 minutes with the sliced onions, bay leaf, green chillies, chopped ginger and garlic cloves. Add salt to taste.
Once cooked beat 1 egg into the mixture. Mix well.
Slice the boiled eggs in halves.
Coat the egg halves with the mince. These should be like balls with about 55mm dia.
Fry the coated eggs in hot oil and keep aside.
To the remaining oil in the pan, add the chopped onions and the ginger. Fry until the onions turned brown.
Add 1 tsp red chilli powder, coriander powder, yoghurt, pureed tomatoes and the garam masala to the pan. Simmer until the gravy turns thickish.
Gently drop the fried coated eggs in this & very carefully stir. Cover & cook on a very slow flame for about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat & let it stand covered for 10 minutes to allow the koftas to soak in the gravy.
VEGETARIAN KOFTAS:
For Kofta:
Boiled vegetables like carrot, green peas, bottle gourd, potato, cauliflower, about 2 cups
Ginger paste 3/4 tsp.
Black pepper powder 1/2 tsp.
Maida (refined flour) 2 tbsp.
Vegetable oil 8-10 tbsp.
Salt to taste.
For Gravy:
Onion paste 1 cup
Finely chopped tomatoes 1 cup
Vegetable oil 4 tbsp.
Bay leaves 3-4
Ginger paste 1 tsp.
Garlic paste 1 tsp.
Green chilli paste 1/2 tsp.
Coriander powder 1 tsp.
Red chilli powder 1 tsp.
Turmeric Powder 3/4 tsp.
Garam Masala Powder 1 tsp.
Cream 4 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for decoration .
Method:
For Kofta:
Mash all the boiled vegetables. Add ginger paste, pepper powder, maida and salt.
Make into small kofta balls about 35mm in dia.
Heat oil on 'high'.
Reduce heat to 'medium' and then fry kofta balls so that they cook properly. First try with one ball. Check if the oil is heated properly and ball comes out well. If you find that the balls are splattering it means binding is not adequate , then add little more maida to the mixture.
For Gravy:
Heat oil in pan .
Fry bay leaves for 30 seconds.
Add onion paste, ginger-garlic paste and green chilli paste. Fry the mixture till it becomes golden brown and starts separating from oil.
Add garam masala, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, dhania powder, salt to the mixture and stir for about 3-4 minutes on 'medium'.
Bring the gravy to boil and then cover it. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes. White meat
A constant friction I have at home is regarding meat. I prefer red but my daughters are for white. These girls are a misguided lot. Some moronic preachers have preached that every thing that is good on the palate is bad for health. This is utter blasphamy. I also suspect that most of these preachers suffer from chronic gastritis or somthing else which has made good eating impossible for them. Many of them have taken up mightier than sword pens & keyboards with a vengence.
Anyway a truce is always good so its chicken tonight.
A WHOLE STUFFED CHICKEN.
For the marinade
2.5 cm ginger piece
8-10 garlic cloves
6 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
½ tsp white pepper powder
For the gravy
3 medium onions-thinly sliced
10-12 almonds-blanched & slit in half.
10 – 12 Pistachios
2 cups yogurt
4 tbsp oil
a pinch of saffron diluted in warm water
Grind ginger & garlic & mix with lemmon juice & salt. Make slits on the chicken by sharp knife. Rub the marinade on the chicken & let it marinate for at least 3 to 4 hours.
Cook half cup of Basmati rice. Mix some almonds & Pistachios with rice. Add a few drops of saffron water, salt to taste. Stuff the chicken with this. Sew the opening.
Heat oil in a pan, lightly sauté the whole chicken.
Heat oil in a frying pot; add the onions and fry until they turn dark brown. Drain the excess oil and keep aside to cool. Once cool, grind the onions with the some more almonds, return to pot and then add the yogurt and make it into a smooth paste. Place the stuffed chicken in the pot and turn it so that the masala covers the whole surface. Might need to add a bit of warm water depending up on the water content of your yogurt.. Cover and cook until tender, turning occasionally to cook evenly.Before serving, pour the liquid saffron over the chicken.Serve it with nan.Wine suggestion: A good semi dry white.
POTATO DESSERT
Get a good sweet potato & some rose petals if you can but no essence please. Pressure cook the potato with a little water to which you add the rose petals. About 4 whistles will do. Take out the cooked sweet potato & let it cool.
Now take a 1 ltr carton of rich milk & start boiling it. Stir continuously & don’t let a film form on the surface. I always put on my head phones while reducing milk because this reducing is a very boring & time consuming job so a bit of music helps, luckily we wont have to reduce so much in this case as the potato will add starch. After the milk has reduced by about 25% add 1/3 cup of sugar. Now here is a catch. During my sojourn in Europe I have found the sugar available there is much less sweet than what we get in India. May be most of it is white beet root sugar. So you may need to adjust the quantity of sugar. Stir till all the sugar gets dissolved.
To add a twist to the original recipe take some vermicelli & fry them golden brown in Ghee. Peel the potato carefully & slice in to slivers.
To the boiling milk, throw in some slivers of blanched almonds, hazel nuts & sultanas. Add the fried vermicelli. Add the potato slivers last & simmer for 3 minutes, sprinkle a bit of cardamom powder & serve warm.
You can steam the sweet potato with rose petals in a pressure cooker.
Some people make slivers of the potato & saute them in Ghee so that it is a bit golden & almost cooked. These sauted slivers are then added to the milk & boiled. It is basically the classical dessert of any country that is pair starch with milk & sugar.
FOR ALL POTATO LOVERS here is one nice stuff.
medium potatoes, cut into 4 pc
2 medium Onions
4 cloves Garlic
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin Seed Powder
1.5 tsp Red Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Ghee
4 tbsp Cooking Oil
1 cup Water
1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
2 Bay Leaf
1/2 inch Ginger
A pinch of sugar.
Coat the potatoes with a mix of turmeric powder and salt.
Shallow fry in a pan and keep it aside.
Finely Chop 1.5 onions and keep it aside. Make a paste of the half onion, garlic and ginger and keep it aside.
