My heart leaps when I behold the word ishtew on any menu. Long ago, we were treated to the stuff by Devidutt, the khansama at the Dak bungalow in Mukteshwar. This was a native version of the Irish stew. Decades later, Shahid, a friend, introduced us to another avatar — the Delhi ishtew from Flora restaurant near Jama Masjid. Food lovers favoured this over the much-hyped qorma and kaliya, he said. The next ishtew encounter was with Shafiq miyan from Bhopal. He bought the meat himself, instructing the butcher to give the right cuts, and always sliced onions of equal weight. A generous measure of whole red chillies went in, and the final product watered not only the mouth, but the eyes and nose, all joined in a joyous, tearful celebration. Much later, when I went to Bhopal with Indrajit, my film-maker son, we stumbled upon Hotel Jameel. The ishtew here is ready by one in the afternoon and sold out in an hour-and-a-half. Indrajit has improvised on the ishtew theme by blending ‘heritage’ recipes from Mukteshwar, Delhi and Bhopal. Another old favourite is the alu chop, which my mother brought back after many years at Shantiniketan. My father loved it wrapped around a mutton chop, her grandsons preferred the simpler version. Our Nepali cook renders it differently but he insists that his stay in West Bengal qualifies him to tamper with the traditional recipe! Indrajit’s Ishtew Ingredients 500 gm kid/lamb, chops and shoulder 500 gms onions, sliced fine 1 small pod garlic, chopped 2-inch piece ginger, julienned 100 ml refined oil 1 tsp black peppercorns 12-10 whole red chillies 4-5 cardamoms Salt to taste Cup of curds, well-beaten Green chillies, chopped Pinch of mace (optional)Method Wash and pat dry the meat. Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan and add onions, garlic, ginger and meat. Add peppercorns, chillies, cardamom and salt. Add curds, cover the pan and reduce heat. Stir till meat is done, usually 50 minutes. Add green chillies and mace (optional). This dish tastes divine with roti or chawal.Alu ChopIngredients 500 gm potatoes 2-3 eggs, hard-boiled Garam masala Salt to taste Red chilli powder 1 small onion, chopped very fine 1-2 green chillies, chopped fine Breadcrumbs/suji for rolling Oil for fryingMethod Boil, cool, peel and mash potatoes. Discard egg yolks, dice the white and incorporate well into potato mash along with garam masala, salt and red chilly powder, onion and green chillies. Shape mash into croquets by flattening a ping-pong ball-sized mash into an oval. Lightly roll in breadcrumbs or suji. Pan fry on a non-stick frying pan with just a thin film of oil. Garnish with fresh coriander. The chop can be happily married with any phirang sauce or desi chutney.
