karele ki kurkuri bhujia

karele ki kurkuri bhujia

Sunday, October 17, 2021

 

There are a few simple things that can bring as much joy as some kurkuri bhujia served with dal chawal or khichdi. But you won't understand if you haven't had bhujia ever, you might end up thinking the hand cut potato fries are the best kind of fried veggies.

While I love the nice hand cut potato fry especially if it comes with a generous sprinkling of herbed salt, the potato fry is not my favourite. I vote for bitter gourd fry or crisp karele ki bhujia. You have to try this kerele ki bhujia to know what I mean.

The other day I was at the neighborhood salon to get my pedicure, and the lady next to my chair was talking about how the kids these days don't want to eat vegetables. The pedicurist started grinning when I asked the lady ow much vegetables the adults in her family ate, to which she admitted they eat minimal vegetables but wanted their kids to eat more. The problem starts at the root obviously.

Then I got curious what this 20 something pedicurist eats as he works almost 10 hours a day and all such boys live on their own as they have migrated to big cities for work. I asked him and he said he cooks his food twice a day and that is paratha bhujia in the morning and dal chawal bhujia or dal chawal chokha for dinner when he reaches home. I can't tell you how happy I felt to hear this.

Anyone who cooks everyday and enjoys cooking as a de-stressing activity has my heart.

It reminded me of a few lovely people on Instagram who have been asking for my bhujia recipe they see with my khichdi or dal chawal. Some of them point out that it's always either karele ki bhujia or bhindi ki bhujia with my dal chawal meals.

Yes I love my karele ki bhujia a lot. As much as I love the karele ka chokha.

Karele ki bhujia is the simplest thing to make but you need some patience as it demands slow cooking. The good thing is that it doesn't demand much chopping and there is no peeling involved. The cooking is done by just stirring the bhujia a few times while it is on lowest possible flame of your gas stove.

ingredients 

300 gm bitter gourds (karele)
2 tbsp mustard oil
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder or a little more
1/2 tsp amchoor powder
salt to taste (1/2 tsp and little more to adjust if needed)


preparation 

Clean the gourds, remove the stalk, cut into 2 inch pieces and halve eac pice longitudinally. Then slice into thin strips of 5 mm thickness.

Heat mustard oil and tip in the karela slices along with salt. Stir to mix and spread the slices evenly in the pan so they crisp up for about 5 minutes on lowest possible flame.

Stir and arrange in an even layer again to make them brownish all over. Once you get the desired colour and crispness you add all the powdered spices, cook for a minute and take off the stove.

Serve hot with dal chawal meals or parathas and bless the bhujia. You would satart loving karela after eating this bhujia trust me.

Gulkand - Rose Sugar Jam

Gulkand - Rose Sugar Jam

 How to make Gulkand? 

_____________________________

There are only 2 ingredients needed to make Gulkand. 

Rose petals and sugar. 

The quantity of rose petals and sugar is equal by weight so sugar helps preserve the rose petals along with their essential oils.

We need the heirloom (desi) variety of rose known as Damask rose. This variety has very soft delicate petals and a lingering fragrance. The flowers can be multi-whorled or single whorled depending on where they are growing, pruning pattern, sun exposure and climate.

In the states of Uttarakhand and lower Himalayas the Damask rose grows wild by the roadsides and comes in huge bunches. The rosehips from those roses are the best.

Deep pink variety of Damask rose is preferred over the light pink rose to make Gulkand or rose petal jam.

Once you have the roses, better get them from a chemical free source, I collected them over a week when my garden was benevolent a couple of years ago, just separate the petals and rinse them lightly under running water. Spread the petals over a muslin cloth in shade so the water evaporates.

The older method warrants crushing of rose petals in mortar and pestle slowly but I use a mixie blender whenever I have a good quantity of rose petals to preserve. It takes just a couple of seconds for a batch and the mixture doesn't get heated. Heating the mix would result in the loss of the aroma.

