Mutton Tikia or Balls

The same recipe works for both tikia and balls based on the final shape you choose. If you have ample time, shape them as discs (tikia) and shallow fry them, if you are in a hurry and your guests arrive in the next hour, make them into balls like I have done and deep fry them. The taste and texture remains very similar.
Tikia goes very well both with a glass of scotch that you share with your guests before dinner, or with a steaming cup of coffee.

Ingredients

• 1lb. minced mutton
• 1 tbsp. raw papaya (Instead you can use 1/2tsp. meat tenderizer)
• 2 medium onions minced
• 10 large garlic cloves minced
• 5 green chilies minced
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. clarified butter (Ghee)
• 1 tbsp. freshly ground Bengali garam masala
• 2 tbsp. roasted gram flour (Besan)
• 1 tbsp. sugar 
• Salt to taste
• Refined oil for frying

Procedure

Wash the minced meat and drain it on a colander or strainer to drain out most of the water from it.
Now take the meat in a mixing bowl and add chopped, onion, garlic, green chilies, raw papaya paste red chili powder, garam masala powder, salt, sugar along with a tablespoon of ghee to it.
Knead the minced meat well with all the spices and keep the mixture marinated in the refrigerator for half an hour.
After thirty minutes take out the mixture and bring it back to the room temperature.
Add roasted gram flour to it and mix well. This will help in binding the tikias. Take a lemon sized meat mixture and give it a flat round cutlet shape. that is the traditional shape of tikia. I have made them round as I was in a hurry.
Heat oil in a tawa (Skillet) and fry them on medium heat till the meat meat is cooked. Drain them on a paper towel and serve hot with paratha and your favorite chutney..

Shepherd’s Pie

A few weeks back we visited a very popular local irish pub and I was about to order the Shepherd's pie when I noticed that it has beef. That is definitely not an authentic Shepherd's pie. A Shepherd's pie is supposed to have lamb, just like fisherman's pie has fish and cowboy's pie has beef. This prompted me to make some of my own pie.

Ingredients For Meat Mixture

• 2 lb. ground lamb
• 1 onion diced
• 2 fat cloves of garlic
• 2 medium carrots diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1cup chicken stock
• Freshly ground pepper
• Salt to taste

Ingredients For Mashed Potato

• 2 lb. golden potatoes cut into quarters
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 egg yolk beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
• 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper powder
• Salt to taste

Procedure Of making Meat Mixture
Preheat oven at 250F. In an oven proof baking dish take butter along with onion, garlic, minced meat. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Mix well. Add half a cup of chicken tock to it and stir.
Put the dish in the middle rack of the oven and cook for an hour. Carefully take the baking dish out. Add vegetables. Mix flour with rest of the chicken stock and pour over the meat mixture. Give everything a nice mix. Now cook it again for another hour. At the end of the cooking it will look like a thick meaty gravy.
By this mean time make the mashed potato. Boil potatoes in adequate water till tender. Drain it. Mash the potato with a little butter. Season it with salt and pepper. Sprinkle chopped parsley and mash till potatoes are smooth.
In a bowl whisk together egg yolk and milk and stir it into the mashed potato mixture. Top the meat mixture with mashed potato and spread it evenly to cover. You can pipe the mixture too, to give it a fancy look.
Bake it in a pre heat oven at 350F for 25-30 minutes.
Serve warm.

Nalli Nihari

Foods like nalli nihari made our stay in Hyderabad oh so enjoyable. One of the delights was to drudge through the insane evening traffic on Fridays to head to old Hyderabad, to pick up some nalli. I have forgotten the name of the restaurant but the taste still lingers on in my memory.
You can make this with lamb or goat. Ask the butcher for shanks (leg meat on bone). Made with a lot of spices this needs some planning, but the results easily make up for your hard work.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. lamb leg on bone
• 2 medium onions sliced
• 1/2 “ ginger cut into thin sticks
• 2 cups mutton stock
• 2 tbsp. clarified butter ( Ghee)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour
• 4 tbsp. ghee ( Clarified Butter )
• 1 tsp. sugar
• salt to taste
• 4 tbsp. Nihari masala powder
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp. cumin seeds
  • 8 green cardamom
  • 3 black cardamom
  • 2” cinnamon stick
  • 10 cloves
  • 3 blades of mace
  • 1 tsp. grated nutmeg
  • 14 black pepper corn
  • 1 star anise
  • 2 tsp. fennel seeds
  • 2 tsp. poppy seeds
  • 1 tsp. dry ginger powder
  • 8 dry red chili
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp. roasted chana dal powder

Procedure

Take all the ingredients listed under Nihari Masala Powder and dry roast them on medium heat till you start getting a nice aroma.  Turn off the heat and bring them down to room temperature. Dry grind them in a blender to make a fine powder of them.
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan till it melts. Now add onion slices to it and fry them on medium heat for about five minutes. Add meat pieces to it and sear them on high heat to lock the moisture inside.
Sprinkle 2 tbsp. of freshly ground nihari masala powder and mix well. Saute everything together for about ten minutes on low heat.
Season the meat with salt, sugar and pour six cups of water to it. Give a nice stir and cook it covered on low heat till the meat is tender. it takes about 45 minutes.
Now pour the mutton stock over it along with the rest of nihari masala powder.
Mix the flour with half cup of water the add this mixture to the cooked mutton. Mix well and allow the gravy to simmer till it thickens.
Turn off the heat. Finish it off with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Dish it out and garnish with cilantro and serve.

