2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
Salt to taste
To make the garam masala
10 whole cardamoms
6 cloves
3 1" cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
To make the green masala
1 cup coriander and mint leaves
5 green chillies
To garnish
4 green chillies, slit
Chopped coriander and mint leaves
METHOD
Grind the minced meat to a fine consistency without using water. This is best achieved on a masala grinding stone. Keep the mince aside. Again, on the grinding stone, grind the ingredients for the green masala, along with peppercorns and all the ingredients for garam masala. Scoop up into a bowl. Now, measure out half the paste into a separate bowl and keep aside.
Mix the chironjee, poppy seeds and chana dhal that you had roasted and ground earlier. Now, measure out half the mixture and place it in a separate bowl. In a large bowl, place the mince, one half of the green masala and one half of the powdered masalas. Mix the mince and the masalas as though you are kneading flour. This gives the mince a soft consistency and allows the ingredients to mix well.
Make small koftas of the mince and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions until they turn golden brown. Then add the ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder and turmeric powder; sauté well until fragrant. Now add in the second bowl of green masala and the second bowl of powdered masala. Add in the coconut. Continue sautéing the masala to allow the flavours to blend well. Then, add yogurt and mix well again. Once the oil rises to the surface, add the koftas, one at a time – they must not break.
Pour in two glasses of water and cook on a slow flame. If you need to mix the koftas in, do not use a spoon. Just hold the pan on both sides and gently shake it. When the gravy is thick and the oil rises to the surface again, add the green chillies, coriander and mint.
Serve with hot white rice.
SALIM BAKRA
From the time I became a proficient enough cook to begin hosting people, my day has always been punctuated by a call from my husband, announcing that he was bringing guests home for dinner. The numbers can vary from four to forty, or even more.
So, one day in 1986, Peter called me and said he had invited Mehdi Hasan, the famous ghazal singer, for dinner. He was to sing at our home, and there would be 100 guests in attendance. We had to serve a special meal. I decided to make a Salim Bakra, which is an entire goat, stuffed with chicken and eggs, and cooked to perfection. It is a difficult dish to make but it’s perfect for special occasions and, of course, people cannot get enough of it.
As I prepared the goat, it occurred to me that I had come a long way from the young vegetarian girl who couldn’t cook at all to this woman who was bravely and efficiently preparing an extremely complicated dish without batting an eyelid. The truth is that when I started cooking meat, I could not even bring myself to touch it, so I would pay my neighbour’s maid a little money to clean and cut the meat for me. Making a dish like Salim Bakra by myself, therefore, was a proof of my journey. With 100 guests expected in a few hours, I couldn’t dwell on my achievements for long but I still remember how good I had felt making Salim Bakra that day.
It’s now a speciality of ours and Peter requested me to make it once for the Saudi Arabian ambassador, who was going to bring a friend along for dinner. I cannot remember the year now, but I will never forget the reaction of the ambassador’s friend. When he saw the Salim Bakra, he could not believe that I had made it. Through the whole evening, he kept repeating to Peter – ‘Your wife is a good woman.’ It’s become a favourite phrase of Peter’s and he is still fond of calling me a ‘good woman’.
If you are inclined to try making Salim Bakra – and I highly recommend you do – please ask for help and try it once before you cook it for an occasion. I would not advise you to experiment with this recipe. Follow the steps carefully, and don’t be daunted by it. If I could master it, so can you.
INGREDIENTS
1 goat, weighing about 6 kg
2 to 3 small chickens
1 dozen eggs
1 ½ kg onions
1 kg biryani rice
1 kg yogurt
¾ kg ghee
¼ kg ginger-garlic paste
5 to 6 limes
8 teaspoons red chilli powder
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Flour kneaded into dough
to seal the pot
Grind together and keep aside
5 tablespoons chironjee
5 tablespoons watermelon seeds
3 tablespoons almonds
1 teaspoon saffron strands, powdered
Grind together and keep aside
15 1" cinnamon sticks
6 dry apricots
5 tablespoons raisins
5 teaspoons cardamoms
5 teaspoons black cumin
5 teaspoons mace
Grind together and keep aside
100 gm coriander leaves
50 gm mint leaves
6 to 8 green chillies
METHOD
Clean the goat, including the insides of the stomach. Apply the ginger-garlic paste, garam masala powder and salt to the insides and on the body of the goat. Keep aside for 1-2 hours.
Parboil the biryani rice and keep aside.
Hard-boil the eggs. Combine them with the parboiled rice. Divide this mixture into two or three equal parts. Stuff each chicken with one part and stich it up once it is stuffed. Roast the chickens in ghee on a large pan until half-done.
Place the chickens inside the goat and stitch up the goat.
Pour ghee/oil in a large lagan and roast the goat until it is slightly brown.
Mix all the ground masalas with the yogurt and pour the mixture over the browned goat. Seal the lid of the lagan with dough and keep on slow coal fire with coals above and below and cook till the meat is tender.
