How to preserve Fish Roe the Parsi Way.

Preserved Fish Roe — Aatheli Garab

This is for the many readers, especially Parsis, who have written to ask how one can preserve Roe bought during the season.

I am sharing the process described by my Great Grandmother, Dosibai Wankadia.

The method used in her time is prior to the advent of the various modern cheese-presses, heat-dryers and other kitchen gadgets and therefore, use of traditional straw basket(s) and weights. The reader may use the gadgets he has, if any.

A WORD OF CAUTION TO THE READER. My Great-Grandmother informs that the salted Garab/roe available in the market is merely that —Salted. It has does not have the shelf life of the Aatheli (Preserved) Garab/Roe. The Salted Roe available in the market may be used for immediate cooking. The salted Roe has to undergo the undermentioned process before it can be preserved and retained in your larder for months.

 PRESERVED FISH ROE — AATHELI GARAB

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ kg fish roe (preferably Bhing fish/Giant Herring), it should be very fresh;

Salt enough to sprinkle on and fill the sacs in the roe;

1 straw basket or as required;

1 grinding stone or heavy weights as required;

METHOD:

Wash the roe,

Sprinkle salt on the Roe (Sea Salt/ Sel de Mer preferred),

Next, Also fill the hollow sacs in the roe with a lot of salt (the hollow in the roe, we, Parsis, call the stomach {pait} of the roe in Gujarati);

Place all the roe in straw basket(s),

Cover the roe with a plantain/banana leaf,

Place grinding stone/ weights on the leaf to weigh it down, so as to drain all the liquid from the Roe (like one would do to make paneer/cheese),

Let the Roe discharge its water for three days,

Remove the Roe from basket(s) after three days,

Now you have Aatheli Garab (Preserved Roe) which you can use for frying or cooking .

IF you want to preserve the Roe for a months/a year or more or to PICKLE  THE ROE, you have to further process it :

After the first 3 days:

Wash the Roe well,

Remove the various blood vessels and nervous matter that are sticking to the Roe,

Separate the roe into its natural segments,

Wipe each segment dry with a soft dry cloth taking care not to break up the Roe,

Mix a little turmeric, salt and oil,

Rub the mixture all over the Roe segments,

Dry these under a light sunlight OR

Put it in a straw basket and hang it over your stove for three days OR until it is completely dry.

The Aatheli Garab may now be preserved until you require to use it.

This Garab (Roe) may now be used to make Garab Nu Achaar (Pickled Roe).

Fajeto in Gujarati means a ‘mortification/discomfiture/embarrassment/humiliation/awkwardness’, a ‘faux pas/gauche-ness’ or something that ‘leaves one red in the face’; and thereby hangs a pretty tale.

Legend tells us that a family was resting late on a summer afternoon, after a large and sumptuous meal of ‘puris and Aamras’ (Indian fried bread with mango juice and pulp flavoured with condiments.).

Now, at the time of this tale in India, the lady of the house would soften the whole mangoes, and ease the pulp and juice out with her hands through the hole formed by removal of the stem.

This caused the seed and a fair part of the mango pulp to remain within the skin and stuck around seed. This remainder was discarded and fed to the cows in the evening.

So, back to our lady of the tale. While the family snored through its afternoon nap, who should arrive, but a large party of their daughter’s in-laws. Very important, very important guests, indeed! What were the parents to do? It was just past lunch time, so, no food and in the mango season too! It becomes imperative for the family to serve a lunch, mangoes included.

The clever lady washed clean the seeds and skin of the mango in a vessel of water; added some curds to this flavoured water, condiment, spices and voila! A delicious mango curry was born. This was Fajeto. She cooked some Khichri [a quick and easy dish mix of rice and dal boiled with salt and turmeric powder (http://www.mumbaiblogg.com/food/recipes/khichri/ )] to go with the mango curry and literally, hey presto! One of the most delicious combinations of Parsi-Zoroastrian cuisine was perpetuated –Khichri and Fajeto. To this day, I doubt if there is a better combination of foods.

I could not swear to the authenticity of the tale; but I promise the Fajeto curry is incomparable in taste and texture.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup pulp of ripe mangoes;

1 Cup curds (may be replaced with plain yogurt where curds not available);

1 tbsp gram flour;

3 green chilies;

10 curry leaves;

1 inch piece of peeled ginger minced;

½ teaspoon turmeric (Haldi) powder;

1 tbsp jaggery;

Salt to taste;

1 tbsp ghee;

2 tsp cumin seeds;

½ tsp mustard seeds;

2 dry Red Chilies;

2 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves.

METHOD:

Mix the curd with 3 cups of water to make a smooth liquid of pouring consistency, Add the gram flour

1 inch piece of peeled ginger minced, ½ teaspoon turmeric (Haldi) powder to this liquid,

Heat on medium fire for about 10 minutes,

Stirring gently but continuously.

Stirring helps to achieve a proper smooth texture ensuring that the curds and water do not separate nor do the curds curdle further because of overheating.