Bhutwa aka Nepali Mutton

 

I got this recipe from Mr. Atul Sikand over a food network on Facebook. The day I decided to make it I called my husband to know whether he would be in early for dinner. He told me that he was at a Asian grocery store close to his office. So I asked him to look for Szechuan pepper (also known as timur) and fortunately store keeper exactly knew what I was looking for. This chili made the recipe extra special. If you cannot get it, you can always try with dry red chili, but be forewarned it will never be the same.

Ingredients

• 750 gms. mutton cut on bone in 2” pieces
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
• 10 dry red chili
• 1/2 tsp. methi (fenugreek) seeds
• 1 tsp. ajwain (carom) seeds
• 2 tbsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. timur (Szechuan pepper)
• 2-3 black cardamom
• 1’'”cinnamon stick
• 8-10 black pepper corn
• 1 bay leaf
• 150 ml. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat mustard oil in a pan till it smokes. Now reduce the heat and add bay leaf, cinnamon, black cardamom and pepper corn to it. Fry them on low heat for a minute till the oil becomes fragrant.

Add methi seeds and wait till the seeds turn black. Immediately add ajwain seeds and dry red chili.

Next to go in is chopped onion. Fry them on medium heat till they turn dark brown.

Add meat pieces to it and fry them on medium heat along with the fried onions. Fry for about ten to fifteen minutes till the meat changes its raw color and turn brown.

Sprinkle salt and sugar. Add a cup of water to it and mix well. Cook covered on low heat till the meat is 90% done.

By the mean time heat 2 tsp. oil in a small pan and add ginger garlic paste along with the coriander powder. Cook on low heat till the raw smell subsides.

Once the meat is almost done add this spice mixture to the meat. This is the time for the red chili powder to go in. Mix everything together and cook  for another ten to fifteen minutes.

When the meat is tender and the oil is separated add timur paste to it and let it simmer for another minute.

Your Bhutwa or Nepali style mutton is ready to serve.

Keema Parantha or Porota

It’s been a long time since I last blogged. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I have not been cooking anything interesting, rather it is the contrary. I have been hosting a lot of friends and family through the holidays and my pipeline of blogs is almost full.

Today I bring to you Keema Parantha. Most Indian restaurants around our area serve variants of this. However, they mostly use Beef or Lamb. I have used chicken instead because a lot more Indians eat that. You can easily replace chicken with your choice of meat without any other modification.

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 500 gm. minced meat
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 small tomato finely chopped
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take flour with salt and oil. Rub flour with your finger to give it a crumb like texture. Add water and work on it to make a smooth dough. Keep it covered.

In a wide frying pan heat 1 tsp. oil. Fry chopped onion in it till they turn soft. Add turmeric powder, red chili , cumin powder and ginger garlic paste to it. Fry them together till the raw smell goes away.

Add chopped tomato to it and fry till they turn mushy. Now add minced meat to it.

Season with salt and sugar. Mix well and keep frying on medium heat till the entire moisture is evaporated.

Add chopped green chilies and cilantro to it. Sprinkle garam masala powder and mix well. Turn off the heat and spread the meat mixture in a plate to cool down.

Divide the dough into eight equal portions and make roundels with each of them.

Roll out each roundel  into a disc of four inch diameter. Make sure to thin out the edges of the circle with a rolling pin. Fill this up with 2 tbsp. of filling and then using your finger close the open end and seal.

Flatten it by pressing gently within your palm. Now on a flour dusted surface roll out each stuffed dough ball into a circle of six inch diameter.

Heat a skillet (Tawa) on medium high heat. Brush the surface with oil. Place the rolled out disc on hot tawa and let this side cook for thirty seconds. Flip it over and cook the other side. 

Your parantha is ready to serve.

Pish pash

Living in the Pacific Northwest I am used to rain. Unlike others I never grow tired of it. After a spell of hectic summer schedule I loved when rain decided to return to our evergreen state. The parched trees and my mind welcomed it. I decided to just soak it in and be a bit lazy. But I also wanted to provide something warm for everyone’s plate. Pish pash works wonders in these scenarios. It’s an Anglo-Indian one pot meal, where rice is cooked with Indian whole spices, meat, veggies and potatoes. It is primarily flavored with Ginger.

As the name suggests it’s a medley and you can play with what you decide to put in it, chicken works equally well as mutton or goat meat.

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain rice washed and drained
• 500 gm. medium sized mutton pieces on bone
• 1 onion cut into medium sized chunks
• 2 medium sized potato cut into quarters
• 2 cm. square of ginger cut into thin square slices
• 1/2 cup green peas (I used frozen)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. refined oil
• For tempering
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 2 green cardamom pods
  • 2 cloves
• For garnishing
  • 1 medium sized onion thinly sliced
  • 8-10 cloves garlic cut into round slices
  • 5-6 dry red chilies

Procedure

Heat oil and add onion chunks and potato pieces to it. Sauté on medium heat for two to three minutes and then remove them and keep aside.

To the same oil add ingredients listed under tempering. When the spices starts sizzling add mutton pieces to it and sear the for a minute or two. Add salt and 4 cups of water. Pressure cook till the meat is tender. When the pressure releases on its own remove the lid.

