SKIRLIE: A TRADITIONAL SCOT RECIPE is  here to help you out with a new dish for breakfast. Tired of the same old oats-porridge-breakfast? Try Skirlie, a traditional old crispy crunchy tasty, substantial dish. Simply, oatmeal and onions seasoned and cooked in fat to a nice brown.

In fact, the Skirlie is named so because the ingredients ‘skirl’ (make a shrill wailing sound, like made by bagpipes) as one cooks the dish, swirling the ingredients around the pan.

As often as it is eaten by itself, Skirlie is just as often used to stuff fowl and game birds for roasting, especially Christmas dinners. The stuffing is softened, while cooking the Skirlie, with water or stock and medium oatmeal is used not the pinhead one. Eaten with mince too, or Tatties (Scottish swede, yellow turnip or rutabaga and potatoes, boiled and mashed separately).

It makes a tasty toasty accompaniment to rich meat dishes, roasts and stews. mince

Originally, in Scotland the Skirlie was made in beef drippings or beef suet, a fat easily available in the Highlands.

Check at the end of the recipe, a dish similar in ingredients, to the  Skirlie called ‘Mealy Jocks’ eaten as an accompaniment to potatoes and meat.

INGREDIENTS:

150g of pinhead oatmeal, or medium oatmeal (essentially it is rava of oat either rough or medium); the pinhead i.e. rough one recommended it gives a crunchy taste. (do not use instant or quick-cooking oats)

25g of bacon fat or vegetable oil or half butter-half oil or beef suet (traditionally the Scots use beef drippings or suet);

2 small or 1 large onion, finely chopped;

1/2 litre chicken stock (OPTIONAL)

Salt;

Pepper.

METHOD:

Heat the fat or heat the oil in a large heavy based frying-pan (or sauté pan) over a medium heat;

Soften the onions in the oil till transparent and very little golden (don’t want them brown);

Add in the oatmeal and stir to thoroughly coat with the onions;

Add a large pinch of sea salt and a good grinding of black pepper and stir for a couple of minutes;

Then turn the heat down as low as it’ll go;

Keep cooking for around 20-25 minutes (around 10-15 minutes for medium oatmeal);

Stir until the oatmeal has softened but fairly firm and finally becomes brown and develops a crunchy/ toasty bite;

Adjust the seasoning and serve.

THIS IS TRADITIONAL.

OPTIONAL: (this is not done traditionally) Add stock or water, a little at a time and allow it to be absorbed by the oatmeal (like for risotto);

Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and continuing to add the stock;

The end result should be a crunchy bite not soggy like upma.

Season well and serve with mashed potatoes or shredded meat.

MEALY JOCKS:

Should you collect the pinhead oatmeal, onions, salt and pepper , bind it in a cheese-cloth or malmal, and steam the meal, you get Mealy Jocks another MEALY JOCKS:.

ONE more way to beat the heat is with this cooling Tomato Salad. According to Ayurveda, Tomatoes are one of the foods that have a cooling effect on the human body; a food highly recommended in one’s summer diet. Lettuce leaves are another cooling vegetable. Milk and milk products, including cream, are also cooling foods. Fresh herbs are used and no heat producing spices or herbs are used. So when one combines all these, well, what better way to beat the heat but the way of a Tomato Salad!

The Chinese say that cooling foods have a way of ridding the body of heat and toxins. It calms the blood and enhances the Yin in the body. Cooling foods eliminate or at least reduce irritating summer problems of excess perspiration and thirst, gastric discomforts like flatulence, constipation, pungent and odorous wind.

This is an old recipe from the times when flavours were not so complex with complicated ad mixes of spices, sauces and plethora of ingredients; its superiority lies in the simplicity of its purity of taste.  It is only on the palate that the flavours mix to enhance the refined experience

RECIPE: Serves One.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch lettuce (alternately you may use iceberg lettuce but the taste changes completely);

1 large tomato per person;

1 teaspoon of Whipped Cream per slice of tomato;

1 tablespoon of roughly chopped olives (black preferred);

2 tablespoons of finely chopped chives;

2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (try fresh coriander or cilantro for a change);

½ finely chopped medium sized onion (about 1 ½ inch in diameter), preferably pink or red (red/pink onions bring greater zest to the salad and contrast well with the juicy sweet-sour of the tomato);

¼ teaspoon honey.

METHOD:

Wash and dry lettuce leaves,

Halve each leaf and spread these in a dish.

Slice the tomatoes about 3 mm in thickness (half an index finger width),

Place a slice of tomato on each piece of lettuce.

In a mixing bowl:

Put the whipped cream, chopped olives, chopped chives, chopped parsley and chopped onions,

Mix well.

Now, place some mixture on each tomato slice.

To finish place a small drop of honey on the mixture.

If you prefer to eliminate the sweet taste of honey, replace it with a few grains of freshly ground pepper. I DO NOT RECOMMEND ELIMINATION OF HONEY. The surprise of the slight sweetness adds a twist of urbanity and chic to the otherwise forthright taste of the salad.

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.