Feast
Page 22
Calcutta Biryani
INDIA
When I was in Calcutta, now known as Kolkota, my friend Bipasha Ghosh, who is Bengali, recommended we take a culinary walking tour of the city’s food, both on and off the street, with the lovely Iftekhar Ahsan of Calcutta Walks. We explained to Iftekhar that I was mainly interested in Muslim foods and he took us on a spectacular tasting tour, culminating at the Royal India Hotel (hotel in India means “restaurant”) to taste both their biryani and chaap (smashed mutton—which actually means goat—chops half braised, half fried in their own fat). It was the first time I had tasted a biryani with next to nothing in it, just potatoes, but it was so flavorful that we had to order another plate even though we were already pretty full. There are several stories behind the Calcutta Biryani and why it is made with potatoes. All refer to the last ruler of Lucknow, Wajid Ali Shah, who found himself in exile with his court in Calcutta. On that same trip, I met with the last ruler’s great-great-grandson Shahanshah Mirza and his lovely wife, Fatima, and Shahanshah’s version was that the Nawab liked to experiment with food and had given his chefs carte blanche as to how they made biryani, so they added potatoes, which he liked. Another theory is that the chefs used potatoes instead of meat because the ruler was impoverished. Either way, the “potato” biryani at Royal India is absolutely superb. At the Royal, they don’t cook meat with the rice. Instead, you order their “potato” biryani together with chaap. It was one of the best biryanis I had while in India, together with that cooked by chef Gulam Qureshi at Dum Pukht restaurant in New Delhi where I was taken by Vir Sanghvi and his wife, Seema, for an extraordinary tasting menu.
SERVES 6 TO 8
⅓ cup (80 ml) vegetable oil, plus more for browning the lamb
3 medium onions (1 pound/450 g total), halved and cut into thin wedges
6 whole cloves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 bay leaves
1 inch (2.5 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and minced to a fine paste
4 cloves garlic, minced to a fine paste
2¼ pounds (1 kg) boneless lamb shoulder or leg, cut into medium chunks
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
Sea salt
3 medium tomatoes (10½ ounces/300 g total), peeled and finely chopped
1 cup (250 g) yogurt
8 medium new potatoes (1 pound 2 ounces/500 g total), scrubbed clean
2½ cups (500 g) long-grain rice
2 good pinches of saffron threads
1 tablespoon (15 g) ghee or unsalted butter
1. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, ½ teaspoon of the caraway seeds, and 1 of the bay leaves and stir for a minute or so. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté until fragrant.
2. Heat a little oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chunks of lamb and cook until browned. Add to the onion and spices together with the chili powder. Season with salt to taste. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes have softened. Add the yogurt and cook, stirring continuously, until the yogurt starts bubbling gently. Add ½ cup (125 ml) water, cover the pan, and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the lamb is just tender.
3. Add the potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes, or until both meat and potatoes are done. Check the liquid in the pan. There should be a little sauce left by the time both meat and potatoes are done as you will be adding it to the rice.
4. Meanwhile, rinse the rice and soak it for 20 minutes in lightly salted cold water. Drain the rice and put in a separate pot. Add the saffron, ghee, and 2 cups (500 ml) water. Season with salt to taste and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the rice simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it has absorbed the water and is almost done.
5. Spread the remaining ½ teaspoon caraway seeds over the bottom of a clean pot and add the remaining bay leaf. Add the parboiled rice to the pot, and cover with the meat, potatoes, and sauce. Wrap the lid of the pot with a clean kitchen towel and place snugly over the pot. Place over medium-high heat and let cook for 3 minutes, then reduce the heat to as low as you can and let steam for another 15 minutes, or until the rice is completely done and fluffy and the meat is very hot. Serve immediately.
Malabar Chicken Biryani
INDIA
The Muslims from the northern part of Kerala are known as Moplahs and they are mostly descendants of Arab traders who intermarried with local women. Their cuisine is quite distinctive apart from sharing the same dependence on rice, which in this region is short-grain rather than the long-grain used in the rest of India. One of the best times to sample Moplah cuisine is during festive occasions, and in particular wedding ceremonies, which are particularly festive there. The ceremony lasts several days, and each day is devoted to a different ritual, such as henna night or the night of the wedding proper. Each ritual has its own foods, and biryani is always served on the night of the wedding. You can make the biryani below by frying the chicken first or you can make it by sautéing it with the sauce, which is what I prefer to do. This biryani is somewhat mellow compared to others unless you add one or two hot chilies. Also the rice here is fully cooked before being added to the chicken whereas in most other biryanis it is parboiled, drained, then put to steam with the meat and/or sauce.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Good pinch of saffron threads
2 tablespoons rose water
½ cup (125 g) ghee or vegetable oil
4 small onions (about 14 ounces/400 g total), halved and cut into thin wedges
2 ounces (60 g) mild green chilies, finely minced
2 inches (5 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
6 cloves garlic, minced to a fine paste
½ teaspoon poppy seeds, finely crushed
2 poussins or Cornish hens, quartered, or 1 whole chicken (3 pounds 5 ounces/1.5 kg), cut into 8 pieces
