by Sadia Dehlvi
With a son who is a singer and his group of talented friends who play the guitar, flute, and various other instruments, we also get to listen to some brilliant classical and contemporary music. Sometimes, it gets a little crowded, which is even more delightful.
When planning a mehfil, I keep a simple menu with one mutton gravy dish, a chicken or mutton yakhni pulao, dahi badey, a seasonal vegetable dish and a dal. I prefer making a few good dishes rather than serving a large variety of food. If vegetarians are expected, I make matar pulao as well and add another vegetable or two. More often than not, these music evenings happen spontaneously. Then it is just a potluck dinner.
Having trained Sabir over the years, thankfully I don’t have to cook every day. On special occasions, I supervise the cooking. Standing in the kitchen during the Delhi summer is tough, but in winter I enjoy spending time near the stove. I like to shop for vegetables, fruits and spices myself, but don’t always have the time.
I usually buy fruit from Bhogul and vegetables from Barapullah, the dilapidated seventeenth-century bridge from the Mughal era, which comes alive each evening with vendors. Both these markets are close to my home. Once every few months, I go to Khari Baoli to replenish my stock of spices. I buy mostly from Mehar Chand, a shop that has been around for over a hundred years. The coriander and red chilli powder in my kitchen are from Shan-e-Delhi, a local brand. I get these from shops in the Nizamuddin Basti. I buy fresh mutton and chicken from Indian Traders in Gole Market. They have been supplying meat, chicken and fish to my family for more than thirty years. They know how finicky we are about meat and cuts. Good quality meat, vegetables, spices, some effort and a little love thrown in make all the difference in food.
Spices in Khari Baoli Market, Delhi
Essential Herbs and Spices
Ginger, whole
Ginger paste
Garlic, whole
Garlic paste
Coriander powder
Coriander seeds
Red chilli, whole
Red chilli powder
Deghi mirch
Turmeric powder (haldi)
Black cardamom (badi elaichi)
Green cardamom (choti elaichi)
Cumin seeds (zeera)
Peppercorns (kaali mirch)
Cinnamon sticks (dalchini)
Cloves (laung)
Dried ginger (sonth)
Bay leaves (tezpata)
Garam masala
Fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
Carom seeds (ajwain)
Nigella seeds (kalonji)
Poppy seeds (khush khaash)
Fennel seeds (saunf)
Nutmeg (jaiphal)
Mace (javitri)
Saffron (zafran)
Kewra water
Vegetable oil
Desi ghee
Salt
The kitchen shelves of a typical Dilliwala are well stocked, containing spices in large jars. One of the basic ingredients for salan, meat curries, is lal pyaaz, golden fried onions. Since lal pyaaz is constantly required, we slice the onions, fry and dry them out on paper towels. These are stored in air-tight jars without any refrigeration and remain usable for weeks. Keeping fried onions ready cuts cooking time by almost half. The colour of the onions must be a perfect golden brown or else the colour, flavour and taste of the dish will be affected adversely. Slicing onions finely in half circles and deep-frying them to the right colour is truly an art. I have now begun to keep packets of ready to use crisp Fried Onions by Lazeez, a Delhi-based brand. Their quality is good and they and fried to the perfect colour for our kind of food.
Curd is another ingredient added to almost all meat preparations. Most of us usually make curd at home. One of the major differences in the Punjabi method of cooking and the Dilliwala method is the use of curd. Punjabi food is largely tomato based and our food is curd based. Tomatoes are used sparingly and are added to a few meat dishes and vegetable preparations. Curd enhances the flavour of the meat and spices in a subtle way whereas tomatoes have an overpowering effect on both colour and taste.
The quality of herbs and spices is the key to any good cooking. Traditionally, all spices were grounded at home. Some of my cousins still grind chilli powder and coriander powder themselves. Growing up, I watched Amma taking great pains to have whole masalas washed, dried and ground. There was never any question of using readymade chilli and coriander powder. Modern lifestyles don’t allow for such indulgences anymore, so one depends on what is available in the market.
