Baba’s Baghdadi Mutton

Red onion is great. If you minus the lingering onion-breath and the tears it makes you shed when peeling and cutting. Growing up in Patna, every year the price of red onion would sky rocket during winters.

We are an onion-loving family! We love onions in everything. Raw, cooked, crisp-fried, or dunked in hearty stews. Onion inflation was a sore point in my Mum’s kitchen, like any middleclass housewife on budget cooking. Its another story though that that budget included gourmet meals pretty much every day.

One day in the middle of the onion price-rise, my Mum would announce – No onions from now in salads or jhalmuri. Its 80 rupees a kilo.

So?

In spite of her I-am-the-Tiger-Mom approach towards onions, we would still find slices of them in our salad or a good amount of it in her Mutton Do Pyaza. I still wonder why she even bothered with that onion embargo, with that feeble willpower when it came to serving onions to her family.

I don’t have my Mother’s Mutton Do Pyaza recipe today.
But what I do have is a simple, full of character goat meat dish. My Father-in-law’s actually. Its not one of those flashy recipes, where you can’t lay your hands on half the ingredients mentioned. It is basic, hearty and once you can crack it, you will be the most clever cook in town. And I am talking to kitchen virgins here who think cooking mutton is the most difficult thing.

To make good mutton, that fall-off-the-bones kind is the best thing I have learned in (slow) cooking. So here it is, Baba’s Baghdadi Mutton. Any relation with Iraq and this dish is highly doubtful. Just enjoy the name and the recipe.

Ingredients for  Baba’s Baghdadi Mutton are:

500 grams goat meat, bone in, cut into two inch pieces (no lean meat please, get meat with good marbling. I usually get the shoulder portion of a baby goat)
1 very large red onion, slivered thinly
300 grams plain yogurt
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 heaped tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
7-8 whole dry red chillies (I usually add about 20 since my husband and I have a high heat quotient, so adjust the heat accordingly, play safe if kids are eating)
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable or canola oil
Salt

For starters, get a large bowl, and marinate together the mutton, sliced red onions, yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, black pepper and the dry red chillies. Keep refrigerated overnight or on the counter for at least 5-6 hours.

Warm (not heat) oil in a thick pan, use the pressure (cooker) pan if you want to. Add the marinated mutton and coat well with the oil. Cover and cook, mixing and moving the mutton and spices for the next 40-50 minutes on low-medium heat.

You will see the mutton release its natural fat and juices as it comes close to being completely cooked. Add salt and a little water if needed. Move it around well. Do a taste test and remove from heat.

Serve the Baghdadi Mutton with a big garden salad (don’t forget the onions!) and phulkas/chapatis/ruti.

This is probably the quickest and easiest mutton dishes I have made. But no less tasty for that. Very few ingredients, simple flavours and takes you to a different direction of cooking mutton – with so little oil! Go try.

December’s Favorite – Clear Tomato Soup

December is one month we should all take advantage of Nature's bounty in baskets of red tomatoes everywhere.

But you will need only four large hothouse tomatoes for four cups of this Clear Tomato Soup. A delightful soul food I have grown up on. I don’t garnish the clear broth of tomato with croutons or elaborate herbs if I am drinking it straight from a cup, but if you do want to dress it up, I suggest herbs like fresh basil or even the humble coriander to be added only when you turn the heat off on the soup.

Ingredients for Clear Tomato Soup are:

4 large vine-ripened tomatoes, washed and quartered
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
2 beets (optional), halved
3-4 fat cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt

In a pressure cooker, toss in the tomatoes, garlic, beets, onion, pepper powder, sugar and salt. Add four-five cups of water. (I add the beets for an extra red color to my broth, if you don’t have them, omit them from your recipe.)

Cook till three-four whistles go off. Don’t rush opening the pressure cooker, let all the steam release on its own. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, cook the tomatoes in a stockpot with a tight lid on medium heat for about 20 minutes till the tomatoes are mushy.

Sieve the broth on a larger bowl, mashing the tomato mixture with a ladle to strain all the juices out. Check the seasoning, and adjust accordingly. Stir in a little butter and pour into mugs or soup bowls. Serve hot.

These mugs of Clear Tomato Soup are perfect for a cold snap. Let it snow then, my hands and soul will remain warm thus.

Chicken Teriyaki Rumaki

There is something dishonest about using a ready-to-use marinade and wrap bacon on another ingredient. Its almost like you are smoking while you are working out in the gym. But then the ease of using a bottled teriyaki sauce for the bacon-wrapped chicken was too enticing for a busy evening. This is a Japanese-inspired Rumaki. Saying it loud, just in case the word “teriyaki” did not give it away.

Ingredients for Chicken Teriyaki Rumaki are:

2 boneless chicken breast pieces (about 500 grams), cut into two inch pieces
4 strips of bacon, halved
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
4-6 green onions, trimmed and cut into two inch pieces
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder

Soak 8-10 bamboo skewers in water for about 30 minutes.

Marinade the chicken, bell pepper strips and the green onions with the teriyaki sauce and black pepper powder for 1-2 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 375° F. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Wrap the chicken pieces with the bacon strips.

