It works wonders when you wish to chug out of the chub rut: filling your plate with glorious greens and laying out the fibrous, anti-oxidant rich goodies for quick consumption round the clock. And when it comes to traditionally meaty domains such as Mughlai and Arabic cuisines, the popularity in ramping up the protein to effectively substitute the non-vegetarian elements is being met in more palatable ways than one.
Meeting the Challenge
Arabic cuisine is traditionally an amalgamantion of Mediterranean, Moroccan and Indian dishes. The celebrated lamb, veal and chicken in preparations is being nudged aside to work in the crunch and flavour in a different way. “I use the Indian cucumber as a main ingredient in fattoush salad,” says Mohanad Alshamali, Arabic Specialty Visiting Chef at JW Marriott in Mumbai.
“I always follow a basic pattern, which is to taste a raw vegetable and study what would be the apt spices and ingredients to make it taste best. Sauces like harissa, Moroccan sharmoula and fresh herbs and microgreens mixed with lemon juice rev up the vegetarian preparations.
Vegetables taste bland if not cooked well and need the right proportions of spices to bring out the flavours in the dishes is very essential. I love using virgin olive oil, cumin, coriander, and ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice.”
The idea is to move away from the rich heaviness that suffuses meaty affairs in lamb koftas, gosht biryani and non-vegetarian stews. “Try a spicier, crunchy renditions in Harra Potatoes, overcooked stick fries with a toss-in of bell peppers, olive oil and lemon juice sprinkle to enhance the flavours. It makes for an excellent side dish.
For mains, the flavourful vegetable tagine with cous cous is something to be savoured. Cous cous eliminates the heaviness of any dish, leaving it both aromatic and appetising,” adds says Alshamali. Toss in fried eggplant, zucchini and other veg genies your little heart desires and you are set for a hearty veg Arabic meal.
Culinary Renaissance
The trick lies in dodging the oil factor while retaining the freshness of the main ingredients. Mughlai spells a mouthwatering spread of murgh musallam, galouti kebabs, khatti machli, nihari, with a ghee-stroked, slow-cooked paste of vegetables, often paneer and hung curd making their way into the recipes to replace their meaty counterparts.
Says Executive Chef Amninder Sandhu of A Bar Called Life, in Mumbai, “The biggest challenge in preparing vegetarian Mughlai dishes lies in ensuring clean, straightforward flavours and allowing the vegetable to lend its taste without overpowering it with spices and nuts. Cardamom, saffron, curd, milk and mava are the vegetarian mainstays in non-meat Mughlai recipes.”
Minced rajma and grated and cooked bhey are appearing in versions of kebabs. “Nadru is also known as kamal kakri or bhey,” says Mukhtar Qureshi, Master Chef at Neel in suburban Mumbai. He picks the plain vegetable to create a sheer palate serenader. “I get the nadru from Kashmir. First, the kamal kakri is reduced to a very fine mince.
Then it is cooked on slow flame for three to four hours in milk. Sauted a bit with onions, nutmeg, cardamom—no spices from Mumbai are used. All the spices are from north India and freshly hand-pounded. Finally, the binding of the kebab is done using roast chana and mawa.” The hook is that in the first bite you can’t even tell whether the preparation carries any meat.
Variations abound. “Kathal ki shaami, prepared using the jackfruit, tastes delicious and just as good as non-veg shaami kebabs,” says Chef Sandhu. “The technique lies in the minimal use of ghee or oil in the making of the dishes and using fresh coriander and lemon juice in the finishing of the dishes. Gobhi Mussallam is another popular main dish for vegetarians in the Mughali line-up with its creamy subtle texture as a main dish.
Burrani raita brings in finesse to lend that edge to a spicy biryani, as a side dish. Cooking in mustard oil with shahi jeera brings in freshness to a dish. I made Badal Jaam in mustard oil with fried coriander leaves as garnish, together with fresh coriander in the yoghurt topping.”
So experiment and enjoy with flavourful pirouettes with the seasonal, fresh, and locally sourced vegetables.