Question : Can I please have the recipe for “Methi Lagaan”?

Answer : Lagaan cooking is very popular in the traditional Awadhi cuisine and has filtered down through generation to evolve with much more grandeur and refinement. Most of the five star hotels or upmarket India restaurants will have the dishes cooked in lagan, the recipe which comes close to the request is methi boti ka lagaan because methi fenugreek leaves) does not have the aura to carry the dish all on its own.

Ingredients:

1 kg    Shoulder of lamb
1 cup    desi ghee (clarified butter)
1 cup    yogurt
1 cup    fried brown onion
4 each    green chilli
1 small bunch methi (fresh fenugreek leaves)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
½ tsp    red chilli powder
1/3 tsp    turmeric powder
½ tsp    cumin powder
½ tsp    coriander powder

Marination
½ cup   coriander leaves
¼ cup   mint leaves
1 ½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
1tbsp     raw papaya paste
2tsp      coriander powder
1tsp      red chilli powder
1tsp      cumin powder
¼ tsp    all spice powder
4 green cardamoms
2 black cardamom
4 cloves
1 medium stick cinnamon
Salt to taste

For the preparation:
Clean lamb by removing unnecessary specks of fat and slime, de-bone and cut into 1 ½ inch cubes. You can also ask your butcher to do the same for you. Alternatively you can also use the lamb with bone making sure that pieces are medium size. Crush the fried onions into coarse powder using a pestle.

Wash green chilli, slit, remove seed and cut into strips.

Marination: Clean mint and coriander, wash and finely chop. Blend using minimum water to obtain smooth paste. Put the paste in a bowl, add the remaining marinade ingredients and mix well. Blanch the fenugreek leaves, drain and immediately put into ice water. Drain again and squeeze the leaves to remove excess water. Chop them very finely or alternately blend them using a blender.

For the cooking:
Rub the cubes of meat well with the marinade and keep aside for 2hrs.
Spread ghee (keep aside 1 tbsp) in a lagaan, place the marinated meat along with the marinade to the centre of the container, pour on the whisked yogurt and onion powder, add green chilli and cook on dum (cover the lagaan with the lid and seal it with the flour dough to prevent the steam from escaping) over low heat for 45 minutes or until the meat is cooked.

In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee, add garlic and sauté for 30seconds. Add methi leaves, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and stir to mix well. Season lightly with salt.

Add this methi to lamb and cook for another 5 minutes to allow the flavour to mingle and develop. Ideally it should be eaten the second day as the flavour keeps on developing during the resting period and this holds true for almost all the meat curries.

Serve with the choice of Indian bread or rice.

Note: If you are a vegetarian, you can use ingredients like fresh button mushroom, corn kernels with great effect.

P.S. Lagaan is a Round, deep dish made from copper, or aluminium  mainly used for making biryanis or  mughlai/awadhi curries. Its typically used in “dum” cooking.

Tags: handi, tikka masala, palak, sambhar, chettinad, tandoori, indian curry, tandoor, curries, dosa

The story of lentil would not be complete without mention of the eponymous “Kichdi”, the Indian rice and lentil combinations. I am sure there will be as many recipes of this preparation as the number of home cooks which clearly means that people love this easy to digest and easy to prepare recipe.

The writings of 15^th century suggest its origin in India when there were also the recipes containing meat as is found in offerings during the prayers of Goddess Kali. One of the varieties containing prawns is also very popular in Western India. Kichdi is also the source of inspiration of popular variation called “Kedgerre” which contains haddock and boiled egg and is found all across UK. Kichdi of the summer season are less thick than that of winter which contains more vegetables also to provide richness to counter the extremely cold nights.

