Category: Recipes

Made this yesterday, when I didn’t have the patience for some of the elaborate mutton dishes. You’ll need: 1 Kg Leg Mutton [gol meat] 1/2 tsp ginger powder [saut] 1 tsp aamchur 1 tbsp chilli powder [or to taste] 1.5 tsp garlic paste 250gms finely sliced onions [about 3 large] 1.5 tsp haldi 1 bay leaf salt to taste 3 tbsp oil

Put the oil in a cooker and heat. Put in the onions and all the other ingredients except the meat, into the onions, fry till they start to turn brown. Throw in the meat and stir. Leave on simmer till the meat releases water. Add about 1.5 cups of water and close. turn the burner to high heat and keep for about 20 minutes in the cooker [i use a futura, which is faster. you’ll need to adjust for your cooker].

This curry so to speak, doesn’t have much gravy and is to be eaten with plain boiled rice.

Sid

The first in a series of recipes from Naheeds Book – The Secrets of Indian Muslim Cooking.

You’ll need:

• 1 Kg Pasanda meat
• 1 tsp. raw papaya paste or meat tenderiser
• 200 gms yoghurt
• 1/2 Kg sliced onions
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1tbsp poppy seed paste
• 1-2 tsp. freshly ground pepper powder
• ½ cup oil
• 2 tbsp ghee
• salt to taste

Preparation
Fry 2/3 of the onions till golden brown and spread it out on kitchen paper. Mix together papaya paste, yoghurt, browned onions, raw onions, ginger paste, poppy seed paste, pepper powder, salt and blend well.

Mix the meat slices in this and leave for 4-6 hours. When ready, taste the mixture and adjust the amount of salt/pepper. Add the mustard oil. Skewer the fillets of meat in folds, packing it tightly. When done, grill over slow charcoal fire constantly turning it over for even cooking. Sprinkle melted ghee occasionally. The meat will turn to a dark shade of brown and some portions will get slightly burnt. For some, that’s where the flavor is.

-sid

Recipe #2 from Naheeds Book.

Ingredients

• 1 kg pasanda mutton
• salt to taste
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 2 tbsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp whole coriander
• 125g onion, sliced
• 100g yoghurt
• ½ cup oil
• 3 green chilies, sliced
• A few mint leaves

Preparation
Wash the pasanda and pat dry. Add ginger paste and salt, mix well and leave it for an hour. Meanwhile, dry roast the whole coriander and grind it to a fine powder. Mix together the marinated meat, red chili powder, garam masala powder, garlic paste and the ground roasted coriander. Heat oil in a wide pan and when hot, add the onions. Fry till the onions become soft and then add the meat mixture. Mix well and cook covered on low heat till the meat is tender, the water has dried up and the oil starts showing on the sides of the pan.

To serve top with onion rings, chopped mint leaves and green chilies.

-sid

Recipe #3 from Naheeds Book

Ingredients

• 1 ½ kg Meat
• ½ kg Oats
• ¾ kg Onion
• ¼ kg Tomatoes
• ¼ kg Masoor dal
• ¼ kg Chana dal
• ½ kg Ghee
• 6 tbsp Garlic paste
• 6 tbsp Ginger paste
• 2 tbsp Coriander powder
• Salt to Taste
• 2 tsp Red chili powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 50 gms Green chilies
• 100 gms Ginger
• 6 whole Lemons
• Coriander & mint leaves for garnishing

Preparation
Boil the dals together. Boil the oats separately. Chop the herbs, green chilies and julienne the ginger. Cook the meat along with ½ cup ghee, half of the onions, tomatoes, turmeric and coriander powders, chili powder, salt, and the ginger and garlic pastes. The meat should be cooked till extremely tender, actually it should start falling off the bones. Mix the meat mixture thoroughly so that the meat pieces break up into fine shreds. Mix the dals and the oats thoroughly as well. Mix the dal, oats and the meat together and cook for another half an hour. Add a generous tablespoonful of garam masala, mix well and take it off the heat. Fry the remaining onions in ghee till golden brown. Arrange the chopped herbs, chopped green chilies, garam masala and julienned ginger in a plate. Serve haleem in individual plates, topped with herbs, green chilies, garam masala, ginger and a generous squeeze of lemon.

