SOOKHI MOONG DHAL
INGREDIENTS
150 gm moong dhal
600 ml water
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon chilli powder
Salt to taste
For the baghar
100 gm ghee
5 dry red chillies
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
METHOD
Clean the dhal, wash and drain. In a pan, mix the dhal, all the spices and water; cook on a medium flame until the lentils are soft but not mushy. Mix in the salt and take off the stove.
Heat the ghee in a frying pan, and fry dry red chillies and cumin seeds until these splutter. Pour this baghar over the dhal and mix well.
PALAK AUR CHANA KI DHAL
INGREDIENTS
½ kg spinach leaves, or any
other greens of your choice
100 gm chana dhal
4 dried red chillies
2 green chillies
6 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon onion seeds
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
Salt to taste
METHOD
Soak the chana dhal overnight, or for three hours in warm water. Boil on a low flame for 30 minutes in half a litre of water. Wash the greens and drain well; chop and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and fry onion seeds, mustard seeds and dried red chillies. When these begin to splutter, add spinach and ginger paste, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, chilli powder and salt. Cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes.
Add the chana dhal and mix gently with the spinach. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add green chillies and squeeze the lemon juice over. Serve as a side to a tomato-based gravy.
KHATTI DHAL
Whenever a Hyderabadi craves dhal, it is this version of it. Khatti Dhal is a staple for us and I hope it becomes one of your favourites too.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup masoor dhal
1 cup tuvar dhal
¾ cup tamarind paste
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 slit green chillies
2 sprigs coriander leaves
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 tablespoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
For the baghar
½ cup oil
6 full red chillies
6 garlic cloves
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tablespoons ghee
METHOD
Clean and wash the dhals and soak together for 30 minutes. In a pressure cooker, cook the dhals with ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, tomatoes, chilli powder, curry leaves and three cups of water until soft.
Take the cooker off the flame; let it cool off before you open it. Mash the cooked dhal to a fine paste. Add tamarind, slit green chillies, coriander leaves and salt. Return to the stove and cook on a slow fire until the tamarind breaks down, which usually takes 10-15 minutes.
FOR THE BAGHAR
Heat the oil in a small frying pan and then add ghee. When this mixture is smoking hot, add red chillies, garlic and curry leaves. Let these fry until nearly charred. Turn off the flame and quickly pour the baghar over the dhal and close the lid for a few minutes until the spluttering stops. Serve hot.
MITHI DHAL
INGREDIENTS
2 cups water
1 cup moong dhal
3 green chillies
½ bunch coriander leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon oil
For the baghar
4 dry red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
METHOD
Boil the dhal and all the other ingredients until the water dries up and the dhal is soft. Then, take it off the flame and mash the dhal into a paste. Now, add three cups of water – more, if you like your dhal to be thinner – and bring it back to the boil. Lower the flame and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
FOR THE BAGHAR
Heat oil and ghee in a small frying pan until smoking. Toss in red chillies, curry leaves, and cumin seeds. Allow these to brown until they are nearly charred, and pour the baghar into the dhal. Cover the pan immediately. If you want a more indulgent dish, swirl a tablespoon of fresh cream into the dhal before you serve it.
MASH KI DHAL
INGREDIENTS
600 ml water
100 gm urad dhal
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
1 small onion, finely sliced
2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon ginger paste
Salt to taste
METHOD
Wash urad dhal in a pan; add water and ginger paste. Bring it to a boil and simmer until the dhal is cooked and the water has evaporated. Take off the stove and mix in the salt. In a small frying pan, heat ghee and sauté onion until golden brown.
Toss in the chopped garlic and green chillies for just a minute and pour this baghar onto the dhal. Mix well, garnish with mint leaves and serve.
Mash Ki Dhal
KHADI DHAL
INGREDIENTS
300 ml water
100 gm masoor dhal
1 small bunch coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 small bunch spring onions,
or 1 onion, finely chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
6 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
METHOD
Wash the dhal and soak in water for about 30 minutes. In a pan, heat oil and sauté spring onions/onions until quite browned. Lower the heat, and add ginger-garlic paste and turmeric. Sauté to let the flavours blend. Add the dhal, along with the water it was soaking in.
Cook until the dhal is soft, and then mix in salt. Take off the flame and decant into a serving dish. Garnish with chopped green chillies and, if you wish, finely chopped coriander leaves.
KADDU KA DALCHA
INGREDIENTS
1 large pumpkin, cubed
½ kg tomatoes, chopped
¼ kg split gram lentils
100 gm tamarind, pulped
4 green chillies, slit
1 onion, finely sliced
2 bunches coriander leaves, finely chopped
3 cinnamon sticks, powdered
3 tablespoons oil
1½ teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
METHOD
Pressure cook the lentils, mash to a fine paste and set aside. In a pan, heat oil and fry the onion until it turns golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and chilli powder. Sprinkle water at intervals and sauté the masalas until fragrant. Add in the pumpkin cubes. Then, add the tomatoes and cook until the pumpkin cubes are soft.