Heat 1 tbsp Ghee and all of the cooking oil in a frying pan. Add bay leaf and fry for a while.
Now add the chopped onions, and fry it till golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic-onion paste & the sugar and fry for another 2 minutes.
Add rest of the spices except the garam masala and the tomato puree. Fry in low heat till oil leaves the side of the pan.Add the fried potatoes and stir for another minute or so. Add water, salt, Garam masala powder, and ghee and bring it to boil
Cook it in low heat till the potatoes are properly cooked and the gravy is thick.
Serve with paratha or luchi. Best with Green peas katchori(
CHICKEN ROHGANI QURMA
This qurma is best enjoyed in the winter.
Chicken400 gm boneless
almond paste 3 tablespoons
1 tbsp oil
4 cloves
4 cardamoms
2 sticks of cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 cup yoghurt whisked to a smooth paste.
Gravy
1 tbsp oil1
tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp brown onion paste (fry sliced onions in oil, strain & grind, can be stored in an airtight can in refrigerator for future use)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli paste
1 tsp salt
3 cups of chicken stock You can use the stock cubes but make sure that these do not contain ajinomoto or some strong seasoning. Don’t use cream of chicken too.
½ tsp mixture of mace and cardamom powder, 70% cardamom & 30% mace.
½ tsp of garam masala
2 drops of kewra essence
A pinch of saffron, soak the strands in warm milk & grind it using a small mortar & pestle.
You can use roasted almonds, juliennes of ginger and coriander leaves to garnish
Take a pair of chicken pieces & apply almond paste to the surface of one piece & cover it with another, and tie the pieces together with a thread.
Heat oil in pan. Add cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon, bay leaves and chicken. Cook the chicken till it loses color, and then add the yoghurt. Cover the pan and cook for about 2 minutes. The chicken will cook in almond & yogurt mix!
Strain the chicken and remove the thread from it. Now keep the chicken aside along with the strained chicken stew.
For the Gravy, heat oil in pan. Add ginger garlic paste, onion paste, coriander powder, red chilli paste, salt, strained chicken stew, chicken stock, prepared chicken pieces, mixture of mace and cardamom powder, garam masala and kewra essence.Cover the pan and cook for about five minutes.
Garnish with saffron, roast almonds, juliennes of ginger and coriander leaves. Seal the lid of the pan preferably with wheat dough. This will not allow the aroma to escape easily.
Then place the pan on a thick tava & place the tava on low fire for about 15 minutes.Serve hot with tandoori roti.
WINTER EVENING & TROTTER SOUP!
Goat’s legs(trotters) 10 pcs.
Turmeric powder ½ tspn
Cinnamon 1 inch pieces 2 nos.
Bay leaves 2 nos.
Cloves 8 pieces
Green Cardamoms 6 nos.
Black pepper 10 seeds
Onions 2 nos.
Ginger 1 inch piece 2 nos.
Garlic 8 pods
Mint leaves 8 nos.
Green chilli 1 or 2 nos.
Poppy seeds 1 tbspn.
Coriander powder 1 tsp.
Oil 5 tbspn or as required.
Salt to taste.
Wash & clean the trotters. Put 5 cups of water in a pressure cooker, add salt, Turmeric & one piece of ginger. Put the cleaned trotters in the cooker, close & put on high flame. After one whistle lower the flame & let it cook for about 40 minutes.
Finely slice the onions, grate the ginger & garlic. Soak the poppy seeds & grind to paste. Grind the mint leaves with one green chily.
Heat oil in a pan, add the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves & pepper corns in this order. When they begin to crackle add the sliced onions & sauté till the onions are translucent. Add the grated ginger & garlic & sauté for a while. Now add the poppy seed paste & Coriander powder & stir well. Add the mint paste.
Remove the trotters from the pressure cooker, keep aside & discard the ginger. Slowly pour the trotter stock in to the pan stirring all the time. Bring to a boil & add the boiled trotters. Cover & cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves & serve steaming hot.
COOKING WITH MY FORMULA44
This is for busy people. Get an airtight glass container. On a holiday grind a lot of onions, one-inch stick of ginger & 2 or 3 cloves of garlic for every 3 medium onions. Grind them separately.
Heat Ghee/oil or a mix of both (see note below) add a pinch of sugar & bay leaves then cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves. When they begin to crackle add the onion paste & fry. Then add the ginger & garlic paste. Now add tomato puree, turmeric powder, chilly powder & salt. Stir & cook. When oil begins to separate turn off flame. Cool this & store in the airtight container in the fridge.
MATAR PANEER:
Slice paneer in to 2-inch squares & lightly fry them in Ghee. Keep the paneer pieces aside. Add dollops of formula44 paste to the pan & add green peas & stir. Add warm water to make gravy. Stir & boil till peas are done. Add the paneer pieces cover & cook for 5 minutes. Adjust salt & seasonings. Garnish with ginger juliennes & chopped coriander leaves.
EGG CURRY:
Hard boil & shell eggs. Make slits with a sharp knife. Skin & quarter potatoes. Heat oil/ghee in a pan. Sauté the eggs & keep aside. Lightly brown the potatoes & add formula44 paste, add warm water & the sautéed eggs. Adjust salt & seasonings. Cover & cook till potatoes are done.
KEEMA MUTER:
Heat oil in a pan add the mince & fry till the mince becomes pale brown. Then add formula44 paste, add warm water & the green peas. Stir well & cook covered stirring occasionally. Adjust salt & seasonings. Towards the end uncover & make it a bit dry. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Many more possibilities……..
Note: Not all oils & ghee should be mixed as the smoking temperature of these can be very different. So some oil may start smoking before the ghee. When oils & fat smoke they create complex chemicals which is difficult to digest.
DAL CHICKEN a complete meal!
With rice this dish is a complete meal.