When travelling in India or foreign lands, my friends often request me to rustle up meals. While I cook, many take lessons and write down recipes. I find that in most homes, garlic and ginger paste is mixed and put in a single jar. We would never do this. Garlic and ginger paste should be stored separately because they are used in different quantities. Besides, their flavours should be kept from overlapping. In almost all meat preparations, the quantity of garlic used is slightly larger than the ginger. Some dishes don’t need ginger at all, while others require shredded ginger. Ideally, it is best to prepare fresh ginger and garlic paste.
Food traditionalists don’t use the pressure cooker, preferring to cook on low flame. However, I must confess to relying on modern methods to save time. With the help of a pressure cooker, it takes no more than twenty odd minutes to prepare dishes like aloo salan, qorma or mutton stew. I even use the pressure cooker for preparing the meat base for yakhni pulao and biryani!
Lal pyaaz, golden fried onions
Degh of biryani and qorma
Some All-Time Favourites
Biryani, yakhni pulao, stew, shaami kebab, qeema and qorma are amongst the most popular dishes cooked all through the year. Aloo salan, or aloo gosht as it is sometimes called, is an all-time favourite. Over the last decade or so, it has replaced the traditional mutton qorma at wedding banquets.
I have heard elders recall, how in the old days, serving aloo salan at weddings would have been deemed as an insult. Mamoo Abdullah said that in earlier times, the baraat, groom’s marriage party, would have taken offence and gone back without the bride had they been served aloo salan! This is because the dish was maute ka khana, food served at post-funeral gatherings.
When non-Muslim friends come to Muslim homes, they expect to be fed qorma, biryani and kebab. So, one must live up to the reputation! Personally, I prefer yakhni pulao to biryani as its flavour is much more nuanced. When required in large quantities, biryani is ordered from professional cooks who make it in a degh. Pulaos are usually accompanied with varieties of chutneys and pickles. Yakhni pulao is ideally had with arq-e-nana chutney, which is sweet. In summer, it is accompanied with simple raita, beaten curd with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Yakhni literally means broth or stock. Since the rice is cooked in meat stock, it is called yakhni pulao.
Biryani is traditionally not cooked in meat stock. Rice is parboiled separately with certain herbs and spices. Then the rice and meat are layered with the adkachra, half-done, meat. In addition to the Dilli biryani, other popular biryani include the Hyderabadi, Sindhi, Bohri and Awadhi variety.
Professional cooks use the sella variety of rice for biryani as it does not break easily. For home cooking, basmati is preferred. Basmati rice is lighter on the stomach and the khushboo, aroma, is fantastic. I learnt an easy-to-cook biryani recipe from my cousin Qurratulain. Khala Rabia named her after the acclaimed Urdu writer Qurratulain Haider and like her, she got nicknamed Ainee. She is the family MasterChef who sends me mouth-watering chutneys, murabba and achaar.
Biryani, pulao, qorma and stew are made with both chicken and mutton. Dilliwalas prefer mutton, but now that mutton costs around `500 a kg, it is more economical to use chicken. Besides the cost factor, chicken is gaining popularity as people are getting health conscious and prefer white meats. Frankly, the broiler chickens one gets these days have little taste. Desi, free range organic chicken, taste wonderful but are not readily available. If ordered specially from the supplier, they cost more than mutton
.
Qeema, mincemeat, is another all-time favourite and one can whip up so many different varieties of qeema. Dilliwalas are very exacting about the quality of the mincemeat. My mother says, ‘Never ever trust a butcher with qeema and always have it made in front of you.’ My driver Abdul, whom I send for this purpose, has strict instructions to stand guard while it is being minced.
Ammi says that the minute your eyes evade the butcher, he could add the chichdey. She reminds me of the adage, ‘Qasai chichdey zaroor dalega aur darzi apni ma ke kafan se bhi kapda bacha lega,’ a butcher cannot resist adding scraps of inedible meat and tailors will ensure they save some cloth even from their mother’s shroud!
The best way to buy qeema is to purchase the whole raan, leg, and get the butcher to mince the meat under supervision. I follow this rule, even though the qeema cost increases. I keep the bones separately and use them for soup stock. Dilliwalas generally don’t use qeema minced with machine and prefer haath ka kutta hua qeema, manually minced meat. Butchers fuss about it as this takes more of their time. But if you are a regular customer, they will take the trouble.