Add washed and drain rice to it along with the sautéed onion and potato. Season with salt. Add enough water so that there is 5 fingers of water left above the rice mixture level. Mix well and cook it covered on medium heat till the rice is cooked and mushy.

By this time heat butter in a pan and fry the red chilies and garlic slices till they turn crispy. Remove them on a paper towel. Use the remaining butter to crisp fry the onion slices.

Take a ladle full of pish pash and top it up with the crispy fried red chilies, onion and garlic. Best enjoyed on a lazy rainy night. 

Railway Mutton Curry

[Updated]

Railway mutton curry takes you back to the colonial era when travelling by first class train was for the privileged. This not too spicy  mutton dish used to be served in the railway refreshment room and long distance train to cater the British palate. This curry was generally served with bread or dinner rolls. The vinegar used in the curry used to extend the shelf life for the long haul train rides.

There are many variants of this recipe which clearly indicates the train route they were served on. The usage of tamarind and curry leaves are tell-tale sign of Southern Railways. Eastern recipes omitted these. I chose the one which is more close to my choices.

Ingredients

1. 1lb. goat meat cut into medium pieces
2. 2 medium onions finely chopped
3. 3 potatoes peeled and cut into  halves  ( I used 5 whole baby potatoes )
4. 4-5 cloves of garlic
5. 1” ginger finely minced
6. 1/2 tsp. dry roasted whole cumin seeds
7. 1/2 tsp. dry roasted whole coriander seeds
8. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
9. 2tbsp. vinegar (Original recipe suggests half a cup of tamarind juice)
10. 5-6tbsp. oil
11. 1tsp. sugar(This one is added by me. The original one doesn’t have sugar )
12. Salt
13. Tempering
    1. 1” cinnamon stick
    2. 2 cloves
    3. 4 black peppercorn
    4. 5-6 curry leaves ( I didn’t use )
    5. 2 dry red chilies broken into pieces

Procedure

Take half oil in a pan and temper with the ingredients listed under tempering. Let them sizzle and add whole garlic cloves, chopped onion and mince ginger to it. Fry on medium heat till they turn golden brown.

In a grinder take all the fried spices along with roasted whole coriander and cumin seeds and grind them to a fine paste by using little water.

In a mixing bowl take mutton and mix it with the ground spices. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

In a pressure cooker take the rest of the oil and fry the potatoes on medium heat till they take a light yellow hue. Remove and reserve for later use.

Add the marinated mutton pieces to the oil and fry on high heat for 5 minutes. Add vinegar or tamarind juice to it and season it with salt and sugar. Pour sufficient warm water and pressure cook it till 1 whistle on high heat. Turn off the heat and let the pressure release on its own. Now throw the fried potato pieces to the gravy and give a nice mix. Do the rest of the cooking covered but without the pressure on low heat till the meat is tender and the potatoes are done.

Serve with rice or bread. 

Morich Mutton (Lamb in Black Pepper Sauce)

Updated: With new photos

In the Bengali movie Charulata 2011 there is a scene where the lady of the house was served “morich mangso” and caramel pudding. Being a fan of black pepper I instantly decided to try that the next day. Since the movie didn’t hand out the recipe I experimented with what I think should go into it, and here is my version of Morich Mangso.

Since it’s pretty cold around here I served it with saffron rice. Saffron is known to keep you warm and is used across the coldest parts of India (Kashmir) for that.

Ingredients

1. 2lb. mutton
2. 2 medium onions finely chopped 
3. 1tbsp. chopped garlic
4. 2 tsp. garlic paste
5. 1 tbsp. ginger paste
6. 1 lime juice 
7. 1 cup thick yogurt (Curd)
8. 2tsp. black pepper paste
9. 10-12 black pepper corn 
10. 2,3 green chilies 
11. Dry roast and grind the following
    1. 1tbsp. black pepper corn
    2. 1tbsp. whole cumin seeds (jeera)
12. Salt
13. 1tbsp. sugar
14. 4-5 tsp. canola or any refined oil
15. 1tsp. ghee (clarified butter)

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take the meat pieces and marinate with yogurt, lime juice and half black pepper paste . Let it rest for about 2-3hrs.

Heat oil in a pan and temper the oil with black pepper corn and green chilies. Wait till they stop sputtering. Add onion and chopped garlic and sauté on medium heat. Add ginger, garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes away.

Add the marinated meat and sear them on high heat till the oil gets separated from the spices. Now lower the heat and season it with salt and sugar according to your taste. Mix well and cook it covered on low heat till the meat is just done. It takes almost 45 minutes to an hour to get the cooking done. You can use pressure cooker to speed things up.

Once the meat is done crank up the heat and cook it on high flame till the excess moisture is all dried up. Sprinkle dry roasted spice powder and rest of the black pepper paste to it. A spoonful of ghee at this point of time will enhance the flavor. Turn off the heat and keep it covered.

Serve with jeera rice or peas pulao.

Chelo Kebab

Updated: With new pictures

In our visit to Kolkata we never miss out on our pilgrimage to Peter Cat on Park Street and have their famous “Original Chelo Kebab”. Peter Cat on their menu refers to this as “the protected regional product of West Bengal”. However, I have successfully conned the border security and customs and got this across the oceans.