Pour in the mashed dhal and add curry leaves, cinnamon powder and green chillies. Mix well and add tamarind juice. Bring to the boil and sprinkle with the coriander leaves. Keep on dhum for 5 minutes before taking it off the flame.
Kaddu ka Dalcha
NARANGI DHAL
This family recipe is very unusual and delicious. The oranges add immense flavour. We use Indian oranges or narangis.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup moong dhal
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 oranges
2 green chillies, slit
2 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tablespoon ginger-garli
c paste
1 tablespoon chilli powder
Salt to taste
For the baghar
½ cup oil
6 whole red chillies
6 garlic cloves
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
METHOD
Clean and wash the dhal, and leave it to soak for 30 minutes. In a pressure cooker, cook the dhal with ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, tomatoes and curry leaves until soft. In the meantime, juice the oranges – you should get about three-fourths of a cup of juice.
Boil the peel in hot water for a while and, using a spoon, scrape out the pith. Chop the peel and keep aside.
Mash the dhal into a fine paste once it is cooked. Add salt and orange juice, and place the cooker back on the stove but do not cover it. Add the chopped orange peel, and cook the dhal on a slow flame for a while. Then, add slit green chillies and coriander leaves and take off the stove.
FOR THE BAGHAR
Heat oil in a small pan until it is smoking hot. Toss in the red chillies, garlic and cumin seeds. Lastly, add the curry leaves. When the chillies are charred, take the pan off the flame and pour the baghar into the dhal. Cover the cooker immediately, to keep the aroma from escaping. Once the baghar has stopped spluttering, mix the ghee into the dhal and serve.
Meat and Poultry
'PETER ALWAYS LOVED TO HOST PEOPLE'
As I was researching the book, I spoke to Karki Hassan, who is Peter’s cousin’s wife and I call her Karki Bhabhi. She and her late husband, Abid Bhai, literally brought Peter up as one of their own when he was a young man, staying with them in Vizag at his first job. Before Peter and I were engaged, he wanted me to meet them and get their blessings without which, he said, we could not get married. I learnt later that he was joking but Karki Bhabhi still talks about how she remembers me as a ‘terrified young lady with two plaits, who was afraid she would not be approved of’. Of all the meals I have made for her, she says her favourite is Shepherd’s Pie. This is a note she shared with me for the book, about her memories of Peter and myself –
‘People always say that behind every successful man is a woman but in the case of Peter and Doreen, I would say that they have both been very supportive of one another. Peter was a very devoted son and brother, and has remained devoted in all his roles. The Hassans are a very large Hyderabadi family with a very modern outlook and this has been so over the generations. Ours is a very multi-cultural, secular family and this has been true for generations. We like maintaining family ties and are very conventional only in this respect. And Doreen, with her Goan roots, fit right into the family from the start.
With Rt. Hon. Sir Anand Satyanand and Lady Susan
With Habib Rehman
With Pt Ravi Shankar Ji, Smt. Sukanya Shankar and Anoushka Shankar
Peter has always loved hosting people. It is a part of his personality. I remember that at the start of his career when he had very little money, he would organize a tea party every couple of months and offer his guests cakes, something savoury and tea. He genuinely has always loved bringing people together. And Doreen has been a perfect partner for him. What has been very surprising for me is Doreen’s ability to cook traditional meals. The Hassans are a foodie family – as we eat one meal, we’re planning the next one – but Doreen was not a foodie when she married Peter. She doesn’t even eat meat! So, it’s only because of her wonderful personality that she has collected these precious recipes from aunts, cousins and other family members. She did it with so much grace, requesting them for their signature recipes, learning from them patiently and winning their generosity.
Doreen and Peter are now considered among the finest hosts in Delhi and are known for serving authentic, delicious Hyderabadi food. More than that, I think what they are loved for is their ability to bring people together over meals, and they do for the joy of it. Anyone can organize a meal and call people home but what makes their home special is the family’s hospitality. Everyone makes you feel welcome. The little grandchildren are running around. The food is the best and the hosts are personally making sure that their guests are feeling at home. In a city like Delhi, which is a powerhouse, they have created a world for themselves.’
COMING FULL CIRCLE
When I was thirteen, my father sent me off to the family’s farm. He wanted me to learn how to cook and spend some time with our relatives. I was the youngest person there, and missed my parents and brothers. I remember calling my mother to tell her – ‘You teach me how to cook, please! I just want to come home.’ And I did go home very soon after but before I left, my aunt, Suraiya Hassan Bose, taught me how to make Kofte ka Saalan, which is one of her signature dishes. ‘Beta, you must never use more than quarter kg of meat to make this dish,’ she said to me as we cooked together. I promised never to, though I don’t know why she said that and still have no idea.