⅔ cup (180 g) yogurt
Sea salt
Juice of 1 lime, or to taste
A few sprigs cilantro, most of the bottom stems discarded, coarsely chopped
A few sprigs mint, leaves stripped off stems, coarsely chopped
⅓ cup (50 g) cashews, coarsely chopped
⅓ cup (50 g) golden raisins, soaked for a couple hours in water
2½ cups (500 g) long-grain rice
1 teaspoon Garam Masala 1
1. Put the saffron to soak in the rose water.
2. Heat half the ghee in a large pot over medium heat. Add half the onions and sauté until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the chilies, ginger, garlic, and poppy seeds and sauté for a couple more minutes, or until fragrant. Add the poussins and sauté for a few minutes, or until browned. Add the yogurt and ¼ cup (60 ml) water. Season with salt to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Add the lime juice and herbs and another ¼ cup (60 ml) water and let simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the poussins are done and the sauce has thickened.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining ghee in a pot over medium heat. Add the remaining onions and sauté until lightly caramelized, about 7 minutes. Add the cashews and sauté for 3 minutes or so, or until lightly golden. Drain the golden raisins and add to the pot. Sauté for a couple of minutes more. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.
4. Rinse the rice under cold water. Drain well and add to the pot. Sauté in the oil for a couple of minutes, then add 2½ cups (625 ml) water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the rice is done and has absorbed all the water. Take off the heat.
5. Return the pot with the poussins to low heat. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of the garam masala over the poussins, then fluff the rice with a fork and spread one-third over the poussins. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons saffron rose water over the rice. Spread half the onion-cashew-raisin mixture on top. Sprinkle ¼ teasp
oon garam masala all over and cover with another one-third of the rice. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons saffron rose water, the remaining onion-cashew-raisin mixture and another ¼ teaspoon garam masala and cover with the remaining rice. Sprinkle the remaining saffron rose water and garam masala over the rice. Wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel and cover the pot with it.
6. At this point, you can finish the rice in a hot oven for 15 minutes (traditionally they place hot coals on the lid to have heat from both below and above) or you can leave it over very low heat for about 20 minutes.
7. Transfer to a serving platter, arranging the poussins on top of the rice. Serve hot.
Emirati Biryani
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
This Emirati biryani is different from most of the Indian and Pakistani ones in that it is made with a spicy meatless sauce, which is layered in between the rice, and is usually served with roast meat. If you are not keen on highly spicy flavors, simply tone down the spices in the recipe to your taste, or even do away completely with the chili and cayenne pepper, which is what gives the sauce its heat. Serve with any roast meat, fish, or poultry; it goes brilliantly with Baby Goat Roast.
SERVES 6 TO 8
Good pinch of saffron threads
¼ cup (60 ml) water
FOR THE SAUCE
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
3 small onions (10½ ounces/300 g total), halved and cut into thin wedges
9 ounces (250 g) green Turkish Marmara peppers (you can use regular green bell peppers but they are thicker), halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced crosswise
4 dried bay leaves
4 firm-ripe tomatoes (14 ounces/400 g total), halved and thinly sliced
Sea salt
1½ teaspoons green cardamom pods
1½ teaspoons black peppercorns
1½ teaspoons whole cloves
1 small dried hot chili
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon b’zar (Arabian Spice Mixture)
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 dried limes, halved
FOR THE RICE
Sea salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2½ cups (500 g) basmati rice, soaked for about 2 hours in lightly salted water
2 bay leaves
4 green cardamom pods
4 black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1. Put the saffron threads in the water and set aside to soak.
2. To make the sauce: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers, and bay leaves and cook until very soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt to taste, cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, hot chili, and cinnamon stick and continue cooking over low heat for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft and the sauce concentrated. Add the ground spices and dried limes and simmer, stirring occasionally, for another 10 minutes. You may have to add a little water at this stage if the sauce is sticking but be careful not to add too much. The sauce needs to be very concentrated.
3. To parboil the rice: Put 4 quarts (4 liters) water in a large pot. Add 2 tablespoons salt and the oil and bring to a boil over medium heat. Drain the rice and add to the boiling water, together with the whole spices. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain. Rinse under cold water.
4. In the bottom of a clean round pot, spread one-quarter of the sauce. Spoon one-quarter of the parboiled rice over it. Sprinkle with a little saffron water. Repeat this layering three more times. Wrap the lid of the pot with a clean kitchen towel. Place over the pot and let the rice steam over very low heat for about 20 minutes, or until it is completely tender and steaming hot. As you serve the rice, the sauce will have colored and flavored some of it and you will have a lovely mix of white rice, some saffron colored, and some moistened by the sauce.