Chelow kebab is the national dish of Iran, which is generally served with saffron basmati rice and accompanied with a grilled tomato. In olden days  putting a raw egg yolk on top of the rice was very common which is no longer in practice. So obviously Peter Cat’s claim is a bit dubious :)

The simplicity of the Chelo Kebab is it’s main lure. Peter Cat serves the kebabs on a simple bed of butter rice instead of the saffron rice.

Chicken Kebab

Get the recipe at http://www.bongcook.com/2012/08/chicken-reshmi-kebab.html 

Ingredients for lamb Kebab

1. 200gms minced meat
2. 1 medium onion roughly chopped
3. 1tsp. chopped ginger
4. 1tsp. chopped garlic
5. 2 cloves
6. 2 green cardamoms
7. 1/2” cinnamon stick  
8. 1tsp.black pepper corns
9. 1 egg white
10. 1tsp. chopped cilantro
11. 2 slices of white sandwich bread
12. Salt
13. Oil or butter
14. Skewers

Procedure To make lamb Kebab

In a grinder or food processor take all above ingredients except last two and process them for a few minutes till all the ingredients are well combined and take a look of dough. Transfer them to a bowl.

If you are using bamboo skewers don’t forget to soak it in water for at least 30 minutes, before you start shaping the kebabs. Keep a bowl full of cold water handy to keep your palms wet. Take a ball of the meat mixture in your wet hand and gently wrap it around a skewer. Lightly squeeze it into a long shape. Then pinch the meat into sections using your fingers like scissors.

Brush the kebabs with butter or oil and grill each of them for a few minutes turning frequently. All surfaces of the kebabs should take  dark brown color by the time you finish them cooking.

Ingredients for parsley rice

1. 2 cups cooked white basmati rice
2. 2tsp. butter
3. 1/4th cup chopped parsley
4. 1tsp. pepper powder
5. Salt to taste

Procedure

Melt better in a  non stick pan on medium heat. Add cooked rice to it. Season with salt and pepper powder. Now fry them well till each grain of rice is coated with butter. Add chopped parsley to it and mix them once again before you finish.

Other Ingredients

1. 4 medium tomatoes
2. 4 eggs

Preparation

Tomato – Once you have finished grilling your kebabs, Place the whole or halved tomatoes on the grilling plate. Drizzle few drops of oil and grill them for 10 minutes.

Eggs- Melt butter in a non stick pan and fry the eggs ( Sunny side up ) one by one.

Plating Up

Each serving plate gets a generous serving of rice, a skewer of lamb kebab, chicken kebab and a grilled tomato.The rice is then topped with a fried sunny side up egg. One extra cube of butter on top of the rice will make it sinfully tasty.

Lucknowi Galouti kebab

In Lucknow during the rule of the Nawabs, Galouti kebab used to be made with close to 100 secret ingredients and ground as many times to give it a paste like consistency. The idea was that even a person without teeth could eat it. However, for us mere mortals I have used a more humble list of spices.

Ingredients

For 12 Kebabs.

• 1lb. minced mutton
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1/2” ginger
• 6-8 fat cloves of garlic
• 2-3 green chilies ( You can add more depending on how spicy you want)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. raw papaya paste
• 2” cinnamon stick
• 5-6 cloves
• 2-3 black cardamom
• 1 tsp. shah jeera ( Caraway seeds)
• 1 tsp. white pepper corn
• 1/4 tsp. crushed nutmeg
• 1 small leaf of mace
• 2 tbsp. roasted chick pea flour
• Salt
• Ghee (Clarified Butter for shallow frying)

For stuffing (Optional)

• 2-3 tbsp. chopped cashew and raisins
• 2 tbsp. thick yogurt

Procedure

In a frying pan take oil and fry onion slices till they turn golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

In a grinder grind mutton along with fried onion, ginger, garlic and green chilies. The paste would be fine and sticky.

Transfer the paste into a mixing bowl.

Dry roast cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, shah jeera, pepper corn, nutmeg and mace till you get a nice aroma. Be careful not to char them.Now make a fine powder of all these dry roasted spices.

Add these ground spice powder to the meat mixture. Add papaya paste to it and mix them well. Let this mixture rest for 5-6 hours, preferably overnight.

Take out the mixture at least an hour before you make the kebabs. Sprinkle salt and chopped cilantro and mix once again. If the mixture is too sticky to handle sprinkle roasted chick pea flour little at a time.

In a small bowl mix chopped dry fruits with 2 tbsp. of thick yogurt. Take a hand full of meat mixture and make a bowl out of it. Carefully put half a tea spoon of dry fruit mixture and cover it up. Give it a round shape and flatten it slightly by using your palm.

Take a skillet and add 1 tbsp. of ghee. Heat till the ghee starts melting. Reduce the heat to its lowest and gently place the kebabs on the skillet.

Fry one side on low heat till lightly charred. Now flip it over carefully and let the other side cook. Some times I fry them covered for 2-3 minutes to ensure that the meat is fully cooked.

Serve them with mint chutney, the kebab will melt in your mouth….

Laal Maas – Rajasthani Red Meat Curry

Rajasthan is not a place people associate with Meat. My husband is always eager to narrate the horror story of how he had to stay without non-vegetarian food for a whole long week in Rajasthan. But Laal Maas or Red Meat is a famous Rajasthani dish. The story I have heard is that the Rajputs feasted on this after their hunting expeditions. They carried the simple spices required for this and cooked laal maas in the jungle. Even though I do not really hunt, I love my share of laal maas. This is one of the dishes where you’d need to get rid of your inhibitions and go full throttle on red-chilies and oil.