Amchoor 2tsp
• Dried red Chillies 3
• Mustard Seeds 1tsp
• Chilli powder ½tsp
• Chana Dhal or Split Yellow Lentils 75g
• Chicken Bite-size Pieces 450g
• Coriander Seeds 1tsp
• Oil 4tbsp
• Curry Leaves 4 (Optional)
• Fresh Coriander 1tbsp chopped
• Leeks 2 chopped
• Tomatoes 2 chopped
• Salt to taste
Rinse the lentils and remove any stones or grit.Place in a saucepan, cover with water and boil until soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes. I normally pressure cook them for a short time.Drain and set aside.Meantime, heat a tawa or a wok and dry-roast the coriander seeds until they crackle.Remove and set aside to cool & then grind. After grinding I put them in a katori & seal with aluminium foil or cling film.
Heat the oil in the karahi then first add the dried chillies,leeks, curry leaves and mustard seeds.Stir-fry on a gentle heat for a few minutes.Add the amchoor, chopped tomatoes, chilly powder, salt & chicken pieces and stir-fry for about 7-10 minutes.
Throw in the lentils and cook for another couple of minutes towards the end sprinkle the ground corriander seeds & cover. You can also use the dal stock to make it with more gravy to eat with rice.Serve garnished with chopped coriander leaves.
CHICKPEAS WITH SPINACH & AMCHOOR
1/2 medium onion .
2 large fresh tomatoes, or 3 tbsp tinned tomatoes
1 x 400g can chickpeas (garbanzo beans it is called is'nt it?) If your chickpeas are not canned, you need to soak them overnight and boil them until soft before using in this recipe
1 tsp sunflower oil, or other flavourless vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp asafoetida
250 gms spinach,
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp amchoor (dried, powdered mango)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
175ml water
1. Peel and chop the onion.
Peel the tomatoes if you wish, then chop them finely (I don't think it's worth peeling them - the pieces of skin should be very tiny in the finished dish).
Drain the chickpeas and rinse them well.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin and asafoetida . Stir, then add the onion.
Cook, stirring, until the onion is browned .
3. Add the spinach and tomato, and stir for 3 minutes.
4. Add the salt, chilli powder, jeera, amchoor , sugar & lime juice.
Stirr in the chickpeas and water, then cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes more.
5. When water is gone, and the thick green sauce sticks to the chickpeas, the dish is ready.Bon appetite.
GREEN PEAS KATCHORI
With the on set of winter sweet green peas are available in plenty. This is one of my very favourite stuff that we often eat at Sunday brunches.
- 250 gms. Green Peas
- 1 cup White Flour
- 1 Cup Cooking Oil
- 1 inch piece Ginger
- 4 Green Chilis depends on how hot they are.
- 2 tsp Aniseed
- 0.25 tsp Asafetida
- 0.25 tsp or to taste Salt
- as reqd for deep frying Cooking Oil
1. Sift flour (Maida) and add 1/4 tsp salt. Rub 2 table spoon of cooking oil and knead to a soft dough adding little water as required. This the same type of dough that you make for rotis or puris.
2. Grind peas, ginger, green chilies, aniseeds to a fine paste. I use an electric mixie to do the job. Make sure that it is a nice smooth paste. Stray unmashed peas may cause a blister while katchoris are being fried & oil will get in to.
3. Heat one table spoon of oil and fry asafetida for about 20 seconds. Add the ground peas paste and salt. Fry well till the paste is cooked & easily come off the edge of the pan.. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
4. Divide dough into 8 balls. Press each ball in the center and fill in the peas mixture. Close the opening and flatten. Roll into round pancakes.
5. Heat about 1-1/2 cup of cooking oil. Deep fry one at a time. Reduce heat and fry till golden brown. Drain and remove and serve hot with Dum Aloo & tomato chutney.
PAKORA SUBZI
PAKORA SABJI
250gms Potato
2 Onions, sliced
2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp Ajwain (Tychotis)
Salt To taste
1/2 cup Besan
1 tsp Corainder Powder
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Annardana (Pomegranate seeds) Powder. It works wonders but omit this if not available.
Oil for frying
Handful Coriander leaves for garnishing.
Preparation:
Cut the potato into long pieces.
Make a thin batter of besan, salt, ginger-garlic paste, ajwain seeds adding little water. Add 1 tsp of oil and mix well.
Marinate alu pieces for 15 minutes.
Heat oil and deep fry the aloo. Keep aside.
Heat 2 tsp of oil, add onions and saute till brown. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, annardana powder, garam masala and mix well.
Add the aloo (potato) and toss well. On a low flame cook for another 5- 6 minutes.Garnish with corainder leaves and serve hot with paratha or chapati.
CHAMP MASSALA
6 mutton chops, ask your butcher to flatten these a bit. You can further prick them by a fork. Now my Mantra as far as the chops are concerned is this:
“To yourself don’t be mean
Leave those chops that are lean”
Marrinade:
¾ tsp salt
1 medium onion
6 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger piece
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ cup yogurt
4 Green cardamoms
4 Cloves
1 inch piece Cinnamon
5 Black pepper corns.
Dry grind the last 4 items & mix this with the curd. Grind the onion, garlic & ginger together. Mix it with the curd along with chilli & the coriander powder. Don’t add salt otherwise the meat juices will run out.
Marinate the chops in this for at least 6 hours preferably in a refrigerator. If you are working do this part in the morning before you go out. Drool out the day & return to your lair with a good appetite.
Now get
4 tbsp oil
8 cloves
10-12 black peppercorns
1 inch cinnamon piece
Salt to taste.
1/4 tea spoon Mace powder.
pinch of saffron dissolved in warm milk.
In a pressure cooker heat the oil & throw in the spices. After these begin to splutter add the marinated chops & stir well, add the salt. Pressure cook for 10 minutes. Turn off heat & when the pressure has reduced open the lid. Turn on heat & cook stirring continuously
till it is semi dry, add the Mace powder & the saffron. Turn off heat & keep it covered.Serve with Nan or Roti.Wine suggestion: A nice good Beaujolais.
The serious issue of TOMATO & ITS CHUTNEY
Yesterday Kaushik raised the issue whether Tomato is a fruit or not. The lousy internet connection didnt allow me to write my views about this issue.
Yes Tomato is a fruit.
