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.

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. 

 

RaniDi-r Rosun Aloor Dum

In our school, it was a very common to see that a bunch of folks remained hungry with a box full of alur dum or ghugni at the end of the lunch hour. No, they didn’t pack those for their lunch. It was bought from Rani-Di. Rani-Di was distinctly different from her fellow colleagues. The crisp cotton sari, the curly long hair, the big red dot just in the middle of her forehead and a smile which was really a rare sight in our school made her stand out in the crowd, she was our Rani-Di.

Each day she used bring aloor dum, aloo kabli, ghugni and tetul or kuler acchar. Sometimes we had to wait in queue for the whole 30 minutes of our lunch time and didn’t even get time to eat it.

I used to urge my mom to make the same Aloo-r Dum. Based on my descriptions she tried multiple times but it never tasted the same. One day I asked Rani-Di and she told me to ask my mom to use garlic instead of ginger. Hence came the name.

Ingredients

• 250 gms. baby potatoes
• 6-7 fat cloves of garlic
• 1 large tomato
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tbsp. thick tamarind pulp
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil
• 2-3 green chilies finely chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tsp. black salt
• 1 tbsp. bhaaja masala ( Dry roast and coarsely grind 1 tsp. cumin, 1tsp. coriander and 2 dry red chilies)

Procedure

Peel baby potatoes and boil them in salt water for 2-3 minutes. Drain water and smear potatoes with a pinch of turmeric.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry potatoes till they turn golden yellow. Drain on a paper towel and keep aside.

Peel the skin of tomato and make a paste of it with garlic cloves.

Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a pan and add tomato garlic paste to it. Sauté on low heat till the raw smell goes off. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and chili powder to it. Fry on low heat till you see oil seeps from the edge.

Add fried potato along with tamarind pulp and fry them along with the spices. Season with salt and sugar. Add 1/4 cup of water to it. Mix well and let it simmer on low heat till potatoes are done. Keep an eye so that you don’t over cook them.

If required turn the heat on high and let the excess moisture dry out. This is a dry dish and at the end the potatoes will be just coated with the spice mixture.

Turn off the heat and garnish with chopped cilantro and green chilies. Sprinkle generous amount of bhaaja masala, little black salt and add a dash of tamarind juice just before serving.

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.

Chicken Lollipop

Long time back when I went to Goa on our honeymoon we went to a small restaurant by the beach called Why Knot. We befriended the waiter there who would serve us these amazing chicken lollipops with endless supply of port wine on the house. The waiter was very interesting. He used to work in a hotel in Leh (Kashmir) in the summers and in Goa in the winters. He even showed us the pictures of his Ladakhi girlfriend. It was a wonderful carefree time in our life. Even though the yearning to go back to those simpler times will not be satisfied, I can always satisfy the palate with some yummy chicken lollipop.

Ingredients For Marination

• 16 pieces chicken drummettes
• 1tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. soya sauce
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt

Procedure For Marination

Take the drummettes and trim the skin off from one end of the bone and give them a shape of lollipops. Wash and pat them really dry.

Marinate chicken with all ingredients listed above and keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. By the mean time prepare the batter.

Ingredients For Frying

• 2 tbsp. corn starch
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2tsp. salt
• Enough oil for deep frying

Procedure

In a dry bowl take all the ingredients other than oil and whisk it with a fork to make a smooth batter. Ensure that the batter is lump free.

In a pan heat enough oil for deep frying. Dip each marinated drummette in the batter and gently slide it into the medium hot oil. Fry till the chicken is cooked and then turn the heat  high to give it a brownish crispy exterior.

Remove and keep them on an absorbent paper.

Ingredients For sauce

• 2 fat cloves of garlic chopped
• 2-3 tsp. chili garlic sauce
• 1/4 cup spring onion finely chopped
• 2 tsp. oil
• Salt if needed

Procedure

In a pan heat oil and add chopped garlic. Sauté for a few minutes and then add chili garlic sauce. Mix well and check whether to add salt or not. Add chopped spring onion and fried lollipops to this sauce and stir over high flame to coat each wings with sauce. Remove and wrap the bony end with aluminum foil and arrange them on a tray to serve.