In a separate vessel, heat the ghee,

When hot but not smoking, add the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds,

When the seeds begin to splutter, add the Red chilies, the green chilies and the curry leaves. (Please take care when frying the chilies, these are likely to burst and burn the hands and face. The smartest thing to do is to immediately cover the frying vessel after introducing the chilies in it take the vessel off the fire. The chilies will fry in the hot oil off the stove.)

Pour the curd and water mix slowly into the tempering of the seeds, chili and leaves in ghee.

Equally slowly introduce the mango pulp into the tempered curd mix stirring gently but constantly to ensure a smooth curry.

Sprinkle finely cut fresh coriander leaves,

Stir constantly but gently and further cook the curry on medium to low fire for about 10 minutes. (Please watch out for curdling).

If the curry appears to be curdling, immediately take it off the fire.

DO NO LET THE CURRY BOIL AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECIPE.

Serve as a delicious soup of with Khichri (recipe at http://www.mumbaiblogg.com/food/recipes/khichri/) or with Savoury Dhebras or rice flour chapattis.

Dhebras in Gujarati literally mean ‘lumps or rough thick chunks’.

Dhebras are unleavened bread therefore, which are rolled thick; unlike the chapatti or roti and cooked on a griddle.

You have probably tried the Sweet Dhebras, which Dhebras are made purely of wheat, uni-grained bread. The Savoury Dhebras uses more than one grain and is quite different in its preparation, taste and use. The Savoury Dhebras can is eaten at any meal or as a snack. It makes excellent ‘travel food’; tasty, filling and long shelf-life.

Try it with the Ripe Mango Curry (Fajeto), or good old Buttermilk or any Lassi, tea or coffee or other beverage or cooked meat or vegetable. The Savoury Dhebras, Doesn’t do too well with Salads, but goes well with Soups especially soups with a stronger flavour like a Tomato soup or Mulligatawny.

For 6 Savoury Dhebras:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup gram flour (Channa ka Atta/ Chick pea Flour);

1 cup Pearl millet flour (Bajra ka Atta);

1 small bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped fine;

6 green chilies, chopped fine;

2 cloves garlic;

1 inch piece ginger;

1 tbsp Sesame seeds (Til) OPTIONAL;

Salt and ground Black Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon ghee or oil or as needed (Ghee gives it a distinct and traditionally accepted flavour.).

METHOD:

Sieve together the Gram flour, Millet flour, and salt.

Peel and grind the ginger and garlic together into a smooth paste.

Now With water, knead the flour into soft fairly pliable dough.

Do not add Ghee to the dough

Add:  finely chopped fresh green coriander and Chilies, ginger-garlic paste, ground black pepper, Sesame (if using) and knead further.

Roll out into 6” roundels about 1/8^th of an inch / 0.3 cms/3 mm Thick.

Heat a griddle (preferably made of iron),

Brush ghee on both sides of the Savoury Dhebras,

Cook the Savoury Dhebras one at a time on the hot griddle on a medium flame,

Till the one side is brown,

Flip the Savoury Dhebras to cook on the other side equally brown,

Flip once again, and remove within 5 seconds.

Your Savoury Dhebras is ready to eat.

As a VARIATION and a more pungent version, one may replace the green chilies and the ginger-garlic paste with a paste of garlic, dry red chilies

pungent

and salt. In this case adjust the amount of salt added to the dough.

OR

For a more mellow taste, replace the green chillies with coarsely (very roughly) ground Cumin or Coriander Seeds or even whole Cumin or Coriander Seeds.

The Raw Mango Curry or ‘Kairi ni Curry’ is a seasonal dish. It is a sweet and sour curry made completely without chilles though spicy. The spiciness comes from the cloves, black pepper, cardamom and cinnamon.

The Parsi Zoroastrians of India celebrate the mango season! They look forward to adding raw or ripe mangoes to various dals, lentil stews, beans, sprouts, meat and vegetable stews. So, Ambakalyo, Bafaenu, Kairi Ni Daar, and Kanda Kairi Nu Gosh and of course, the Raw Mango Curry or ‘Kairi Ni Curry’ is something to which they all look forward.

The Raw Mango Curry uses no Chili, whether green or red, and no coconut or other nuts to thicken the gravy. The gravy thickens because of the amount of onions used. On its completion, the Raw Mango Curry comes out sweet sour and spicy

At the time when this recipe was written down there was either use of wood stoves or of a Primus Stove, sometime Around The 1920 it was obviously at the time considered a great delicacy and the cooking time required was over 3 hours

The mango pieces required about 20 minutes to cook and then another hour to make the mango syrup

the meat took an hour or more then after adding the first few ingredients it had to be cooked for a further 12 minutes and then, again for a further 20 minutes

And after adding the gravy cook uncovered for another 12 minutes

We’ve come a long way from that especially if one uses a pressure cooker. Do try the curry it sounds delicious the saffron is optional but would certainly enhance the flavours if used.

Ingredients:

500 Gms meat of a young male goat or meat of your choice (no fowl. For that you need different spices);

250 Gms ghee/cooking medium of choice;

500 Gms onions;

250 Gms peeled raw green mangoes;

1 tablespoon of sugar;

20 Gms large black currants;

1 inch piece of peeled ginger;

10 Gms (one fistful) leaves of fresh coriander;

10 cloves powdered,

½ teaspoon turmeric powder;

10 balls of black pepper

10 pieces of green or white cardamom (white strongly recommended. Parsis use the white in all their cooking.)

