Zaiqa

I really love to discuss food; and also to host food events on my blog despite the effort it demands. Often it happens that with changing scenes of life, we tend to disremember and think no more of our most innate and deeply connected basic memories. And when by some means that old faded memory rejuvenates, you are instantly transported to that era of old times to relive and rewind. Food and memories are always so deeply associated. I have been hosting The Hyderabadi Ramadan Food Festival and The Hyderabadi Bakri-Eid Food Festival on my blog since last year الحمد لله, and through these events and the participation of few enthusiastic foodies, I have come across so many amazing recipes, some that invariably remind me of my Ammi‘s food and some that I have never heard or tasted before.

Dhajji Kawab (or) Tala hua Gosht III ~ Shredded crisped meat with roasted potatoes

One such recipe was Syeda’s Dhajji Kawab. It reminded me of all those good old childhood memories filled with fun, leisure and laughter. This recipe was a usual in my Ammi’s house. She would prepare it for us all with so much love and we relished every last bit of it all. Somehow this recipe faded in my mind and it was only Syeda’s post that rekindled those memories. Jazakallahu Khairun Syeda.

Normally this dish is referred to as Tala hua Gosht~Sautéed meat. There exist many variations of Tala hua Gosht in Hyderabadi cuisine as Lamb meat is what is mostly preferred over any other meat by Hyderabadis. Syeda named it Dhajji Kawab (‘dhajji‘ in Urdu language means ‘shred’) and I really loved the name, so I am also going by it.

Update: According to Mahejabeen, a reader of my blog, this dish is also referred to as Buri ka Gosht. An another reader Pasha Bhai, has chipped in that this dish is also called as Tala Hua Chindi Gosht.
Thank you Mahejabeen and Pasha bhai!

Today I am sharing my version of this recipe. I go gaga over it, one of my most favorite recipe that I have learnt from my Ammi. I recommend all my readers to once try this recipe and I am pretty sure inshallah you will all also fall in love with it.

Dhajji Kawab (or) Tala hua Gosht III ~ Shredded crisped meat with roasted potatoes

Ingredients:

Lamb/Veal meat (without bones) – 500 gms
Salt – to taste
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 1/2 tbsp
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Small green chillies – 2, finely chopped
Black pepper powder – 1/8 tsp
Cilantro – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Mint leaves – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Russet Potato – 1, large, peeled and quartered
Lemon juice – 2 to 3 tbsp
Canola oil

Method:

Note: You need a heavy bottomed and preferably non-stick pan, or a well-seasoned cast iron pan for this recipe, or else the meat will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

1. Add the meat, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 2 cups water to a pressure cooker and pressure cook the meat until it is very tender. Once the meat is done, drain the meat and reserve the water in a bowl. Using your hands, tear the cooked meat into fine shreds and add it to the reserved water. (if you are using meat with bones, discard the bones and only use the meat)
2. In a heavy bottomed and preferably non-stick pan or a cast iron skillet at medium-high heat pour 6 tbsp oil and add the quartered potatoes and stir fry them until they are browned on all sides. Using a slotted spoon remove the potatoes onto a platter and keep aside. In the same pan, add the ginger-garlic paste and stir fry for a few seconds. Now add the water+shredded meat and mix well. Add red chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder and mix. Let it cook until all of the moisture has been evaporated. Now add the stir fried potato quarters, black pepper powder, green chillies, cilantro and mint and mix. Spread the mixture out in the pan in one layer. Let it cook them without stirring for half a minute to give the meat the chance to crisp up. Continue cooking while stirring until all the meat has been nicely fried and crisped up. Pour in the lemon juice and mix. Serve immediately garnished with onion rings and cilantro.

For more versions of Hyderabadi Tala hua Hosht, please visit the Recipe index.

On a side note, I wholeheartedly thank all my well wishers who emailed me and asked about my well-being. الحمد لله I am doing good and back to my usual routine.

