Uppama (Spiced Cream of Wheat)

This recipe has been staring at me from the pages of 660 Curries for years. I kept telling myself that I'd try it... sometime, but I never quite managed it.

I'd never tried cream of wheat before, but I've heard jokes about its awfulness as a breakfast porridge. Those attitudes made me somewhat reluctant to give it a go. And then, on top of that, I'm supposed to add all of these spices and vegetables?! I wasn't convinced that would be a winning combo.

However, Iyer has once again proved me wrong! This was great! TF actually said it was a favourite for her. And, while I don't think it rose to quite that level for me, I did enjoy it a great deal.

I appreciate that this dish makes a relatively quick and easy substrate that actually incorporates a few veggies. Not a lot to be sure, but at least it's something!

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Uppama

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/4 c. raw cashews
• 1 Tbsp. skinned split black lentils (mapte beans/urad dal)
• 6 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies, stems removed
• 2 c. frozen green peas
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 c. water
• 12 fresh or frozen curry leaves
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 4 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies, halved lengthwise
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 c. non-instant cream of wheat (sooji)

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they've stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
3. Add the cashews, lentils, and dried chilies and stir-fry until the chilies blacken (1-2 minutes).
4. Add the peas and turmeric and stir to coat.
5. Add the water and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the curry leaves, salt, fresh chilies, and cilantro.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in cream of wheat.
8. Cover and cook until the grains swell up (~5 minutes).
9. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Shalgam Gosht (Lamb with Turnip)

I don't buy lamb often because it's so expensive, but I do like to get a little bit every once in a while. Especially since we've made so few of the lamb recipes we have in our various cookbooks. Sometimes you can get away with substituting beef for the lamb, but a lot of the time the dish really does need the lamb unless you want to completely rewrite it to rebalance the flavours.

I've recently started shopping at a nice halal grocery store downtown and they have a nice selection of Ontario lamb and goat available, so I figured I'd treat myself to a little bit and try out a new recipe.

Shalgam Gosht

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. mustard oil, divided
• 450g turnips, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 slices ginger (~5cm by 3cm by 3mm), chopped
• 1 c. water
• 600g boneless leg of lamb, cut into 2cm cubes
• 4 black cardamom pods
• 1 Tbsp. bin bhuna hua garam masala"
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. firmly packed fresh mint leaves¹
• 2-3 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies
• 1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat 2 Tbsp. of the mustard oil over medium heat.
2. Add the turnips and stir-fry until beginning to brown (~8 minutes).
3. Transfer the turnips to a bowl and set aside.
4. Add another 2 Tbsp. of oil to the pan.
5. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry until softened an onion is light brown (~10 minutes).
6. Transfer onion mixture to a blender, add the water, and purée until smooth.
7. Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil in the pan.
8. Add the lamb and cardamom pods and cook for 15 minutes.
9. Transfer the onion paste to the pan.
10. Add the garam masala and salt, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, mash the mint and chilies into a paste in a molcajete or similar large mortar and pestle type device.
12. Add the tomato to the mint mixture a few pieces at a time, pounding into a paste after each addition. Remove the pieces of tomato skin if desired.
13. Add the turnips, cilantro, and tomato-mint mixture to the lamb and continue cooking, covered, stirring occasionally, for ~30 minutes longer.

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¹ I didn't have quite enough mint leaves, so I made up the difference with some dried mint. Normally I wouldn't recommed using dried mint as I don't find the flavour to be very good, but the Qitaf brand mint that I got at the halal grocery store is excellent! ^Back

Sarson da Saag (Mustard Green Curry)

We got some fresh and very pungent mustard greens from Psyche and were very excited to try them in a curry. I picked this simple mustard and ghee curry because I wanted something that would really let the greens shine. Unfortunately, this particular variety seems to become extremely bitter when cooked. I think, in future, I'll enjoy those greens fresh and save the curry recipes for the milder store-bought greens.

Sarson da Saag

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-2 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies
• 1-2 fresh green Thai chilies
• 450g mustard greens, rinsed and chopped
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 2 Tbsp. cornmeal
• juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
3. Immediately add garlic, dried chilies, and fresh chilies and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the mustard greens a handful at a time and cook until wilted.
5. Continue cooking, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes.
6. Add water and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
8. Transfer the curry to a blender and blend until smooth.
9. Return the blended mixture to the pan and add the ghee and cornmeal.
10. Cook, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, for ~15 more minutes.
11. Stir in lime juice and serve immediately.
12. Top each portion with additional ghee if desired.

Sorshe Tamatar (Mustard Tomatoes)

I really enjoyed this one! Being composed mainly of tomatoes, it's not very substantial on its own, but it is very tasty. I love the pungent mustard flavour. I kind of want to try making the same sauce and cooking other things in it. I think it could be nice on greens and/or potatoes. Maybe even some sort of mustard-y mixed vegetable stew! Tomatoes, potatoes, spinach, mustard greens... maybe even a few green chickpeas? I think it could make for a really interesting dish. In the meantime, if you just want a light side dish with big flavour, this simple tomato curry has you covered!