2 inch stick of cinnamon;

1 pinch Saffron strands or ¼ teaspoon saffron powder;

2 tablespoons lemon juice;

10 gms salt or as per taste.

PREPARATION:

Deseed the currants and cut into rough pieces (buy the largest currants you can find).  Put aside.

Cut the coriander leaves fine and grind to a paste. Reserve for later use.

Retain whole, the seeds of one cardamom and put aside.

Grind very fine: the peeled ginger, turmeric powder, rest of the cardamom seeds, powdered cloves, cinnamon and saffron.

Cut the meat into small pieces,

Hand wash in room temperature water, just once and put aside for later use.

METHOD:

Cut the mangoes to bite size pieces,                

Boil the raw mango pieces in a little water,

Cook till soft and well cooked,

Retain the water from boiling, if any;

Divide the mango pieces into two equal portions,

Drain one potion,

Retain the second portion with any water that may have remained after boiling;

Mash the drained portion of mango, with the back of a spoon, in to a fine paste;

Put the mashed mango aside, preferably in a crockery vessel.

Take the remaining portion of the mango pieces with any water that may have remained,

Add more water to cover the mangoes in 250 ml of water,

Heat,

Add the sugar and the lime juice,

Boil to made a one-string syrup (it is interesting to know that the original recipe, which was cooked on a wood stove, recommends a full hour of further boiling),

Once the syrup forms, take the mangoes off the stove,

With the back of a spoon mash the mango pieces into the syrup to make a paste of the syrup and mango.

Grate the onions,

Heat 200 grams ghee,

Fry onions until evenly brown,

Stirring occasionally to prevent onions burning at the bottom of the vessel,

Add the meat to the brown onions and fry till all the meat pieces change colour and begin to brown on all sides ,

Add all the ground coriander leaves,

Add salt to taste,

Fry for a further minute or two,

Add 900 ml of water let the meat cook till tender and edible (recipe on wood stove speaks of two hours or more, if required),

Add water if needed so as to ensure that there is about 200 ml of gravy left after cooking.

Remove the gravy from the pot and place aside for later use.

Add all the remaining ghee to the to the meat,

Further add the ground ginger and spices; and mix well,

Fry the spices and the meat together for another 2 to 4 minutes,

Add a few cardamom seeds, the mango pastes (the sweet and unsweetened), and the currants to the meat,

Cook for another few minutes for the meat to absorb the flavours of the spices.

Pour into the meat, all the gravy that was put aside and cook uncovered for another few minutes.

Serve with long grained white rice boiled with salt and a couple of cloves.

Serve a salad made of onions, tomatoes and cucumbers dressed in lime juice and salt (Cachumber).

Sweet Dhebras are another of the lost-Parsi-Zoroastrian-recipes. The Sweet Dhebras are flat, unleavened, griddle-cooked bread. Though not originally Persian, the Sweet Dhebras was bread much enjoyed by the Parsis and is still spoken of with nostalgia.

After coming to India, initially the Parsis adapted a lot of the Gujarati cuisine and adapted it to suit their taste buds. The ingredients, for these adapted foods from this unfamiliar cuisine, were freely and easily available in their newly adopted home in the land of the Jadav Rana (Jadi Rana). Sweet Dhebras, were eaten with great relish with a number of ever delightful dishes like ‘Fajeto’, ‘Summer Potatoes’, ‘Kachi Kairi ni Kari’ (raw-mango curry), ‘Lasan nu Eedu (garlic scrambled-eggs) and umpteen such dishes.

Making Sweet Dhebras is as simple as making chapattis and the daily diet may very easily be substituted by the Sweet Dhebras. Versatile, the Sweet Dhebras lends itself to be also eaten as a snack (try it with sour curds or ‘Lasan or Nariel ni Chutney’ {Garlic or coconut Chutnies}, Methia nu Achar {mango or any other pickle}). Make it, Taste it, and Device your own combinations.

Closer to the original Guajarati Dhebras are the Savoury Dhebras made by the Parsis. Unlike the Parsi Sweet Dhebras, the original Guajarati Dhebras are basically made from Sorghum (Jowar) Flour or of Pearl Millet (Pearl Millet) Flour and are Savoury with the addition of some vegetable and dry spice powders. The modern Thepla and Guajarati Dhebras are interchangeable names for the same flat bread. In recent times, borrowing from North India, the Guajarati Dhebras is made also from Corn Flour (Makkai ka Atta). The Gujarati Sweet Dhebras are made like the savoury Dhebras the only difference being the additional ingredient, Sugar to sweeten the mix of flour, vegetables and Masala. The ingredients of the Gujarati Savoury Dhebras are not replaced by sugar, it is merely an extra ingredient included.