To make fresh gulkand from a couple of roses within a day I just crush them along with sugar, keep in a glass jar and expose to sun for a day. 

Here is how it looks when rose petals and sugar are crushed lightly in a mixie blender. You can use a food processor and even a chopper.

 
After crushing them together coarsely, just transfer to a sterile (clean and dry) glass jar with a tight fitting lid and keep indoors at room temperature, away from sun to preserve the colour.

The gulkand stays well for years but the colour gets darker as you can see from the pictures of freshly made gulkand above and the 2 year old batch in the picture with Gulkand phirni.

And don't worry about the high sugar content of gulkand. It is never used as a jam spread but always as a rose flavour to be added to desserts so the sugar gets balanced.

Damask roses traveled from Persia to Europe, the name of the rose comes from Damascus Syria. I am not sure how these roses came to India but now they are called as Indian desi gulab. It might have come to India via older trade routes as there has been a considerable exchange of such commodities between the middle east and India.

I will update this post if I get any information about how Damask roses came to India. Please share if you know anything about that.

Till then, make some Gulkand whenever you get a few Damask roses or desi gulab. You will be hooked to make this rose petal jam that doesn't need any cooking.

And the gulkand phirni will be a preferred dessert at home I must tell you. The real ingredients have the taste, the chemical essences just fool our senses and sometime kill them too. Please don't let that happen. 

Aloo aur harey pyaz ki subzi..

Aloo aur harey pyaz ki subzi..

 

.

Aloo aur hare pyaz ki subzi has been frequent winter subzi in my kitchen and the recipe has not changed ever since I started cooking it. It is actually the exact same recipe as my mother used to cook and we both love it immensely. Hara pyaz is the same spring onions we get fresh in the markets as soon as the winters start in North India. This is one green leafy vegetable that is always there in my fridge. More so in recent times when the husband has started carrying a lunch box to office. He loves aloo aur hare pyaz ki subzi and it gets ready within 10 minutes, doesn't make the lunch box messy with a gravy and tastes great even when cold. What more I would wish for? Oh and it makes a standalone breakfast dish for me sometimes, may be with a boiled egg on the side. Yes, potatoes and eggs, both are life savers.

ingredients...

boiled potatoes 2 large (it should be 1.5 cup when cubed)
roughly diced tomatoes 1 cup
chopped green parts of spring onion 3 cups
finely chopped ginger 1 tbsp or more
finely chopped green chilies 1 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
cumin seeds 2 tsp
black pepper powder 1 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp or a bit more

procedure...

It is great if you have boiled potatoes in the fridge, otherwise just boil them in the microwave or whatever way you prefer. Cold boiled potatoes are suited for this recipe best, but you can go ahead with freshly boiled potatoes as well.

Heat the oil in a pan and tip in the cumin seeds, wait till they crackle. Then add the chopped ginger and green chilies  wait till they are fried but not dehydrated, add the cubed potatoes, turmeric powder and salt at once. Mix well and stir fry till the potatoes are coated well and slightly pinkish at the edges.

Add the diced tomatoes, mix and cook till they get mushy, it takes about 2-3 minutes.

Add the pepper powder and chopped greens of spring onions and just stir and cook till the greens get wilted and mixed well with the potatoes. Looking like the picture.

Do not cook after adding the greens for more than a couple of minutes.

You might like to add a pinch of amchoor powder in this stir fry or sookhi subzi. Or may be some red chilly powder too sometimes. Adjust seasoning when the subzi is still in the stove and mix well.

Serve hot or cold, the subzi tastes great with just anything. As sandwich stuffing, as a paratha stuffing or just as it is like I do. Make it spicier and it suits a plain daal chawal or khichdi meals well, just with a side of a raita or nothing I say.

Simple home cooked meals are very much doable on a daily basis. Stop eating your lunch in the office canteen and ordering your diner every day. Would you?

