Khatti Dal Gosht.

Tangy Lentil with Mutton.

This again is one of those closely guarded secrets of the Cutchi Memon community.

There is a saying that if you do not qualify by bloodline, then you would often receive the recipes without one vital ingredient that actually brings the whole dish together.

 “This is a matter that has triggered suspicion, speculation and conspiracy theories that could rival the plot of many a best seller.” Mrs. Hajra Mohammed, Hajra’s Recipes of Life for Life.

Ingredients:

·      500 gms Mutton on the bone, cut to 1 ½ “ pieces.

·      1 cup Tuvar dal.

·      2 medium onions, finely chopped.

·      4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped.

·      1 tsp ginger paste.

·      1 ½ tsp garlic paste.

·      2 tsp red chilly powder.

·      ¼ tsp turmeric powder.

·      2 ½ tsp zeera-methi powder.

·      1 tsp salt.

·      4 tsp tamarind pulp.

·      4 tbsp chopped coriander leaf.

Seasoning:

·      4 tsp oil.

·      ½ tsp mustard seeds.

·      1 tsp cumin seeds.

·      5 whole dried red chillies.

·      8 garlic cloves.

·      12 curry leaves.

Method:

1.     Put the meat in a colander, wash and set aside to drain.

2.     Combine the meat, dal, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, spice powders, salt and 1 liter of water into a pressure cooker and cook for 10 – 15 minutes after the first whistle.

3.     Open the cooker when cool, remove the mutton pieces and set aside.

4.     Blend the remaining mixture in a food processor, till the dal fuses with the cooked ingredients.

5.     Reunite the mutton with the blended ingredients.

6.     Add the tamarind pulp, and cook for another 10 min, till the dal has the consistency of a gravy. The tamarind gives the mellow flavors a healthy punch.

7.     Now for the magic: put the oil in a pan on moderate heat till it smokes. Toss in the seasoning and allow them to crackle and release their aromas into the oil. When the garlic cloves begin to brown, lift the pan and pour the magical oil and its seasoning accompaniments into the dal. Inhale deeply.

8.     Give the dal a gentle stir, sprinkle in the chopped coriander leaves and serve with steaming hot rice.

Bread

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often, additional ingredients. Dough’s are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed, fried, or baked on an un oiled skillet. It may be leavened or unleavened.

Salt, fat and leavening agents such as yeast and baking soda are common ingredients, though bread may contain other ingredients, such as milk, egg, sugar, spice, fruit (such as raisins), vegetables (such as onion), nuts (such as walnuts) or seeds (such as poppy).

Referred to colloquially as the "staff of life", bread has been prepared for at least 30,000 years. The development of leavened bread can probably also be traced to prehistoric times. Sometimes, the word bread refers to a sweetened loaf cake, often containing appealing ingredients like dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts or spices, e.g. pumpkin bread, banana bread or gingerbread.

Fresh bread is prized for its taste, aroma, quality, appearance and texture. Retaining its freshness is important to keep it appetizing. Bread that has stiffened or dried past its prime is said to be stale.

Modern bread is sometimes wrapped in paper or plastic film, or stored in a container such as a breadbox to reduce drying. Bread that is kept in warm, moist environments is prone to the growth of mold. Bread kept at low temperatures, in a refrigerator for example, will develop mold growth more slowly than bread kept at room temperature, but will turn stale quickly due to retro gradation.

The soft, inner part of bread is known to bakers and other culinary professionals as the crumb, which is not to be confused with small bits of bread that often fall off, called crumbs. The outer hard portion of bread is called the crust.

I began baking breads at home very recently, but it is quite a labor-intensive process, with utmost care given to the exact quantities of ingredients,timing,temperature, etc.. otherwise one end up with really bad batch of bread.

                                                                            The pleasure of the perfect bread coming of the oven is very heartwarming & the aroma that fills the house is unexplainable.

