Mutton Pulao - Pakistani Style spice infused Mutton Pilaf

Muslims all over the world are getting ready to celebrate Eid this coming week. Every household has its own Eid traditions in Pakistan. Those of us who live away from Pakistan try to continue those traditions to ensure our kids stay connected to our culture. Eid ul Azha or Bari Eid as it is called in Pakistan is centered around food and family. This Eid is a bit more stressful because of the involvement of qurbani or animal sacrifice. Those who are incharge of qurbani at home, understand the preparation needed to buy animals for this ritual and arrange for the help needed for qurbani. Whichever day a household chooses to do qurbani is a chaotic one in the kitchen. The BBQs and the roasted raans – leg of lamb surely follow in the days ahead.

Eid is also the time to include the less fortunate ones in our celebration and remember those who are no longer with us.

I am sharing my favorite recipe of Mutton pulao. This pulao is beautifully flavored and deliciously fragrant. The stock is the key ingredient in this pulao. Stock can be prepared a night before, which can significantly reduce cooking time on a very busy day. Eid Mubarak to everyone! Here is the recipe.

Ingredients for Mutton Stock

Mutton – 1 kilo

Onions – 6 medium – sliced

Bay Leaves – 2-3

Ginger – 2 inch

Garlic – 6 large cloves whole

Cinnamon – 2 inch

Peppercorns – 1 tbsp

Cloves – 12-14

Black Cardamom – 5

Cumin – 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp.

Salt – 2 tsp (adjust to taste later while cooking rice)

Oil – 5 tbsp

Water – 6-7 cups

Stock- Procedure :

1. Use a stockpot to make the stock. Heat oil in the pan and fry diced onions till brown.
2. Add ginger garlic and fry for about a minute till they get a bit of color.
3. Add mutton and fry on high heat till it changes color on all sides.
4. Add all the spices and fry for a minute or 2.
5. Add 6-7 cups of water and salt. Once it comes to a boil lower the heat and cover the pan. The stock should simmer on low heat for 55-70 mins or till the meat is cooked perfectly.

Once done, let the stock cool. Strain it and separate the meat. Use the stock as per your requirement and save the rest to use for next matar pulao. I was using all of the cooked meat but the stock was more than what I needed so I froze the rest for later use.

 Ingredients for Pulao/Pilaf

 

Basmati Rice - 1/2 kgs - 2 cups ( will feed 3 people)

Onion - 1 medium - diced

Green Chili – 1

Cinnamon – 1 inch
Cumin – 1tsp
Peppercorn – 12 whole
Black Cardamom - 2
Cloves – 6-8
Mutton Stock (Including the cooked meat)– 2 ½ to 3 cups for 2 cups of soaked rice.
Salt - to taste. Be careful as the stock already has salt.
Oil – 2 tbsp

Pulao/Pilaf - Procedure:

1. Wash and soak the rice for atleast an hour before making the pulao.
2. Add 2 table spoons of oil in a pan and fry the onions till brown.
3. Add all the dry spices and cook for about a minute.
4. Add 2 ½ cups of stock along with the meat and let it boil.
5. Add 2 whole green chilies. I love the fragrance they add to the rice. You can eliminate it if you wish.
6. Drain the rice and add to the hot stock. Let the rice simmer over medium heat for about 5-8 mins. Once 1/4^th of the stock is remaining, put the rice on dum/steaming.
7. I use a hot griddle over the open flame or over electric stove. Seal the pan with aluminum foil and cover tightly with a lid, Put the sealed pan over the hot griddle over low heat. Add a bit of weight on the top to stop the steam from escaping. Use minimum heat setting/low flame for steaming.
8. The rice should be done in about 10-12 mins. Remove from heat and open the pan carefully as it would have tons of seam inside.
9. Mix the rice and fluff them. Let them sit for about 5-7 mins before serving hot.

This pulao serves well with yogurt raita or mint chutney, coupled with shami kebabs or potato cutlets.

Nargisi Koftay - Pakistani Style Curried Scotch Eggs

Ramzan is finally over! Phew! We are celebrating Eid in far east on Monday. Fasting in peak summer is a real test of faith as well as of one’s endurance. My inquisitive non-Muslim friends often ask me, how we Muslims survive the long testing hours of fasting without food and water and soaring temperatures? I am not sure they believe me when I tell them it’s a mix of practice and unreserving faith that makes us get through very tough days of fasting and sleep deprivation.