Kathal ka dopyaza | an aromatic dry stew of raw jackfruit

Kathal ka dopyaza | an aromatic dry stew of raw jackfruit

 

Kathal is Jackfruit, a giant fruit that grows anywhere on the tree, even closer to the roots.The fruit is edible in all phases. The baby Jackfruits are prized for the meaty texture they have and are cooked like meat in UP homes. I have a recipe with pictures ready for that and hope I get to post it soon.

The medium and large sized ones are cooked in this kind of Kathal dopyaza. The ones with large seeds are always preferred for Kathal ka dopyaza as the seeds taste very good in this kind of spices and almost caramelised onions in the finished dopyaza.

This kind of curry is actually a dum cooked (cooked on low heat in a sealed pot) stir fry where the firm textured jack fruit pieces and onions get cooked in their own juices. The whole spices infuse their aroma in a very delicate manner. Some people prefer adding a few pieces of potatoes in it. I make it with just the Jackfruit which I prefer peeling and cutting myself.

It's always advisable to buy a piece of jackfruit with the skin attached, flesh milky white and a gummy white sap oozing.  It stays in the fridge for a couple of days and you are sure it has not been peeled and stored for long before being sold to you. Buying a whole jackfruit will always be good if you need that amount.

To make this dopyaza, peel the thorny skin, slice in rounds or wedges and remove the inner pith. Then cube the flesh and then remove the hard plastic like coat of the seeds as this part is not edible. The hard plastic like seed coat is formed only in mature jackfruits, the one I used was a medium sized fruit so the seeds are just half mature. No hard seed coat to be removed in this case.

ingredients...
(3-5 servings)

Jackfruit, peeled and cubed 250 gm
sliced onions 250 gm approximately
ginger julienne one heaped tbsp
garlic cloves sliced 1 tbsp
whole dry red chillies 2-4 as per taste
tejpatta 3-4
black cardamom 2
green cardamom 2
cloves 5-6
cinnamon stick 1 inch long broken
whole black peppercorns 2 tsp
cumin 2 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
mustard oil or ghee 2 tbsp


procedure...

Normally in the authentic way, the dopyaza is cooked in a round bottom Haandi pan. I have one, but that is not used frequently and is stashed in some deep corner in my small much cluttered kitchen so I cooked it in a kadai. If you are also using a kadai, choose a lid that is smaller so it just covers the cooking vegetables and not fits the rim of the kadai. It keeps the steam inside to make a dum-cooking setting.

Heat the oil in the chosen (thick base) kadai and tip in all the whole spices and tejpatta in it. Let it all sizzle for just a second and add the red chillies and the ginger garlic slivers as well. Wait for them to cook for a minute and then add all the other chopped vegetables and turmeric powder, salt in one go. Mix well.

Now cover the cooking vegetables mix with a smaller lid as I suggested earlier. Keeping all the steam inside to cook the veggies almost without water.


Remember to cook on low flame.

Check the contents after 5-8 minutes, the onions and a few jackfruit cubes would have become brownish and might be sticking to the bottom. At this time you would be required to add about half a cup of water. Mix well.

Cover again and cook for about 8-10 minutes.

The end product looks like this, some sticky brown mass in the bottom of the kadai indicates the dopyaza has been caramelised well. Take care to prevent burning in the last few minutes.

Check the jackfruit pieces if cooked. They give in to pressure and get flat.

Serve hot or at room temperature. No garnish is required. Those cooked red chilies look good enough and may be the tejpatta too adds to the rustic charm.



This kathal ka dopyaza is normally served with chapatis, actually more preferably with plain thin flaky crisp parathas. You can serve it with any kind of thin flat bread. Or as a part of a formal extended menu.

The vegetable is meaty in texture and is much in demand when one needs a special meal for vegetarians. Paneer and mushrooms are other meat substitutes for vegetarians but if you consider the capability to absorb the spices, there is no match to Jackfruit.