Below are some pictures of the Breads i have made at home in fact these wee the first batch i ever tried, they came out Perfect.

Hummus.

Who invented hummus?

Many cultures claim it's their recipe, sadly enough; the answer is that we just don't know, exactly.

Hummus has been around for too long, in too many forms, and the origin is lost in antiquity. First, however, let's clear up some vocabulary: hummus is actually the Arabic word for chickpea, called garbanzo in Spanish & Channa in India.

Hummus is used throughout the Arab world.  There's no way of knowing where it started, presumably somewhere in the Middle East.

That's not quite as facetious as it sounds, since hummus is popular around the Mediterranean and as far away as India.

Ingredients:

·      500 gms of chickpeas, Soaked overnight & pressure cooked till tender.

·      1/4 cup liquid from the cooked chickpeas.

·      3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)

·      1 teaspoon Cumin powder.

·      2 cloves garlic, crushed

·      1/2 teaspoon salt

·      2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside some whole chickpeas as well as the liquid from pressure cooker.

Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley and some whole cooked chickpeas (optional).

Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

Variations

For a spicier hummus, add a dash of red chilly powder.

Storing Hummus

Hummus can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and can be kept in the freezer for up to one month. Add a little olive oil if it appears to be too dry.

EGGLESS MAYONNAISE

Ingredients

·      1/2 cup refined oil

·      6 tbsp milk powder

·      1/3 cup hot water

·      1/2 tsp salt

·      1/2 tsp mustard powder

·      dash of pepper

·      3 tbsp lime juice

·      1/4 cup cream (optional)

·      1 tbsp powdered sugar

How to make Perfect Eggless Mayonnaise:

1.     Put the oil, milk powder and water into the blender.

2.     Blend at a low speed until well mixed. Add salt, pepper, mustard, lime juice and sugar.

3.     Blend at high speed till the mayonnaise is thick and smooth. Finally fold in the cream, if using.

4.     Use straight away or store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.

Note:

If you find it thin, add more milk powder; if too thick, add a little hot water. If you add the lime juice at the beginning, you'll find the mayonnaise emulsify faster.

Baked Cauliflower in White Sauce, a Family Favorite.

I have been enjoying this dish at family dinners ever since I can remember. I have no idea where the recipe originated, but my father used to cook it regularly and was a fantastic dish.

I learnt the recipe from him and now make this quite often at home as my second born, Ved loves this dish so much we have to make extra portions for him for the next days breakfast & lunch as well. My wife still claims that my Dad’s white sauce is tastier.

Ingridents:

·      1 small to medium cauliflower

·      1L milk

·      120g butter

·      4 tablespoons plain flour

·      Good handful of grated cheese of your choice

·      Pepper & salt

·      Bread crumbs

Method:

Cut your cauliflower into ‘trees’, I kept mine at the larger size for this dish. You will need to steam your cauliflower pieces until they are tender, because they won’t get cooked for long enough in the oven. I just did mine in the microwave for about 6 minutes.

For the white sauce, you will need to warm up your milk before you can use it in the sauce. I also do this in the microwave. And you can grate the cheese while waiting for the milk

Pre-heat your oven to about 180-200 degrees Celcius.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Wait until it’s nice & bubbly, then sprinkle the flour over the butter. You might want to take it off the heat at this point, until you can get it all mixed together and scraped off the bottom of the pan. Return it to the heat and cook for a full minute, being careful not to let any area of the bottom of the pot alone for too long, as it will burn

At this point you can start adding your warm milk a little at a time. Add a bit, then stir until it’s fully combined. Then you can add some more. 

Warm milk added a little at a time ensures you don’t get any lumps in the sauce.

Keep adding milk until you reach your preferred thickness, the thicker the sauce the richer your dish will be. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Once your sauce is ready, get your oven dish and spread out a little sauce in the bottom of it. Then put in your cauliflower pieces

Pour the sauce over the cauliflower so they are smothered in sauce, and sprinkle over the grated cheese and bread crumbs.