Place the goat in the centre of a large, flat dish. Open the stitches up, take the chickens out to serve.
HALEEM
This is another quintessential Hyderabadi dish, which is traditionally eaten during Ramadan. This recipe is our family’s version of it. I often make it for dinner in winter because we find it to be a comforting, warming porridge. There are two components to this dish – the fermented wheat and the deeply flavoured Khorma. Make sure you eat Haleem as soon as it is made; you cannot store it even in the fridge for more than a day because the wheat will begin fermenting.
INGREDIENTS
2 kg boneless meat
1 kg wheat
½ kg sour yogurt
200 gm ghee
4 cups water
¼ cup oil
6 large onions, sliced
4 tablespoons cashew nuts
4 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
Salt to taste
Lightly roast and grind together
8 cardamoms
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons chironjee
1 tablespoon black cumin seeds
½ tablespoon coriander powder
Suggested accompaniments
A bowl of the whites of spring onions
A bowl of mint leaves
A bowl of radishes, sliced into strips
A bowl of fried onions
As many lemons as you’d like, halved
METHOD
Fill a large pan to the brim with water and soak the wheat in it overnight. The next morning, de-husk the wheat and pressure cook it until soft. Let it cool and then grind to as fine a consistency as possible. Ideally, it should resemble a thick porridge.
Heat oil and fry the onions until golden brown. Then, add ginger-garlic
paste and chilli and turmeric powders. Fry until aromatic. Now, add the meat and fry until the water dries up. Then, add the masalas that you roasted and ground and allow the mixture to brown.
Add the yogurt and as much water as required for the gravy. I usually use five glasses of water. When the meat is cooked, add the garam masala and keep on dhum for a few minutes. Remove the pieces of meat and grind to a fine paste.
Heat 200 grams of ghee in another pan. Add the black cumin seeds and cardamom. Lastly, add the ground meat and gravy and mix well. Leave on dhum for 15 minutes.
Garnish the Haleem with fried onions and lemon juice. Serve with the accompaniments of your choice.
NEHARI
This is a very traditional recipe for a nourishing soup made with trotters and tongue. Nehari is a favourite of Peter’s, and I make it during the winters – as it is meant to be – and serve it with kulchas or Sheermals for dinner, because it warms you up and is very soothing. It can also be eaten at breakfast. Traditionally, Nehari was cooked all night in a large pot, but to suit modern kitchens and lifestyles, I have adapted the recipe to be made using a pressure cooker.
INGREDIENTS
2 dozen paya, or trotters, cleaned
2 dozen potla zaban, or tongues, cleaned
½ kg thick yogurt
2 cups chana dhal, ground to a fine paste
with water
1 cup ginger-garlic paste
1 cup coriander leaves
1 cup mint leaves
1 cup oil
3 green chillies
3 limes
10 cloves
8 cardamoms
6 cinnamon sticks
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
1½ tablespoons salt (or as required)
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds
For the potli masala
3 large onions, quartered
5 cloves
4 cardamoms
3 cinnamon sticks
1½ tablespoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
To Make the Potli Masala
Spread a large square of clean white muslin cloth – ideally measuring 12"x12" – on your work surface. Place the masalas in the middle of it and bundle it up tight to form a potli. Tie it with a clean white string – make sure it is tightly wound so that the cloth does not loosen during cooking. Leave a long thread of string which you can use to fish the potli out of the pot when you are done with it. This is the Hyderabadi equivalent of a bouquet garni.
METHOD
Clean the trotters very well. (Refer to page 30 for my notes on this)
Roast the trotters well on an open flame, using a pair of tongs.
Place the trotters and the tongue in a large pressure cooker and add twelve glasses of water. Add the potli. Cook on a slow fire until the meat is tender. This should take about 30-45 minutes.
Open the cooker when the pressure reduces and remove the potli. Using a pair of tongs, squeeze it to remove any juices. You can then discard the potli.
Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Add cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon sticks and three small onions, sliced fine. Fry until golden brown, and then keep aside in a bowl to use later.
Add the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and chilli powders to the same pan. Stir until aromatic. Now, add the yogurt and keep stirring until it turns red.
Add the cooked meat along with its juices. Season with salt and lime juice. Cook for 10 minutes on a low simmer, allowing it to come to a boil.
Put in the paste of Bengal gram that you prepared earlier when it starts boiling. Stir to bring all the masalas together and continue cooking on a low simmer.
Add the chopped coriander leaves, chopped mint leaves and three green chillies when the gravy starts thickening. You can choose to slit them if you like, but that makes the dish spicier. So, if you prefer, leave the chillies whole. Take the pan off the flame.
Nehari is best served in deep bowls, garnished with a swirl of fresh cream, if you want to be decadent. Those who wish to, can add more lime juice to taste.
