Recipes: Ek Handi Ka Dal Chawal, Zaali Cutlets

What differentiates Ismaili cuisine from other Gujarati cuisines?

Gujarati Khoja or Ismaili dishes are delicious because of certain unique traditional methods:

• Adding a smoky flavour using charcoal.
• The use of preserved hara or green masala.
• Incorportaing fried onions after drying them in the sun.

"Khoja comes from the word Khwaja, which means businessmen. Mostly our community people are into business and they are mostly from Gujarat," explains Nargis Mithani, an exponent of Khoja cuisine and the author of a cookbook, Tried & Tasted on her food.

Nargis tells Adrika Anand, "Our ancestors are from Gujarat, and from there migrated to Africa and then to the UK, USA and Canada. Our food is a little different from Mughlai food."

"It doesn't have the rich, kaju, creamy stuff, because we are basically from Gujarat. So, our food has got an Gujarati influence. But it is not sweet like Gujarati food. It is essentially a combination of Mughlai, but basically Gujarati food."

Masoor Pulau (red lentil rice), Ek Handi Ka Dal Chawal, Dudhiwali Dal (lentils with bottle gourd), Dahi Ki Kadhi (yoghurt curry) are typical Khoja dishes. Muthiya, which is a preparation of mixed vegetables with bajra atta or millet dumplings made with methi ki dachi (fenugreek seeds), is a typical winter food. As is Lehsan Ka Laddus which is actually laddus with jaggery and garlic in it.

Nargis offers her recipe for the one-pot, lentil-rice Ek Handi Ka Dal Chawal and Zaali Cutlets made from mince.

Ek Handi Ka Dal Chawal

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• 2 cups toor dal or yellow split peas or pigeon peas
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp green chilly paste
• 1½ tbsp red chilly powder
• 1 tbsp jeera or cumin powder
• 8-10 black peppercorns
• 5-6 green elaichi or cardamom
• 8-10 lavang or cloves
• 3 tsp shah jeera or black cumin
• 3 pieces dalcheeni or cinnamon
• Salt
• Few curry leaves
• 2 potatoes
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 4 kokum, washed, soaked in water
• 5-6 pods garlic, peeled, chopped garlic
• ¼ tsp yellow colour soaked in water or saffron
• 3 cups rice
• 2 onions, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp haldi or turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp brown dhania or coriander powder 
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp besan or chickpea/gram flour, soaked in water
• Handful green dhania or fresh coriander leaves or cilantro, chopped
• Oil for deep frying the sliced onions and for the seasoning
• ¼ cup ghee
• Water

Method

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a kadhai or frying pan and deep fry the sliced onions till golden brown to prepare the birista.
  Keep aside.
• Wash the toor dal.
  Keep aside to soak for at least 2 hours.
• Peel the potatoes and cut into large pieces.
  Keep aside.
• Wash the rice.
  Keep aside to soak for 30 minutes.
• In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a boil over high heat.
  Add 1½ tsp salt, few black peppercorns, 1-2 cardamom, 1-2 cloves.
  Parboil the rice, take off heat and drain off the water.
• Keep aside.

For the dal preparation:

• Bring 1 litre water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.
  Add 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp turmeric powder.
  Now add the soaked toor dal and boil over medium heat till the dal is cooked but not overcooked.
  Take off heat and drain the cooked dal but keep both the dal and its stock/water aside.
• Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a large saucepan or a kadhai over medium heat.
  Add 1 tsp of the shah jeera, curry leaves, chopped garlic and 1 tsp of the  green chilly paste.
  Add ½ tbsp each of the red chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder.
  Sauté for a few minutes.
  Add the dal stock and stir in the gram flour paste.
  Stir continuously and bring to boil.
  Take off heat and add the soaked kokum.
  Add the chopped coriander leaves.
  Keep aside, warm.

For the rice preparation:

• Heat ½ cup oil in a kadhai over medium heat.
  Add a few black peppercorns, 1-2 cardamom, 1-2 cloves, 1 tsp of the shah jeera.
  Then add the potatoes and fry for 5 minutes or till transparent and three-fourth cooked.
  Next add the chopped onions and fry till transparent.
  Add the chopped tomatoes, ginger paste, garlic paste, remaining green chilly paste.
  Add the turmeric powder, about 1 tsp salt, the remaining red chilly powder, the remaining coriander powder, the remaining cumin powder.
  Add a little water and continue cooking till the oil floats to the top.
  Add the partly-cooked dal.
  Mix well and cook for a 5-6 minutes.
  Take off heat and keep aside.

Layering

• In a large saucepan or handi, spread some of the parboiled rice at the bottom.
  Evenly spread some of the dal-potato masala mixture.
  Spread remaining rice.
  Spread the birista on top of the rice.
  Pour in the yellow colour solution.
• In a small frying pan, heat ¼ cup oil, ¼ cup ghee over medium heat.
  Add the remaining 1 tsp shah jeera seeds, the remaining whole garam masala, fry a few seconds, take off heat and pour over the rice.
  Cover, seal (using maida or aata around the edges of the handi)  and cook dum for 5 minutes first over high heat and then over low heat for 15 minutes.
  Take off heat and serve with the seasoned dal stock.

Zaali Cutlets

Servings: 12 cutlets

Ingredients

• ½ kg mutton keema or mince
• ½ tbsp ginger paste
• 1 ½ tbsp green chilly paste
• 1 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
• Salt to taste, about 1 tsp
• ¼ cup chopped green dhania or fresh coriander leaves or cilantro
• 3-4 eggs
• 2 tbsp water
• Oil for deep frying the cutlets
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp red chilly powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 6-8 slices bread
• Lemon wedges, for serving
• Ketchup, for serving

Method

• Wash and completely drain the keema.
  Add in the salt, garam masala, cumin, 1 tbsp oil, coriander leaves, mint leaves, ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilly paste.
• Crumble the bread slices in a mixer and grind and add the bread to the keema mixture.
  Mix well and keep aside for at least 1 hour.
• Divide the mixture into 8-10 medium-sized balls.
  Roll the meatball in the bread crumbs and with your hands flatten to form 3-inch diameter flat circle.
  Repeat for the rest.
• Beat the eggs with the salt, 2 tbsp water, red chilly powder.
  Keep aside.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a deep kadhai.
  Gently lift the cutlet and dip in the egg batter and transfer to a saucer or a small plate.
  Tilt the saucer to slide the cutlet in the oil, scattering first the egg batter in the centre of the hot oil and immediately slide the cutlet from the saucer on to the frying egg.
  Fry over medium heat, swirling hot oil over the cutlet so the egg on the top surface gets cooked too.
  Fry for a minute and then flip over.
  Drain the cutlet from the oil and place it in a sieve to drain off the extra oil.
  Repeat for the balance cutlets.
• Serve with ketchup and/or lemon wedges.

Nargis' Note: Ensure sufficient bread is added to the cutlet dough. Reducing the bread content in the cutlet will make the cutlet shrink in size, resulting in thick, chewy cutlets.

• REDIFF FOOD