I cooked this dopyaza after a couple of years I remember. The last time was when I cooked it for about 30 people when the whole family was together for a wedding.

No wonder this dopyaza is suitable for bulk cooking with wonderful results as it involves dum-cooking. Also the fact that there is not much preparation with spice powders and ginger garlic paste etc.

You might like to remove some of the whole spices before serving. Some people do not like the whole spices interrupting in between. They can give a bitter taste if chewed on accidentally. Just retain a few as garnish.

How many of you have had this UP style Kathal ka dopyaza?

Good question regarding kadai. I used a thick aluminium kadai this time to illustrate the pictures better, especially the one where i have shown the dopyaza sticking a little to the kadai in the last. Normally I make it in an old fashioned cast Iron kadai which is available only in rural parts of India. A friend has gifted me two of them generously.
This dopyaza can also be cooked in a pressure cooker, with the lid not fixed to form pressure. The lid in that case is just kept over the pan.

shalgam matar ki sookhi subzi

shalgam matar ki sookhi subzi

 

Turnips are not the favourite vegetable of many people I know, including my husband but there are some people who wait for winters so they can eat turnips. I have got some great feedback about the turnip recipes I have posted here, especially the shalgam alu matar ki subzi and shalgam bhien matar ki subzi that many of my readers have started cooking regularly every season.

Bringing you another shalgam matar ki subzi for you today and this one is a unique shalgam subzi that was shared generously by a lady who was buying turnips along with me and I sensed she loves turnips going by the way she was choosing them. The recipe is something I could never have imagined existed, with loads of coriander leaves and a hint of sugar, this turnip subzi has become my favourite now. I have already cooked it three times in three days to get this shalgam matar ki subzi well entrenched into my memory.

I love the recipe exchange that happens in the weekly vegetable market I visit. Most of the the times it is me who ends up giving recipe suggestions to people when they see me buying unusual vegetables like these turnip leaves for shaljam patta gosht or mongre (rat tailed radish), red cabbages etc. and end up asking how do I cook them. But I have realised that it happens both ways as I always feel free to ask people about how they are planning to cook something they are buying. There are smiles exchanged instantly as a reward and then the recipes just tumble out for our pleasure.

This shalgam ki subzi is a typical everyday punjabi recipe that is made without any onion and tomatoes, the lady who shared the recipe told me specifically that she loves this recipe because it is devoid of onion and tomatoes. She just suggested to dump everything together and cook covered till done. The generous use of dhaniya patta and this quick method was enough to make me try the recipe just as I reached home that day, armed with all the fresh ingredients needed. The only change I made in the recipe is the addition of peas and use of green garlic instead of regular chopped garlic she had suggested, both types of garlic work well I realised after the three trials I did.

ingredients 

(serves 2-3)
300 gm or 2 large fresh turnips (I doubt if the recipe will work with mature or shriveled turnips)
1 cup chopped coriander leaves with the stalks
1/2 cup freshly shelled peas (optional)
2 tbsp chopped green garlic or 2 tsp chopped garlic cloves
1 tbsp grated ginger
chopped green chilies to taste
1 tsp everyday curry powder (coriander, cumin, pepper and tejpatta powdered together)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp mustard oil

procedure 

Clean and cube the turnips. Keep aside.

Heat the mustard oil in a pan and tip in the dry spice powders along with the chopped garlic, green chilies and ginger at once. Cook till everything gets aromatic, just about 30 seconds or so.

Add the cubed turnips along with peas and chopped dhaniya patta (coriander greens), mix well. The amount of dhaniya patta will feel too much at this stage but don't be alarmed as this is where the taste comes from.

Add the salt and sugar, mix well and cook covered at lowest temperature till done. It takes about 8-10 minutes to cook.

You can add some water to make a thinner curry and can add a dash of lime juice if you would like a little tartness. You won't need it if the turnips and peas are fresh because the quality of ingredients is a determining factor in this recipe.