Parsi Dhebras, whether sweet or savoury, are always made from Whole wheat Flour (Atta) and the cooking method and ingredients are different for each.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

350 grams jaggery;

3 tablespoons Ghee/cooking medium of choice but avoid Olive Oil as it will alter the Indian Flavour of the bread;

2 cups whole wheat Atta;

½ teaspoon salt.

METHOD:

Cut the Jaggery into small bits,

In a thick-bottomed vessel, heat 2 ½ tablespoons of Ghee,

When fairly hot, put all the Jaggery into it,

Reduce the fire,

Melt all the jaggery, stirring occasionally so the jaggery does not stick to the bottom or burn,

And once all the jaggery has melted to a smooth rather viscous paste,

Take the vessel off the fire.

Once off the fire,

Sieve the Flour over the melted Jaggery,

Mix well, fast but not too vigorously (vigour will make the dough sticky and difficult to handle and cook),

When the dough is cool enough to handle,

Knead with your hands to make soft Dough (like for paronthas),

Add water while kneading, if necessary.

Roll the dough into a large circle, about a ¼ inch thick,

Dust the edge of a round mold, bowl or glass with dry flour,

Use it to cut the dough into small roundels,

Put aside.

Heat a griddle,

Grease the griddle with a little of the remaining Ghee,

Place each Dhebra on the Griddle and cook, like chapattis flipping over twice, until brown on both sides.

Grease the griddle each time you place the next Sweet Dhebra to cook.

A sprinkling of sesame seeds on the Sweet Dhebras before cutting into Roundels makes a tasty variation.

Albless Stew, an old Parsi Recipe, is virtually obsolete . Rarely, if ever, cooked and eaten today, how many of us have heard of the ‘Albless’ which is not a wedding venue?! Try ‘Albless’ on the internet and one will only meet with the Baug or the hospital. The famous tasty  Albless Stew is missing, altogether.

Despite it being very popular at the turn of the 20th century,  Albless Stew is today merely a name in the annals of Parsi cuisine. This tender , succulent dish is almost lost to us. I bring this delicacy out to preserve the unusual recipe and to rejuvenate it, if possible. Unusual in the ingredients (vegetables) used; the Albless does not cater to the jaded tastes for the standard stew vegetables of  potatoes, onions, carrots, peas and cauliflower and unusual again in its method of cooking. in fact these vegetables except the Parsi favourite ‘Papeto’, are missing altogether.  The Albless stew is delicious, delicate and wholly enticing.

Despite appearances, the Albless stew is very easy to make and takes the normal amount of time to cook. Once started, the cooking flows at the usual pace and time.

Albless needs to be made from tender meat of an adult male animal but not a full grown old one. The meat of the male goat is lean while that of the female goat tends to be fat.

From the ingredients, Albless stew is easily seen to be a  recipe for the late summer- early monsoon in India (late may to mid-July)  when the required  seasonal vegetables grow and the young kids born of goats in late winter early summer (January/early February)  are  beginning to grow into adults. Albless is a delicious stew recipe for the settlers in the village who kept a few dairy animals, fowl and grew their own seasonal vegetables in their backyards. Today we can use tinned or vegetables easily available and sold in the open bazaars.

In places where these vegetables are not available, one may use tender baby cucumber, zucchini instead of Ridge Gourd (Indian name Turai/Turiya), of course the brinjals/aubergines cannot be replaced as there is no vegetable remotely related of which I am aware.

The Albless though a popular delicacy at the turn of the last century, was at that time, a long and difficult treat to prepare; it needed great care to cook an Albless Stew.

 At the time this recipe was recorded for our family, before the oven became commonplace in the villages of our country, the Parsis of India cooked the dish in copper vessel coated with zinc or in an enameled vessel. An enameled box with an air tight lid was placed in the midst of hot ash and embers of  a wood stove were placed  on top and around the container.

After two hours of such cooking, the contents of Albless was  rotated, top layers sent  down and vice versa, and then returned to the embers.

 This process was not just hazardous but extremely difficult; to extract the hot box from the embers without harm to one’s face and hands, open the box thus suddenly releasing the steam,  stir the contents steaming from pressure and high temperature, and then close and return the box well sealed to the embers and hot ash for cook for a further hour or more until done. In the present day this process would be akin to opening a pressure cooker without releasing the steam. Imagine the disaster.

Today, modern amenities like the gas stove and ovens have made this Stew a dream to prepare and ingest.

INGREDIENTS:

I)  1 kg tender, on bone, meat of a young male goat (not kid) or lamb,

OR

2 ½ kg layer with bones (Chicken/Duck/any fowl still young enough to lay eggs);

II)  500 Gms Onions (preferably red);

III) 750 Gms Ghee

IV ) 50 Gms each of:

IV a) Root Vegetables: Potato, Sweet Potato, Yam (Suran), Purple Yam (Rataloo/ Kamodio Kan),

IV b) Beans:  flat beans /Papdi Na Dana, (Scientific name Dolichos lablab.), green peas, double beans, Bitter Vaal (Lima beans/ Field beans)

IV c) *Vegetables: small tender tomatoes (you may use cherry or plum tomatoes but the recipe really requires tomatoes that have just turned red), tender baby brinjals /aubergine/egg plant (preferably the long variety  ) which have not yet begun to grow seeds within, young tender Ridge Gourd which have not yet begun to grow seeds within.

