Haute Cuisine

For me, cooking is a hobby. The recipes here are from the authentic cuisine of Hyderabad. They are not a part of day-to-day cooking, but an ...

For me, cooking is a hobby. The recipes here are from the authentic cuisine of Hyderabad. They are not a part of day-to-day cooking, but an amalgamation of banquet and everyday food. Haleem is a concoction of meat and wheat. In Hyderabad, it’s cooked during Ramzan. I have eaten this during every Ramzan in my life, so the association with that time of the year is strong. It takes about seven hours to prepare and is best cooked on a slow charcoal fire. In Hyderabad we cook the meat with bones, not boneless like people in the metros prefer. This recipe is a long and elaborate one. First the husk of the wheat is removed by pounding. Then the meat is tenderised. You need patience and a lot of interest to cook these dishes in today’s fast-paced world.

HALEEM

Ingredients
1 kg mutton (cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces)
300 gms channa daal, soaked
for an hour
1 cup wheat, soaked overnight, drained, pounded and
dehusked
6-8 cups water
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander
powder
Salt to taste
2 onions (sliced fine and fried crisp)
4 tbsp ghee
Lemon juice

METHOD
Boil 6-8 cups of water in a heavy- bottomed handi. Add drained daal, wheat, mutton, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. Cook over low heat till the mutton is tender. Stir and mash well. Add crushed fried onion. Heat ghee and pour it over the haleem. Sprinkle lemon juice. Serve hot.

MIRCH KA SALAN

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Ingredients
250 gms chillies boiled in
salted water
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
Curry leaves
Walnut-sized ball of tamarind, dissolved in 1-1/2 cups of water
salt to taste
For the masala paste
1 tsp til
1 tsp chironji
1 tbsp dessicated dry coconut
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric

METHOD
Lightly roast and grind the til, chironji and coconut. Add coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric. Heat oil, add cumin and let it splutter. Then add the masala and ginger-garlic paste. Fry till oil separates. Add the chillies and curry leaves, fry. Pour in the tamarind water and add salt. Serve with biryani.