The botanical name for Tomatoes is Solanum lycopersicum. Spanish invaders noticed these fruits which the Aztechs ate. This fruit is native to Central and South America, from Mexico and Peru. It was called Tomati in Nahuatl (pronounced in two syllables, NA-watl ) the Uto-Aztecan language.
The Spanish invaders brought them to Europe. Many thought these fruits to be poisonous.
The tomato throwing festival in Spain has just recently been over.
The United States Congress passed the Tariff Act of 1883 imposing a 10% tax on imported vegetables. Tomatoes were classified as vegetables. This order was challenged by Mr. John Nix in the Supreme Court in 1893. In Nix vs Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), Justice Gray wrote, "Botanically speaking, tomatoes are fruits of a vine”
Tomatoes were called “Vilyati Began” in India when they were introduced, meaning Foreign Brinjal.
TOMATO CHUTNEY:
Oil preferably mustard. 1 to 1.5 tsp
panch phoron 1 tsp
finely minced ginger 1.5 tsp
tomatoes 1 Kg
Red chily 1 or 2 Whole & dried.
Red chily powder A pinch.
raisins 3 tbsp
sugar 3/4 Cup.
salt 1/2 tsp
water 1/4 cup
lemon juice 1 tbsp
Some dates, seeded
Peel and seed the tomatoes. Chop coarsely.
Heat the oil, add the panch phoron & the red chily. Stir fry for a few seconds till the seeds begin to pop.
Add the tomatoes, ginger and red pepper, and cook at high heat for 2 min.
Add any reserved juices, water, sugar, and salt. Cover, and cook gently
for 10-15 min, or until the tomatoes are tender. Add the raisins and chopped dates.
Uncover, and heat at high heat to thicken the chutney.
Remove from heat. Add lemon juice.
I cool this in refrigerator before serving.
TAMARIND CHUTNEY.
100 gms Tamarind cleaned.
1/4 cup sugar
1 glass water
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 tsp. coarse cumin powder
150 gms jaggery
1 tsp salt
You can also add pitted dates.
Soak tamarind, sugar, jaggery, dates in water for an hour or two. Boil the stuff for about 10 minutes. Add the salt, chily powder & cumin. Stirr and mash well.
Cool & store in an airtight bottle & refrigerate. I often keep the bottle without the lid but covered with a piece of clean cloth in the Sun for a day before storing.
MUTTON POSTO1. Mutton with bone 1Kg, not large chunks. A mix of cuts from hind leg, loins & neck.
2. 2 large onions very finely chopped.
3. Grind together 2 cloves of Garlic & a 2 inch piece of Ginger.
4. Bay leaf 3 leaves.
5. 3 sticks of Cinnamon.
6. 5 whole black Cardamoms.
7. 4 to 5 whole red Chilies.
8. About 100gms of Posto (Poppy seeds) ground with water.
9. 1-1/2 teaspoon of sugar.
10. Salt to taste.
11. Ghee about 100gms.
Use a very heavy thick bottomed pan with a close fitting lid. On a Tawa lightly roast the red chilies; note very lightly so that the colour doesn’t change. Keep these aside.
Put the pan on heat & put the Ghee in it. When the Ghee is hot put the Bay leaves & the sugar. The sugar is added at this stage so that it gets partially caramalised. Now add the Cinnamon & the Cardamoms. Fry these a bit & then add the onions. Fry till the onions are translucent. Add the ground Garlic & Ginger. Sauté a while.
Add the mutton pieces & mix thoroughly. Stir constantly & fry the mix over medium high flame. After the mix begins to brown slightly add the Poppy seed paste & some hot water. Never ever add cold water. Cover the pan tightly & let it cook on low flame till the meats are well done. Do check & stir occasionally so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom.I often grind a few Cashew nuts with the Poppy seeds.
Can be eaten with rice as well as Parathas. Please don’t have the heavy whole wheat Parathas with it. Make a dough of Maida, make balls of 2-1/2 inch dia, roll, apply a little Ghee then fold, roll again apply Ghee & fold do this at least 4 times. First roast these on a dry Tawa & then fry with a spoon full of Ghee. These should turn out light golden.
So would this be the menu on Saptami or Navami? Do let me know how it turned out.
Bon apetit.
Ghee has a flavour which most Indians like & because good Ghee is expensive use of it gives a rich feeling. It is like some of my friends who spend recklessly on the persuit of acquiring the best of the best of Caviar & I have to fake an orgasmic delight when ever they treat us.
I personally dont use much Ghee I do either of the 2 things. I mix Ghee with odourless oils like as you said Sunflower oil. A slight draw back here is that the smoking point of the Ghee & oil is different so the Ghee may smoke if used with a hight temperature oil. Sunflower oil is ok. Again health pundits recomend hight temperature oil as once the oil begins to smoke complex chemical are formed which the body finds difficult to break down. Otherwise I cook in oil & at the last phase I add a bit of Ghee which imparts the flavour with out making the gravy too rich.
Yes your pouch of Poppy seeds need to be discarded. How do you grind the Poppy seeds? Soak some Cashew nuts in water & grind them with the Poppy seeds. The sugar is important so take care not to miss it. Slightly caramalised it not only adds a pleasant taste but also helps the spicy Posto to cling to the meat.
I have decided to eat it myself tonight, I have called my wife as well as my butcher who has turned a friend in the 34 years that I am visiting his shop. This has happened many times after I had written about a recipe that I get the urge to eat it. Another thing I admit here that I wont cook it. My wife is a kind of druid whose alchemy with herbs & spices I cant match but I will definitely make her life miserable by telling her how to proceed, what to use, how much to fry, with frequent references to the cooking style of the Aztecs & the nomads of Mongolia. Quite a few families have been known to break up like this I had been warned!
Poppy seeds were used in ancient times too. As per the Ayurveda system Poppy seeds have cooling properties & very mildly tranquilising. In Mughal cooking it was used to thicken the gravy along with pastes of nuts & dried Sultanas. The crazy dish "Butter Chicken" gravy you will have at any Indian restaurant here will invariably have Posto paste, Cashew paste & a bit of coco nut paste.