On each skewer, thread the bacon-wrapped chicken, bell pepper and green onion.

Place on the baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Brush with the remaining teriyaki sauce and bake for 10-12 minutes or till the chicken is done. I usually broil my Rumaki for the last two minutes to get some char on it.

Try these bacon-kissed Chicken Teriyaki with your favorite drink and watch the world pass by…

P.S. You can try this with jumbo shrimps too.

Bacon and Egg Pots

There are some things that I can only fantasize about. Like breakfast in bed. But what is possible though is I let someone else make my breakfast. My trusted oven! And see how.

Ingredients for Bacon and Egg Pots are:

Strips of bacon, 3-4 for each ramekin
1-2 eggs per each person
Finely chopped fresh parsley or chives
Sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper
Half teaspoon butter

Throw the bacon strips in a skillet and cook till they are dark pink in color, but not crisp. Drain them on paper towels.

Line each ramekin with a little butter on your fingers. Place one or two strips of bacon at the base and another on the sides, making a “ bacon cup” inside the ramekin.

Crack an egg or two over the bacon base. Crack some black pepper over it.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place all the ramekins on a water bath and bake for 15-18 minutes or unless the eggs are set and the whites visible.

Garnish with fresh herbs like parsley or chives and serve with slices of bread, OJ, chai or coffee.

Crawl back in bed with your tray of breakfast and enjoy! Looks like breakfast in bed is possible after all.

More breakfast ideas are here.

Soul Seduction with Beef-Barley Soup

My soup repertoire is quite limited. But this 50ish lady at P’s office cafeteria was giving me some long distance competition. Every time, P did not take lunch from home, he invariably has the Beef-Barley Soup served at his work’s cafeteria. Apparently its his favorite soup. Now that sure was NEWS.

No wife likes competition from another woman. Even if its the harmless soup lady.

After some help from Google and Food Network, I created my husband’s favorite soup today. Ladies and gentlemen, applaud my maiden attempt at Beef Barley Soup, since you cannot slurp on it.

Ingredients for Beef-Barley Soup are:

300 grams oxtail
400 grams boneless beef stew pieces
Half cup (heaped) pearl barley
1 medium size onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3-4 fat cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Freshly crushed black pepper
Salt

Cook the oxtail and beef stew pieces with the bay leaves, salt and pepper. I added about 8-9 cups of water in my stock pot. It took me about one hour to do so, until the meat was tender. Skim any fat from the surface with a ladle.

Separate the meat from the stock and shred them. Discard the bones from the oxtail pieces.

In a stockpot, heat the canola oil, sauté the minced garlic without browning it. Add the celery, onions and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes.

 
Add the barley and mix well with the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the barley and vegetables are coated well with salt and pepper and the cooking oil, add the pieces of beef. Give it a good mix and then add the beef stock and Worcestershire sauce.

Cook covered on a slow heat for one hour or so, stirring continuously. The barley will plump up and soak some of the liquid. Add a little water if the stock is soaked up.

Check the seasoning one last time and adjust accordingly. Turn the heat off and add the chopped parsley to the soup.

Serve the Beef-Barley Soup hot with your favorite bread for a complete meal that is guaranteed to seduce your soul. And your spouse.

And guess what my husband is taking for lunch tomorrow!

Pepper Crabs On A Bed Of Wok-Fried Garlic Noodles

Small crabs aren’t my BIG thing! But I got these on SALE. Which would have logically meant, I should have bought more, but I didn’t because I was just experimenting. And I thought all that green from the snow peas and capsicum would be a good prelude to the first day of Boishakh the next day.

This is a deceptively easy recipe I  made last night. And yes, the recipe is mine. It is minimum of a time taker and all you need is a light hand of seasoning with just pepper and garlic.
Ingredients for the Wok-Fried Garlic Noodles:

Egg noodles enough for 2-3 people
Handful of snow peas
1 green bell pepper cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons oyster sauce
Olive oil
Salt
Boil the noodles and drain, as per the instructions on the pack. Heat olive oil in a wok, and add the minced garlic. Fry on low-medium heat and do not brown the garlic. As you see the garlic cooked, add the snow peas and the sliced green bell peppers. Stir for a few minutes on high flame now. Add the noodles and fry till all the ingredients are mixed well. Add oyster sauce and season with salt. Keep it aside.

Ingredients for the Pepper Crabs:

6 soft shell crabs
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons freshly pounded black pepper
Salt
In a pan, melt the butter and immediately add the minced garlic. We do not have to brown the garlic, just frying it on low heat lets it cook. Add the cleaned and washed crabs. Toss it around in the butter and garlic. Add the fresh pepper and salt. Remove and transfer to a baking dish.
(If you need to read about how to clean crabs, here is some good information.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Let the crabs sit in the oven for 10-15 minutes till they form a crust at the top.
Serve the Pepper Crabs on the already cooked Wok-Fried Garlic Noodles. This dinner was done, as I sipped half-way through my glass of Caesar. Its that easy and no-fuss. Cheers and Shubho Nabo Borsho!