ANGLO-INDIAN LAMB / MUTTON BIRYANI

ANGLO-INDIAN LAMB / MUTTON BIRYANI

Serves 6    Preparation time 1 hour

Ingredients

1 kg Basmati Rice or any other long grained Rice …wash and soak for about 1 hour

1 kg Mutton / Lamb or Beef cut into fairly big pieces

3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons all spice powder or garam masala

3 large tomatoes chopped

3 small sticks of cinnamon, 3 cloves, 3 cardamoms

2 cups oil or ghee

Salt to taste

6 green chilies slit lengthwise

3 tablespoons ginger garlic paste

2 teaspoons chillie powder

3 large onions sliced finely           

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

½ cup fresh mint leaves

3 tablespoons curds / yogurt

Wash the meat and marinate with the spice powder, green chillies, curds, half the quantity of ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder for half an hour.

Heat the oil or ghee in a large vessel and add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, remaining ginger garlic paste and onions and sauté for some time. Add the chopped tomatoes, mint leaves and chillie powder and simmer till the oil separates from the mixture and the tomatoes are reduced to pulp. Add the marinated meat and salt and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pieces and keep aside. Now add sufficient water to the gravy in the vessel so as to get about 7 glasses of liquid. Add the rice and cook till half done. Now add the cooked meat and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for a few more minutes till all the liquid evaporates and the Biryani is done.
Serve with Curd Chutney or Pilaf (palau) Chutney

PALAU CHUTNEY OR CURD CHUTNEY

Ingredients

2 tablespoons roughly ground coconut paste

2 green chilies

2   medium size onions chopped finely

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lime juice

½ teaspoon sugar

½ cup curds or yogurt

Mix all the ingredients together and serve as an accompaniment for Biryani or Palau.

LAMB / MUTTON POT ROAST

LAMB / MUTTON POT ROAST

Serves 6   Preparation time 1 hour

Ingredients

A 2 kg chunk of lamb or mutton or 1 whole leg of lamb / mutton

3 large potatoes boiled and peeled

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 teaspoons pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 inch pieces of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the lamb / mutton leg and make deep cuts on it. Rub it well all over with the salt, pepper, turmeric and vinegar.  Place it in a big oven proof dish or pressure cooker along with the butter and cinnamon and braise it by frying on high heat for some time till the meat turns a light brown. Add sufficient water and cook on medium heat till the meat is tender. Continue roasting turning from side to side, till the meat is nice and brown. Add the potatoes and roast well.  Serve hot or cold with bread and steamed vegetables.

The lamb / mutton / leg of lamb could also be roasted in an oven using the same recipe.

(NOTE: The turmeric helps in giving it a lovely shade of brown. Add 2 broken red chillies while roasting if more pungency is required )

BONE PEPPER WATER

Bone Pepper Water is also known as Breast Bone Pepper water since mostly the soft peices of meat and bones from the breast portion is used in its preparation. Bone pepper water is actually a spicier version of Mulligatawny Soup.

Serves 6   preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg soup bones and pieces of meat preferably from the breast portion

2 teaspoons cumin powder                    

1 teaspoons chillie powder                  

1 teaspoon pepper powder                   

2 teaspoons coriander powder              

½ teaspoon turmeric powder                

2 large onions chopped                        

2 large tomatoes chopped

Salt to taste                                            

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

½ cup tamarind juice                             

 ½ cup coconut paste or coconut milk (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Cook all the above ingredients with about 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker first on high heat then on low for ½ an hour till the meat and bones are soft and the pepper water is quite thick. Season with mustard, curry leaves and chopped onion. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with plain rice and any chutney.

The 3 Most Important Ingredients used in Anglo-Indian Cooking – Vinegar, Ginger and Garlic Paste and Oil

The 3 Most Important Ingredients used in Anglo-Indian Cooking – Vinegar, Ginger and Garlic Paste and Oil

1. As far as possible use White Non-Fruit Vinegar in Vindaloo and other dishes calling for Vinegar. Fruit Vinegars such Apple cider Vinegar, coconut vinegar, etc would give our Anglo-Indian Vindaloo a completely different taste.

2. To get the authentic Anglo-Indian Curry taste while using the recipes in my books, use ginger and garlic paste that is ground at home in a blender using fresh root ginger and garlic. The ready made ginger and garlic paste available in stores around the world contain preservatives and other ingredients that detract from the original taste of the Curry giving it a completely different flavour.  

If fresh home made ginger and garlic paste is not available, then Garlic Powder can be used instead of fresh garlic. 1 teaspoon of garlic powder is equal to a whole garlic, so half a teaspoon would suffice. Ginger powder too can be substituted for fresh ginger. 1 teaspoon of dry ginger powder mixed with ¼ cup of water is equal to 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger paste, so half a teaspoon of ginger powder would be equal to 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger paste.

3. Any good cooking oil could be used in the preparation of these dishes such as Sun flower Oil, groundnut Oil or even Olive Oil depending on one’s preference.

All the Recipes in my Books are for 6 generous servings. If cooking for a smaller or larger number, the quantities should be adjusted accordingly. Likewise, the pungency of the dishes could be reduced by reducing the amount of chillie powder and other seasonings according to individual tastes.

CHICKEN LIVER PEPPER FRY

CHICKEN LIVER PEPPER FRY

Serves 6    Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg chicken liver cut into pieces      

2 large onions sliced finely

2 or 3 teaspoons ground pepper                            

2 green chillies slit

Salt to taste                                                              

3 tablespoons oil

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

Wash the chicken livers well.  Boil them with a little water and salt till done. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions till golden brown.  Add the cooked gizzards and liver together with the slit green chillies, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt and keep frying on low heat till dry and brown