Recipes for Eid
Eid is a time when we get-together with family and friends and enjoy a festive meal or two. Here, I would like to share some of my family favourites:
by Waheda Shahjahan
Beef Bhuna Ingredients:
500 grams boneless beef pieces
2 cups curd (yoghurt)
2 big onions, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 inch ginger stick, minced
2 green chilies, chopped
1/2 tsp red chili powder
3/4 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp lemon juice
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 green cardamoms
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
4 cloves
Salt to taste
2 tbsp ghee /oil
Directions:
Clean the beef pieces and rub with salt and lemon juice. Heat one 1 tablespoon of ghee or oil in a pan and fry the pieces till a little soft. Smear the fried beef pieces with curd, cover and keep aside.
Melt the rest of the ghee in a non-stick pan, and add bay leaf, clove, cumin seeds, cardamoms and sesame seeds. Saute altogether for a few seconds, add chopped onions and keep stirring. Add green chilies, ginger and garlic and continue to saute till oil begins to separate. Now add finely chopped tomatoes, salt and powder spices. Reduce the flame, cover pan and simmer for 2 minutes. Uncover and keep stirring until the onion-tomato mixture softens. Now add the beef pieces and saute well. Add 2 cups of water, cover and cook at low flame until the meat is tender. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Hyderabadi Spicy Fried Beef
Ingredients:
500 gram boneless beef, cut into cubes
1 tbsp garlic paste
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1/2 tbsp red chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp papaya paste
4 tbsp oil
Few mint leaves
Salt to taste
Directions:
Mix all ingredients, except the oil, with the meat and leave to marinate for at least two hours. Heat oil and fry the marinated beef cubes by adding a little water till tender. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.
Mutton Dopiaza
Ingredients:
500 g mutton
4 big onions chopped
4 tomatoes chopped
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
6-8 green chilies chopped
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 bay leaf
Fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) chopped
Mint leaves chopped
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Whole garam masala:
2 cloves
2-3 peppercorns
1 black cardamom crushed
2 green cardamoms crushed
Few bits of cinnamon stick
Directions:
Wash and clean the mutton. Chop into medium size pieces. Apply little bit of salt and lemon juice. Keep aside.
Heat the ghee in a pan, add whole garam masala. Saute for few seconds.
Add green chilies, ginger and garlic paste. Fry for 2 minutes on low flame.
Now add the pieces of mutton. Add salt and red chili powder. Mix well and cover the pan. Leave to cook for about 15 minutes on low flame. Now add chopped onions. Cook the meat with the onion for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, turmeric powder and coriander powder, stirring continuously. When the oil begins to separate, add 2 cups of water, mix and cover the pan. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes more, until the mutton is tender. Serve garnished with cilantro and mint leaves.
Palak Gosh
Ingredients:
1 bunch spinach (palak)
300 gram beef
6-8 green chilies
1 onion and 2 tomatoes cut into chunks
2 inch ginger piece
8 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp fresh cream
1 tbsp ghee
Salt to taste
Directions:
Chop spinach leaves finely and wash thoroughly.
Cut the beef into medium size pieces and clean.
Boil the spinach in salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes.
Squeeze and blend along with onion, tomatoes, green chilies, ginger and garlic.
Put oil in a pan and add the spinach paste, chopped beef, salt and all other spices.
Stir fry on high flame for about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and cover the pan.
Cook until the meat becomes tender and the curry thickens. Garnish with fresh cream.
Keema Capsicum
Ingredients:
500 gram minced beef (keema)
250 g capsicum (bell peppers) chopped
250 g tomatoes chopped
2 medium onions finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
3 green chilies
4 tbsp oil
Directions:
Heat oil and fry onions till slightly brown. Add ginger garlic paste, salt, green chilies, turmeric and chili powder and fry. Add keema and fry a bit more. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on low heat till meat is tender. Add tomatoes and fry, stirring from time to time until the tomatoes soften and mix well with the keema and spices. Now add capsicum, mix well and leave till well blended. See that the capsicum stays green and crunchy. Serve hot.
Hyderabadi Biryani
Ingredients:
500 gram Basmati rice half-cooked
1 kg boneless meat (beef or mutton), washed and chopped into cubes
500 g curd
4-6 tsp ginger-garlic Paste
4-6 green chili
2 large onions, sliced
cup lemon (lime) juice
tsp red chili powder
A pinch of caraway seeds (shahi zeera)
5-6 twigs coriander leaves chopped
5-6 twigs mint leaves chopped
2 pinch saffron
1-2 cinnamon sticks
1-2 cloves
2-3 pods cardamom
2-3 drops of saffron Color
2 cup oil
2 tsp ghee
Salt to taste
Directions:
Smear the pieces of meat with ginger-garlic paste. Put aside to marinate for an hour.
Meanwhile, fry sliced onions in a pan on low flame till light brown. Let the onions cool, and then crush. Add three/fourth of the crushed fried onion, curd, red chili powder, cinnamon, green chili, cardamom, caraway seeds, clove, saffron water, coriander and mint leaves and salt to the marinated meat. Leave the meat aside for another hour.
Meanwhile, make a mixture of aromatic water by adding one teaspoon salt, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, mint leaves and coriander leaves in a little water.
Now spread a layer of half-cooked rice in a heavy bottomed cooking pot. Add saffron colour, lime juice, ghee and the remaining crushed fried onions over the layer of rice. Then spread a layer of marinated meat over this, and top with the rest of the semi-cooked rice. Pour the aromatic water in a circular motion over the top rice layer. Now tightly cover the pot with a lid. Keep it on a low flame for exactly 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and serve hot.