Masala for salan
Aloo Salan – Potatoes with Meat
I begin the recipes with aloo gosht – or as we call it, aloo salan – the most popular dish on my table. No party at home is complete without it. Friends crave aloo salan and I find myself sharing the recipe all the time. The potatoes soaked in the masala and shorba makes them taste different from other varieties of cooked potatoes.
Ideally, the potatoes should be of medium size. I handpick potatoes becuase the uniformity in size makes the dish look appealing. Potatoes are sliced lengthwise into two halves. If the potatoes are not sliced the correct way, one can tell that the cook is a novice.
½ kg mutton
5-6 potatoes
4-5 medium-sized onions, golden fried
2 tsp garlic paste
1½ tsp ginger paste
1½-2 tsp red chilli powder
3-4 tbsp coriander powder
4 cloves (laung)
2 black cardamom pods
6 green cardamoms
200 gm curd
1 cup oil
Salt to taste
Heat oil and add the green and black cardamom pods and cloves. After a minute, add chilli powder, garlic and ginger paste, coriander powder and salt. It’s best to put all this masala on a plate and then add with a little water, maybe a quarter of a cup. The water ensures that the masala does not burn. After a minute or two, when the masala is lightly fried and the oil bubbles rise, add the mutton. Stirring occasionally, leave on medium or high flame for 5 to 10 minutes. Keep the cooking vessel open so that the water released from the meat evaporates as does its bisand, odour. Meanwhile, blend the fried onions and the curd together for a few seconds in the mixer and keep it aside.
Once the meat is slightly cooked, and the oil is bubbling, add the blended onion and curd mixture to the meat. The secret of smooth gravy is this blended mixture. Keep on medium flame for 5 to 10 minutes to bhuno, cook the curd. When oil bubbles rise, add 2 cups of water for the gravy. The level of the water should be a few inches above the meat. If you are going to use the pressure cooker, then you could add a little more water.
I rely on the pressure cooker for aloo salan, allowing one whistle for the meat. When the cooker cools, check the meat, which should be half done. Now add the potatoes and close the cooker. The potatoes and meat should be done with one more whistle. If cooking on low flame without a cooker, keep a check on the meat. When it is half done, add the potatoes and cook till both are cooked. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves and a sprinkling of garam masala.
Khadey Masaley ka Qorma – Mutton Stew
Old Dilliwalas often call khadey masaley ka qorma ‘istew’, a corruption of the English word stew. It most likely has its origins in British India, inspired by the English version of the mutton stew. It was Nani Amma’s favourite dish, and one with which she demonstrated her cooking prowess. Ammi, too, loves stew, probably because of this association. Thankfully, it is one of the dishes I make that meets her standards.
Mutton stew is one of the simplest dishes to prepare. Once you have the ingredients ready, everything is literally put in together. Because of the variety of spices used, the aroma is just divine.
1 kg mutton
300 gm curd
5-6 medium-sized onions, sliced into four
1 tsp turmeric powder
4-5 black cardamom pods
6-8 cloves
3-4 tsbp coriander seeds, fresh crushed
6-8 red chillies, whole
2-3" cinnamon
8-10 black peppercorns
2 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
2-3 bay leaves
1 cup oil
Salt to taste
Stew is easy to make as it does not need monitoring at every stage. All the ingredients are put in the cooking utensil together and left on low flame till done. The curd and tomatoes take care of the gravy and it doesn’t need extra water. Stew should not be very watery. I usually pressure-cook the stew for two whistles and then cook further till excess water has dried. Sometimes, I add a topping of desi ghee to enhance the aroma.
Chicken Stew
Although stew is traditionally made with mutton, you can use the above recipe for chicken stew. Be careful as chicken gets done quickly. It is best to fry the chicken for a few minutes before adding the rest of the spices. The frying hardens the skin and prevents the chicken pieces from breaking while cooking. And never, ever cook chicken in a pressure cooker.