Ingredients

• 500 gm. mutton (lamb or goat meat) on bone
• 2 medium onions finely chopped
• 2 tbs. finely chopped ginger
• 10 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. Kashmiri Red chili powder
• 1 cup yogurt whisked
• 3 whole green cardamom
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 black cardamom
• 1/2 leaf mace
• 4-5 black peppercorn
• dry roast and grind the following to a fine powder
  • 10-12 whole dry red chili
  • 2 tsp. coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• 8 tbsp. mustard oil (mustard oil helps get a better color)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (Coriander leaves) for garnishing
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat mustard oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cardamoms, mace and black peppercorn. Allow them to crackle. Add chopped garlic, ginger and green chilies to it. Fry on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Now add chopped onion to it and fry everything together till the edges of onions start changing color.

Add mutton pieces and fry them on high heat for about 3-4 minutes. It will help in sealing the juices inside the meat pieces.

Now add ground dry spice, Kashmiri red chili powder to it and fry along with the spices.

Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down completely. Add whisked yogurt and mix well. Turn on the heat and season it with salt. Mix once again and cook it covered on low heat for 45 minutes. Keep a cup of warm water ready and so that you can add it to the gravy whenever needed.

Remove from heat when meat is well done. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Note:

Traditionally in Rajasthan KACHRI powder is added to tenderize the meat and also to add a tanginess. I didn’t have the same so I added yogurt instead. If you have Kachri powder add 1/4 cup while frying the spices. 

 

Kolkata Mutton Biriyani (Biryani)

[Updated Post]

First off let me explain the qualifier “Kolkata” I used for this Biryani’s recipe. Each region in India has it’s own version of Biryani, they vary so drastically that today Biryani can be defined only as “rice and meat cooked together”. There are loop holes even in that definition.

The predominant biryani gharana (style) in India is the fiery South Indian or Andhra style, the Royal Awadhi or Lucknowi style and the North-western (Punjabi) style. Kolkata or Bengali Biryani is a sub-variant of Lucknowi style and like people in Bengal is a bit sweeter :P.

Which is better is an argument that can only be settled with arms. However, I know of a lot of Bongs who lived in Hyderabad and totally disliked the local biryani and yearned for the bong/Awadhi variant. My husband is of those guys who made it a point to carry back Biryani from a Bong store in Bangalore each time he visited there (quiet often at one point of time).

Ingredients
1 kg (2lb) goat or lamb meat 500 gm. of basmati rice washed and soaked in water for at least 30 minutes 2 tbsp. ginger paste 1 tbsp. garlic paste 4 potatoes cut into halves 1 large onion finely chopped 1 cup plain curd/ yogurt 2 tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder Rose water few drops Kewra essence few drop Few strands of saffron soaked in 2-3 tbsp. of warm milk Salt Sugar Make a powder of the following spices (I’ll refer to this as Biryani Masala in the post) 2" cinnamon stick 6-7 cloves 3-4 green cardamom 1/10th of a whole nutmeg 1/2" mace 1 tsp. saahi jeera (cumin) 1tsp of saahi morich (white peppercorn)

Procedure

Cook the pre soaked rice in enough water seasoned with salt, green cardamom, cinnamon stick and few cloves. Cook till the rice is almost done. Drain the rice on a colander and spread on a flat plate. Sprinkle very little sugar on it.

Take oil in a heavy bottom pan or in a pressure cooker and heat it. Add chopped onion and fry till they are brown. Add the meat pieces and sear them on high heat. It will help the meat pieces to retain their juices. 

Add ginger, garlic paste and fry along with the meat pieces. Once the raw smell goes away add yogurt and Kashmiri chili powder. I love to add the potato halves at this stage followed by salt and sugar and fry them along with the meat and spices. Cook till the potatoes are 90% boiled. Remove the potatoes and keep them aside. Rest 10% cooking will be done in Dum.

Add water required to boil the the meat pieces and either pressure cook it or cook it covered for atleast 40 mins.

Once done remove the meat pieces from the gravy and keep it handy for further use.

Strain the gravy and keep the strained juice. This is called Tar (there’s a picture of it in a glass cup in the ingredients section).

Now comes the assembly part of the biryani. Take a heavy bottom pan which you can heat on your stove top.

 

Grease the inner walls of the vessel with 1-2 tbsp. of ghee. Now start building up the layers. The thumb rule of layering biryani is the base and top layers should be made by rice.

This is the sequence I usually follow for my biryani. Rice layer followed by a layer of by meat, potato, saffron infused milk, 2-3 tbsp. of Tar. I finish this layer by sprinkling about 1 tsp. of biryani masala and a few drops of rose and kewra water. Use all your meat and rice to complete the layering. There should be 1/3rd space left in the pan once you finished layering. Cover the biryani pot tightly.

Now we are ready to put the biryani for Dum. Dum is basically slow cooking where the vessel doesn't come in direct contact of heat.  I take water in a bigger vessel and place the biryani pot inside that as shown in the photograph on the right. Let the water boil and then lower the heat and allow it to cook for atleast 45 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let it stand for at least an hour before serving.

Kolkata mutton biryani is best enjoyed with chicken chap (oh that recipe will surely follow). 