Back in Delhi, my father wanted to know what I had learnt to make from Suraiya Apa and immediately asked me to cook it for a dinner party for fifteen people that he was hosting at home that evening. Of course, I had to use more than a quarter kg of meat, breaking my promise to Suraiya Apa almost immediately after making it. But this is life with my father – a full house and a full table, always. No one leaves our home without eating a meal. In fact, I don’t think there was ever a time that it was just the five of us at the table. One evening, it was just the family sitting down to dinner and my father remarked – ‘Who died? Why is there no one else joining us?’ And just then, the doorbell rang and extra places had to be set for two friends who had decided to drop by.
With President S.R. Nathan
Peter receiving the ‘Order de Mayo – Officer of the Order’ from Ambassador of Argentina, H.E. Ernesto Alvarez in 2012
I’ve been married for a little over two decades now and my own home in Goa is an extension of my parents’. There’s always a meal for anyone who comes by and I love having people over. It’s also the same spirit of hospitality that inspires Saligao Stories, a restaurant that I opened in 2016 in my great-grandmother’s home in Saligao, Goa and where we serve both Goan and Hyderabadi cuisines. To me, it feels like coming full circle – from being that young girl who learnt to cook from her great-aunt, to now rustling up saalans, biryanis and curries as a restauranteur. Food truly is the greatest bridge and I believe I have been given a rare and blessed opportunity to be able to share our family’s stories, through our favourite dishes.
Anisha Hassan Mendes
TAS KABAB
INGREDIENTS
1 kg mutton (pasinda meat)
1 kg onions, finely sliced
1 cup oil
150 gm coriander leaves, chopped
8 green chillies, slit
4 limes, juiced
For the dough to seal the pan
As much wheat flour and water as you need
For the whole garam masala
10 cloves
6 cardamoms
4 1" cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons peppercorns
METHOD
Mix the meat with salt and lime juice; keep aside for 30-60 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan and sauté half the onions until they turn translucent. Remove onto a plate lined with absorbent paper, and set aside.
Fry the other half to a crisp, golden brown in the same oil. Remove onto a separate plate lined with absorbent paper, and set aside.
Pour half a cup of oil into a large lagan or flat pan. Carefully arrange the meat pieces to cover the entire base of the vessel.
Cover the meat with both the browned, and slightly fried onions. As you sprinkle the slices, make sure you coat every inch of the meat.
Top the onion mixture with coriander leaves, green chillies, and whole garam masala. This has to be done in layers so please divide the ingredients accordingly. Do not use everything up in one layer
Repeat this process until you have used up all the ingredients.
Pour the
lime juice and salt mixture, which the meat was marinated in and the remaining half cup of oil over the meat and its garnishes. Cover with water.
Seal the lagan with the dough; place on the fire with coals placed above and below it. You can also cook this dish in an oven, at 190° Celsius. Either way, it takes 30-45 minutes for the meat to brown.
Check the meat is cooked, allow the top to brown slightly.
Serve garnished with more chopped coriander leaves.
SANCHA GOSHT
INGREDIENTS
5 kg mutton, cut into strips
For the marinade
15 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
3 tablespoons papaya paste
Salt to taste
To cook the meat
200 gm Bengal gram, ground and strained
100 gm yogurt
3 eggs
4 tablespoons oil
7 teaspoons chilli powder
6 teaspoons garam masala powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon lemon yellow food colour
Handful of cashew nuts, ground into a paste
METHOD
Mix the marinade ingredients with the meat and keep aside for one hour. Drain off and discard any liquid that might be released at the end of the hour. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a deep dish or bowl with a lid, and place the marinated strips of meat in this mixture.
Keep the bowl, covered, in the refrigerator overnight. When you are ready to cook the meal, heat coals on a sancha. Grill the meat strips until brown on both sides. Squeeze lemon over the grilled meat and serve hot.
PATTHAR KA GOSHT
INGREDIENTS
2 kg mutton (steak or pasinda cut)
2 tablespoons papaya paste
2 tablespoons garam masala powder
4 teaspoons black pepper powder
2 teaspoons black cumin seeds
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
½ teaspoon all-spice powder
Salt to taste
METHOD
Wipe the mutton pieces with a wet cloth and then dry. Rub the papaya paste on the pieces and keep aside for two hours. Discard any liquid that might have collected. Mix in all the masalas with the meat; keep covered, overnight, in the fridge.
Saffron and Pearls Page 4