Luv,
Mona

Hyderabad does not boast of many seafood preparations. However come rainy season or the winter, we hyderabadis love to prepare a few very special close to heart dishes that are very specific to the Hyderabadi trpe of cooking. Today I am writing about one such fish curry. One of my most favorite fish curries, Machli ka Maheqalya, never fails to remind me of my grandmother. She used to prepare the most delicious Maheqalya ever.

Red Snapper Steaks

I usually prepare a mutton maheqalya or a fish maheqalya. Maheqalya is basically a sauce made with a range or aromatic spices and seasonings. It is a regional recipe from the city of Hyderabad usually prepared by Muslims. If you do not like fish or mutton, you can add add boiled eggs to the sauce to make it ando ka maheqalya, or you can also add sautéed bitter gourd rounds into the gravy for karelon ka maheqalya, or just opo squash pieces for kaddu ka maheqalia.

A perfect accompaniment to Maheqalya is Khadi dal and rice. My Ammi used to prepare and serve this for lunch or dinner usually on Jummah during my childhood.

Machli ka Maheqalya ~ Fish Maheqalya

Ingredients:

White/Yellow Onion – 2, large, sliced thick
Groundnut/Moomphalli – 3 tbsp, ground into a fine powder
Dry Desiccated Coconut – 3 tbsp
White poppy seeds/Khuskhus – 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds/Till – 3 tbsp
Tomatoes – 3, large, red and ripe, roughly chopped
Canola oil – 4 tbsp
Curry leaves – 1 or 2 fresh sprigs
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
Dried red chillies/Baghaar ki mirch – 3, each broken into two
Dry Roasted Coriander seed powder – 1 tsp
Ginger-Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Tamarind paste – 2 tbsp
Red Snapper steaks – 5-6 steaks (I had a medium sized red snapper cut into steaks) (preferred fish are rohu and murrel which are easily available in India, or you can also use salmon (wild) or king fish or any that you like with or without bones)
Cilantro/Kothmir – 1 tbsp, chopped finely

Machli ka Maheqalya ~ Fish Maheqalya

Method:

1. Take a large heavy bottom non-stick skillet on medium heat, and pour a tablespoon of oil into it. As it gets warm, add the sliced onions and a teaspoon of salt. Mix well and half cover with the lid. After 2-3 minutes, give a good stir to the onions, add 1/4 cup of water, and again half cover it with lid. Keep repeating this until the onions are all soft and browned evenly. Remove the pan from heat, and let them cool down. Once cooled, add the chopped tomatoes and the caramelized onions into a blender container or food processor and blend till pureed smooth adding a few drops of water if necessary, just to aid in the process. Keep aside.
2. Put a small non-stick frying pan on medium heat and dry-roast the groundnuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, shredded coconut, khuskhus each individually without oil till they are golden brown in colour. Do not burn them. Remove them into a cup (you can dry roast a handful of almonds and cashewnuts and grind them together along if you want a richer gravy). Once cool, grind them all together or individually until very fine. Make sure the obtained spice powder is very fine.
3. Take a large non-stick heavy bottomed saucepan and add a tablespoon of oil to it and put it on medium heat, add oil and keep it on medium high heat. Add cumin seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves and fenugreek seeds to the oil and let them splutter. Now add the onion+tomato paste to it and cover the lid immediately for 3-5 minutes and remove the saucepan from heat, so that the aroma of the tempered oil with spices gets absorbed by the onion mixture. Remove the lid, put the saucepan back on stove and add the ginger-garlic pastes to it and stir to mix it all completely. Add the spice powder which we prepared earlier, the red chilli powder, salt and turmeric and stir it well. Lower the heat to medium low and let cook until it starts leaving oil. Pour in about 3 cups of water, and add the tamarind paste and give it a stir. Close the lid and increase the heat and let it come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and gently lower the fish steaks into the gravy. Let it cook half covered for 15 minutes until the fish is done. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve warm.

Luv,
Mona

A quick, yummy and irresistible chicken stir fry~Chicken 65 is a famous Hyderabadi appetizer served at parties and easily available at most of the restaurants and food stalls in Hyderabad city. Please do not ask me why is it called Chicken 65, I have no idea about it.