DHUM KA KHEEMA
My husband’s younger sister Chintara, whom we call Chintu, is an excellent cook. She used to help their father in the kitchen when she was young and when I got married, we became friends.
Chintu was working as a teacher at the time and was not married, so we all lived together. Whenever we had people over for dinner, she would cook the meal but go to bed early because she had to go to work the next day. I would serve the meals. When I started cooking in Delhi, I would ask Chintu for family recipes. She taught me what she knew and it helped that Peter used to buy her sarees sometimes, as a thank you. Chintu lives in Canada now and while writing this book, I found many old notebooks in which I had written her recipes. This is one of those and is one of her specialties.
Chintara makes the traditional version, which is cooked on coals and I, too, prefer cooking it that way. For convenience, I have added a version that can be baked, which is easier and quicker, but achieves the same silkiness and deep flavours.
THE BAKED VERSION
INGREDIENTS
1 kg minced meat
¼ kg onions, sliced fine
¼ kg thick yogurt
½ cup oil
8 cardamoms
8 cloves
2 1" cinnamon sticks
4 heaped tablespoons gram dhal
2 ½ tablespoons coconut powder
2 heaped tablespoons poppy seeds
1 heaped tablespoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds
1 teaspoon all-spice
Salt to taste
For the marinade
2 heaped tablespoons papaya, ground into a paste with salt
2 heaped tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
METHOD
Prepare the marinade by mixing papaya and ginger-garlic pastes together. Place the meat in a deep bowl and apply the marinade; keep covered in the fridge for six hours. When you are an hour or 30 minutes away from the meat being ready, start prepping the spices and masalas.
Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions until they turn golden brown. Decant them onto absorbent paper. Let the oil cool and pour into a bowl. Keep it aside – you will need this oil later.
Roast the poppy seeds and coconut powder separately. Grind together into a fine paste, using as much water as you need. Just remember not to make the paste too thin. Grind cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, cardamom, black cumin seeds and chilli powder together and keep aside. Take the marinated kheema out of the fridge and transfer it into a dish that is oven-proof. Mix in the prepared masalas and pastes and then the yogurt. Pour over the oil that you fried the onions in. Check the seasoning – you may want to add more salt – and keep aside, covered, for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 150° Celsius. Bake the kheema until the top is brown and the marinade has dried up. This usually takes 45 minutes to an hour. Check it at the 35 mark. You may need to baste the meat in a greased pan on the stove to allow the marinade to be completely absorbed, and give the dish a very dry consistency, which is ideal.
Serve garnished with white onion rings, slivers of lime and mint leaves.
THE TRADITIONAL VERSION, COOKED ON COALS
INGREDIENTS
1 kg minced meat, from the thigh of the lamb
¼ kg yogurt
3 big onions, grated and fried
2 bunches coriander leaves, finely chopped
6 cashew nuts, ground to a fine paste
2 tablespoons Bengal gram, ground to a fine paste
3 teaspoons jalebi food colouring
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
2 teaspoons chilli powder
Roast separately and grind together
4 heaped teaspoons poppy seeds
4 h
eaped teaspoons chironjee
1½ teaspoon all-spice
Grind, using water, into a paste
2 bunches mint leaves
25 peppercorns
10 cardamoms
5 1" cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds
METHOD
Do not wash the meat. Just wipe it with a damp cloth and store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before you start preparing the dish. When you are ready to begin cooking, take the mince out of the fridge.
Place it in a deep dish and mix in all the ingredients – yogurt, onions, chilli and turmeric powders, and the ground pastes and spices. Add salt to taste and mix the ingredients well, like you are kneading a dough.
Grease a lagan and place the mince in it. Flatten it out and put a few drops of jalebi colour on top.
Squeeze the juice of a lime on top and drizzle two teaspoons of oil along the sides.
Make a hole in the centre and place two tablespoons ghee in it.
Heat a piece or two of coal (you will already have coal which is being heated to cook on). When the coal glows, drop it into the ghee or butter that you have placed in the dish.
Cover the lagan with a lid immediately, and hold the lid down tight. We do this to allow the smoke to permeate the meat, which adds depths of flavour. When the smoke disappears, remove and discard the onion skin and coal.
Seal the lagan with flour and place coals above and below it; cook for 35 to 40 minutes.
Serve the Dhum ka Kheema garnished with rings of onions, quartered limes and generous amounts of mint leaves on the side.
KALEJI GURDA
INGREDIENTS
¼ kg liver, cubed
2 kidneys, cut into 4 pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 tomato, ground
4 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons pepper powder
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
METHOD
Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion slices until they turn golden brown. Then add the ginger-garlic paste and turmeric and chilli powders. Sprinkle a little water and let the masala cook until it is aromatic.
Add the liver and kidneys; cook until the liquid dries up. Then, mix in the ground tomatoes. Simmer on a low flame until the meat is soft and well-coated with the masala. Finally, add pepper and garam masala powders and salt to taste.
Saffron and Pearls Page 6