Kashmiri Rogan Josh ( Authentic )

The Rogan Josh is commonly served in restaurants of Kolkata is very different from the actual Kashmiri Rogan josh. I have previously published it’s recipe here.

I was once invited to a Kashmiri home and the Rogan Josh my friends wife made was different in that it did not use onions, tomatoes or garlic. Instead it was flavored with dry ginger, fennel powder and asafetida (hing). I am not sure which one I liked more, I leave it to you to make both the versions and decide for yourself.

Ingredients

• 1kg lamb
• 6-8 cloves
• 3-4 black cardamom
• 4-5 green cardamom
• 1” cinnamon stick
• 10-12 black peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp. hing (Asafetida)
• 2 tbsp. fennel powder
• 1 tbsp. dry ginger powder
• 1/2 tbsp. black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp. oil
• Salt to taste
• Dry roast and coarsely grind
  • 3-4 green cardamom
  • 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds

Procedure

Heat oil and temper it with lightly crushed cloves, cinnamon, black and green cardamom and asafetida. Let them sizzle for a minute.

Add meat pieces to it and sear them on high heat till all sides turn brown and no moisture is left.

Add salt and Kashmiri red chili powder. Sauté on medium heat till oil turns red. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down a bit before you add yogurt.

Add yogurt and fry for few more minutes on low heat till oil gets separated. Add dry ginger powder and fennel powder along with little turmeric powder. This turmeric powder will help to retain the red color of the dish.

Mix everything together so that meat pieces are well coated with spices. Add salt and give it a nice mix. Add half a cup of water and pressure cook it on high heat till one whistle comes. Turn off the heat and wait till the pressure drops.

Open the lid and mix once more. Now do the rest of the cooking covered on low heat for another 15-20 minutes or till the meat becomes tender.

Sprinkle roasted and ground spice powder on top of it and serve. This goes well with saffron rice.

Kashmiri Stuffed Dum Aloo

When we were in school most wedding banquets started serving what they called Kashmiri Stuffed Dum Aloo. They varied considerably in taste and I am sure that the Kashmiris have never heard about this dish being passed in their name. Nevertheless it tasted pretty good. Suddenly my husband started having a craving for this and I got multiple requests to make it. I do not really remember how it exactly tasted so many years ago, so I created a recipe that I believe should pass as a “authentic” Kashmiri Dum Aloo :)

Ingredients for Stuffing

• 6 medium potatoes
• 2 cups keema (Minced meat)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure For Stuffing

Peel the potatoes and cut them into halves. Now scoop out the flesh from each halves with the back of the spoon. Reserve the potato fleshes for later use.The potatoes will now look like cups. Dunk these potato cups in salted water for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes drain the water and smear the potato cups with turmeric and salt. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the potato cups on medium heat till they turn golden yellow (about 3-4 minutes). Remove and drain them on a paper towel. Let them cool completely.

Heat 2 tsp. oil and fry chopped onion and garlic till they turn soft Now add minced meat followed by dry spice powders (Turmeric + Chili). Sauté for few minutes and then add scooped out potato fleshes to it. Season with salt and sugar. Mix well and cook it covered till meat is done and there is no excess moisture left. Let it cool.

Stuff each potato cups with keema mixture and keep them ready till you make the gravy.

Ingredients For Gravy

• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
• 2 tsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. dry ginger powder
• 2 tsp. fennel powder
• 1 tsp. powder of 2 green cardamoms + 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 4-5 tbsp. oil
• For Tempering
  • 1 tsp. asafetida (Hing)
  • 2 black cardamom
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 3 cloves
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 5-6 black peppercorn

Procedure For Gravy

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with all the ingredients listed under tempering. Don’t forget to bruise them a little before you add them to oil. Sauté for a while and then add chopped onion to it. Fry till they turn translucent.

Add red chili powder and fry for a minute till the oil turns red. Now throw the tomatoes in and fry till they turn mushy. Add turmeric powder, fennel and dry ginger powder. Mix everything well on very low temperature.

Add yogurt and give the spices a nice mix. Pour about half a cup of water and season with salt and sugar. Stir well and then bring it to a boil.

Add stuffed potatoes to it keeping the open side up. Cook it covered on low heat for another minute and then turn the heat off. Sprinkle cumin and cardamom powder on top of it and serve.

Nargisi Kofta Curry

Apparently in India a show called Master Chef has become a big deal. Some of my relatives have suddenly become super interesting in cooking and I frequently get calls from them either suggesting something I should be making or asking about some recipes that they have seen in that show. Nargisi Kofta was featured in Master Chef but my aunt couldn’t keep track of the recipe in the fast paced show and asked me to make it. So after some research (we do not get Indian TV channels) this is what I came up with. Nargisi Kofta looked awesome and tasted great as well.

Ingredients For Kofta

• 4 hard boiled eggs shelled
• 1 raw egg
• 300 gm mutton keema
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2” ginger
• 2 large onion finely chopped
• 5 tbsp. besan (Chic-pea flour)
• Salt to taste
• Dry roast and grind the following ingredients into a fine powder
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cloves
  • 1/2 leaf mace
  • 3 green cardamom
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 1 tiny piece of nutmeg
  • 10 white pepper corn
  • 1 tsp. shahi jeera
  • 1 tsp. poppy seeds
  • 10 dry rose petal

Procedure Of Making Nargisi Kofta

Boil mutton keema with 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder, salt and bay leaves. Cook till there is no excess moisture left. Allow it to cool.