V)     5 gms salt or to your taste;

VI)   Leaves of 4 bunch of fresh green coriander;

VII) 4 green chilies(large, not too hot);

VIII)  1 teaspoon fresh celery,

IX)    1 teaspoon fresh parsley,

X)    20 leaves of fresh mint;

XI)  1 inch piece of ginger;

XII)  2 tablespoons of Garlic juice (if not available, crush,

steep in 2 tbsp warm water for few minutes, drain and press garlic to draw out          the juice. Use all the liquid.);

XIII) 1 teaspoon of black pepper powder;

XIV) 1 level teaspoon turmeric powder.

METHOD:

1. Cut the meat into large pieces.

 2)  Marinate the meat for two hours in a marinade of all the:

Turmeric, black pepper, salt, garlic juice, and

Finely cut: coriander leaves, green chillies, celery, parsley, peeled Ginger and mint.

3) Cover the marinating meat and herbs with cheese cloth or a net and put aside.

4) Peel and dice the *vegetables into inch long pieces.

4a) Peel and cut/ dice very small half the quantity of onions, and mix with all the other vegetables and all the Beans and put aside.

5) Cut the rest of onions into halves and slice very fine horizontally;

5a) Fry till brown, the finely sliced onions; on very low fire but in hot oil, stirring constantly. Do not let the onions burn.

6) After the meat is well marinated for 2 hours take a vessel that closes tight and layer the meat and vegetables alternately in the vessel. 7) 7) Sprinkle the fried onions as the last layer on top and close the vessel making it air tight , if necessary seal with some dough.

8) Place The vessel in  a ** hot oven/ dry pressure cooker for an hour.

**If in an OVEN, without disturbing the contents, let it cook for an hour or until the meat is cooked and tender. The meat should be soft, ready to fall off the bone.

9) If in a COOKER, you need to open the cooker after an hour and mix the contents with a large, preferably wooden spoon, bringing the bottom layers to the top; to ensure even cooking.

10) Return to stove and Cook for another hour or till meat is well cooked.

WARNING : Open COOKER very carefully. BEWARE OF STEAM BURNS OR COOKER BLOW UP.

IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO  WEAR OVEN GLOVES AND STAND MORE THAN A FOOT FROM THE COOKER; AND THEN LIFT SLIGHTLY THE ‘METAL WEIGHT’/ ‘WHISTLE’ WITH A LONG WOODEN SPOON TO LET THE STEAM ESCAPE SLOWLY. ONCE ALL THE STEAM HAS ESCAPED AND THE ‘METAL WEIGHT’/ ‘WHISTLE’ STOPS HISSING, LET THE COOKER STAND FOR A FEW MINUTES AND THEN OPEN. IF YOU FEEL ANY RESISTANCE WHEN TWISTING OPEN THE COOKER’S LID, PLEASE WAIT A LITTLE LONGER BEFORE OPENING THE COOKER AND ROTATING THE LAYERS OF THE CONTENTS OF THE ALBLESS.

11) IF preferred sweet, hot and sour, after the dish is ready, add 1 ½ tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce or as per your taste and a bit of sugar. This is purely optional but enhances the taste.

PARSI LIVER CUTLETS – KALEJI NA CUTLETS

Parsis liver cutlets are no longer part of the Parsi everyday meals and perhaps, many of the present generation have not even heard of the Parsi liver cutlets.

Thought I’d induce some life in these good old Parsi liver cutlets by putting out this recipe. Do try it on a Sunday afternoon; or gladden your Granny’s heart by serving her something from her childhood.

INGREDIENTS:

1 liver of young goat/ Sheep/beef/pork;

250 Gms ghee/ cooking medium of choice;

1 tablespoon grated onions;

1 level teaspoon black pepper powder;

1 level teaspoon red chili powder;

10 Gms salt;

20 Gms ginger;

5 cloves of garlic;

3 eggs;

2 bunch of coriander;

Bread crumbs /semolina.

METHOD:

1) Pluck the leaves of the coriander wash and cut fine;

Peel the ginger and garlic;

Grind the ginger and garlic together to a smooth paste.

2) Wash the liver put it in a pot and add a quarter liter of water and 5 gms salt/ or as per taste and boil till hard;

When done cut the liver into fine slices and put aside.

Further boil the liver slices in a cup of water;

Add salt as needed;

Boil till the liver slices becomes soft and all the water has been absorbed;

Remove from the Fire.

3) In the meantime,

Fry the two grated onions in 5 Gms ghee;

Add the ginger garlic paste;

Fry till onion mixture turns golden.

4) Cover both sides of each liver slice with the fried onion and ginger garlic, Chili and black pepper powder;

Take care not to break the slices. They are very soft and difficult to handle.

5) Use a spatula/tavatha to lift the herbed liver slices and place in a plate of breadcrumbs/semolina;

Cover the herbed liver slices on both sides with bread crumbs or semolina pressing in the bread crumbs/semolina and adding at each stage to make a nice thick cover.

Treat all cutlets similarly and place in a separate plate.