Prawn Korma

This was so tasty that right now while writing this post I am having the urge to make it again :). However, this is one of those things in which you cannot compromise on the quantity of oil and hence this is not something we can eat everyday.

I made this for some guests who were coming over. However, they got stuck on the earlier course of Muri-Ghonto and barely arrived to the Prawn Korma. So there were a lot of left overs which we didn’t really mind.

Ingredients

1. 2lb. large tiger shrimps/prawns
2. 1 small onion ground into fine paste
3. 1/4 cup fine paste of fresh or frozen coconut
4. 1 large ripe red tomato
5. 1tbsp. ginger paste
6. 1tsp. garlic paste
7. 1/2tsp. green chili paste
8. 1tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder (Paprika)
9. 2tsp. turmeric powder
10. 2 – 3 bay leaves
11. 1tsp. sugar
12. 1tbsp. clarified butter (Ghee)
13. 6 – 7tbsp. mustard oil ( Yes, you need more oil to make this)
14. 1tsp. freshly ground garam masala powder (Clove, cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom)
15. Salt to taste

Procedure

Start with cleaning and deveining. If you want, you can keep the head and tail on. My daughter and husband don’t enjoy those so I removed them. Instead to extract the maximum flavor out of it, I boiled 4 cups of water with the shell, head and tail for 30 minutes on low heat and keep the strained prawn stock. I used this stock instead of water to make the gravy.

Smear the prawns with salt and turmeric and keep aside for 15 minutes.

Heat mustard oil in a kadai and fry the prawns in batches till they turn pink. Remove them.

Temper the left over oil with bay leaf and add sugar to it. Lower the heat and let the sugar caramelize. Add onion paste along with turmeric powder, red chili powder and a tsp. of garam masala to it and fry on low heat for about 5 – 6 minutes.

Now one by one add ginger, garlic, tomato and chili paste to it. Sauté and cook them on low heat for another 5 – 6 minutes. Check whether all raw smell subsides or not. If not cook for another few minutes.

Next to go in is coconut paste. Mix everything well and fry the masala on low heat for few minutes. If needed you may add little water to it so that the spices don’t stick to the vessel.

Season it with salt and sugar. Soon you will see a thin line of oil is separated out from the spices. This is the time you add one and half cup of water ( I used prawn stock) to it. Stir well and let it come to a rolling boil.

Gently slide the fried prawns in and cook for 3 – 5 minutes. Overcooking makes prawn stiff so be careful.

Taste and check the seasoning, if required adjust accordingly.

Add a dollop of ghee and finish it off with a pinch of garam masala powder.

Hyderabadi Kacchi Gosth Biryani

Biriyani is just a name for traditional Indian way of cooking meat and rice. How it is cooked and what is added varies drastically across India. In one such variation meat is cooked separately with gravy and then mixed with half-cooked rice and put on the final “dum” (slow cooking). In another, marinated raw meat is layered in rice and spices and cooked together. The meat in this case is kacchi or raw. As you can guess this is what I cover in todays post.

This recipe comes from the Hyderabad Nizams kitchen. One of our relatives (Habu Dadu) ran away from home at a young age and finally with a lot of twists of fate landed as the apprentice of the Hyderabad Nizams chief chef. He worked in the Nizam’s kitchen for many years and finally retired in Kolkata. When he used to visit our home he used to come with his own bag of spices and cook for us. It used to be a grand feast which I remember till this date. Todays recipe dedicated to his fond memories.

Ingredients

For Marinating

• 1kg mutton cut into medium pieces on bone
• 2 large onions thinly sliced
• 1tbsp. salt
• 1/2tsp. sugar
• 1tbsp. ginger paste
• 1tbsp. garlic paste
• 1tbsp. green chili paste
• 1tbsp. garam masala ( You can use Biryani masala of your favorite brand)
• 1tsp. red chili powder
• Juice of 1 lime
• 250gms curd (Yogurt)
• 1 bunch coriander leaves finely chopped
• 1 bunch mint leaves finely chopped

For Rice

• 500gms. basmati rice
• 2 – 3tbsp. salt
• 50gms. ghee (Clarified butter)
• 1tsp. saffron soaked in quarter cup of warm milk

 

Required Appliance

• Heavy bottom pan (I use Martha Stewart or Simply Calphalon vessels)
• Tawa or skillet

 

Procedure

Soak basmati rice for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the onion slices till they are brown. Remove and drain them on a paper towel.