Now that ramzan is over, it’s that time of the year when we feast (read: over eat). Eid menus are planned out days ahead and tons of sweet and savory delicacies line up the dinner tables and tea trollies. At ammi’s house, there was a bit of set menu for Eid ul Fitar.  Breakfast will always have boiled vermicelli served with hot milk. Abbu liked having a bowl of it before heading for Eid namaz.  Dessert will be either Sheer Khurma or a dense milky Kheer – rice pudding. Haleem is always a non-negotiable which is prepared a day ahead of Eid. The tea trolley will be decked with savory spicy channa chaat and some gulab jamans. All guests coming to the house will enjoy all of these things for 2-3 days of Eid, meaning ammi will prepare these things in large quantities. Fresh channa chaat will be made every day and will be served with lemonade or tea.

For Eid lunch, there would be a pulao, a kofta curry for sure and some special chicken dish of hers. I don’t remember eating nargasi koftas at home a lot, but they were cooked only on very special occasions or for some very special guests. I am sharing my recipe of Nargisi koftas that fits Eid festival perfectly.

Eid Mubarak to everyone back home! Please don’t forget to include the less fortunate ones in our festivities and especially remember nearly one million people displaced from their homes as Pakistan fights the battle for its survival. Let’s hope that tomorrow will be a better day!

Ingredients for Koftay- Scotch Eggs

Minced beef – ½ kg

Chickpea lentil - Channa Daal – ½ cup – soaked overnight

Garlic 5-6 cloves

Ginger – 2 inch

Onion – 1 medium sized (chopped)

Green Chilies – 2 medium sized

Water - 1 ½ cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Eggs – 2

Dry Spices:

Whole Cloves – 8

Whole black Peppercorn – 10

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

Black Cardamom – 2

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp heaped

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp heaped

Whole dried red chilies – 3 - Round  

Egg – 1 for coating

Oil – 1 cup – for deep frying

Eggs – 8 (hard boiled)

Ingredients for curry

Onions – 3 Large

Tomatoes – 2 medium sized

Ginger/Garlic paste – 1 tsp

Water – 1 cup

Oil – 6 tbsp

Dry Spices:

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp heaped - Crushed

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp heaped - Crushed

Whole black peppercorn -6

Cloves – 5

Black Cardamom – 1

Green Cardamom pods – 3

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

Yogurt – 1/3 cup

Koftay - Scotch Eggs : Make this mixture a day ahead.

1. Dry roast all the spices and grind them in a spice mill.
2. Add minced beef, ginger, garlic, green chilies, onion, channa lentil, ground spices, salt and water in a pan. Cook it over medium heat for 45 mins till the water dries up and the lentil is fully cooked. Let it cool down completely.
3. Add the cooked minced meat to a food processor. Add 2 eggs, 1 medium green chili and grind everything finely. Store it in a sealed container overnight in the fridge.
4. Next day: Wrap hard boiled eggs in the minced meat.
5. Coat it with a lightly beaten egg and deep fry on high heat.
6. Brown the koftas carefully. While frying, do not touch them unless needed as they can crumble and break, remove on kitchen paper.

Curry :

1. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry onions till translucent. Add ginger/ garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 mins on high heat. Add a cup of water and boil. 
3. Blend the onions & tomatoes in to a fine paste in a liquidizer.
4. Heat the remaining 3 tbsp of oil in the same pan and fry the dry spice.
5. Add the paste to the oil and cook till water dries up and oil comes out on the side. Be careful as the water dries up, boiling hot bubbles can burn your hands. Cover the pan as the water dries up.
6. Add yogurt and cook till water dries up.
7. Add 2 ½ cups of water and let it come to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer till oil comes out on the top.

Serving: Ladle the hot curry in a serving dish. Cut the fried koftas in half and arrange them on the curry. Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve it with homemade flat bread – chappati or Naan.

Mutton Dum Piyaza

Each Eid reminds me of the happy Eids I celebrated as a kid at my maternal grandparent’s house in Rawalpindi some 20 or more years ago. It was the hustle and bustle a day before Eid which I found more exciting. Being the eldest grandchild, I believed my job was the most important one.  Which was to make sure that the Mehndi – Henna was prepared well in advance by nagging ammi & khalas (maternal aunts).  Mind you this was not the instant cone mehndi era. A lot of time and effort was put in preparing dry Mehndi with brewed tea and mustard oil. It was left to sit for hours before it could be applied on the hands.