– Sid

The Treacherous Tambrahm; makes for an interesting change from a routine breakfast.  ‘Perfectly done toast, spread with mayo or butter, covered with a thin, plain omelette, topped with a selection of vegetables cooked in a south Indian format, liberally splashed with chili powder chutney, served with a tall chilled glass of coconut water‘.

Ingredients

• Coconut Water
• Toast
• Mayo or butter
• 2 Eggs beaten with milk and a little salt (make the omelette! No recipes for that here.)
• Selection of Vegetables
  • Carrots (sliced thin)
  • French beans (thinly chopped)
• Curry Leaves
• Black mustard seeds
• Salt
• Chili powder
• Whole dried red chili
• Chili chutney powder
• Urad dal
• Oil

The quantities aren’t mentioned as they depend on the number of portions being made. They’re very simple ingredients however and you should be able to work it out to your liking. 

Method

1.Heat some oil till it is hot enough to make the mustard seeds crackle.
2.Next, add the salt, chili, whole dried red chili and finally the curry leaves.
3.Swirl it around a bit, then add the urad dal and then the vegetables. Lower the flame, cover the pan and leave it. 
4.In the meanwhile, make the omelette, the toast and the chutney (by mixing some oil and the powder).
5.You could also (carefully) hack open the green coconuts (if you have any) to extract the coconut water.
6.When the vegetables are done (cooked but a bit crunchy), take them off the flame.
7.Cut the omelette into four quarters.
8.Spread each toast with anything you like (mayo, butter, dairy free… whatever), cover it with the omelette quarter, top with the vegetables, sprinkle with the chutney and serve with a glass of chilled coconut water.

Remember to keep a patiently pained expression on your face whilst eating the stuff with a sterling silver fork and knife.

There, you have it!

Optional
Make it even more treacherous by adding a slice of ham under the omelette or a finely sliced rasher of bacon in the vegetables. Also, you could roll and serve as a snack.

This is a quick way to put together a nice and different snack. You’ll need:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Different types of bread (garlic, french, pita…)
• Pickled Jalapenos with a generous portion of the pickling fluid
• Salt
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins)
• Cheeses (cheddar, brie, stilton, wensleydale, anything you like…)

1. Cut the bread in different ways or just keep it whole to be torn off in chunks.
2. For the dip, mix the olive oil, jalapenos, jalapeno fluid, salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce.
3. Place the dip, breads and the cheeses on a board.
4. Serve.

To eat: Tear off a hunk of bread and slice off a sliver of cheese. Dip the bread in the olive oil mixture, eat whole with the cheese and a slice of jalapeno.

As ordinary as it sounds… you’ll be surprised how quickly it disappears.

-sid

Had the family over for dinner. Pondered over the menu and decided to make it a little fun. The menu was:

• Mixed Dry Salad [leaves, grapes, baby corn, olives, carrots, jalapenos…]
• Sushi [2 types of nigiri-zushi and 1 of maki-zushi]
• Sweet Chilli Fish [1.5lb fillet, served whole, slightly caramelised] (check it out in the recipes section)
• Braised lamb with vegetables
• Chicken in Green Curry
• Steamed white rice

All we had left was 2 pieces of maki-zushi… and that makes me very happy. :)

-sid

Ingredients:

• Red chilli powder
• Salt
• Haldi (Turmeric)
• Garam Masala
• Kasuri Methi
• Lots of finely chopped onions
• Boneless chicken – diced
• Okra – 1/2 inch pieces
• Yogurt
• Oil

Method:

1. Mix the chilli powder, salt and turmeric. Marinate the chicken in this for about an hour.
2. Add oil in the pan, bring to high heat
3. Add the okra and fry till they are bright green and just a wee bit stiff. Take these out and set aside.
4. Add the onions now and fry till they start turning brown at the edges
5. Add all the spices and fry a bit more.
6. Add all the chicken with the yogurt and all. Remember to do all this at high heat.
7. Stir it around a bit, till the chicken is cooked on the outside (turns white).
8. Add some water, just a little, this is not meant to have a watery gravy.
9. Add the kasuri methi and stir.
10. Lower the flame and cook till the chicken is done.
11. Mix in the fried okra.

Notes:

1. Serve with Rotis. Doesn’t go well with rice or bread.
2. Another idea: If any gets left over – add some butter to a pan, dump the left overs in it and serve with toast. :)