This is one of those recipes of turnips that even the turnip haters would approve of, just as the husband did. This subzi pairs well with crisp hot parathas, khameeri rotis, kulchas and plain roti but I think we would love it with khichdi, rice and dal type of meals too.

Make this shalgam matar ki subzi now and let me know if you liked it as much as we did.

Dal ki dulhan | a light lentil soup with whole wheat dumplings

Dal ki dulhan | a light lentil soup with whole wheat dumplings

Dal ki dulhan or dal pithi was our favourite one pot meal during growing up years. The fun shapes of the whole wheat dumplings probably made it more enjoyable I guess.

Dal ki dulhan is a name that comes from the specific shape of the dumplings that looks like the veil of a bride. The shaping of the dumplings can be different and the name of the dish also changes accordingly. It is called dal pithi when the dumplings are shaped like small discs or Orecchiette pasta. If the dumplings are stuffed it is called dal ka dulha.

Similar recipes of lentil soups with dumplings made of whole wheat or chickpea flour are called as Varan phal or dal dhokli in Maharashtra and Gujrat respectively. I have heard from my friends from Maharashtra and Gujrat how favourite this dish is in their homes too. I think the beauty of this one pot meal lies in its simplicity.

But all simple dishes can be a little tricky to master if you trust my experience. There are very few ingredients and very few steps involved in this recipe of dal ki dulhan but you miss a single ingredient or a single step and the result may be not so favourable.

The dal ki dulhan should be cooked slowly to achieve a nice glutinous bite that the dumplings acquire, the dal should be thin and soupy so it gives a perfect base to the plain dumplings. The tadka you can choose the way you like but don't meddle with the cooking time or consistency of the dal.

Without further ado, let me share the recipe so you can make it at home for your next meal.

ingredients 
(2 servings)

for the dal
2 tbsp mung dal
2 tbsp masoor dal
salt to taste
1/2 ts turmeric powder
1 tbsp green chili and garlic paste or to taste  

for the dumplings 
1/2 cup whole wheat flour made into a dough suitable for making roti
(I used a mix of barley, chickpea and wheat flours)

for the tadka 
1 tbsp ghee
pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp red chili powder or to taste

procedure 

Mix all the ingredients for dal with 1.5 cups of water and pressure cook till done. If you are cooking dal for the first time, note that it takes about 10 minutes after the first whistle. Let the pressure cooker cool down before opening the lid. If cooking in a pan the dal takes about 35 minutes to cook.

Meanwhile divide the dough into 20 small balls and roll each ball just like thin pooris. Keep them dusted with flour so they don't stick together. 

Open the pressure cooker lid and mix the dal. It should be smooth and thin just like soup. Add a cup of water and simmer on low heat. Shape the dumplings one by one and slip into the simmering dal.

To shape the dumplings into dal ki dulhan, lift from four corners and join them in the center so 4 loops are formed taking a butterfly shape. Don't worry if you can't shape the dumplings perfectly as it wont affect the taste.

Once all the dumplings are in the dal soup let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, the time depends on how thin the dumplings are. If you have rolled them too thin they will be read in 5-7 minutes. I used mixed grain flour to make the dumplings hence they took longer to cook.

Adjust consistency and seasoning while the dal soup simmers, it thickens after the dumplings are added.

Prepare a tadka by heating the ghee in a ladle (or tadke pan).
Add hing and cumin seeds to hot ghee and let it splutter. Take the ladle off the flame.
Add the chilli powder, mix and pour this tadka immediately into the simmering dal ki dulhan.

Serve in soup mugs as a meal. No need to garnish but a spring on coriander leaves wont hurt.

shaljam patta gosht | mutton curry with turnip leaves

shaljam patta gosht | mutton curry with turnip leaves

 

Shaljam patta gosht was served at my  Banaras ka Khana festival last year at ITC Maurya. Since this time we showcased the Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb of Banaras and teamed up with Rana Safvi to bring some food from Muslim homes as well, this homely recipe of shaljam patta gosht was included as I always prefer serving seasonal foods from the region in my food festivals.