There exist many versions of this dish, and today I am posting my version. I also make a dry version with no sauce, and just the baghaar/tempering. Inshallah I will post it in the future sometime. For now, you can prepare this simple dish and impress your loved ones.

Chicken 65

Serve Chicken 65 along with Rumali rotis. If you cannot buy or prepare Rumali roti, just heat a thin tortilla on a flat griddle until nicely toasted on both sides and enjoy.

Note: Normally, the chicken 65 that is served back home in Hyderabad is fiery red in color, that is because red color is added to it. I do not add color to food and hence the different color.

Chicken 65

Boneless Chicken – 500 gms, cut into bite size cubes, washed and drained (you can also use chicken with bone if you want)
For Batter:
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 1/2 tbsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1/4 tsp
Egg white – 1, large
Cornflour – 1 tbsp
Canola oil – to deep fry
For Baghaar:
Canola oil – 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Black Mustard seeds – 1/2 tbsp
Green chillies – 10, small, each slit into two
Curry leaves – 20-25 fresh
Yogurt – 1/3 cup, lightly stirred until smooth
Tomato Ketchup – 3 tbsp
Soya sauce – 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
For Garnish:
Fried cashew nuts – roughly chopped
Cilantro – roughly chopped
Onion rings
Baby carrots
Sliced cucumbers
Shredded lettuce leaves
Lemon wedges

Method:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the batter except egg and cornflour and and mix well. Add the chicken cubes and gently combine. Cover and let the chicken marinate for 1 or 2 hours. Later, bring the chicken back to room temperature and add cornflour and egg. Mix well. Deep fry the chicken pieces in hot oil for not more than 3 minutes in batches. Drain the fried chicken in a wire mesh strainer for the extra oil to drain off  and keep aside until all are done.
2. In a mixing bowl, add yogurt, tomato ketchup, soya sauce and red chilli powder and mix well. Keep aside.
3. For baghaar/tempering, in a frying pan at medium high heat, add oil and as soon as it is warm add the cumin seeds and the mustard seeds. As the seeds begin to pop, remove the pan from heat and add the green chillies and curry leaves. Stir fry and let the pan cool down. Once the pan is slightly cool, add the stirred yogurt mixture and mix well. (if you add curd in hot pan the curd will curdle). Transfer the pan to the stove and keep stirring continuously at medium heat. Once boiling, add the fried chicken and mix well. Cover with a lid and let cook for 5-10 minutes. Keep stirring ever once in a while. Serve Chicken 65 on a platter garnished with fresh cilantro, fried cashew nuts, lemon wedges, lettuce leaves, cucumber slices, baby carrots and onion rings.

Luv,
Mona

I am a non-vegetarian, no doubt, but there is some sort of comfort in simple and fresh vegetable preparations. Whenever I visit the grocery market I am always on the lookout of fresh Indian vegetables, and الحمد لله Toronto has many if not all of the regualr Indian vegetables to fulfill South-Asian’s taste buds.

Sem ki phalli ~ Indian broad beans

Sem ki phalli, as these beans are called in Urdu language, (Chikkudu kaya in Telugu) (also called as Valor papdi or Hyacinth Beans or Indian Broad beans) are one of my favorite vegetables. They are also sometimes available frozen in the cold sections of the markets.

characters in play –
clockwise from top: chopped Indian broad beans, onion, stir-fried suya nuggets, dill leaves, and tomatoes

This simple curry that I have made with whatever I had in the refrigerator that day was nourishing and flavorsome. We enjoyed it along with Dahi ki Kadi, Parathas and some plain rice for lunch yesterday.