Qorma
1 kg mutton or chicken
5-6 medium-sized onions, golden fried
2 tsp garlic paste
1½ tsp ginger paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp deghi mirch
4 tsp coriander powder
6 cloves
6 peppercorns
400 gm curd
¼ tsp crushed nutmeg (jaiphal)
¼ tsp crushed mace (javitri)
10-12 almonds (optional)
1 tsp kewra water (optional)
10 green cardamoms
1-1½ cup oil
Salt to taste
Heat oil and fry meat along with garlic and ginger paste for 5 to 10 minutes till oil bubbles rise. Now add 5 green cardamoms, chilli powder, coriander powder, almond paste, cloves, nutmeg and mace, peppercorns, salt and curd to the meat. The deghi mirch adds a deep red colouring.
Another method is to add all these ingredients with the curd, mix them well and then add to the meat. Continue to fry the meat for 5 to 10 minutes till the oil rises. Now add 2-3 cups of water for the gravy. Cover and leave on low flame till almost done.
Now handcrush the golden fried onions into tiny pieces. Do not use a blender as crushing by hand ensures the danedar, coarse, thick texture of the gravy. Lastly, add crushed onions, crushed cardamoms and kewra to the meat. Cover and leave on low flame for another 5 to 10 minutes till the meat is tender.
Note: If you want the qorma gravy to be smoother, blend the fried onions and curd together for a few seconds in mixer.
Yakhni Pulao
Biryani has its origins in Delhi, whereas pulao was perfected in Awadh. Whatever the origins of the yakhni pulao, it is enjoyed and cooked in our homes. The meat traditionally used in yakhni pulao is mutton breast, because the chiknai, fat, enhances the taste. Personally, I prefer lean meat and use a mixture of mutton cuts for pulao. Long grain basmati rice gives the best results.
If making chicken pulao, simply replace the mutton with the chicken. Traditionally, the quantity of meat is almost double of that of the rice. Chicken pulao is one of the few chicken dishes I make regularly and recommend.
½ kg basmati rice
¾ kg mutton or chicken
10-12 peppercorns
5-6 cloves
4 pods black cardamom
4-5 bay leaves
1 tbsp cumin seeds
4-5 medium-sized onions, sliced
2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
4-6 tbsp ginger strips, finely chopped
1 cup oil
Salt to taste
Leave the rice soaked in water for 30 to 45 minutes. Heat oil and fry the onion slices for about 5 to 10 minutes till translucent. Take care that the onion does not turn brown, or else you will have a slightly brownish pulao.
When the onions are done, add all the spices except the ginger strips. Fry for a minute or two and add the meat pieces. Fry the meat till the water released from it has evaporated, and oil bubbles appear. Then add about 3-4 cups of water and let the meat cook. If using mutton, you could use a pressure cooker for one whistle. Chicken cannot be pressure cooked; it just needs 10 to 15 minutes on a low flame. Cook the meat till it is nearly done.
Now, add the soaked rice to the meat along with the ginger strips. Check the level of water. The rule is do ungal above the meat, which means that if you were to dip your finger in the cooking vessel, the water should cover the second marking on your index finger. It would roughly be about 2" above the meat. Add a little more water if needed. Cook on medium flame till the rice absorbs the water and then minimize the flame and leave for about 15 to 20 minutes till the rice is done. When making biryani and pulao, we usually place a cloth before putting the lid, and then place a weight on the lid. This is to ensure that the steam doesn’t escape, so both the rice and meat cook well. It is called dam dena.
Matar Pulao – Green Pea Pulao
For matar pulao, just follow the yakhni pulao recipe; merely replacing the meat with ¾ kg shelled green peas. Using the same spices lends a unique flavour to it.
At the risk of sounding arrogant, I must say that the matar pulao cooked in our homes is extraordinary. It is generally cooked in winter with fresh green peas. However, with frozen peas available, the pulao makes for a wholesome dish any time of the year. I cook it regularly, particularly for serving vegetarian guests. Matar pulao is best served with shalgam ka achaar, which is made with turnips, a few spices and water. It is somewhat like the Punjabi kanji, yet different. At the beginning of winter, one of the first food items that Dilliwalas make is this water-based achaar, without which matar pulao is just not acceptable!