Shaljam patta gosht is made almost similarly in many Muslim homes, Some people like to add a hot ghee tadka with ginger julienne and red chillies or green chilies over each serving and some have it as it is after the slow cooking. Use of garam masala is rare for this everyday recipe but some add whole spices too. Some people have started cooking it in one step pressure cooker process but I feel the slow cooking suits this delicate recipe better. My recipe is based on my trials after talking to a few Muslim friends from Banaras and other places close by. 

Shaljam or shalgam is the humble turnip that many people hate for reasons beyond my understanding. I find it a very flavourful vegetable that has a delicate flavour and pairs well with many other ingredients really well. So while shalgam matar ki subzi remains my favourite and the Kashmiri style gogji nadur keeps repeating in my kitchen, bhien shalgam matar ki subzi is loved as much but I am yet to perfect my shalgam gosht.

The shaljam patta gosht is an everyday meat curry that uses leaves of turnips. It will be appropriate to mention that turnip leaves are many times more nutritious than the more common spinach and has one of the highest amounts of iron and calcium. Normally I would get it from Tijara farm as getting turnips with leaves is next to impossible in Delhi.

The other day Atiya Zaidi tweeted about shaljam patta gosht and I couldn't resist but look for turnip leaves in our weekly market. While I couldn't find any turnip leaves as usual, my quest was so intense that I saw a sack of medium sized fresh turnips being opened and the sack was sealed using the leaves from the same turnips as a cushioning material. I requested the subziwala to give me those leaves and he relented after initial hesitation. There I was, the leaves were very fresh to be cooked with my shaljam patta gosht.

ingredients 
(3-4 servings)
500 gm mutton on bone and some fat
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
2 tbsp mustard oil
300 gm turnip leaves chopped finely*
5 whole dry red chilies
3 tejpatta 
salt to taste

*The turnip leaves should ideally be from baby turnips but I have always used the leaves from medium sized turnips as I never find baby turnips, thankfully the shaljam patta gosht has always turned out great. If using baby turnips you can use the turnips chopped along the leaves too. 

ingredients to make a fine paste together

1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp pepper powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder
 
procedure 

Heat the mustard oil in a pressure cooker pan and add 1/2 cup chopped onions along with the whole dry red chilies and tejpatta. Fry them on medium heat till they get brown. Make a paste of the ingredients listed under paste while the onions brown.

Once the onions are browned, add the paste and get ready for some slow bhunoing for 20 minutes. keep the flame low and keep bhunoing the masala till it gets dry and sticks to the bottom leaving the oil on the sides.

Splash 1 tbsp water in the masala and bhuno again to deglaze, so it slows down the bhunoing process and brings out the complex flavours of the simple spices used.

Bhunoing is the key to the taste of many such mutton curries as our elders have stressed upon.

When you see the masala getting a deep shade of brown and aromatic, add the mutton pieces and keep bhunoing for 20 minutes more on low flame. Keep turning the meat along with the spices so the fats are rendered into the masala slowly and the meat absorbs the spices well.

Add the turnip leaves, mix the leaves well with the meat and let them release their juices. Once the leaves are wilted you can bhuno the meat mix for 5-7 minutes more. I often get the leaves steamed to make them limp so that I can refrigerate the in my borosil boxes, so I use steamed leaves from the fridge.

Add 1/4 cup of water (no more please), salt to taste and cover the lid. Keep the gas flame low and let the meat cook on very low flame till pressure builds up on its own, it takes about 40 minutes in a 2.5 liter pressure cooker. Once the whistle blows up you can switch off the gas and let the pressure release before opening the cooker.

Note that the cooking time can vary depending on the quality of meat, the flame strength and the size of pressure cooker so adjust accordingly. New cooks often err on this aspect and end up with under cooked or overcooked meat but that's how we learn.