Kichdi – the regional variations

Though it is popular both in India and Pakistan and in some parts of the world, it is worthwhile to look at some of the popular variations found elsewhere in different Indian states. The one served in Bengal is accompanied with Chokha (Potato hash), Begun Bhaja (Aubergine fry), chutney, papad and pickle. The gruel itself contains the seasonal vegetables like cauliflower, potato, green peas, spinach, spring onion etc. which make the entire preparation full of nutrition and taste. While it is rich delicacy found in the region of West Bengal and even fit to be offered during all the important occasions including festivals, in other parts of India it reincarnate itself as the food of the invalids and sick. Rice and lentil are cooked together until completely amalgamated and mushy and seasoned to appear as a very bland and ordinary cousin of the rich and suave Bengali delicacy.

Kichdi on its own as a main course is a very good source of carbohydrate, protein and vitamins if prepared with vegetables and essential minerals and at the same time very easy to digest.

Bengali Kechudi

Preparation time: 30minutes

Cooking time: 30minutes

Serves- 4-6

Ingredients

Tags: curries, chana, tandoori, tandoor, kulfi, dosa, handi, vindaloo, palak, indian curry

Celebrations of festivals have assumed significant proportions in the wake of religious unrest and much could have been contained by understanding the true values behind the festivals.

Sharing the food with neighbours and relatives has always been at the forefront of the culmination of these festivities which fostered brotherhood, understanding and empathy. While tracing the history of communal dining, one comes across the real purpose and noble motive behind such occasion.

Eid markes the end of fasting during the months of Ramazan or Ramadan and is celebrated starting on the first day of the lunar month of Shawwal. I also recount some of the occasions of lavish dining along with some of my friends celebrating Eid . How can I forget the aroma which used to permeate the entire room with exotic spices and curries. Zarda pulao, meat curries, biryanis, sewai (sevaiyan) laden with nuts,  evoke some fond memories of those evening experiences in the company of friends.

Recipe : Zarda Pulao
1 cups Basmati rice  (Long grain rice as a substitute)
1 ½ cups milk
½  cup water
½  cups sugar
½  cup ghee
½ cup mixed dried fruits
6 whole cloves
3 sticks cinnamon
few strands of saffron diluted with warm water
Pinch of salt

Method:
Wash the rice with soft hand twice or thrice until the water runs clear and then, soak for 15 minutes.
Melt ghee in a cooking pan and add cloves and cinnamon, fry for a minute until fragrant. Add rice and continue frying until all the grains are well coated with ghee. Pour milk and water over the rice and raise the heat to medium high. Add sugar and diluted saffron and cook for another 10minutes until the rice is cooked and fluffy.

Note: Some of houses also use canned pineapple which is diced and added to the pulao during the last minute of the cooking of rice. If using fresh pineapple, simmer on low heat in sugar syrup before adding to the rice.

Tags: roti, vindaloo, tikka masala, paneer, desi, tandoori, curries, sambhar, bhatura, murgh

Rice : So many cultures for so many centuries, have survived on the staple diet of rice coupled with some basic preparations like vegetable or meat curries. The coastal cities of India would prefer to take rice in all the three major meals. Boiled rice can be literally eaten with even the most humble of the preparation or simple ingredients like onion, pickles, yogurt or lentils.

It is strange that the seedlings of rice can tolerate the most inhospitable environmental condition not suited for most of the grains. It is, in fact, neck deep in water when they are planted in the paddy field, tolerate the wet weather throughout its growth, ultimately harvested and sold as per their quality.

Without an iota of doubt, Basmati is the king of all the rice grown across the globe. So famous is the quality that few enterprising Americans wanted to patent the name “BASMATI” which for centuries is indigenous to India. It boasts of long slim grain, which becomes at least 2 ½ times longer after cooking. The aroma of this rice has enchanted even the king and no wonder that a major part of the grain is exported to fetch better money value in the international market. Try to find Basmati rice which has been rested for at least an year for better result with your rice, pulao or biryani dishes.