WOK YOUR CHICKEN NOW
This one is quite simple & easy to cook dish. We have this mainly during the winter when fresh tomatoes arrive. This is one preparation where tomatoes & yogurt both are used & herbs like cinnamon, cardamom etc. & onions are not used.
You need:
Chicken about 1Kg. Cut in to pieces.
Natural Yogurt about 1/2 cup. Stir & make a smoothy.
Ginger paste about 2 teaspoons.
Red chilly powder 1 teaspoon.
Green chilies 2 or 3 sliced finely.
Black pepper freshly ground about 3/4th. of a teaspoon.
Tomatoes about ½ Kg. Finely chopped & not blended or pureed.
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing.
Put a wok on flame with ½ cup oil. To this add I teaspoon of salt. This will prevent chicken pieces from sticking to the bottom surface. Use a non-stick wok if you have one.
When the oil is hot add the chicken pieces. Fry the meat till it is golden coloured. Add the chopped tomatoes, red chilly powder & black pepper. Stir & let it cook on medium heat. The idea is to cook the meat by the juice of the tomatoes. When dry add the curd & green chilies. Stir well to mix the curd uniformly. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves & serve with roti or nan.
MUGHLAI GOPTAN OF EGGS
I wont put it the usual way of ingredients, method etc.
Take as many large eggs as you want. Make a very small hole without breaking the shell.
Take out the contents of the eggs. I use a tooth pick to stir up the inside of the eggs to loosen the Albumen sticking at places to the inside of the shell. Now mix a bit of saffron & pepper with the eggs & stir gently. Don’t let the mixture forth.
Warm a little ghee in a pan & add salt & crushed seeds of green cardamom; don’t fry. Mix this with the eggs. Now comes the difficult part. Put this mixture back in to the shells.
Cover & seal the holes with maida. Carefully place the "eggs" on a pan, cover with wet cloth & steam till these are hard-boiled. Cool & de-shell.
In a nonstick pan heat a little ghee & sauté these & serve as entrée.
SAHI MALAI KOFTA
For koftas:
¼ tsp. gramflour,just enough or binding,
1 ½ cup grated paneer,
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. grated ginger,
2 finely chopped green chillies,
Khubanis (Dried apricots), I have used pitted prunes too.
Pistachios.
salt to taste and oil for frying.
Slit the Khubanis & remove the seeds. Insert a pistachio or two in the hollow.
Mix the above ingredients and knead to a dough. Make balls about 2-1/2 inch dia & insert a stuffed Khubani in the centre.
Heat oil & deep fry these balls & keep aside.
For the Gravy:
2 onions grated.
2 tbsp. ginger & garlic paste.
2 tomatoes pureed.
1 tsp. Corriander powder.
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 Bay leaf.
1-1/2 tsp. Garam Masala.
1 tsp. red chilli powder.
1-1/2 tbsp. Poppy seeds
6 Cashew Nuts soaked in luke warm water
1 cup beaten curd
1/2 cup fresh cream
Ghee.
Salt to taste.
Grind the poppy seeds & the cashews to a fine paste.Heat Ghee in a sauce pan & when heated add the bay leaf. Add the grated onion & fry for a while.
Now add the ginger & garlic paste, stir & fry a little.Add coriander, turmeric, salt & chilli powder. Next add the popyy seed & Cashew paste.Stir well & add the tomato puree. Mix well & fry. When the ghee starts to separate add the beaten curd & mix thoroughly.
Cover & cook for a few minutes. Then let it cool a bit while covered.
Add the Koftas & mix gently. Keep covered for 10 minutes for the Koftas to absorb the gravy.
Transfer to the serving plate & pour cream over it. Best enjoyed with Nan or plain parathas.
I microwave the fried Koftas a bit this heats up the dried apricot in the centre of the Koftas & the nectar oozes out & moistnes the inside.
I make the paste myself using an hand held electric grinder. I do not use the ready made pastes as they invariably contain vinegar. Use one inch piece of Ginger & three or four cloves of Garlics depending on the size of the cloves. My wife uses a large slab of stone & a stone roller to make all kinds of pastes. She has a variety of stone slabs including a large granite one brought all the way from Chitkul in Kinnaur. This slab is heated & then I love the hiss & aroma when well marinated steaks are slapped on this stone. That is patthar ka kabab. Once I was severely admonished for grinding a bit of nutmeg on this slab, I was told this would disturb the "texture"! hitkul is a border village in an area called Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur is very beautiful & the view of Kinnaur Kailash peak is awsome from here. The mountains here are of black granite. A full moon night is a great experience the shiny black mountain faces appears to glow.
KAMOLA PHULKOPI (Cauliflower with Oranges)
I had manged to drag my wife to the keyboard, here is one for the Diwali.
You need:
Two or 3 Oranges
1 kG. Cauliflower
Four potatoes
Two or three Bay leaves
Cloves four pcs.
Green Cardamoms 3 pieces.
Cinnamon a 2 inch piece
Turmeric 1 tsp.
Ginger paste 1 table spoon (don’t use the ready made ones which invariably has vinegar)
Onions 2 nos. ground to a paste.
Chilly powder 1 tsp.
Cumin powder 1-1/2 tsp.
3-4 Green chilies.
Sugar 1 tsp.
Salt to taste.
Method:
Peel & de-seed the oranges. Take out the florets off the cauliflower about 1 inch pieces.
Peel & quarter the potatoes & coat lightly with turmeric.
Heat oil in a pan until it begins to smoke & then reduce the heat. Sauté the vegetables, keep aside.
In the same oil, fry the Bay leaves, cardamoms, and cinnamon. Now add the balance turmeric, ground ginger, onion paste, & chili powder, and add the sugar & cumin powder. Sauté this for a while. The sugar is required at this stage to bring out the colour. Sprinkle a little warm water to prevent burning.
Add the vegetables & the orange pulp. Add ½ cup of warm water, cover, & cook over a low flame.
Add the sliced green chilies 5 minutes before you finish. There should be very little gravy. Decorate with some orange pulp before serving. Devour this with Lutchis( Puris made of white flour).
