Mutton Khichda to Dahi Vadas: Home-made, but street style

Missing the Ramzan delicacies that would dot the city roads? Home chefs help you recreate the same for you, including the delicious and local Dahi Vada

HYDERABAD : Not just the rozedaars, but food lovers irrespective of religion are missing their favourite delicacies this Ramzan. The enticing, mouth-watering street food, and crowd favourites such as Haleem and biryani have gone off menu of many a food lover due to the closed markets.Sindhu Ghodse, who lives in Begumpet with her family, shared her frustration. “My whole family eagerly awaits Ramzan for the yummy delicacies. I called my Muslim neighbour for the recipe and made chicken Haleem at home. It wasn’t a bad attempt,” she gloats. 

With the lockdown turning novices to star-chefs, we at Express, get home chefs to share their family recipes that are not just easy to cook, but will rival the taste of many a popular food joint.Make these popular dishes at home, and continue to enjoy the flavours of the month. 

Talbina

Talbina is an anti-depressant porridge made with barley, milk and honey. It is best eaten in the morning on an empty stomach. It is high in calcium and iron. Ideal for sehri in Ramzan as it is cooling and energy giving. 

Ingredients

•  litre milk
•  100 gm barley
•  8-9 dates deseeded & chopped
•  2 tbps each of cashew, almond, pista chopped.
•  1 tbps Kishmish 
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp honey or more as per taste

Method

• Boil the milk, stirring from time to time. Add the dates. 
• Pre-soaked barley can be added to the boiling milk, but since it takes long, I prefer to cook the barley with little water in a container in the pressure cooker. Once cooked add it to the milk. 
• You have to stir off and on otherwise the milk will stick to the pan and give a burnt taste. Add the dry fruits and cook till the desired thickness of porridge. 
• Lastly add raisins, honey and cardamom powder. Sir and remove from the stove. Garnish with dry fruits. 
• Ayte Badar Malak, 64, homemaker

Kache Gosht ki Dum Biryani

(Serves 5-6) Needs no introduction

Ingredients

• 1 kg Basmati Rice
• 1 kg Mutton
•  6 tbsps Ghee
•  6 tbsps Oil
•  3 medium sized onion- sliced and deep fried (golden brown)
• First marinade- 2 tbsps adrak-lehsun paste, salt 
•  Second marinade- 3” slice of raw papaya, 8-10 green chilies, 1 tsp black pepper powder all ground together in a paste
• 250 gm curd
• Salt as per taste, 1 tsp each of turmeric and red chilli powder 
•  1 cup each of finely chopped coriander and mint leaves, 2-3 tbsps-lemon juice
•  To be added while cooking-
• ½ tbsp Shahzeera, 4-5 nos cinnamon sticks, 1 1/2 tsp -cardamom powder
• 1 cup/200ml milk, 3-4 strands Kesar, 1 small piece mace ground/powdered

Method

•  Marinade mutton in adrak-lehsun paste and salt (two hours before cook time).
•  Fry onions in a mixture of oil and ghee. Save this oil-ghee mixture for later use. Keep aside the fried onions on a tissue to drain excess oil and to ensure crisp fried onions.
•  Soak rice 
• (one hour before cook time)
•  For the second marinade, add the following to the mutton (one hour before cook time): Curd, papaya paste, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, crumble half of fried onions into the marinade, lemon juice, coriander and mint. Top the marinade with a tablespoon of the warm oil-ghee mixture and mix well. Keep aside for one hour.
•  Take water (two times the quantity of rice) in a large heavy bottomed vessel and add soaked rice to it. Add shahzeera, cinnamon, cardamom powder, a table spoon of oil-ghee mixture and salt to it. Let it come to a boil. After the rice is one-third cooked, drain out the water in a bowl. Empty the rice to another bowl. 
• In the same vessel, add two tablespoons of oil-ghee mixture. Add a thin layer of rice at the bottom of the vessel, then add the mutton mixture. Top it with another layer of the cooked rice.
•  In a cup of warm milk, mix powdered mace and kesar strands. Add this mixture on top of the rice.
•  Add 1 ½ cup of the water (water drained from the boiled rice).
•  Add a final layer of rice and sprinkle the left over fried onions on top of it.
•  Cover the lid with a thick moist cloth and place some heavy object on the lid to create the dum.
• Let it cook on high heat till you see vapour coming out of the sides of the lid. Simmer for 10 minutes and let it cook.
• Open the lid only when you intend to serve it.

