Peter and I lived in the family home for three years, during which time we had Anisha, our daughter. When we moved out, it was because we needed more space, and soon Nihal was born. Peter wanted us to live close to either one of our families, and we found a house near my parents’ home, which was convenient for me. I had a lady live with us at home to look after the children and she was also a good cook. I was still working at Vazir Sultan and had two little children, so learning to cook was not a priority.
Whenever we had people over, I used to ask my parents to send food across. There was one evening that I still remember and laugh over. A friend of Peter’s had sent us a whole lot of prawns from Vizag and we were hosting a dinner that night. Peter asked the chef at a local restaurant, Nanking, if he could help us by cooking the prawns. He did, and prepared a mouth-watering dish of garlic prawns. One of our guests loved it so much that she asked Peter who had made it. Without giving it much thought, he said that I had. And she spent the rest of the evening asking me for the recipe. I literally ran from room to room, trying to avoid her but she followed me everywhere and it was the funniest dinner party, with a guest chasing the hostess all evening. Eventually I managed to escape the situation.
In 1976, Peter was offered a job with Voltas in Delhi and, after much thought, we decided to move because it held the promise of a better life. It was not an easy step to take – we had our families and friends around us in Hyderabad and it was a very lovely life. But we were also lucky that we could rent a nice house in Defence Colony in Block C and now we live in Block D, so it feels like coming full circle. Back then, Peter moved two or three months ahead of me and I came to Delhi in November.
That first winter was difficult – we had to get used to a new life in a new city. I had brought a couple with me from Hyderabad who worked with us. The husband helped with the housework and the wife cooked but they could not manage in Delhi – I suppose it was too much of a change for them and we had to send them back home. So, I had to do all the housework, along with looking after Anisha and Nihal. It was a very busy time for me. We began to order in food from restaurants and family members kept visiting us over Christmas and the New Year, so we managed somehow but I began to feel that I must really learn to cook now. Ordering in all our meals was not healthy and it was expensive for a young family just starting out.
So early the next year, the children and I went back to Hyderabad with my mother-in-law and a sister-in-law who had been staying with us. Before I left, I promised Peter – ‘Either I will learn to cook, or I will find us a good cook.’ As it turned out, I just loved being back home and did neither! Finally, Peter called me and said, ‘Come back, I have found us a good cook here and he is hard of hearing so no-one will poach him from us.’
I felt so guilty about having done nothing yet that I went to see his aunt, Zehra Alambardar, whom we called Phuppu Jani, and said, ‘Please teach me how to make a few dishes.’ She was very sweet and told me that she cooked by andaaz, or instinct – ‘Beta, I cannot tell you a recipe with measurements. You have to watch and learn. I will make the dishes in front of you, and you write each recipe down, step by step.’
As she measured ingredients out by andaaz, I used spoons to estimate how much she’d used, and she patiently guided me through, step by step, until I learnt how to make Tas Kabab, a mutton biryani, a chicken dish, a simple dhal and Puran Poli. Tas Kabab is still one of Peter’s favourites and it’s still on the menu for every dinner we host, though my children are tired of it.
DAHI KI KADHI
INGREDIENTS
For the kadhi
11/4 kg thick yogurt
1 cup gram flour
2 large, ripe red tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 sprigs curry leaves
1½ tablespoons coriander powder
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
A medium bunch coriander leaves
Salt to taste
For the pakoras
1 cup gram flour
2 onions, finely chopped
4 green chillies, finely chopped
2 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped
Oil for deep frying
Enough yogurt to form a paste
Length of clean white muslin cloth, to strain
For the baghar
½ cup oil
6 dry red chillies
4 flakes garlic
3 sprigs curry leaves
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
METHOD
TO MAKE THE KADHI
Mix in the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, salt, coriander powder and gram flour in a large bowl,. Pulp the tomatoes in a blender and add to this mixture. Mix very well.
Drape the muslin cloth over the mouth of a large earthen pot, and strain the yogurt mixture. It might be quite thick, so if you need to use a little water to strain it, please do. The sieved liquid needs to be smooth. Place the earthen pot on a high flame and stir in curry leaves and coriander leaves. Bring the kadhi to a boil and allow to cook until it thickens. Keep stirring it to prevent the gram flour from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Taste to check if the gram flour’s raw flavour has gone, which is when it is done. Take the pot off the flame and allow to cool.
FOR THE PAKORAS
Mix onions, coriander leaves and green chillies with the gram flour and yogurt into a thick batter. Heat oil in a kadhai. When it is hot enough, put in tablespoons of the mixture to form pakoras. Fry until these turn a deep golden brown and remove onto a plate lined with absorbent paper. You can add these pakoras to the kadhi an hour before you serve. Do not add them too early or they will get soggy.
