festive food fair Archives - Page 3 of 3

“This curry was like a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony that I’d once heard…..especially the last movement, with everything screaming and banging ‘Joy.’ It stunned, it made one fear great art. My father could say nothing after the meal.”

Anthony Burgess

NALLI GOSHT…A robust, traditional lamb curry.

Here we go again. With winter here, a finger-licking good, different curry is most welcome. This is a hearty, ‘mild on spices & full of flavour’ lamb curry, made from a recipe my sister-in-law sent with huge recommendations! A Sanjeev Kapoor recipe. She proved her point. Lovely tasting curry , ‘grindless‘ (thanks once again to the microplaner), & delicious! More so, very very simple.

Off to Sra’s ‘Grindless Gravies’ …nice one to share!

This is a ‘curry on the bone’, traditionally slow cooked for 3 hours or more, where the juices are slowly released & the flavours mature. My energy conservation mode kicked in, & much as I would have loved to slow cook it, I reached for the pressure cooker. Couldn’t bring myself to use ‘so much energy’ for an hour of eating pleasure!! Coming back to the point…the resultant dish, cooked very differently from other lamb curries, tasted great. This ‘grindless‘ gravy has a deep red, thick gravy…just like a curry should be. Try it…you won’t be disappointed!

A spoonful of flavour…

The recipe as adapted by me, with Meeso in mind, who loves lamb curries!

Ingredients :

Lamb leg pieces (nalli) – 750 gms (nalli means marrow bones)
Onion – 3 large / sliced fine
Garlic – 10 cloves / grated fine
Ginger – 1½ inch piece / grated fine
Oil – 1/2 cup
Bay leaves – 2
Green cardamom – 2
Black cardamom – 1
Cloves – 5-6
Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
Pepper corns – 5-6
Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Paprika (degi mirch) – 1 tbsp (for colour basically)
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Tomato puree – 1/2 cup
Yogurt – 1 cup
Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Method:

Clean and wash lamb leg pieces (nalli).
Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Add green cardamoms, black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, bay leaves and sliced onions.
Sauté until onions are light pink in colour.
Add ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder, coriander powder and cook for one minute.
Add lamb pieces. Stir and cook for three minutes on medium heat.
Add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Cook under pressure for 20 minutes, until lamb pieces are almost cooked.
Beat tomato puree and yogurt and add to the cooked nalli.
Add salt and garam masala powder and cook covered for ten minutes.
Serve hot with hot chappatis.
Note: While selecting cuts for this dish, make sure that you select lamb pieces with lots of bone marrow.

Serve hot with chapatis, naan or tandoori rotis. Rice is also most welcome! Tastes great the next day, if there’s any left over, that is. Ours was history!!

P.S. We served smoked aloo gobhi & aloo methi on the side .

“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.”

Erma Bombeck

Traditional Indian Desserts…KHEER / RICE PUDDING

Here’s one of our great Indian desserts, quite similar to the English rice pudding, & much loved in our part of the world. The earlier recipe for rice pudding that I posted a while ago doesn’t use condensed milk; this one does, and tastes very rich & creamy too. It is a popular egg less dessert, & a great way to finish off a meal. I find the freshly grated nutmeg gives this a warm and comforting flavour. The raisins & almonds are quite optional, & one, or both, can be given the miss if need be.

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup (washed & dried)
Milk – 1 ½ ltrs (whole milk)
Condensed Milk – 1 can / 400ml
Saffron strand – 1 pinch
Green Cardamom – 5-6/ seeds crushed in pestle & mortar
Nutmeg – 1/4 tsp / freshly grated
Raisins – 1 handful
Almonds – 1 handful / without skin
Sugar if required

Method:

Grind the rice in a coffee grinder.
Bring the milk to a boil, and then simmer it for 30 minutes.
Add the condensed milk, stirring it constantly while pouring it in.
Soak the saffron strands & cardamom seeds in a tbsp of warm milk.
Mix the rice powder in ¼ cup of cold milk.
Stir the rice into the simmering milk, stir continuously to avoid lumps getting formed, & bring to a boil.
Now once again leave to simmer until rice is cooked, and the kheer/pudding has thickened, like a thick batter consistency. Stir occasionally.
Add the freshly grated nutmeg + raisins + almonds and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add sugar if required. I find that the condensed milk adds enough sweetness of its own.
Cool till lukewarm, and then set in a big serving bowl, or individual bowls.
Chill well, for at least 4-5 hours, or overnight, before serving.
Note: Amount of rice required may differ due to starch content in different varieties. If it becomes too thick, thin it down with extra milk. If it is still too thin ( will thicken a bit & set as it cools down), add a tsp on cornflour in a tbsp of cold milk, and give it a boil. Should do the trick!
Serves 8-10

This dessert can be made a day in advance, and the work can be further reduced if you grind the rice a couple of days before.I’m late & not feeling good at all. Anna at Morsels & Musings had a blog event for “special occasion food”. I did so want to send this one in because its a nice pudding, which has easily available ingredients, & is a hit with family and friends. Sadly, I missed the bus ‘ coz I muddled up the dates. :0(….will send it in anyway, just so Anna knows I tried!

‘Special Occasion Indian Food’…the Kheer or Rice Pudding!

Tag: festive food fair

‘NALLI GOSHT’…A lamb curry on the bone & a ‘grindless gravy’ at that!

KHEER / INDIAN RICE PUDDING…Special Occasion Food

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