Indonesian Kebuli Biryani
INDONESIA
When I visited Indonesia to research recipes for this book, I had tremendous help from William Wongso, the country’s foremost celebrity chef. William took me on a food frenzy tour in Medan, together with Indra Halim, the town’s most famous foodie, and other foodie friends Gio and her husband, Jalaluddine, and their son, Didi. We were spoiled for good recommendations as to where to have all kinds of delectable Muslim specialties. I also met Tanya Alwi, the owner of the delightful Maulana hotel on the island of Banda Neira in Indonesia through James Oseland, former editor of Saveur magazine. With Tanya I explored Ambon and Banda Neira, both part of the Maluku islands in Indonesia, where Tanya’s hotel is right on the water, across from nutmeg plantations. She arranged for me to taste different local specialties, including kebuli biryani (I guess named after Kabul in Afghanistan, perhaps because the dish originated there). Initially, Tanya had asked her cook to make the biryani with chicken, but I was keen on having it the way they would traditionally, with baby goat. The meat was surprisingly tough for such a small animal, but the dish was delicious and here is Tanya’s cook’s recipe.
SERVES 4 TO 6
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 small shallots (3½ ounces/100 g total), very finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced to a fine paste
1 inch (2.5 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and minced to a fine paste
2 inches (5 cm) fresh turmeric, minced to a fine paste
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
½ teaspoon ground anise seeds
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
½ nutmeg
2 green cardamom pods
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only
5 kaffir lime leaves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound 2 ounces (500 g) mutton (meaning goat) or beef, cut into medium chunks, or bone-in chicken parts
5 cups (1 kg) long-grain rice
3 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoons fried onions
6 cups (1.5 liters) coconut cream
2 tablespoons (30 g) ghee or unsalted butter
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until golden. Add the ginger, turmeric, coriander, caraway, and anise and sauté for a minute or so. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, lemongrass, citrus leaves, bay leaves, and salt and continue sautéing until very fragrant. Add the meat and cook until browned.
2. Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs pretty clear, then add the rice to the pot and sauté with the spices and meat for a couple of minutes. Add the raisins, fried onions, and coconut cream, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, until the coconut cream starts bubbling.
3. Reduce the heat to as low as you can get it. Wrap the lid of the pot with a clean kitchen towel. Replace over the pot and let the rice steam for 45 minutes, until the liquid is fully absorbed and the rice is fluffy.
4. Add the ghee and gently stir it into the rice and meat as you transfer them to a serving platter. Serve hot.
Saudi Shrimp “Risotto”
MASHBUSS RUBYAN
SAUDI ARABIA
Mashbuss, makbuss, or kabsah are different names for more or less the same rice and meat (or fish or seafood or poultry) dish, a classic of the Arabian Gulf, also known in Dubai as foga (meaning “over” because the rice is cooked over the meat or fish element of the dish). Mashbuss originated in Yemen but it has become so much a part of the Arabian Gulf’s culinary repertoire—with slight variations depending on where you are—that no one ever mentions its origins. The recipe below is for the Saudi version of shrimp mashbuss (for a Qatari version that is quite different, see here). A Saudi woman chef, Rajaa Merani, who I was helping modernize a Saudi menu for a restaurant, gave me this recipe as well as the Saudi Lamb Kabsa.
SERVES 6
Pi
nch of saffron threads
¼ cup (60 ml) rose water
FOR THE SHRIMP
2¼ pounds (1 kg) shell-on shrimp
1 small onion (3½ ounces/100 g), quartered
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
2 whole cloves
2 green cardamom pods, smashed
Sea salt
FOR THE SAUCE
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
3 large onions (1 pound 5 ounces/600 g total), finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced to a fine paste
½ inch (1 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and minced to a fine paste
1 fresh red or green chili, finely chopped
1½ teaspoons b’zar (Arabian Spice Mixture)
1 teaspoon ground dried limes
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ bunch cilantro (about 3½ ounces/100 g), most of the bottom stems discarded, finely chopped
Sea salt
FOR THE RICE
Sea salt
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
2 whole cloves
2 green cardamom pods, smashed
2½ cups (500 g) basmati rice, soaked for 2 hours in 2 quarts (2 liters) water with 2 tablespoons salt
FOR ASSEMBLY AND SERVING
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for the onion
1 large onion (7 ounces/200 g), halved lengthwise and cut into thin wedges
Saudi “Salsa”
1. Put the saffron to steep in the rose water.
2. To cook the shrimp: Put 6 cups (1.5 liters) water in a saucepan. Add the onion, turmeric, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom and bring to a boil over medium heat. Season with salt, then add the shrimp and poach for 1 minute. Drain the shrimp and let them cool for a few minutes before peeling them.