BEFORE YOU SERVE
Heat oil in a small frying pan, until it is smoking. First, toss in the red chillies and garlic; let these turn dark brown and then add in cumin seeds and curry leaves. This baghar needs to be nearly charred for the flavours to deepen. When it is, pour it over the kadhi and cover the pot immediately to prevent the aromas from escaping. Serve at once.
TAMATAR KA KUT
INGREDIENTS
5 kg red tomatoes, cut into quarters
5 eggs, hard boiled and shelled
1 bunch curry leaves
10 tablespoons sesame seeds
5 heaped tablespoons gram flour
5 tablespoons coriander seeds
3 tablespoons red chilli powder
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
2 tablespoons fresh heavy cream
Salt to taste
For the baghar
½ cup oil
10 dry red chillies
8 flakes garlic
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
METHOD
Pulse the gram flour in a blender and pass through a sieve to ensure there are no lumps. On a dry tawa or any other flat pan, roast sesame seeds, coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Grind to a fine paste, using a little water. Set aside.
Place the tomato quarters in a large pan, and mix in the red chilli powder, powdered seeds, ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves. Do not add any water – the tomatoes will release enough gravy. Cook on a medium flame, stirring at intervals, until the tomatoes break down and melt. All the ingredients should have blended well together and resemble a thin soup or gravy. Once this is done, take the pan off the flame and let the gravy cool.
Drape a length of clean white muslin over the mouth of another pan, of the same size, and strain the gravy through. Add the powdered gram flour to it and return to the flame; cook until the consistency is that of a thick soup.
FOR THE BAGHAR
Heat oil in a small frying pan, until it is smoking. Toss in red chillies and garlic. When these turn dark brown, add cumin seeds and curry leaves. Fry until nearly charred. Take off the flame and pour into the tomato gravy and cover immediately.
TO SERVE
&nb
sp; Decant the gravy into a deep dish. Halve the hard boiled eggs, and garnish the gravy with these. Swirl the cream over and serve immediately.
TAMATAR METHI
INGREDIENTS
½ kg tomatoes, finely chopped
¼ kg green peas, shelled
4 bunches fenugreek leaves
2 onions, finely sliced
2 sprigs curry leaves
4 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
METHOD
Heat oil well in a pan and toss in cumin seeds and curry leaves. When these splutter, add sliced onions and sauté until golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and turmeric and chilli powders. Sprinkling in some water, let fry until the raw aromas disappear. Put in the tomatoes and cook until these break down – do not add any water.
Add green peas and cook for about 5 minutes before mixing in the fenugreek leaves. Lower the flame and let cook until the oil rises to the surface and there is no gravy in the pan.
TAMATAR BHINDI
INGREDIENTS
1 kg bhindi
3 onions, sliced length-wise
3 tomatoes
¼ cup oil
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon dried mango powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
METHOD
Wash and clean the bhindi, and cut into 1" pieces. Chop the tomatoes fine. Heat oil in a pan or kadhai and sauté the onions until they soften.
Add in the bhindi, tomatoes and all the masalas. Lower the heat and cook covered, on dhum, until the bhindi is done.
Tamatar Bhindi
BAGHARE BAINGAN
This is a truly iconic Hyderabadi dish and I am requested to make it more often than I can count. 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.
INGREDIENTS
1 kg small, round eggplants
¼ kg onions, finely sliced
1½ cups oil
10 green chillies
4 sprigs curry leaves
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
3 tablespoons peanuts
3 tablespoons coriander powder
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon onion seeds
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
Pulp from a fistful of tamarind
Salt to taste
For the baghar
1 sprig curry leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon onion seeds
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
METHOD
Roast the coriander powder, peanuts and fenugreek, onion, cumin and sesame seeds together. Grind to a fine paste. Heat oil in a pan, and fry the sliced onions until very brown but not burnt. Or, you can roast the onions, one at a time, directly on the flame. Let each char, and then peel. Grind the fried or charred onions to a fine paste.
Slit each eggplant into four quarters, leaving the stem on. Keep a deep bowl of salted, room-temperature water on hand, and drop each eggplant quarter into it as you slit it. Heat oil in a thick-bottomed, large pan. Add curry leaves, cumin, fenugreek and onion seeds. When these splutter, add the masala paste you ground earlier.
Sauté until it is fragrant and well-browned. Now, add the eggplants and green chillies; cover and let cook on a low flame until almost soft. Pour in tamarind pulp and cook on a medium flame for another 10 minutes or until the gravy is thick. Sprinkle in the coriander leaves and keep on dhum for a few minutes until the oil rises to the surface. You can choose to drain this oil off before you serve the dish.
