With parents hailing from Punjab and Rajasthan, growing up, our Head of Research and Development-walla, Chef Rishi Anand had access to the flavourful foods from both states. “One of the reasons I am a chef today is because of my mum’s food and my dad’s love for food. Both of them loved to cook and, importantly, they loved to feed mouth-watering dishes to those around them”, he says.
Although a vast array of food came out of his family kitchen every day, he recounts his all-time favourite as his mother’s Rajasthani-style Chicken Stew. “When you hear Chicken Stew, you instantly think about South India and coconut milk and curry leaves. However, my mother’s stew is different. It’s a reflection of how people from parts of North India make this dish.” It’s rustic, homely, simple and pot-full of flavour.
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4–5 tbsp cooking oil
2 cloves
1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
½ tsp whole cumin
5 black peppercorn
2 bay leaf
1 black cardamom
Small stick of cinnamon
3–4 whole dry red chillies
350g red onion, roughly chopped
10 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
50g ginger, julienned
½ –1 tsp deggi mirch chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp garam masala powder
450g tomatoes, roughly chopped
1kg bone-in chicken, cut into small pieces (can use boneless chicken thighs, if preferred)
100g natural yoghurt
3–5 fresh green chillies (add depending on level of spice)
TO FINISH
Coriander leaves, roughly chopped
For other Dishoom recipes, please see Dishoom: from Bombay with love, our cookery book and highly subjective guide to Bombay.
May has us buzzing. The scent of the fresh, juicy Alphonso mangoes, two long weekends, cultural exhibitions, new documentaries – there’s a lot to soak in.
Vaisakhi, a day marked across India by people of many faiths, is celebrated in the Punjab as the start of the new Harvest. It falls on the 13th or 14th April depending on the calendar for that year.
Spring has gently tiptoed in. As the days lengthen and the sun grows bolder, here’s a glimpse of what we eagerly await in April.
We’re turning page after page of Ayesha Erkin’s recipe book Date of the Day, featuring 30+ recipes for the modest date – timely for breaking fast and after. Our dear friend Ayesha has now kindly shared a recipe for you to make at home. Try it this Iftar or any time you need a salty-spiced sticky treat.