Sem ki phalli, tamatar aur soya ka salan – Indian broad beans along with soya granules in tomato sauce

Ingredients:

Soya nuggets – 1 cup
Canola oil – 4 tbsp
White/Yellow Onion – 1, large, finely sliced
Tomatoes – 4, large, finely chopped (or) Canned crushed tomatoes – 1/3 cup
Red chilli powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Sem ki phalli – around 1 kg, topped and tailed and fibrous side strings removed, each bean slit into two and then chopped into pieces ( as shown in the picture above)
Dill leaves/Suva bhaji – 1/4 cup, finely chopped

Sem ki phalli, tamatar aur soya ka salan

Method:

1. Soak soya nuggets in surplus cool water for 1-2 hours. Later, squeeze them, drain the water and put the squeezed nuggets in a dry bowl. Add fresh cool water to it and again squeeze them, drain the water and put them in a bowl. Repeat this about 5-8 times, until there is no lather in the water when you squeeze them while washing them up. This is important, otherwise the lather in soya will cause severe flatulence. So, be careful there. In a small frying pan, pour  1 1/2 tbsp oil and as soon as it warms up, add the squeezed washed soya nuggets and stir fry them until lightly browned on all sides. Remove in a bowl and keep aside.
2. Pour 2 1/2 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan at medium high heat and as soon as it warms up add the sliced onions. Stir fry until just lightly browned. Add chopped tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes-whatever you are using, and red chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder. Mix well and pour 1 cup warm water. Let cook covered for 3 minutes. Lower heat to medium low and add the chopped beans and stir fried soya nuggets and mix well. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally.

Suva bhaji/Dill leaves

3. Once the beans are tender, add the dill leaves and mix well. Cook uncovered for a few more minutes until the moisture is evaporated. Serve warm with rotis or rice.

This simple veggie preparation goes to Meeta’s ‘Monthly Mingle‘. Sudeshna of ‘Cook like a Bong‘ is the guest host this month for this event with a theme of ‘Winter Fruits and Vegetables‘.

Luv,
Mona

Patli dal (dal with thin consistency) cooked with tamarind or sometimes tomatoes as the souring agents, is a staple, atleast in my house. It is served along with a non-vegetarian or a vegetarian side dish and rice at most of our meals, and I believe at most of the Hyderabadi households as well. The usual variety of patli dal that I prepare are tamarind khatti dal, tomato dal, mitthi dal, lemon dal, kaddu ka dalcha, sojni ki phalli ka dalcha and kulfe ki katli. Among all these I dearly miss kulfe ki katli as I havent been able to find Kulfa (purslane) at stores here until now.

Unripe green mangoes ~ Kairi

This version of khatti dal with a hint of tangy flavor from unripe green mangoes is most flavorful and enjoyed by everyone at my house. Select sour, firm and unripe green mangoes for the perfect tangy smack in the dal. We enjoyed this flavorsome dal along with kairi ka do pyaza and tali huwi bhindi as our meal today.

Kairi ki Khatti Dal – Green Mango Dhal

Ingredients:

Tuvar ki dal – 1 cup
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Tomatoes – 2, large, red and ripe, quartered
Unripe green sour mango/Kairi – 1, small, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup) (do not discard the stone)
For Baghaar:
Canola oil – 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 2 tsp
Dried red chillies/Baghaar ki mirch – 2, each broken into two
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs, fresh

Method:

1. In a saucepan, add the tuvar dal, red chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder, quartered tomatoes and 4 cups fresh cool water and boil the dal at medium high heat, half covered, until the dal is done. You can also pressure cook it until the dal is mushy. Once done, let cool and add to a blender container. Also add the chopped unripe mango (do not add the stone now) and blend until the dal is smooth. Pour this back into the saucepan. Add the mango stone to the dal and let cook for 10-12 minutes. Add water to adjust consistency. The consistency should be just slightly thick, not too thick, or too thin.
2. Meanwhile in a small frying pan, prepare baghaar. Pour oil in a warm small frying pan and as soon as it hot, add the cumin seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves and as they start spluttering immediately add to the dal in saucepan. Let cook for 2 minutes and serve warm (before serving, scrape the mango stone and add all its juices and soft tangy flesh to the dal and discard the stone).

This delicious dal is my entry to the event ‘Delicious Dals from India’ being hosted by Suma at her blog Veggie Platter.

Luv,
Mona