If you are planning on serving this dish at a dinner, I highly recommend that you make it a day before. Do not refrigerate that night. Leave it out – this allows the flavours to break down and meld together, making the dish much more layered and flavourful. Any leftovers will need to be refrigerated.
MIRCHI KA SAALAN
INGREDIENTS
½ kg fat green chillies, deseeded and de-stemmed
1 dried coconut, grated
1 cup oil
4 onions, lightly fried and ground
8 tablespoons peanuts
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
4 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Pulp from a fistful of tamarind
Salt to taste
For the baghar
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
METHOD
Heat oil in a pan until it is really hot. Add cumin seeds and curry leaves. As soon as these splutter, add green chillies and all the other ingredients, except for the tamarind pulp.
Cook on a low flame until the chillies soften. Do not add in water. Just as the chillies are done, pour in the tamarind pulp and bring to a final boil before taking off the flame.
SAFED MIRCHI KA SAALAN
INGREDIENTS
200 gm fat green chillies, deseeded
and de-stemmed
½ cup oil
To be ground together
2 fresh coconuts, grated and finely ground
10 cashew nuts
2 tablespoons chironjee
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons Bengal gram
Baghar ingredients
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Juice of 5 lemons
Salt to taste
METHOD
Heat the oil and fry chillies in a pan until they blister. Remove onto a plate lined with absorbent paper and set aside.
Add cumin seeds and curry leaves to the same oil. When these splutter, add the ground masala and sauté until fragrant. Then add in the chillies and cook on a low flame until they soften. Finally, add the lemon juice and bring to a boil before taking the pan off the flame.
Mirchi ka Saalan
CHUKANDAR KI SABJI
INGREDIENTS
4 beetroots, boiled
6 whole red chillies
6 sprigs curry leaves
¼ cup oil
2 tablespoons dried mango powder
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Salt to taste
METHOD
Peel and cube the beetroots, and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan or kadhai and toss in the red chillies. When these start to darken, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let these splutter, and mix in the beetroot cubes.
Add the dried mango powder and salt a minute or two later, and mix well. Leave the pan on the flame for a few more minutes to let the flavours amalgamate. Once the dish is fragrant, it is done.
KARELA SABJI
INGREDIENTS
½ kg karela, cleaned and sliced
¼ kg onions, sliced
1 small bunch coriander leaves
2 green chillies
2 cups oil, for deep frying
3 tablespoons dried mango powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
To be ground into a powder
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon onion seeds
METHOD
Heat the oil in a thick-bottomed pan or kadhai till it just starts to smoke. Deep fry the karela slices until they soften – do not let them turn crisp. Place the fried pieces on plates lined with absorbent paper and set aside.
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a different pan, and sau
té the onion slices until they soften. Add chilli and turmeric powders, the ground masala and salt. Mix well and let it cook until fragrant.
Add the karela slices, and cook on a low flame for five to seven minutes. Garnish with the green chillies and coriander leaves before you serve.
Karela Sabji
ALOO KHORMA
Very rich and delicious, this can be made only with potatoes, or you can add in eggs. I have given both options in the recipe below.
INGREDIENTS
½ kg potatoes
(if you want to use eggs,
use ¼ kg potatoes and 8 hard boiled eggs)
¼ kg green peas, shelled
1 cup yogurt
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 green chillies, slit
4 sprigs coriander leaves, chopped
1 sprig mint leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons coconut powder
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
METHOD
Peel the potatoes, cut into long slices and soak in a bowl of salted water. If you are using eggs, shell them, cut each into half and keep aside.
Roast and grind the poppy seeds, coconut powder and coriander powder lightly. Heat oil in a pan and fry onions until they turn golden brown. Remove onto a plate lined with absorbent paper, and set aside. Then, grind the fried onions to a paste using a little water. Set aside.
Put the pan back on the stove and heat two teaspoons of oil. Add ginger-garlic paste and chilli and turmeric powders. Sprinkling in a little water to prevent the powders from sticking, sauté for a few minutes. Now, add the roasted masala you prepared earlier and sauté well.
Add the yogurt and cook the gravy until it darkens. Now, add potatoes and three cups of water; let the potatoes soften and when they do, tip in the green peas. Cook for 5 minutes more and add the coriander and mint leaves, garam masala powder and the ground onions. Leave on dhum for 5 minutes and decant into a deep bowl, to contain all the gravy. If you are using eggs, add them to the gravy just before you are ready to eat.
Saffron and Pearls Page 3