Fry onion till they turn golden brown. In a grinder take 2tbsp. dry spice powder, fried onion, ginger, garlic along with boiled minced meat and make a coarse paste out of them. If required you may add a spoon of yogurt to make the process easier. Season it with salt and mix well.

Take about an egg sized portion of the meat mixture and wrap it around a whole egg.

Ina bowl beat one egg with a pinch of salt. heat enough oil for deep frying in a wok. Now take each keema coated egg and dip it in the egg batter. Gently slide the egg in the hot oil and fry till the outer shell is crispy and brown. Remove and drain it on paper towel.

Ingredients for gravy

• 2 onions thinly sliced
• 1” ginger
• 5 cloves garlic
• 4 large red tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin powder
• 2 tbsp. cashew paste
• 1/2 cup fresh cream
• 1/2 tsp. roasted and ground spice powder you made for kofta
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 4 tbsp. butter for cooking
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a pan take butter and heat it on low flame till it melts. Fry onion slices till the edges turn light brown. Now add ginger garlic paste along with cumin and coriander powder. Sauté on low flame till raw smell of the spices goes away.

Add chopped tomatoes and fry on low flame till it turns mushy and you can see oil oozing out of the spices. Add red chili powder and turmeric and fry for few more minutes. Add half a cup of water to it and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes on low flame. Turn off the heat and let it cool down completely.

Once it is cold enough transfer the mixture in a blender and blend it to a puree. Now strain the puree and discard the residue.

Pour the strained spice mixture in a pan and turn the heat on. Add cashew paste, salt and sugar to it and mix thoroughly. Bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and add fresh cream. Stir it well.

Pour the gravy into serving dish. Cut the koftas lengthwise into halves and arrange it over the gravy as shown in the picture. Sprinkle ground spice powder on top of it and serve.

Kerala Mutton Stew

I first had this in Thiruvananthapuram, in god own country, Kerala. We were served the mutton stew along with appam. This is mildly spiced and very soothing in the coconut milk broth. It goes great with steaming white rice as well.

Ingredients

• 1lb. mutton (I used goat Meat)
• 1” ginger cut into thin strips
• 5 – 6 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 medium potatoes cut into halves
• 1 medium carrot cut into big chunks
• 5 – 6 French beans cut into 2” long pieces
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 5 – 6 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 2, 3 bay leaves
• 1 twig of curry leaves
• 1tsp. pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• Whole garam masala
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 2,3 cloves
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 2 star anise

Procedure

Heat oil in a cooker. Add garam masala and wait till you smell the fragrance. Add chopped ginger, garlic to it. Fry on medium heat.

Add other vegetables and sauté them on high heat for few minutes. Add mutton pieces and sear them on high heat. Add bay leaves and salt to it and mix well. Pressure cook it for five minutes.

Let the steam settle down. Add crushed black pepper powder and curry leaves and stir well. Pour thick coconut milk and cook everything together for another five minutes.

Traditionally this stew is served with appam.

Keema Cutlet

In Kolkata just around movie theatres there are these small restaurants/café’s which serve tea and various kinds of chops and cutlets. I think they are remnant of the British era. People flock to these cafés to have evening snacks after watching some bollywood flick. However, I cannot imagine having another dinner post this heavy snack. So for us now, I make this as dinner. We have it along with some great artisan bread and olive oil. Global food at its best.

Ingredients

• 1lb. mutton keema (minced meat)
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
• 10 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 1tsp. chopped ginger
• 5 – 6 green chilies finely chopped
• Handful o finely chopped cilantro
• 1tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1isp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp. dry roasted besan ( Chickpea flour)
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• Salt
• Refined vegetable oil for frying

Procedure

In a pan boil mutton keema with salt and 1/2tsp. garam masala powder. Cook it covered on medium flame till they are soft and all the moisture released from the meat is dried up.

Bring it to the room temperature.

Add chopped ingredients, all dry spices and roasted besan. break one egg and add into it. Mix well.

Start making the cutlets by giving them a oval shape.

Heat enough oil for deep frying. Beat one egg in a dish. Dip each cutlet in the egg wash and roll them in bread crumbs. Deep fry till golden brown.

I served with some bread and salad for our dinner. 

Goat Steak

Finally getting around to post our new-year dinner :).

My husband loves eating steaks, however, my meat choices are limited to the traditional bong palate. Hence we cannot go out eating steak. So for this new year I made goat-steak at home.

We also use this as a common healthy yet tasty dinner option. I know that Goat and healthy is already raising some eyebrows. We were raised identifying goat with red-meat and something which is unhealthy and to be avoided. However, this is a total myth, goat is actually more healthy than chicken and is definitely not among the real red-meats (beef). To debunk this theory let me put the nutrition values of goat (left) and chicken with skin(right) side by side (source http://nutritiondata.com)

 

Isn’t it an eye opener that chicken is 80% more in calorie and 6 times more in fat?

Leaving calories and fats aside, lets come to the more interesting things. Goat steak is yum :) as my daughter calls it. Also this recipe works equally well with Lamb steak.