- Halima Ali, 76, home maker

Besan Dahi Vadas

It is a local Hyderbadi delicacy made with chickpea flour batter 

Ingredients for vadas 

•  1 cup besan (chickpea flour), sieved
•  ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
•  ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
•  Salt to taste
•  Water as required for batter
• Oil for deep frying

For soaking:
 2 cups warm water
 1 tsp salt
For topping:

• 2 cups curd (increase if you want more)
•  2 tbsp sugar
•  1 tsp salt
•  2 tbps chopped mint 
•  ½ tbps chopped green chilles,
• 3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
•  1/2 cup water 
• Tadka 
• Curry leaves 
• Mustard seeds 
•  Green chilles 
• Oil

Garnishing 
Chaat masala and red chilli powder as required. Sweet Tamarind chutney as required
Method

• Whisk the besan with all the dry ingredients. Add water little by little and make a thick batter, which can be dropped by spoonfuls. Set aside for 60 minutes.
• Heat oil for deep frying. Drop a little of the batter to check if it is hot enough – if the batter sizzles and pushes up, it is ready to fry. Drop spoonfuls and fry the sides till golden brown. Set aside on a kitchen towel to drain the oil. 
• Mix salt into the warm water and soak the fried vadas . Keep for around 5 minutes. Squeeze out excess water and keep on a dish.
• Whisk the curd with sugar, salt, chopped mint, corriander, and green chillies. Dip the vadas in the dahi mix and add tadka with curry leaves, mustard seeds and green chillies.
• Sprinkle all the other toppings over the curd. Serve immediately.

-Zehra Anwar, 43, lawyer

Mutton Khichda 

is a Bohra Muslim dish, a variation of Haleem. Haleem is cooked until meat blends with lentils, while in khichda chunks of meat remain. 

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 onions finely sliced
•  1/4 kg broken wheat
•  1 tsp oil  l 1 cup mix of daal (urad + masoor + chana + toor + moong)
• 1/2 kg mutton with bone
•  3-4 tsp coriander powder
•  2 tsp cumin powder
•  2 tsp garam masala
•  1 tsp turmeric powder
•  1 tsp red chilli powder
•  1 tsp meat masala
•  Whole garam masala (2 green cardamom, 1black cardamom, 1’ cinnamon, 4 cloves, 5 pepper corns, 2 bay leaves)
• l 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp ginger- garlic-green chilli paste
• l Handful of coriander and mint leaves
• l 2 tbsp pure ghee
• l Chopped coriander and mint+lemon wedges+ ginger julienne for garnishing.

Method

• Soak wheat in a vessel and mix pulses in another vessel, overnight.
• Cook the soaked wheat with double amount of water +1/3 tsp turmeric+salt+1 tsp oil for four whistles on medium low flame. Keep aside. When cooled, mash it (don’t grind it to paste, it should be little coarse)
• Meanwhile, brown 2 onions for garnishing. Brown them on medium high flame. Cook the soaked mix pulses in the same cooker with salt and 1/3 tsp turmeric. Mash and keep aside.
• Take mutton+1 tsp ginger-garlic-green chilli paste+1 tsp coriander powder +whole garam masalas+ salt+1 tsp red chilli powder. Cook till done. Discard the whole garam masala and keep aside.
• Take a big vessel. Add oil and add 1 sliced onion and saute till golden, add the ginger-garlic-green chilli paste. Saute till raw smell goes and mix well. Add the coriander and mint leaves. Add the remaining masalas coriander powder, turmeric, cumin powder, meat masala, garam masala, salt and saute till oil comes out. Add the mutton pieces and saute well, add the stock and add the wheat and pulses and mix well. add 1 lemon juice.
• Add a cup of water and cook on slow till all mix well.
•  Garnish with pure ghee, mint, coriander, onions, ginger julienne and lemon wedges.

 -Zehra Anwar,  43, lawyer

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