BENGALI SINGARA
All purpose flour – 1 cup
Oil – 4 teaspoons + oil for deep fry
Water (warm)– to make dough
Salt – to taste
Potato – 1 medium (peel and cut in small cubes)
Cauliflower – 2 florets (cut into small pieces)
Green peas – 1 tablespoon
Peanut – 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Sugar – 1/2teaspoon
Cumin powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Garam masala – 1/8 teaspoon
Panch phoron – 1/8 teaspoon
Bay leaf – 1
Dried red chili – 1
Asafetida (hing) – a pinch
Heat 3 teaspoons of oil in a pan.
Add bay leaf, dried red chili, asafetida and panch phoron.
When panch phoron starts to splatter add potato and cauliflower. Stir for few minutes.
Then add salt, turmeric powder, sugar, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix well.
Now add peanuts and green peas and cook covering it until potatoes are tender. If required add very little water. The curry should be dry but not like fry.
Now add garam masala powder and turn off the heat. Let the curry be cool.
Mix flour and salt into a bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon oil and enough warm water to make firm dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and roll into a ball.
Divide the pastry into equal lime-sized balls (around 8 balls) and roll out into a thin oval shape.
Divide this into two equal pieces with a knife.
Brush each edge with a little water and form a cone shape around your fingers, sealing the dampened edge.
Fill the cases with the cool potato-cauliflower curry and press the two dampened edges together to seal the top of the cone.
Deep fry the singaras in hot oil (medium heat) until crisp and brown.
Take out and drain on a paper towel.
Serve hot with your favorite chutney or tomato ketchup. You can also make it with mutton mince.
JYOTIRMOY'S TREASURED BIRIYANI RECIPES!
Not feeling like getting up from the bed today because of the foggy gloom outside I stayed wrapped in my cosy blanket and let my mind wander.....
Wandering in the past I remembered this Khichuri which used to be made on rainy winter evenings during my young days in Kolkata, now completely forgotten'
DAWOODKHANI KHICHURI
Ingredients:
Mutton 500gms boneless
Ghee 300gms
Rice Govindo bhog 500gms
Moong dal 500gms
Eggs 2 soft boiled
Coriander whole 10gms
Coriander paste 5gms
Ginger 10gms
Ginger paste 5gms
Onion whole 2 small
Onion paste 100gms
Cinnamon
Green cardamom seed ground
Cloves ground
Black pepper powdered
Red chily powder or paste
Saffron soaked in warm milk
Salt to taste
Cook half portion of the meat with whole ginger, onion, coriander seeds, salt & water. Add enough water as the resulting stock will be used to cook the rice & dal.
When done sauté cloves in ghee and add this “tadka” to the cooked meat. Remove the meat pieces and strain the stock.
Coarsely mince the remaining portion of meat. Mix onion, ginger paste & the yolks of the soft boiled eggs with the mince. Make small flat balls like Shami Kababs with the mince mix. Fry these gently in Ghee & keep aside.
Add rest of the condiments to the ghee and then add a little of the meat stock to make a thickish sauce. Remove from heat.
Add this sauce to the stock and mix well. Cook the rice and dal in the stock. When nearly cooked, heat ghee in a fry pan sauté cooked meat pieces and the mince balls, add the saffron and transfer the contents to the pot where the rice & dal is being cooked. Cover & place the pot on dum.
Before serving beat the egg whites with a little salt. Heat ghee in a fry pan, add the egg white and stir vigorously. Spread this crunchy stuff over the Khichuri and serve.
Try making the humble Khichdi using Govindo Bhog rice and see how good it tastes. Winter time so throw in some caulliflowers and grean peas along with potatoes......
From various historical journals & especially from Ain-I-Akbar, Journal of Jahan ara, the chronicles of Haqueem Abdullah of the court of Nawab Shiraz-u-dullah & later the writings of the chefs of the deposed ruler of Awadh during his exile in Calcutta we find the mention of numerous varieties of Biryani & Pulao.
It is this preparation of rice with meats & nuts that has seen maximum improvisations. The Subedars & Nawabs of places distant from the capitol & head quarters of the ruling Badsha in Delhi indulged in all sorts of epicurean pleasures. Great chefs were highly patronized & held as treasure at the palaces of them. These chefs carried out relentless improvisation & often introduced radical changes by integrating local produces in pursuit of their passion as well as to please the kings for monetary gains. A section of the Haqueems researched the medicinal properties of herbs & spices often driven by their masters to cook up potent aphrodisiacs. Many historians believe that Emperor Sha Jehan died of an over dose of aphrodisiac.
For good Biriyanis & Pulaos the quality of the rice used is very important. Long grained & non-sticky varieties, which are of absorbent nature so as to soak the ghee & the fats, are best suited for Biriyanis & Pulaos. It should be cooked in such a manner that each grain remains separate from others. The rice should be washed & dried before cooking. On a bright sunny day I often wash a good quantity of rice & add a bit of turmeric to a portion of it for making Khichdi & dry the stuff. I store these in airtight containers.
The most delicious of the long list of varieties are the following:
Classical Biriyani
Khaibari Jerbiriyani
Nurmahali Jerbiriyani
Shajahani Briyani
Katch chi Biriyani
Lokma Pulao
Habsi Pulao
Nurani Pulao
Mossabot Pulao
Kondan Pulao
Khorashani Pulao
Rista Pulao
Esnam khani Pulao……..the list is endless.
Apart from the meat based Pulaos there are some excellent vegetarian Pulaos like:
Jasmine Pulao
Green peas Pulao
Vishnu bhog(Pulao of ripe mangoes)
Orange Pulao
Rose petal Pulao
Here is the recipe for my favourite Biriyanis a meat based one & the other a vegetarian delight, VISHNU BHOG.
KHYBERI JERBIRIYANI
You need:
Mutton 1-1/2 kG. Choose a mix of cuts from the ribs, necks, & shoulders. A point to note regarding cuts is that the meat of the most exercised parts of the body is tasty. Therefore, the legs, necks, & the tails yield the best cuts.
