Thursday, July 16, 2015

Make your Eid Feast extra special with Shahi Zafran sherbet, Kebab-e-Dayg and more!

In my ancestral home in Lahore, on Eidul Fitr, our table is adorned with Bohemian crystal bowls filled with fruit or chickpea chaat and mithai in kitsch colours, laid out on silver platters. But as in many homes across Pakistan, it is the vermicelli pudding,the seviyan, which is the pièce de résistance on the table.

This Eid, why not add other items to your menu for the feast?

Present your guests with a saffron-imbued cold drink – Shahi Zafran ka sherbet  upon their arrival. The dollop of fresh cream on top with pistachio dust is a lovely way to do something a little extra special on Eid.

After your guests have eaten and enjoyed a few spoonful’s of seviyan (which is a rite of passage on Eid), there is always room for more dessert when the tea trolley comes around. Make a gorgeous date cake for your guests, and serve it alongside a cup of cardamom-fragranced green tea. In my ancestral home, green tea was always served in my paternal grandmother’s red Russian Gardner cups, which her mother-in-law brought back from Afghanistan in the late 1800s.

And for those guests who will be coming for lunch or dinner, prepare some Kebab-e-dayg – tender kebabs prepared on a slow flame, in a spicy tomato base, which pairs beautifully with some basmati rice and a kachumbar (salad).

My Ami’s brother, my eldest mamoo, always takes me straight to Rahat Bakery after I land at the airport in Lahore in the winter. During my summer visits, all one wants to do is go straight home and languish in the air-conditioned room, whilst slicing into the plump flesh of a mango. But in December, when Lahore is in its element and all you need is a mere shawl twirled around your silhouette to keep you warm, we stop for treats at the bakery.

Mamoo knows I may want to select my favourite pastry from the display, maybe the lemon tart, which I don’t think is made from real lemon curd at all, but I have been devouring it for so many years that I don’t think it really matters what the ingredients are. Or I may choose the layered rectangular chocolate pastry. I don’t think it is made with fine cocoa, but it is the pastry my nani ami (maternal grandmother) and I used to love having together in the evenings sitting in front of the gas heater in the drawing room, sipping our tea.

Rahat also has the best chicken patties in Lahore (my bias, of course), and one must follow a strict method for eating these. Just like there are methods for eating an oreo cookie, there are even stricter methods for eating a chicken patty.  First, you gently and carefully remove the top crispy layer which reveals the softer, inner layers of the puff pastry. Only once you’ve eaten the crackly top can you dip the softer portion into sweet chili sauce and inhale it in one-two-three-bites. My mamoo and I leave Rahat with 12 chicken patties, encased in a box with an orange or pink ribbon tied lazily on top in a bow. And just for old times’ sake, I will pick up a small box of Shezan’s mango juice, sultry Lahore summers in that cliched box.

I was not able to go home to Lahore this winter to have the lemon tart or get my fingers greasy by stuffing chicken patties into my mouth. I missed out on all the different citrus fruits which are in bloom in December, the ones we eat every morning while BBC news hums in the background. I missed out on spending time with my mamoo, the youngest one who comes into our room at midnight with his dinner on a tray after a long day at work,

“Hi Bruta,” he always quips.

To which I respond,

“Hi Bruto!”

To which he retorts,

“Hi Triple Ugly!”

And there he sits with us till two, sometimes three in the morning till we set the world right and talk about Sidney Poitier, one of his favourite actors.

I missed out on Siddique, our cook’s morning ritual of coming into my ami’s room asking me what to cook that day. My daily request for lunch, without fail is always daal (lentils) with chapatti (flatbread). I don’t know if Siddique puts crack in that daal, but I could eat it every day for the rest of my life. And then the hardest part, what to have for dinner. Some days I request a spicy mutton curry with potatoes for my meat and potatoes fix and other days just a simple chicken roast which my nani ami taught Siddique to make.