The kitchen was the most happening & exciting place where Haleem and Kheer was prepared a day before Eid. 6-8 kilos of Kheer – Rice pudding was prepared on the outdoor firewood stove as the big cooking pan - Daighcha (Similar to a Giant stock pot) was too big to fit on the conventional gas stoves in Barri Ammi’s (Nani – Maternal Grandmother) kitchen. The Kheer would take 5-6 hours of physical labor to become thick, creamy and gently pink in color. The trick to perfect Kheer was to stir it constantly for 6 hours to ensure it does not get burnt at the bottom of the pan spoiling the taste and smell of Kheer. That much labor was not one man’s job. So ammi, Khalas, mamoos(maternal uncles), sheeda-the cook, Shayra- The cleaner, Jan Bhai – The driver and Mali Baba –the live in Gardener all took turns to stir the kheer for 6 hours. Barray Abbu(Nana – Maternal Grandfather) was the final authority & quality control to sign off on the Kheer before it was cooled, ladled in to serving bowls and decorated with silver leaf, slivered  almonds and pistachios.  

Those who contributed their muscle power in stirring the Kheer were the first ones to be offered to enjoy the Kheer on Eid day. I find myself smiling as I recall those cherished Eids I had spent at my grandparents’ house. Technically I should be sharing the recipe for that very Kheer but ET had asked me to write a savory, meaty post for Bakra Eid. Hence I am sharing the Mutton Dum Piyaza recipe from ammi’s Eid Menu which was a favorite of everyone and befits Eid Dastarkhuan perfectly.  The expat Pakistanis in Far East like me will celebrate Eid on Tuesday- 15th.  Eid Mubarak to everyone back home. Please pray for peace, stability and harmony to return to Pakistan and let’s not forget to include the less fortunate ones in our celebrations.

Cooking Utensil – Pressure cooker & a nonstick pan with lid. This dish is served best with Naan.

Ingredients:

Mutton – ½ kg

Onions – 3 Large - sliced

Tomatoes - 4 medium sized– chopped

Ginger paste – 1 tsp. Heaped

Garlic Paste – 1 Tsp. Heaped

Oil – 5 tbsps. (I prefer sunflower oil)

Cinnamon Sticks – 2 (1 ½ inch long)

Black Cardamom – 2 whole

Roasted cumin seeds (zeera) – 1 tsp. (Heaped - slightly crushed in pestle mortar).

Roasted whole coriander seeds – 1 tsp. (Heaped- slightly crushed in pestle mortar)

Dried red chilies whole – 4

Cloves – 6

Black Peppercorn – 8-10 (whole)

Salt – 1 tsp. (adjust to taste)

Water – 1 ½ cup

Garnish for Dum (steaming):

1 Large Onion – sliced in rings

2 Medium Tomatoes – sliced in rings

1 green chili thickly cut.

Ginger –Julienne – 1 tbsp.

Oil – 2 Tbsp.

Roasted Cumin seeds – 1 tsp. Heaped – crushed.

Method:

1. Heat 5 tbsps. of oil in a pressure cooker and add the mutton. Sauté it on high heat for 3-4 mins till it changes color on all sides.
2. Add ginger/garlic along with all the whole dried spices to the meat (Cumin, coriander, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, and cinnamon). Fry for 1-2 mins. Don’t let the garlic burn.
3. Add onions and fry them till they are translucent. No need to brown them. Deglaze the pan as per need with ¼ cup of water and cook the onions further. Ensure nothing gets burnt at the bottom.
4. Add salt and chopped tomatoes. Cook further for 1 minute. Add about a cup of water. Mix and put on the lid to pressure cook the meat. The meat I use takes about 15 mins of pressure cooking resulting in 3/4 of the meat tendering done. The rest is cooked in dum(steaming).
5. Once the pressure cooking has been done, remove the lid and check the tenderness of the meat. Once the meat is tender to your liking then proceed with shifting the meat and the liquid in to a nonstick pan to dry the water over high heat.
6. Watch out for the aggressive boiling bubbles jumping out of the boiling liquid. It will splatter on the stove and hands. Protect your hands, stove can be cleaned later.
7. Once ¾ of the liquid has dried, add 2 tbsps. of oil and cook further till all the water dries up and the oil comes out on the sides.
8. Lower the heat to the minimum. Now add layers of sliced onions, green chilies, Julienne ginger & tomato slices. Also sprinkle the crush cumin seeds.
9. Close the lid lightly and let the raw vegetables steam cook over low heat for 15-20 mins.
10. Open the pan and mix it. Serve it with a garnish of fresh coriander and green chili.
11. It pairs beautifully with Roghni Naan.