6) Beat the eggs lightly;

Add a tiny pinch of salt per egg while beating.

7) Now again lift the bread crusted liver cutlet with a spatula and dip each one in the lightly beaten egg, one at a time; one side at a time.

8) Shallow fry in very hot almost steaming ghee/oil;

Flip the cutlet once the underside is done;

Add more beaten egg if necessary;

Flip once again and then remove.

Take care not to break the cutlets when flipping, they tend to be rather soft until fried golden brown and the cover is crisp.

9) Both sides of the cutlets should be golden brown and not dark brown.

Serve hot with bread or chapattis and any sweet and sour salad

With the gadgets now available to us and grilling made easy, if you prefer, and if you have a grill, you may grill the liver instead of boiling it, then slice it and then boil the slices to make them soft. In any event the liver slices must be softened before coating with herbs, crusting and frying.

The Feature Image at the top of this Recipe of  ‘Country Captain Chicken’ is taken from Humayun Hassain’s third and last series of Anglo Indian Cooking. The Recipe itself is from my Family recipes as handed down.

THIS RECIPE WAS ADDED TO THE FAMILY RECIPE BOOK AROUND THE SAME TIME IN MID-1850S  WHEN THE DISH WAS IN ITS INITIAL PRISTINE STAGE.

LATER VERSIONS ARE SPOKEN OF,  AT THE END OF THE RECIPE.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE SIMPLICITY, TASTE AND SPEEDY COOKING OF THE ORIGINAL RECIPE.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN — A Parsi Chicken Recipe from India

Country Captain, really!! I laughed when I first heard the name. A friend asked me whether I had heard of this dish. I rolled my eyes. “Country Cousin Chicken is supposed to be very tasty”, she informed me, “but very difficult to make; and I want the recipe”. I let it pass then. Imagined it was yet another meat and Masala thing.

When I asked them at home and got to taste the dish. I wanted more. Unlike on the wood-stoves, today with the mixer and gas and pressure cookers it is very easy to make. Amongst the Parsis, the Country Captain Chicken does not contain the curry powder and other spices, nuts and dry fruits thrown in by the European and especially American chefs. It is more simple and more tasty . The name suggests a very tasty (deserving of a salute), straight laced  quick and easy cooking out in the country where facilities were few and far between. USA and a few others claim origin of the dish, but Could it have been a Parsi’s dry sense of humour ?! Country Cousin!!

I have changed the weights and measures of yesteryear (Ser and Ratal and Tola) to the metric system we use today. The recipe I give you is noted in the mid- 1800s about the time the Country Captain Chicken gained popularity and  traversed the three Oceans – Indian, Atlantic and Pacific- to the Southern USA via the British Isle, where it changed shape and colour and so, the flavours and became quite elaborate and developed a completely different and more spicy character, Arcadian in Nature (today called “Cajun Cuisine’) .

Some weights prescribed are most picturesque. The amount of saffron is described as ‘equal to the weight of a 2 Anna coin’.

After sharing this recipe with you a week ago, curiosity gained me a few interesting facts about this recipe with an  unusual name. I thought I’d share these with you and so, edited the publication, today. Country Cousin has had quite a history;  steeped in the romance of sailing ships and exotic trade destinations.  Do check at the end of the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 young layer, (chicken /duck/ any fowl, young enough to still lay eggs);

2 large or four medium sized onions (preferably white);

450 Gms ghee/ cooking medium of your choice but the taste will change according to the medium used. (The original recipe calls for ghee);

1 heaped teaspoon salt;

5 grams saffron strands;

2 large dry Red Chilies.

METHOD:

Grind the red chilly to powder;

Separately grind the saffron strands;

Slit the fowl down the underside,

Remove all the organs from within;

Wash the chicken clean,

Keep it whole.

Grate  half the quantity of the onions and keep aside;

Cut fine the other half quantity of onions and fry them till golden brown stirring all the while.

Keep aside the fried onions for garnish;

Retain the Ghee in the same pot.

In the same pot, in the same remaining ghee,

Fry the grated onions till pink,

Add the ground chillies and Saffron to the pinked onions;

Add the fowl and salt;

Fry for a few minutes, sealing the fowl on all sides;

Cover and let the fowl cook;

Add a liter of water, cover and cook;

Stir from time to time and turn the chicken over so it is done on all sides but does not burn.

IF:

cooked in a pressure cooker reduce the quantity of water to 250 ml or as much as you would usually add, depending on the cooker.

Once the fowl is cooked, well done and is moist with a thick gravy say about 100 to 200ml,

Take the whole chicken out of the pot and Sprinkle the fried onions over it.

Serve hot with white crisp bread/ white rice and lettuce and tomato salad.

Mystery and Romance of the Country Cousin

By the mid-Nineteenth Century, ‘The Country Cousin’ was a popular enough meal for the recipe to see publication in Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book in Philadelphia, America in 1857 —- the year of the Indian Sepoy Mutiny. The dish obviously pre-dates the publication of its recipe. In the early 20th century, it was served as part of his Menu by Alessandro Filippini, at Delmonico’s a restaurant on Wall Street, the Country Cousin’s simplicity was upgraded (?) to become a more elaborate ‘Cousin’.