Rice 800 gms
Ghee 2 cups
Natural Yogurt 250 gms
Ginger 75 gms
Black pepper 2 tablespoons
Coriander 3 tablespoons
Cumin seeds 1-1/2 spoons.
Dried onion seeds (Kalonji) 10 gms.
Bay leaves four leaves.
Cloves 5 nos.
Cinnamon 3 sticks
Cardamoms 5 nos.
Saffron a few strands dissolved in warm milk.
Salt & red chilies to taste.
Marinate the meat with Ginger paste, chilly & salt for 2 hours. The idea of adding the salt at this stage is to let the meat yield all the water in the tissues. Do not use metallic container not even stainless steel. I often use a plastic seal able pouch & turn it several times to expose all the surfaces to the marinade. It’s a good idea to keep the marinating meat in the refrigerator.
Make a paste of Cardamom, Coriander; mix the paste with half portion of the Yogurt. Coat the meat with this mix & keep.
In a pot with tight fitting cover, place the bay leaves & sprinkle the Cumin seeds, onion seeds, Cinnamon & black Peppers on these. Place the marinated meat on this bed. Throw in the Cloves evenly on the meat. Pour the Ghee on this & then the rice mixed with the balance Yogurt.
Cover the pot tightly & put on a very low flame. Let it cook slowly & try to hear the sound coming from the pot. Once the rice is cooked in the water released by the Yogurt & the meat you will hear the sound of frying & that is the time to turn off the heat & let it cook by it-self.
Use a stone mortar to grind the Saffron strands in the warm milk & pour it on the Biriyani & keep it covered for a while before serving.
Please do not laugh if I say that I have an old stethoscope, which I use to hear the sound coming from the pot.
Note that this preparation doesn’t use Onions & Garlics, I avoid these as far as possible to let the other spices & herbs do the magic.
TELAYEE PULAO
Mutton 1.5Kg
Rice 750gms
Ghee
Cinamon 2 inch pieces 3 nos.
Green cardamom 8
Cloves 8
Curd 600gms
Ginger paste 15gms
Corriander paste 20gms
Maida(white flour) 100gms
Kalonji(Onion seeds) 1tsp
Onion paste 100gms
Salt to taste
Egg 1 or 2
Mariante half of the mutton with ginger paste, salt & curd for 2 hours.
Heat ghee fry half of the onion paste and add the marinated mutton and half corriander paste. Saute and then add the corriander paste. Cover and cook till the meat is tender. Remove the cover and let the gravy dry.
Grind cinamon & cardamoms. Mix the egg yolks with maida and the ground spices. Heat ghee, dip the cooked meat pieces in the egg mix and fry. Keep aside.
Now saute the rest of the onion paste, ginger paste, remaining ginger paste in ghee. Add the remaining meat, salt.. add some boiling water and cook till meat is tender.
Remove the meat pieces and strain the Yakhni.
Soak the rice.
Heat ghee and add the cloves and thereafter the strained Yakhni..
Cook the rice in the Yakhni.
Spread Kalonji in a degchi, transfer the rice & place the cooked meat on top, add some ghee and cook on Dum.
When the Pulao is done serve garnished with the meat fried in the egg batter.Enjoy.
VISHNU BHOG
You need:
Rice 800 gms.
Full cream milk 1-1/2 litres.
Ghee 120 gms.
Sugar 120 gms.
Sweet Mango pulp 750 gms. Alphanso or Langra variety is best.
Dry Sultanas 30 gms.
Seeds of black Cardamoms ¼ teaspoon.
Cinnamon 1 inch stick broken in to small pieces.
A little of ground Nutmeg.
Camphor & Saffron just a pinch.
Heat the Ghee in a pan & sauté the Sultanas & keep. Sauté the Cinnamon, Cardamom seeds & transfer the stuff on to a pot which has a tight fitting lid.
Place the pot on flame & add the rice. Fry the rice for a while & then slowly add the milk. Keep stirring, this is very important cause if the milk burns you have ruined the meal. Add the Nutmeg powder. After you have mixed all the milk, cover & cook on a very low flame.
Once the rice is cooked, slowly pour in the Mango pulp & sugar. Keep stirring gently now to avoid pulping the rice grains. Add the sautéed Sultanas, Camphor & the Saffron. Turn off heat cover & let it cool before serving.
YAKHNI MASALA
The biyebarir akhni jhol is most of the time over spiced and as you said the thakurs often added too much kewra. I do like the aroma of kewra but seldom use it. Getting real organic kewra has become very difficult and the flavour of the synthetic ones is too much overpowering. If I have to use it which I some times do while cooking Rezzala I dip a tooth pick and sprinkle the kewra essence stuck to the stick. One has to be very careful with this kewra.
The scooped out brinjal flesh it is not used in this preparation. The remaining flesh around the skin forms a delicious soft coat around the meat filling. Remember the Manghshor chops where the mashed potato surrounds the "poor" of Keema?
Well one need not throw away the scooped out flesh. After a heavy meal of Pulao next day you may want to eat some thing light. May be some Pasta? The brinjal flesh comes in handy, with tomatoes and cheese a little of Basil and deft hands you have some thing to transform the humble pasta... well this is not my forte... some body else will surely have some better ideas.
This is the measure(approx) that I normally use to make Yakhni.
Cumin seeds 1tsp
Black pepper corns 1tsp
Coriander seeds 20gms
Green cardamoms 8 pieces
Black cardamoms 4 pieces
Cloves 15gms
Cinnamon 15gms
White Jeera(Sha Jeera) white cumin 1tsp
White pepper corns 1tsp
Ginger 20gms
BEGUNI PULAO
The first step is to make the Yakhni, the pulao stock. Most of you are matured chefs in your own right so I will omit the precise measures and all that. The ingredients are:
Cumin seeds
Black pepper corns
Coriander seeds
Green cardamoms
Black cardamoms
Cloves
Cinnamon
White Jeera(Sha Jeera) white cumin
White pepper corns
Ginger
Tie these spices in a muslin cloth. Cook meat about 600gms in slightly salted water with the spices. Remove the meat and keep aside the Yakhni.