Sorshe Tamatar served atop Gatte ki Tehri

Sorshe Tamatar

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. mustard seeds, ground
• 1/4 c. hot water
• 2 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 3-4 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies
• 450mL diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. jaggery
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine mustard and water and mix to make a pungent, yellow paste.
2. Heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add chilies to hot oil and roast until blackened (~30 seconds).
4. Add tomatoes, mustard paste, jaggery, salt, and turmeric and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened slightly (~10 minutes).
6. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Chai Patte Waali Chana (Tea-Simmered Chickpeas)

I was sure that we'd already written that recipe up ages ago, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. Hopefully this isn't a duplicate post. I didn't want to risk leaving this one out though. It's one of those things that didn't sound great to me at first, but I really loved once I tried it. The idea of a tea-based curry seemed strange to me and not particularly appealing. The fact it doesn't have much in the way of seasonings beyond the tea and some garlic and ginger didn't do much to reassure me either. But this is a really excellent curry! One of my favourites and one that I recommend to others who want to try a homemade curry but may not yet have an extensive collection of spices.

Chai Patte Waali Chana

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. black tea leaves
• 2 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 3 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 2-4 fresh green Thai or cayenne chilies, minced
• 3 c. cooked chickpeas
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• juice of one lime

Directions

1. Bring water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add tea leaves to boiling water, remove from heat, and set aside to steep for ~5 minutes.
3. Strain out and discard the tea leaves, reserving the tea.
4. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
5. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
6. Add ginger, garlic, and chilies and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
7. Add chickpeas, cilantro, salt, and turmeric and stir to thoroughly combine. Cook for ~1 minute.
8. Stir in tea and bring to a boil.
9. Lower heat to medium and coo, uncovered, until thickened (~10 minutes).
10. Remove from heat, stir in lime juice, and serve.

Apparently rista and goshtaba are commonly served at Kashmiri weddings. Both dishes use the same meatballs, but serve them in a different sauce. I decided that I liked the idea of serving them together so that I could compare and contrast the two. The goshtaba were, of course, delicious in their creamy sauce, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the rista with their much thinner sauce. It is essentially water with spices in; no oil, no veggies, just... spice-infused water. And it's not like there are even that many spices! And yet, it was absolutely delicious.

Rista & Goshtaba

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 450g ground lamb
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. black cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. ginger powder
• 1 small red onion, minced
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. mustard oil

Rista

• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chiles¹
• 1/4 tsp. saffron threads
• 4 black cardamom pods
• 6 whole cloves, crushed

Goshtaba

• 1 c. half-and-half²
• 1/2 tsp. Kashmiri garam masala
• 1/4 tsp. saffron threads

Directions

Meatballs

1. Combine lamb, salt, fennel, cumin, ginger, onion, and garlic and mix thoroughly.
2. Divide into 20 equal portions and form into balls.
3. Heat the oil over medium heat.
4. Brown the meatballs in the oil. Cook for 5-7 minutes, turning frequently, until all sides have been browned. (They don't need to be cooked all the way through as they will finish cooking in the sauce.) Work in batches if necessary.

Rista

1. Combine all sauce ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Simmer vigorously for 5 minutes.
3. Once meatballs have been browned, add 10 of them to the sauce and cook for an additional 10 minutes, basting every minute or two.
4. Remove meatballs with a slotted spoon and continue to cook the sauce, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or so.
5. Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
6. Serve with rice.

Gostaba

1. Drain any excess oil from remaining 10 meatballs.
2. Pour half-and-half over meatballs and add masala and saffron.
3. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, basting and turning meatballs as necessary.
4. Serve over rice.

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¹ If Kashmiri chiles are unavailable, substitute 1/4 tsp. cayenne + 3/4 tsp. sweet paprika. ^Back
2 Half-and-half is ~10% milk fat. If a 10% cream isn't available, you can mix cream and milk to get the right percentage. A 50:50 mix of milk and table/single/18% cream should result in a mixture that's approximately 10% milk fat. In a pinch, I think table/single/18% cream would be fine. It just means that the final sauce will end up being a bit thicker and richer than it would've been otherwise. ^Back

Nehari (Braised Lamb Shanks in a Fennel-Cumin Broth)

This curry involves a lot of strong flavours. I loved it though! The broth was delicious and rich. The meat was tender. And it went very well over a nice warm bowl of white basmati rice.

Nehari

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 6 small lamb shanks (~1.4kg)
• 1/4 c. mustard oil
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. black cumin seeds
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 Tbsp. rice flour
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh mint
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine yogurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, cayenne, salt, and turmeric to make a marinade.
2. Coat lamb shanks generously with marinade, cover, and chill overnight.
3. Heat oil over medium heat.
4. Add lamb shanks to hot oil along with all of the marinade.
5. Cook, turning occasionally, until the marinade evaporates and the shanks start to brown (~10 minutes).
6. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the oil starts to separate (~15 minutes).
7. Transfer lamb shanks to a plate.
8. Stir the onion into the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens (~10 minutes).
9. Meanwhile, combine fennel seeds, cumin, black cumin, and star anise and grind fine.
10. Stir ginger into ground spices.
11. Once onion has softened, stir in the ground spice blend and let it cook for a minute or two.
12. Add 2 c. water and deglaze the pan.
13. Return the shanks to the broth and heat to a boil.
14. Spoon onion slices over meat and cover the pan.
15. Braise, basting occasionally, until lamb is falling off the bone (2-3 hours).
16. Transfer lamb to serving plate.
17. Sprinkle in the rice flour.1 Tbsp. at a time, whisking vigorously after each addition.
18. Bring sauce to a boil to thicken, then pour over the shanks.
19. Sprinkle with mint and cilantro and serve over rice.