In time, Country Cousin fan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced General George Patton to the dish who became an instant adherent of the dish and today, two centuries since its origin — in 2000s  — the Country Cousin becoming part of U.S. Army’s Meal, Ready-To-Eat field Rations; all in honour of Patton.

The history of the dish is replete with romance of a “mysterious captain drifted into Savannah, (Georgia) via the spice trade and entrusted his recipe to southern (American) friends”; to “a British sea captain who originally introduced the dish in Charleston”. Savannah has always fought Charleston on claiming the origin of the Country Captain.

Documents also, points to probability of the dissemination of the recipe to the European and American Continents by the ‘country captains’ of Indian Merchant or “country ships” and the staple chicken curry on these trade ships.

In the first, still extant documentation of the recipe in the 1857 publication, Miss Leslie attributes Country Cousin is an “Indian dish and a very easy preparation of curry.” Leslie explains the name “Country Captain” signifies “a captain of native troops (or Sepoys) in the pay of England; their own country being India, they are there called generally the country troops.” Leslie ‘supposed’ the dish was “introduced at English tables by a Sepoy officer.”

Infinite variations stretched from inclusion of orange juice and tomatoes to currants, thyme and Curry Powder; from cooking it dry in a skillet to a curry eaten with rice; from retaining whole to serving it cut up in pieces (Leslie records a full, uncut chicken).

Ultimately, it all boils down to the original 18^th Century recipe — Chicken with a few Indian spices including Saffron (variations replace saffron with Turmeric Powder) — and the baroque early American (South) dating from nineteenth and 20 the Centuries (variations include adding white wine, bacon, chicken broth, celery, peanuts, almonds, currants, tomatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, peas, turmeric, mace, allspice, citrus, flour, butter, cream, a full spectrum of Curry ingredients and myriad others and omitting two main ingredients, ginger and saffron).

To demystify the Country Cousin in its place of origin and recipe would be to take away its romance and appeal. Cook it the Parsi way and await the accolades of your family and guests.

Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri is a breakfast dish but can be used for a quick small meal. An Akuri is usually made from raw eggs scrambled with various herbs and potatoes. Irani restaurants of Bombay (Mumbai) serve Akuri all day as a Mini-Meal— filling, healthy and very, very tasty.

Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri, on the other hand, is not found on any Menu — from the 5 Stars to the humble ‘Irani Hotel’ as the ubiquitous Irani restaurants are spoken of in Mumbai. While the Akuri is quintessentially a ‘Parsi Household Dish’, the Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri is not often seen in our homes.

I chanced upon this recipe amongst some written down by my mother’s family for an introduction to the ‘new daughter-in-law’ (Navi Vau) to the family favourites in the Parsi Cuisine.

The recipe seems to be recorded around the end of 1800s before my Grandmother was born in 1889. The weights and Measures noted in there are old and ni longer in use – Tola, Ratal and such – I have converted these to the nearest Metric Weights and Measures for ease in cooking the Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri.

There is an ingredient mentioned therein which says chutney or ‘VILAYATI SAUCE’. Since I know no one in the family or otherwise who is more than a 118 years old, I have to depend on a good guess to decipher what is the ‘VILAYATI SAUCE’. Most likely, it is the *Worcestershire Sauce or as now termed ‘Worcester Sauce’ (pronounced Wooster), I’d think, from its use in some Meat oriented Recipes or plain old **Tomato Ketchup, if it existed then.

Though both sauces existed at the time this recipe was recorded, I’d lay my bets on Worcester.

* Worcestershire Sauce or as now termed Worcester Sauce, a recipe thought up in 1830 by Lea and Perrins but not marketed as they did not approve of the taste. The Barrels of sauce were set aside and forgotten. Months later, the barrels were rediscovered. The sauce had, by now, matured and the taste mellowed to a full and rich one. The sauce was first marketed by Lea and Perrins in 1837.

However, Lea and Perrins were never able to claim intellectual property rights on the patent for the recipe or on the trademark ‘Worcestershire Sauce’ because of a High Court order in a litigation challenging its origin.

**TOMATO KETCHUP: A sauce of Chinese origin. The word ‘Ketchup’ first appeared in ‘Dictionary of the Canting Crew’ in 1690.

The English colonists were introduced to the ‘kicap’ or ‘kecap’ (pronounced ki- chap or ke -chap) as a fish sauce in the early 18th century in the Malay States (now, Malaysia and Singapore). Somewhere along the way from Malay to England, and then to America (through English settlers) the ‘Kecap’ became ‘Ketchup’.

The sauce was obviously very popular in the British Isles and by 1742, the recipe found its place in a London Cook Book with a distinctly British flavour (addition of shallots and mushrooms).

The popular Heinz Tomato Ketchup was marketed in 1876.

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs;

250 grams onions;

250 Gms potatoes;

3 bunch of coriander;

3 green chillies (reduce the number of chillies if preferred less heat);

10 leaves of mint;

1 tablespoon ***chutney or schezwan sauce or your favourite flavouring;

IF making Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri in the MANGO SEASON, replace chutney/sauce with 2 finely cut raw green mangoes, absolutely delicious!