You would see loads of leaves covering all the meat but trust me that is where the taste is. This cooking process ensures that the fats and gelatin from the bones melds well with the leaves and the turnip leaves flavour the meat with their own signature aromas.

Shaljam patta gosht tastes even better the next day so make double the amount you need for one meal. This is one mutton curry that can be eaten 3-4 times a week and is worth cooking in bulk and stock in the fridge.

Chicken Stew Al Jawahar Old Delhi Style

Chicken Stew Al Jawahar Old Delhi Style

Saturday, February 20, 2021

 

We North Indians are obsessed with creamy gravies and making them low fat is a challenge . Many people like a good fat layer on top of the dish as it definitely makes the spicing more aromatic . All the aromatic oils of the spices are soluble in cooking fat and the aroma of the finished dish depends a lot on how the spices are cooked and seeped into the cooking medium . The meats also take up the flavors well when cooked with some fat .

At the same time , cooking with lesser amounts of fat is not such a big deal . Using just enough fat to let the spices bloom in the gravy and the meat get evenly cooked and seeped into the spicy notes is the idea . The heat level needs to be kept in control as the meats need more time to cooked in a low fat medium , without getting stuck to the base of the pan...Slow cooking with some liquid drowning the meat is a great idea , best suited for low fat cooking, especially meats.

The mughlai stew is called 'Ishtoo' and this is not a revelation for anybody who likes it.. whenever you want a nutty creamy gravy with an intense chicken flavor you can have this ishtoo . This ishtoo i made with the remaining boney pieces of the chicken after making a grilled tikka . The boney pieces have more intense flavor and they come out well if cooked for a soup or for a stew...

This chicken stew is an exact replica of a mutton stew i recreated after having it at a famous purani dilli (old city of Delhi) eatery , with boney pieces of chicken this was the best thing to have with some fresh whole wheat chapatis ..

ingredients...
(for 2 servings)
chicken pieces on bone 250 -300 gm
 red chilly powder 1tsp or a bit more
cumin seeds 1 tsp
whole coriander seeds 1 tsp
fennel seeds 1 tsp
whole peppercorns 15 nos.
green cardamom seeds and skin separated 2 nos.
black cardamom a few seeds only ( about 1/4 of a whole pod)
a small cinnamon stick 
half a star anise ( optional, i am just obsessed by it)
cloves 4 nos.
a small sliver of mace 
salt to taste
ghee 1 tsp
fresh cream 1 tbsp ( i used home made malai)

 to be minced in the food processor or mixie..
2 big onions (1.5 cup minced)
an inch piece of ginger chopped
7-8 small cloves of Indian garlic

to be made into a fine paste
1.5 tbsp of melon seeds ( magaz in urdu and kharbuze ka beej in hindi)
100 gm of thick curds

Procedure...

There are a lot of ingredients but the cooking is really simple.

Place everything into a pan except the paste of melon seeds and curds. Add a cup of water and cook the chicken on low flame till cooked.It takes about 25-35 minutes according to the size of the chicken pieces.

Add the white paste made with melon seeds and curds , mix well and let it come to a soft boil. Cover the pan and take off heat. Let the pan stand for 5 minutes before serving.

There will be some oil floating on top , but not overwhelming . The whole recipe is quite low on fats and equally tasty ..

You might like to discard some of the whole spices as they are not a welcome bite...I like the whole coriander seeds and some whole peppercorns coming under my teeth once in a while...this one is a rustic dish where you pick out the whole spices if you don't like them and use your hands to eat it...

With hot chapatis , roomali rotis or fluffy naan , this stew needs some bread ....to be mopped clean.

Mutton stew : the new improved ishtoo...a la Al Jawahar...

Mutton stew : the new improved ishtoo...a la Al Jawahar...