Stick in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until golden-brown.

Serve with Garlic bread.

Kofte ka Salan.

Spicy Meatball Curry.

This recipe was shared with me by my very dear friend, Shalina Sulaiman-Menon, hailing from a very distinct background of both Sindhi & Cutchi Memon.

This particular recipe was one that has been handed down from generation to generation, "while the fare on the Cutchi Memon tables is legendary, it is a little known fact that these recipes are considered sacred and guarded zealously by the owners to the keys to paradise". She had this recipe book stored in her bookshelf for many a season and one day while sitting and deciding what to prepare for dinner we chanced upon this and immediately decided to prepare this dish.

It may look like a long drawn out procedure, but trust me its mighty simple to accomplish provided you follow the ingredients & procedure.

I still remember the words she said when she entered the kitchen while I was giving the finishing touches to the dish, “Aaah, it smells like home”, as we all live very far away from our homes in Bangalore.


"Enter the kitchens of a tribe where the aromatic air is rarefied." - Mrs. Hajra Mohammed.

So please feel free to try out this dish and come back with comments.

Bon Appetite.

Ingredients.

For the Kofte:

• 500 gms Mutton, minced.

• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves.

• 7-8 green chillies, finely chopped.

• 5 almonds blanched & peeled.

• ½ tsp garlic paste.

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped.

• 1 tsp red chilly powder.

• A pinch of turmeric powder.

• ¼ tsp garam masala powder.

• ½ tsp salt.

• 1/3 cup husked Bengal gram (Chana Dal), roasted & powdered.

• 1 – 2 tbsp yogurt (if required).

Curry:

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped.

• 3 medium potatoes quartered & boiled.

• ½ tsp ginger paste.

• 1 ½ tsp garlic paste.

• 2 tsp red chilly powder.

• 1 ½ tsp coriander powder.

• ¼ tsp turmeric powder.

• ¼ tsp garam masala powder.

• 1 ½ tsp salt.

• 2 medium tomatoes pureed (or tomato paste).

• 1-cup yogurt.

• Juice of ½ a lime.

• ¼ tsp saffron strands soaked in 2 tsp warm milk.

Seasoning.

• 6-8 tbsp oil.

• 2 cloves.

• 4 green cardamom pods.

• 3 X ½ inch, cinnamon sticks.

Garnish:

• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves.

• 1 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves.

Method:

Kofte:

1. Wash the mince & squeeze out water completely by clenching it in your fist. It is important to squeeze the mince dry or else the Kofte will not form.

2. Reserve the mince, gram, and yogurt and put the remaining for the Kofte in a food processor. Grind the ingredients without. If & only if it’s too dry, then slowly add the yogurt. Be very careful at this stage. If it’s too pasty the Kofte will not keep shape.

3. After the ingredients have been ground, add the mince into the food processor and grind only till it mixes into the remaining ingredients. Over grinding will make it pasty.

4. Add the roasted powdered gram and mix well.

5. Form the mixture into ball shapes to your desired size, roughly 1 inch.

Curry:

1. Put the oil for seasoning in a pan on moderate heat, when hot, season the whole spices, then add the onions & fry to a golden brown.

2. Add ginger & garlic and fry well for about 5 min, sprinkling water as required.

3. Mix the spice powders and salt and cook for about 10 min.

4. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, till a seamless masala is created.

5. When well fried, gently stir in the yogurt.

6. Sprinkle a little water if necessary, bring the broth to a boil and add the meatballs, leaving them to cook on a moderate heat without disturbance for 10 min.

7. Add the pre boiled potatoes at this stage.

8. Pour the limejuice; you can reduce the broth to a gravy consistency.

9. Add the saffron infused milk and simmer for a few minutes.

10. Give yourself a hearty pat on the back and sprinkle in the chopped coriander & mint leaves and serve.