2 tbsp Ghee or butter or preferred cooking medium (original recipe specifies Ghee or butter not oil);

½ level teaspoon salt or as per your taste.

METHOD:

Boil the Eggs and let cool,

Cut each egg into 4 slices horizontally or as preferred;

Peel and dice the potatoes to 1/2 cm cubes;

Preserve the potatoes in a bowl of water till required;

Peel and grate the onions or dice to miniscule pieces;

Pluck the leaves off the coriander and cut the leaves fine (only leaves no stems however tender);

Cut fine the green chillies;

Cut fine mint leaves; Now,

Fry the Potato cubes and grated onions in a pan of hot Ghee,

Stirring constantly till golden;

Add coriander, mint, green chillies and Green Mangoes/chutney/ sauce and fry till a light brown,

Lay oiled eggs on top of the fried mixture,

Mix gently so as not to break/damage the egg slices.

Return the pan to the fire, cover and cook the egg and herb mix for 30 more seconds taking care not to let it burn at the bottom.

Garnish with coriander leaves and eat immediately with preferred bread or chapattis Best with Portuguese Pau.

***If you do not have favourite CHUTNEY, try this:

GRIND together to a smooth taste: 1 tbsp grated coconut, 1 tbsp coriander leaves, 2 green chillies, 1inch piece of dried tamarind, a pinch of dry mint powder or 4 fresh leaves, 1 centimeter  piece ginger (peeled) , 2 cloves garlic (peeled),  ¼  teaspoon cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 pinch sugar , A Pinch of salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ambakalyo is not a preserve it is a recipe for a Parsi Ripe Mango sauce quick and easy sauce recipe.   Ambakalyo is a delightful, light and happy dish to be served in the heat of summer , the height of the Mango season in India. Ambakalyo is delicious; eaten with red/white rice or any bread — whether baked in an oven or cooked on a griddle including tortillas, chapattis, corn bread and pita . The bright orange colour of the finished dish of the Mango Ambakalyo only adds to its appeal. Ambakalyo, by itself, makes for a popular meal in a Parsi household and saves the mother from long hours in the grueling heat of the kitchen.

Ambakalyo also makes a scrumptious sauce for all roast meats and fowl — especially Roast Chicken and Pork; if you are so inclined to use it.  The sweet and slightly tart-chili tang of the sauce goes a long way in enhancing the flavours of your dish. Visually too, the translucent orange colour , reminder of scenic sunsets, and the thick consistency of the sauce is tremendously appealing.

Mango is the traditionally accepted fruit to make an Ambakalyo and the name itself “Amba” meaning ‘Mango’ in Gujarati and ‘Kalyo’ meaning ‘Grated, Shredded, made into a Paste’ suggests that the dish is essentially made from Mangoes cooked to the consistency of  a thick paste. The ingredients and the Gujarati name suggests that  the Parsi-Zoroastrians of India learnt to make the Ambakalyo after migrating to India. However, the word  ‘Kalyo’ is no longer found either in Persian or Gujarati; but in Filipino the word “Kalyo” still exists  the meaning has declined and is used to denote ‘a Shredder’.

If you are inclined to innovate, like I am, you may add oranges or other citrus fruit, or pineapple or green apple or passion fruit (yellow or purple) any tart fruit of your choice to the recipe at the stage where you introduce the sliced Mangoes into the melted Jaggery/sugar mixture.

Replacing Mangoes, altogether, with another tart and fleshy fruit or a combination of fruits would give you a Orangekalyo, Citrouskalyo, Pineapplekalyo, or green-applekalyo or passion-fruitkalyo or Kalyo of your choice. The entire Recipe will remain the same except that the Mango will be added onto or replaced by another fruit. This would make an equally delicious sauce and a seasonal sauce, at that!

INGREDIENTS:

6 Ripe Mangoes (Alfonso or Pairi preferred; but you may use your favourite);

250 Gms (½ lb) pearl onions (can replace with small red onions or diced regular onions. The taste with each will differ but all taste good);

250 Gms Jaggery as per original recipe;  (or Sugar, if you prefer. In which case take 200 Gms of sugar);

3 cloves;

1 inch piece of cinnamon;

Juice of 1 lemon;

1 tsp chili powder;

A pinch of Turmeric powder;

1 clove Garlic;

¾ inch piece of Ginger.

METHOD:

Peel and slice the Mangoes (you may also use the seed),

Slice the Ginger and Garlic,

If using large onions, quarter them,

Fry the onions lightly and place aside,

If using small onions fry them whole,

Now, boil the jaggery/sugar in 2 spoons of water,

Add chili powder, Turmeric Powder, Ginger, Garlic, Cloves and Cinnamon.

Boil till all the jaggery/sugar has melted,

Then, add the mangoes and onions and cook boil for 5 minutes,

Simmer for another 20 minutes or until mango and seed orange and translucent.

Your Ambakalyo is ready to eat.

SERVE: Hot or cold with chapattis, preferably made of rice flour.