 

The most versatile mutton recipe is an Ishtoo as it is called in Hindi speaking regions of India. It is actually a stew which was probably inspired by the brown stew of the British raj. Every region of India has it's own stew and can be spiked with yogurt, milk, different spices and even tamarind and coconut or nut paste.

In my home any kind of vegetarian or non vegetarian stew was a way to consume less time in the summer months when the bhunoing method of cooking curries in the kitchen would cause a lot of sweating and there will be no fun eating after soaking yourself up in all that sweat. The stews are light on the stomach too, as is required in Indian summers.

Just making a paste or two and them stewing all the ingredients together in either a pressure cooker or an old fashioned thick base round bottom kadai was a way to beat the heat too.

But the finished dish had no respite from the heat. Folks love spicy food even in summers. The yogurt and some cooling spices used in the stew make it easy on the system though.

This ishtoo is actually a result of an extensive experimentation to match the taste of the famous Ishtoo of Al Jawahar at Matia mahal , Old Delhi. 

After many experiments, starting from this one posted here,  many ingredient combinations tried, I reached to this recipe which is the perfect. Almost 99 % the actual taste. Just the red chillies are used as a paste and not as broken pieces as I used in the first recipe, Just because I like it a little hot.

Actually, the first recipe was also very close to the original, but something was missing. That something came around in the form of some anaardaana, some cashew and poppy paste and a few grains of fenugreek. That made the difference.

So here it goes. The famous Mutton Ishtoo of Al Jawahar...The slightly darker shade of the gravy is due to my love of chilly heat, add lesser or just broken chillies if you want it milder...

Ingredients....
(2-4 servings depending on what is served on the side, large quantities always result in a better taste and texture of the meat)

mutton, curry cut preferably ribs and some meaty pieces 400 gm

whole spices 
2 black cardamoms
2 green cardamoms
8 cloves
3 one inch pieces of cinnamon
20 black peppercorns
10 grains of fenugreek
one small sliver of mace
1 tbsp whole coriander seeds
2 tsp of fennel seeds
3-4 tejpatta

To make a paste
1 cup of chopped onions
10 garlic cloves
1.5 tbsp of chopped ginger
5 dry whole red chillies
2 tsp of anaardaana (dried pomegranate seeds, or use powder if you have)

To make a white paste
fresh yogurt (full fat) 1 cup
fried onion slices made from one medium sized onion
cashew 25 gm (one heaped tbsp and some more of broken cashew)
Indian white poppy seeds ( khuskhus) 20 gm or1 heaped tbsp
Salt to taste
ghee 1/3 cup

Procedure...

Make a paste of the ingredients listed in the first list first and mix with the mutton pieces in a large bowl. Add salt to taste and mix well.

Now make the second paste too in the same grinder jar and mix it with the mutton.

This second paste will be tricky to make. Soak the poppy seeds first with 2 tbsp yogurt and then grind it with the broken cashew and a tbsp more of the yogurt. Grind till a smooth paste is formed. Add the rest of the yogurt and whiz once again to homogenise.

Now add all the whole spices to the mutton mix and keep this bowl in the fridge for about 2 hours. You can go on to cook it instantly too.

Pour the ingredients in a pressure cooker pan , add 1/2 cup of water and the ghee and cover with the lid. Cook on high flame till the whistle blows and then lower the flame to cook the meat for 25-30 minutes.

let the pressure release by itself. Serve hot.

This dish tastes better the next day so you can always make it beforehand if you have to serve it for a formal dinner.

Slow cooking always results in better texture of the meat, so cook the stew in a thick base pan for about 2 hours on the lowest possible flame, if you have time to enjoy cooking. The gravy tastes great any which way and you would like to make more gravy every time you make it. One of those gravies you want to have with a naan bread or as it is.

The ishtoo tastes best with yeasted flat breads. I make my own kulcha style breads, thinner than pita to masquerade as the tandoori rotis of Al Jawahar. You can always use pita breads or yeasted dinner rolls with them. Even roomali rotis or plain homemade chapatis will be great.