And some days I yearn for kebab-e-dayg, a kebab dish prepared in a large pot, a dayg. A rich tomato sauce is prepared with a fragrant base of caramelised onions and garlic to which kebabs are added and simmered till the sauce has seeped into each tender piece. Mopped up with a light-as-air chapatti or drenched over mounds of basmati rice, it is the taste of winters at home in my nani ami’s home. I still remember the swish-swoosing of her slippers as she would come towards my door every morning to ask me, her spoilt grandchild visiting from abroad, what I wanted for lunch and dinner that day. And some days I used to get miffed because I would want to continue sleeping rather than discussing lunch and supper menus.

How I wish for her to be there with ami and I every morning. And not once would I get miffed with her question regarding what to prepare for lunch and dinner.

This recipe serves four with a side of basmati rice, chapatti or naan.

Ingredients:

For the tomato base:

Oil ­ – 3 tbsp

Onion – 1 small (chopped fine)

Garlic – 2 cloves (minced)

Tomato – 28 oz / 400 ml can of chopped tomatoes or tomato sauce (passata) or 4 to 6 large fresh tomatoes, chopped, skin removed.

Cayenne pepper – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

For the kebabs:

Parchment paper

Bushels scallions/green onions – 2 (hairy ends cut off)

Onion – 1 large red onion (peeled, cut into small chunks)

Ginger– 1 thumb-sized knob of fresh ginger (peeled)

Garlic – 4 whole cloves garlic (peeled)

Beef – 1 lb ground beef (not of the lean variety; we need some fat to help ‘bind’ them)

Basin (gram flour) – 2 tbsp (heaped)

Egg – 1

Cayenne pepper – 1 tsp (heaped)

Salt – 1 tsp (or more to taste, remember, the tomato sauce they are poached in will also be salted)

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Green fresh chillies and herbs of your choice for garnishing the dish.

Method:

For the tomato base:

1. Place a large pot (at least 8 inches diameter) on medium heat.

2. Add oil, onions and garlic.

3. Sauté till golden brown, then add tomatoes and cayenne pepper.

4. Cover pot and turn heat to low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

5. The mixture will have reduced slightly and darkened in colour.

6. Add salt to taste and set aside while you make the kebabs.

For the kebabs:

1. Place scallions, onion, ginger and garlic in a food processor and pulse till all the ingredients are minced finely.

2. Transfer into a mixing bowl.

3. To this, add ground beef, gram flour, egg, cayenne pepper, salt, coriander and cumin powders.

4. Mix to combine well.

5. Form kebabs in your hands by placing a tablespoon and a half of the mixture in your palm and curling your fingers onto them. They should be wide and round in the middle and tapered on both ends.

6. Place each kebab on parchment paper as you continue to shape them.

7. Place pot with tomato sauce on medium heat, when it starts to bubble, add a cup of boiling water (you will need to keep boiling water handy).

8. Gently place each kebab into the tomato sauce with a slotted spoon. Make sure you don’t overcrowd them or they will break. Do not stack them on top of each other. Depending on the size of the pot you are using, you may have some kebabs leftover which will not fit in the pot. You can freeze these.

9. Replace the lid and turn the heat to low. Allow the kebabs to poach in the sauce for 30 minutes.

10. When the time has elapsed, allow kebabs to rest for 10 minutes before serving, otherwise they may crumble.

11. Serve with basmati rice, chapatti or naan.

12. Garnish with green chillies, mint, coriander or any other fresh herb of your choice.

Wishing everyone a lovely Eid with your loved ones.

All photos: Shayma Saadat

This post originally appeared here.

This is Part 2 of our delicious three part Eid Feast Recipe. Part 3 (Date Cake) shall be published tonight at midnight, stay tuned!


from The Express Tribune Blog http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/28595/make-your-eid-feast-extra-special-with-shahi-zafran-sherbet-kebab-e-dayg-and-more/

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