It has a subtler flavour
If I know that the people I am serving it to can tolerate the heat, I add more green chillies, which brings out the flavours.In many ways, our home in Delhi is an old-fashioned household when it comes to the way we cook. When these splutter, add the ground masala. Let each char, and then peel. Justs bring the dish to boil, and using pieces of cloth or the handle, shake the pan carefully once or twice. You can improvise as required. Sprinkle in the coriander leaves and keep on dum for a few minutes until the oil rises to the surface.
Add curry leaves, cumin, fenugreek and onion seeds.Stuff the chicken with the prepared mince, once it is cool enough to handle, and bind it with a sturdy thread. Heat oil in a pan, and fry the sliced onion until very brown but not burnt. However, I am aware that modern kitchens might not be equipped for this, so if you do not own a lagan, and are not keen to buy one, please use a grill pan or any pan of your choice. Dip the chicken in the beaten eggs, then in the breadcrumbs and again in the eggs.Add tamarind juice and tomato puree. Do not use a ladle or spatula to mix it in. Now, add the pieces of fish to the gravy. Now, add the eggplants and green chillies; cover and let cook on low flame until almost soft. And if you prefer, use fish fillets, which will be boneless. Traditionally, such dishes are cooked in a wide, shallow pan called lagan, which is placed on a wood fire, or charcoal fire. Heat oil in a thick-bottomed, large pan.Mix together the ginger-garlic paste, garam masala powder, tomato puree, yogurt, red chilli powder and salt.Slit each eggplant in four quarters, leaving the stem on.Serve in a deep, round bowl and garnish with more coriander leaves, if desired.Tip: If you are planning on serving this dish at a dinner, I highly recommend that you make it a day Small Red Onions Exporters before. Keep aside.Notes on buying and cooking chickenChicken is a healthier meat to choose and earlier, it used to be more expensive than mutton. Then tuck the neck in the breast and keep aside as you prepare the marinade.As someone who learnt cooking herself by trial and error, I want to reassure you that while some recipes might appear to be difficult, each recipe can be made by anyone. For a healthy dish, choose to have the skin of the chicken removed, which makes sure there is no fat left in the meat. You can choose to drain this oil off before you serve the dish.Soak the tamarind in warm water and extract its juice. The more complex dishes might need some practice.To assemble the dish, heat a heavy-bottomed pan.
This technique makes the oil rise to the surface giving the top layer of the meat or rice a wonderful brown colour. Heat a pan, add the spiced mince, and cook on low heat until the meat is dry. Take off the stove, add spring onions and coriander leaves. Cook until all the flavours break down and a gravy begins to form. Fry well.Baghare BainganThis is a true iconic Hyderabadi dish and I am requested to make it more often than I can count. Heat oil in a pan, and add a heaped teaspoon of cumin seed and curry leaves. The lagan is covered and slow-burning pieces of charcoal are placed above and below.To make the stuffing, mix the mince with ginger-garlic paste, ground garam masala and salt.Lower the flame, and let the fish cook through. Grind to a fine paste. My advice to you would be to read a recipe very carefully before you attempt it, so that you know what to prepare for in advance.— An excerpt from the bookSaffron and Pearls: A memoir of family, friendship and heirloom Hyderabadi recipes. For example, marinating meat well ahead of time or grinding certain masalas before you start cooking. Pour the tamarind pulp and cook on a medium flame for another 10 minutes or until the gravy is thick. Keep a deep bowl of salted, room-temperature water on hand, and drop each eggplant quarter into it as you slit it. Grind the fried or charred onions to a fine paste. Deep fry until golden brown.Nawabi MurghIngredients1 whole chicken3 tomatoes, pureed3 eggs, beaten½ cup thick yogurt2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste1 tbsp garam masala powder1 tsp chilli powderBreadcrumbs, to coatOil for fryingSalt to tasteFor the stuffing½ kg chicken mince1 bunch spring onion, chopped1 bunch coriander leaves, chopped2 green chillies1 tsp ginger-garlic paste½ tsp garam masala powderSalt to tasteMethodTo prepare the chicken, wash the chicken and prick it all over using a fork.Dum pe pakana — This means cooking the dish on a slow fire. When it does, add in the whole garam masala spices, chopped coriander leaves and green chillies. Leave it out — this allows the flavours to break down and meld together, making the dish much more layered and flavourful. Or, you can roast the onions, one at a time, directly on the flame.
It has a subtler flavour than mutton, so it is important to flavour a chicken dish with a light hand or the masalas will overpower the meat. Do not refrigerate that night.Serve garnished with tomato slices, onion rings and capsicum rings. Rub this mixture on the chicken — inside and outside — and allow it to marinate for 30 minutes. Place the marinated chicken on it, and let cook until the marinade has dried up.Cooking on dumThere are two types of dum techniques used in Hyderabadi cooking:Dum dena — This means keeping the dish to cook on a slow fire for a few minutes. Take the chicken off the pan, and let cool. When these splutter, add the masala paste you ground earlier.Machli Ka Khatta SaalanIn Hyderabad, we would traditionally use Murral for this dish, but you can choose to go with your favourite fish. I prefer adhering to traditional techniques and use traditional cookware too.Sauté until it is fragrant and well-browned.Ingredients1 kg fish¼ kg onions, finely sliced¼ kg oil¼ kg tamarind¼ kg tomatoes, pureed5 gm green chillies, slit5 gm coriander leaves4 cardamoms1 cinnamon stickTo be ground together in a coarse paste1 coconut, grated and ground2 tbsp coriander powder5 tsp ginger-garlic paste1 tsp chilli powder1 tsp turmeric powderFor the baghar1 sprig curry leaves1 tbsp cumin seeds1 tsp onion seeds½ tsp fenugreek seedsMethodClean fish, drain it and cut into round pieces. When rice is cooked on dum in this way, each grain is separate.Ingredients1 kg small, round eggplants¼ kg onions, finely sliced1½ cups oil10 green chillies4 sprigs curry leaves4 tbsp sesame seeds4 tbsp ginger-garlic paste3 tbsp peanuts3 tbsp coriander powder2 tbsp cumin seeds½ tsp fenugreek seeds½ tsp onion seeds½ tsp red chillies powderPulp from a fistfulof tamarindSalt to tasteFor the baghar1 sprig curry leaves1 tsp cumin seeds½ tsp onion seeds½ tsp fenugreek seedsMethodsRoast the coriander powder, peanuts and fenugreek, onion, cumin and sesame seeds together.