Cookbook challenge Saliha Mahmood Ahmed’s roast kashmiri duck
Editor Keith Kendrick tries the 2017 Masterchef winner’s impressive roast
You’ll remember Saliha Mahmood Ahmed. She was the doctor who wowed Masterchef judges with her modern take on dishes from her Pakistani heritage. Cooking from the age of 12, she won School Chef of the Year when she was 15 – and then worked all hours to balance helping her patients with perfecting creations for the hit BBC show. Her dedication paid off when she was crowned Masterchef winner in 2017 and since then her feet haven’t touched the ground, culminating in her first cookbook, Khazhana.
The Indo-persian book is rich with inspiration from Saliha’s maternal grandmother, Asma Noor (‘Nano’) and the family’s travels through the Mughal empire: India, Pakistan, Kashmir, the Middle East and central Asia.
Saliha says: ‘‘Nano was highly innovative. In her kitchen, she invented the most wonderful food for her family together with Shareef, the family khansama (a male cook in charge of the kitchen). She was never especially extravagant, choosing to live frugally and making use of all that was available to her. Meals were simple, extremely flavoursome and very skilfully prepared. It is this food philosophy of frugality, simplicity and – above all – flavour that has been passed down the generations like a precious gift.’
The gift I tried for this month’s cookbook challenge was a stunning centrepiece,
Kashmiri roast duck with plums and caramelised walnuts. The duck is juicy with crispy skin while the sauce is a balance of tart and sweet from the plums, orange juice and pomegranate juice balanced against a kick of aromatic heat from the chillies, ginger and whole spices. It is the perfect warming Sunday roast with a twist. Here’s the recipe, to serve four. Prick the skin of a whole duck with a toothpick to help render the fat. Put the duck on a metal rack in a deep roasting tray, season and roast in the oven at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 for 11/4 hours. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add 2 sliced onions and fry over a low-medium heat for 20-25 mins. Add 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 cinnamon stick, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp fennel seeds and 1 tsp chilli flakes and stir. Add 400g stoned, halved plums, 2 tsp sugar, juice of 2 oranges and 300ml pomegranate juice. Simmer for a few minutes, then pour the sauce into a large ovenproof dish.
Remove the duck from the oven and place it on top of the sauce. Return to the oven for 25 mins. Meanwhile, gently heat 1 tbsp honey in a pan. Add 100g walnuts and caramelise lightly. Serve the duck and sauce with the walnuts.