DIVINE FLAVOURS OF INDIA

Recipes have been prepared by Farhad Hossain, Chef, Khana Khazana

Shaam Savera

Ingredients

Main elements

Spinach

5 tomatoes 

65g grated paneer (cottage cheese)

Salt to taste

Cardamom powder, a pinch

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds 

10-12 garlic cloves, finely chopped

6-7 green chilli, finely chopped

4 tbsp gram flour (besan) 

¼ tsp turmeric powder 

¼ cup cornflour/corn starch

Makhni gravy

18 large tomatoes, roughly chopped 

2 tbsp oil 

1 tsp garam masala

20 garlic cloves, chopped 

Salt to taste

2½ red chilli powder

½ cup butter 

3 tsp honey 

8 tbsp fresh cream 

Procedure (Preparation)

Blanch the spinach leavesin boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Soak them in cold water, squeeze out the excess water, and chop finely. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a non-stick shallow pan, add cumin, garlic, green chillies, gram flour, and sauté the mix for 1-2 minutes. Add turmeric and spinach.Stir until the mixture is dry. In a bowl, mash the paneer with a little salt and cardamom powder. Roll the paneer into balls.Take a portion of spinach, flatten it on your palm, place a paneer ball in the centre, and shape into a ball. Rollthe balls in corn starch.Heat oil in a deep non-stick pan and gently slide them in.Deep fry on low heat till golden brown. For the makhni gravy,first pressure cook the tomatoes with salt and red chilli powder, then purée them. Heat butter with garlic paste and water in a pan. Add the puree and cook with garam masala, honey, and sugar. Add cream and cook for 2 more minutes. Pour the gravy onto a serving dish, halve the koftas and place them on top. Serves 4.

Raan Buzzakazi

Ingredients

1000g whole mutton leg

50g garlic

50g ginger

25g Kashmiri chilli powder

20g coriander powder

20g cumin powder

25g kebab masala

20g cardamom powder

25g black salt

25g white salt

50g mustard oil

30g green papaya paste

20g cream

20g ghee

20g butter

5g shahi jeera

Garam masala (bay leaf, cinnamon, black and green cardamom, mace, cloves)

Procedure (Preparation)

Marinate the mutton in garlic, ginger, green papaya paste, salt, Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, cardamom powder, kebab masala and mustard oil. Heat some soybean oil in a deep saucepan and add the garam masala blend, ginger and garlic. Curry the mutton for a few minutes and add water as required. Steam for a minimum of 2 hours,before removing it from the saucepan. Keep heating the stock until it thickens into a gravy. De-bone the mutton. Roast the shahi jeera in soybean oil till its turns brown and add the gravy. Mix the gravy with the boneless mutton, and sprinkle Kashmiri chilli powder and kebab masala over it. Heat the ghee with cream and pour over the mutton. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.