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Rich and royal

Enjoy the flavours of Punjab

TRUE TASTE Food from the land of five rivers

There are many who love Punjabi food but don't know how to make it. Here are some favourites that you could try out at home.

Punjabi kadi with pakora

Ingredients:

Gram flour: 1 cup
Onion, finely chopped: quarter cup
Potatoes, chopped : quarter cup
Ajwain: 1tsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Ginger, finely chopped: 1 tsp
Baking powder: half tsp
Oil for deep-frying
Salt to taste
Yoghurt: 1 cup
Gram flour: quarter cup
Dry red chillies, whole: 2
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Asafoetida: A pinch
Fenugreek seeds: 1 tsp
Oil: 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Preparation: Mix all pakora ingredients, except oil, and add about half cup of water. Mix well. Heat oil in a kadai. Make small balls of the vegetable gram flour mixture and deep fry the pakoras till they are golden brown. Beat the yoghurt and mix gram flour in it. Blend thoroughly so as to ensure there are no lumps. Add turmeric powder, salt and 3 cups of water. Heat oil in a kadhai. Add fenugreek seeds and dry red chillies. Stir fry for half a minute. Add gram flour and yoghurt mixture. Bring it to a boil and simmer on a slow fire for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add red chilli powder and fried pakoras and again simmer the punjabi kadi for about 5 minutes. Serve it hot with steamed rice.

Rogan Josh

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

Ginger and garlic paste:

Ginger, peeled and roughly
chopped: 1 inch cube
Garlic, peeled: 1 whole bulb
Water: 3 tbsp
The meat

Vegetable oil: 10 tbsp
Lamb: 2 lbs
Whole spices
Bay leaves: 2
Whole cloves: 8
Black peppercorns: 1 tsp
Green cardamom pods: 12
whole
Cinnamon: One 2-inch stick

Other ingredients:

Onions, finely chopped: 2
Yoghurt: 150 gm

Ground spices:

Ground coriander seeds: 1
tsp
Ground cumin seeds: 2 tsp
Paprika: 4 tsp
Chilli powder: half tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Black pepper, ground
Garam masala: half tsp

Preparation: First, make the ginger-garlic paste by blending the ginger and garlic together in a food processor with a little water until it becomes a puree. Second, heat the vegetable oil in an ovenproof casserole dish over medium heat, then batch fry all the diced meat, setting aside when lightly browned.

Then, add the whole spices to the hot oil and stir for just a few seconds until the bay leaves take on some colour.

Add the chopped onions to the whole spices and continue frying for five minutes or so until the onions soften and turn light brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste, fry and stir for about 30 seconds.

Add the ground spices and salt to the mixture, stirring for a further 30 seconds.

Add the browned meat and its juices and combine the mixture thoroughly.

Now add the yoghurt to the mixture a spoonful at a time, thoroughly stirring in each spoonful. When all the yoghurt has been added, fry the Rogan Josh for around five minutes more. Add water to the mixture. Stir again and bring to a boil.

Cover the casserole and then transfer to the oven at 160ºC. Lamb needs about one-and-a-half hours and beef, two-and-a-half hours, until the meat is tender. Stir the mixture frequently, adding a little water if necessary to ensure it does not dry out.

At the end of cooking the sauce should be nice and thick, if necessary you should boil off excess liquid. Finally stir in the garam masala and black pepper into the Rogan Josh and serve.

CHALAPATHI RAO

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