Arrange mutton in layers in a heavy bottom pan. Add Half of the fried onion, ginger-garlic paste, green chili paste, chili powder, garam masala powder, salt, sugar, yoghurt, oil, lemon juice, chopped coriander and mint leaves to it. Mix everything well with mutton  and keep it marinated for 3-4 hours.

By the meantime in a pan take water along with 2- 3  tbsp. salt and bring to a rolling boil. Stir it well and add presoaked basmati rice to it. Once you have added the rice it will stop boiling. Wait till it again starts boiling. This rice is 50% done. Make an layer of rice on top of the marinated mutton. Add about a cup of water ( Preferably the water in which you boiled the rice).

Sprinkle some more fried brown onions on top of it. Drizzle few spoons of saffron soaked milk over it.

Now seal the vessel tightly with aluminum foil.

We will not be cooking this directly on heat because if we do so the meat will char by the time the biriyani is cooked. So take a tawa (skillet) and place the biryani vessel on top of it. Cook it on medium heat for about 45 minutes. By the end of this time you will see the aluminum foil has swollen up. That means it is ready. Remove the foil an serve it with raita.

Kachalonka Murgi aka Green chili chicken

I had gone to a seminar in Peerless Inn, Kolkata, which is where I had this. Initially the the buffet signage scared me off because I am not a fan of very spicy food. The chef was hovering around in the banquet hall and was requesting folks to try it out. It was his creation and he insisted that it was not that spicy. His special way of treating the chilies removed their heat but retained the flavor. Obviously I asked how, and he was gracious enough to explain.

Ingredients

1. 2lbs. whole chicken cut into medium pieces
2. 3tbsp. ginger garlic paste
3. 2 medium onions thinly sliced
4. 3tbsp. coriander (cilantro) leaves paste
5. 100 gm. of green chilies slit length wise and seeds removed (I used half not mild Mexican and 1/2 very hot Indian green chilies)
6. 1 tsp. sugar
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil
9. For Tempering
   1. 2 bay leaves
   2. 1” cinnamon
   3. 2,3 green cardamom
   4. 2,3 black cardamom
   5. 4,5 cloves

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and fry onion slices till they turn light brown. Remove and drain them on a paper towel. In a grinder make a smooth paste of the fried onions once they are cool.

Temper the same oil with all the spices listed under tempering. Add chicken pieces to it. Fry the chicken pieces on medium heat till they loose their raw color.

Now add ginger, garlic and fried onion paste to it. Sauté for a while. Let the raw smell of ginger and garlic go away. Season with salt and sugar and mix well. Pour about half a cup of water and cook it covered for about 5 minutes on low flame.

Lets make the green chili paste till the chicken is done.Take water in a pan and bring it to a boil. Add green chilies to it and allow it cook for 30 sec. Drain the water and make a fine paste of the green chilies in a grinder. This ensures that the paste is not very hot.

Remove the lid of your pan and add cilantro paste to it. Mix it well and cook for one more minute. Add green chili paste and give it a nice mix. Cook for another five minutes.

Goes well with any non fried Indian breads like Naan, Phula or Rumali-roti. 

Bengali Garam Masala Powder

Packed garam masala powder available in most stores is targeted towards North Indian cuisine and contains a lot of different types of spices. There are various sub-types like saahi garam masala for mughal cuisine, punjabi garam masala for Tandoori. Even though the ingredients looks the same, the proportion causes the main difference.

South India in contrast uses whole garam masala (things like star anise gets predominance).

In Bengal garam masala is far simpler with strong notes of cinnamon (dar-chini as we call it). It’s easier to prepare at home and in case you make a lot of bong food, it will serve you well if you take the pain of making it yourself and keeping it for ready use.

Ingredients

1. 2” cinnamon stick
2. 1 tsp. clove
3. 1 tsp. green cardamom

Procedure

Take the above ingredients and grind it to a powder and keep in a air-tight container.