Rice cooking requires some sort of practice as the difference between good and bad rice is few extra minutes. What is most important is also to understand the heat contained in the rice to carry-over cooking for the required duration when it becomes perfect cooked rice. There are two ways of cooking rice, one is called absorption method and the other as drained out method

In absorption method, which is the tougher of the two, rice is cooked in just the required amount of liquid which is normally 2 ½ times of the rice quantity. During the course of the cooking, rice absorbs most of the liquid, some is lost as steam, and lengthen in size. If cooked perfectly, most of the grains will remain separate and is a good indication of correct cooking. One of the most important benefits of this cooking process is that nutrients remain with the rice because there is minimal loss of water during the cooking process.

The other method is very popular with Indian household where rice is boiled with lots of water and when tender, excess water is drained out which means some of the nutrients are also drained out. The important aspect of this style of cooking is that the rice remains lighter for consumption in terms of its starch content as most of it is drained out with the water. Some of the household keep the drained water to serve as pastime drink or apply to cloth to stiffen it.

Some of the blogs will definitely feature a few of the most popular Indian dishes like pulao, biryani, tehri, flavored rice etc. Watch out until then “Happy tryst with rice”.

- Kuntal.

Tags: murgh, tikka masala, bhatura, indian curry, chicken, gosht, paneer, chana, chettinad, kebab

Question : I need advice for making authentic Mughlai Biryani. Any tips? The restaurant Biryani I’ve had is generally fair to lousy. What’s the trick or tricks to making this dish?

Kuntal answers : Mughlai food is known for its richness. It is famous for the exotic use of spices, dried fruit and nuts. The Mughals did everything in style and splendour. Since they ate very rich food they reduced the number of intake during the day. Mughlai dishes as they are called have lots of milk and cream with spices to make rich and spicy meal that is the reason why Mughlai recipes are rich in fat, carbohydrates and proteins.

Even though the tips are helpful, they are not quick fix process to substitute the lengthy cooking preparation for biryanis which yields the desired result.

1. Make sure the rice which you use is the premium quality biryani rice which is less starchy than the rest of the rice. Wash your rice a few times and allow it to sit in just enough water for 15-20minutes. Drain the water before final use.

2. Use the papaya to soften/tenderize the Indian mutton to avoid the risk of them being not cooked fully with the rice if you are making “katchi” biryani (a biryani where the main ingredients like the rice and the lamb are both raw and cooked together unlike other biryanis where mutton will be cooked separately and then layered with rice).

3. The flavoring herbs and spices should preferably be used in the later stages, because prolonged use of them in the entire cooking process is just a wastage of their flavour and aroma.

4. The biryani in the last stage after layering should be cooked on a very low heat preferably on a hot plate to allow the steam to form and aroma to develop.

5. If you have pre-boiled the lamb for the biryani, try reserving the liquid/ stock to be used for biryani for extra flavour.

6. The lid for the biryani vessel has to fit snugly otherwise put some weight on top of the lid or stick together the side of the lid and the vessel with flour dough to prevent the steam from escaping.

Most of the restaurant biryanis due to the compulsion of managing cost are made to order; hence lack the complex flavour and aroma of an authentically made biryani. To see more of biryani, please refer to downloadable e-book available with us.

Tags: curries, tandoor, gosht, dhokla, bhatura, dal, bhatura, indian food, tikka masala, roti

Here is a recipe for a simple Rice Kheer

Ingredients
# 3 Litres Milk
# 100 Grams Rice
# 100 Grams Sugar
# Kesar (Saffron )
# Elaichi (Cardomom)
# Badam (Almonds)
# 2 Tbsp Water

Method
Boil Milk. Add rice to the milk when boiled. Stir the milk until it gets thick and of dropping consistency.
Allow the milk to cool. When the milk mixture is at room temperature, Add Saffron, and Sugar to it and mix it well. The Milk mixture will get a good colour. Top it with Almonds and Cardomom Powder.

Tags: naan, kulfi, sambhar, dosa, handi, chettinad, desi, roti, palak, tandoori