Ingredients

1. 4 medium sized goat steaks
2. 1tbsp. chopped garlic
3. 1tsp. chopped ginger
4. 2tbsp. plain yogurt
5. 1tsp. chopped mint leaves
6. 1tsp. dried basil
7. 1tsp. cumin powder
8. 1/2tsp. dried red chili flakes
9. 1tsp. black pepper powder
10. 1tsp. dark soya sauce
11. Juice of one lime
12. 1/2 cup red wine
13. Cooking spray (or cooking oil)
14. Salt

Procedure

First take a mixing bowl and mix all ingredients other than wine and cooking oil. Take the steaks and coat both the sides with the marinade. Keep them in a refrigerator for 2-3 hrs.

Apply cooking spray on the skillet and place the steaks in a single layer. Keep the marinade reserved for sauce. Grill the steaks on medium high heat for 15 minutes and then flip them over. Again apply some cooking spray all over and grill for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime make the sauce. Take a pan and transfer the left over marinade into it. Add wine and cook it over medium heat till it thickens.

Place the grilled steaks on a serving plate and drizzle some sauce over to keep them moist. Garnish with little sour cream or Greek yogurt of your choice.

Bengali Style Mutton Braised Cutlet

Close to where I grew up there was this small café called Ashoka Restaurant in Behala Kolkata. They made the best cutlets ever with Goat chops. Braised cutlet is a remnant of British colonial era. The food the British got into Kolkata during the time it was the colonial capital of India slowly morphed its name and is generally called “Breast Cutlet” today. “Whats in a name” so call it whatever you like, it still tastes amazing.

Ingredients

1. 8 pieces mutton chops
2. 8 – 10 cloves garlic
3. 4 – 5 green chilies
4. 1 small onion
5. Juice of one lime
6. 1tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
7. 1tsp. black pepper powder
8. 2 eggs
9. Salt
10. Breadcrumb
11. Oil for deep frying
12. 1tsp. black salt (kala namak)
13. Salad of your choice for serving

Procedure

If you are buying the chops from local butcher ask them to flatten them with the sides of their heavy knife. Else you can buy a meat tenderizer and flatten the chops. Wash them thoroughly and pat dry.

In a grinder take onion, cloves, green chilies and coarsely grind them for a second or two. Transfer the ground spices in a bowl and add lime juice, black pepper powder, garam masala powder and salt to it. Mix it well.

Take a wide tray and arrange the chops in a single layer. Rub the spice mixture on both sides of the chops. Let them rest in a refrigerator for 5-6 hrs.

Now take the chops and shake off the excess marinade (reserve the marinade for later use). In a pressure cooker cook the chops on high heat till the first whistle. Allow the steam to settle down before you open the cooker.

Take the chops out with a slotted spoon and allow them to cool down to room temperature. You can now scrape off any extra meat attached to the bone with a knife. This will allow the bone to stick out of the cutlet.

Break two eggs in a bowl and beat them with a pinch of salt. Add half of the beaten egg to the reserved marinade and again slather this mixture to the both sides of the boiled chops. Keep the chops in the refrigerator for half an hour, so that the spices will get stick to the chops and you can taste them in every bite.

Spread enough bread crumb in a plate and roll the chops. If you want you can give them a double coating. To do so you need to dip the coated chops in the beaten egg and then cover with crumbs once more.

In a wok or kadai heat enough oil for deep frying till it smokes. Now bring down the temperature to medium and gently slide in the chops one at a time. Fry till both sides turn brown and crispy. It won’t take more than 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel.

Sprinkle black salt and serve with salad and mustard sauce.

Kosha Mangsho, Thakurbari Style (Dry Mutton Curry)

Last couple of days I had been watching a bunch of movies based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novels on Youtube like Naukadubi. Watching all of these movies reminded me of this spicy curry from the Tagore family which I hadn’t made for some time. I read about it in a book by Purnima Devi from the Tagore family (or Thakurbari) who was a renowned cook. I had one of her books many years ago. This recipe is different from the regular Kosha Mangsho in the spices that is used. Today is Bhai phota and I made it for this special day. It goes great with basanti pulao.

Ingredients

1. 1 kg mutton (goat meat)
2. 2 medium onions
3. 1”ginger
4. 6-8 cloves garlic
5. 8 whole red chilies
6. 1/2tsp. turmeric powder
7. 4tsp. coriander powder
8. 4tbsp. plain yogurt
9. 1tsp. sugar
10. Salt to taste 
11. 4-5 green chilies
12. Mustard oil
13. 2-3 tsp. ghee(Clarified butter)
14. Dry roast and make a powder of

1. 4-5 green cardamoms
2. 1” cinnamon stick

Procedure

Grind together onion, ginger, garlic and red chilies. Now in a bowl transfer the ground wet spices and add yogurt, turmeric powder, coriander powder to it. Mix everything well.  Marinate the meat pieces in this paste. If you can marinate it overnight, nothing like it. But it should be marinated for at least couple of hours.

Heat mustard oil in a pressure cooker or heavy bottom pan. Add marinated mutton pieces and cook on high flame for about 5 minutes. Add salt and sugar to it. Now lower the heat and cook till the oil separates. Add half cup warm water.

Pressure cook on medium flame for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow some time for the steam to release on its own. In case you want to reduce the amount of gravy continue to heat on high flame.

In a separate pan heat ghee and add roasted and powdered cinnamon and cardamom to it. Give them a quick stir and pour it over the meat curry. Garnish with green chilies and serve with hot rice or Bengali mishti pulao.