Now you will need the following:
Fat Brinjals 650 gms, preferably two pieces
Mutton 650gms neck & ribs and some boneless to be chopped for the filling
Rice Govindo bhog or Basmati 650gms
Ghee 300gms(decide for yourself)
Lemmon one
Ginger paste 15gms
Onion seeds(Kalonji) 15gms
Bay leaves 18 leaves
Saffron few strands
Garam masala half teaspoon
Salt to taste
Take the Brinjals slice out the stem & scoop out the centre pulp along with the seeds. Leave half an inch of the flesh around the skin. Use a fork to make holes in the skin.
Now chop 125gms of meat in to tiny bits, not mince. Heat some ghee in a pan and when hot add cloves and then the chopped meat. Stir and fry. When it is dry add 400ml of the Yakhni, a bit of ginger paste and coriander paste. Cook till the meat is tender. Add pepper, salt, garam masala and cook till it is dry and then add the saffron dissolved in warm milk.
Let it cool.
Wash the brinjals in salt water. Heat ghee in a frying pan. Rub the brinjals with a little salt and fry them in ghee… turning all the time so that they are evenly sauted.
Cool and stuff the brinjals with the chopped meat and sew the stems. Now heat the ghee in the pan where the brinjals were sauted. Add a few colves and sauté the stuffed brinjals for some time. Now add lemon juice, salt and a little water. Cook on low heat turning the brinjals. When the water dries out take it off the stove.
Like you do for Pulaos half cook the rice. Take a degchi, line it with bay leaves and sprinkle Kalonji on it. Add the whole spices, make alternate layers of rice & meat. Seal the degchi and on very low heat cook the pulao. To shorten time you may pressure cook the meat a bit with a little curd.
Serve the pulao garnished with stuffed brinjals. Slice the stuffed brinjals while serving. No onions and garlic !!!
BEGUNI PULAO2
The first step is to make the Yakhni, the pulao stock. Most of you are matured chefs in your own right so I will omit the precise measures and all that. The ingredients are:
Cumin seeds
Black pepper corns
Coriander seeds
Green cardamoms
Black cardamoms
Cloves
Cinnamon
White Jeera(Sha Jeera) white cumin
White pepper corns
Ginger
Tie these spices in a muslin cloth. Cook meat about 600gms in slightly salted water with the spices. Remove the meat and keep aside the Yakhni.
Now you will need the following:
Fat Brinjals 650 gms, preferably two pieces
Mutton 650gms neck & ribs and some boneless to be chopped for the filling
Rice Govindo bhog or Basmati 650gms
Ghee 300gms(decide for yourself)
Lemmon one
Ginger paste 15gms
Onion seeds(Kalonji) 15gms
Bay leaves 18 leaves
Saffron few strands
Garam masala half teaspoon
Salt to taste
Take the Brinjals slice out the stem & scoop out the centre pulp along with the seeds. Leave half an inch of the flesh around the skin. Use a fork to make holes in the skin.
Now chop 125gms of meat in to tiny bits, not mince. Heat some ghee in a pan and when hot add cloves and then the chopped meat. Stir and fry. When it is dry add 400ml of the Yakhni, a bit of ginger paste and coriander paste. Cook till the meat is tender. Add pepper, salt, garam masala and cook till it is dry and then add the saffron dissolved in warm milk.
Let it cool.
Wash the brinjals in salt water. Heat ghee in a frying pan. Rub the brinjals with a little salt and fry them in ghee… turning all the time so that they are evenly sauted.
Cool and stuff the brinjals with the chopped meat and sew the stems. Now heat the ghee in the pan where the brinjals were sauted. Add a few colves and sauté the stuffed brinjals for some time. Now add lemon juice, salt and a little water. Cook on low heat turning the brinjals. When the water dries out take it off the stove.
Like you do for Pulaos half cook the rice. Take a degchi, line it with bay leaves and sprinkle Kalonji on it. Add the whole spices, make alternate layers of rice
KASHMIRI PULAO This pulao I am going to write about probably came from one of those Kashmiri weavers I guess and soon became popular with food lovers.
Rice 450 gms
Milk 750 ml
Mutton 500 gms
Ghee 300 gms
Green cardamom 8
Black cardamom 6
Cinnamon 3 nos. 2 inch pieces
Cloves 8
Mace
Bay leaves 12
Coriander whole 50 gms
Chana dal 50 gms
Ginger crushed not paste 20 gms
Onion crushed 40 gms
Ginger paste 15 gms
White cumin 5 gms
White pepper whole 5 gms
Kabab chini 2 gms
Curd 125 gms beaten smooth
Almond 40 gms
Pista 40 gms
Sultanas 25 gms
Few strands of saffron dissolved in warm milk.
Soak the rice in milk till it absorbs what ever quantity of milk it could. Hang the soaked rice to drain milk. Spread the strained rice on a big thali and let it dry.
Tie coriander, crushed ginger, crushed onion, pepper, white cumin, kabab chini, cloves, cardamoms, mace, dal & 6 bay leaves along with the meat in muslin cloth. Place this packet in a degchi, add water, cover and cook. Estimate the water that would be required to cook the quantity of rice. Add twice the amount and simmer the stock till it becomes half. Remove from stove and place the degchi on a hot plate and select low heat.
Mix the rice with ginger paste & saffron. Pour 200 gms ghee in the vessel in which you will cook your pulao. Remove the meat pieces from the packet and discard the spices and dal. Place bay leaves on the bottom of the vessel. Make a layer of rice, add almonds, pista and sultanas. Arrange meat on this and prepare another layer.
Pour curd, stock and rest of the ghee. Seal and cook on dum.
Eat the raita that is normally served with Hyderabadi Biriyani, it will SAVE you from a lot of discomfort next day.
Good idea! It's called Buraan in the local lingo.
Buraan is usually more watery (buttermilk) than a thick Raita, with onions, g.chillies, kothmir, mint, a little g+g paste and salt. It's also to satiate the thirst that will surely follow a good Biryani feast.
Pan would be good too.
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