ALOO SALAN (POTATOES WITH MEAT)

Aloo gosht – or as we call it, aloo salan – is the most popular dish on my table. No party at home is complete without it. Friends crave aloo salan and I find myself sharing the recipe all the time. The potatoes soaked in the masala and shorba (gravy) makes them taste different from other varieties of cooked potatoes.

Over the last decade or so, aloo salan has replaced the traditional mutton korma at wedding banquets.

I have heard elders recall, how, in the old days, serving aloo salan at weddings would have been deemed as an insult. My uncle said that in earlier times, the baraat, groom’s marriage party, would have taken offence and gone back without the bride had they been served aloo salan! This is because the dish was maute ka khana, food served at post-funeral gatherings.

Ideally, the potatoes should be of medium size. I handpick potatoes because the uniformity in size makes the dish look appealing. Potatoes are sliced lengthwise into two halves. If the potatoes are not sliced the correct way, one can tell that the cook is a novice.

1 cup oil

6 green cardamom pods

2 black cardamom pods

4 cloves

1½-2 tsp red chilli powder

2 tsp garlic paste

1½ tsp ginger paste

3-4 tbsp coriander powder

Salt, to taste

½ kg mutton on the bone, cut into cubes 4-5 medium-sized onions, golden-fried (see note)

200g yogurt

5-6 potatoes

Freshly chopped coriander and a sprinkling of garam masala powder, to garnish

Heat oil and add the green and black cardamom pods and cloves. After a minute, add chilli powder, garlic and ginger pastes, coriander powder and salt. (It’s best to mix all these spices with a little water, maybe a quarter of a cup. The water ensures that the masala does not burn when added to the oil.)

After a minute or two, when the masala is lightly fried and the oil bubbles rise, add the mutton. Stirring occasionally, leave on a medium or high flame for 5 to 10 minutes. Keep the cooking vessel open so that the water released from the meat evaporates as does its bisand, odour. Meanwhile, blend the fried onions and the yogurt together for a few seconds in the mixer and keep it aside.

Once the meat is slightly cooked, and the oil is bubbling, add the blended onion and yogurt mixture to the meat. The secret of smooth gravy is this blended mixture. Keep on medium for 5 to 10 minutes to bhuno, cook, the yogurt. When oil bubbles rise, add 2 cups of water. The level of the water should be a few inches above the meat. If you are going to use the pressure cooker, then you could add a little more water.

I rely on the pressure cooker for aloo salan, allowing one whistle for the meat. When the cooker cools, check the meat, which should be half-done. Now add the potatoes and close the cooker. The potatoes and meat should be done with one more whistle. If cooking on low flame without a pressure cooker, keep a check on the meat. When it is half-done, add the potatoes and cook until both are cooked.

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and a sprinkling of garam masala.

Note: To make golden-fried onions, slice them in half circles and then deep-fry them until golden brown. Drain them on paper towels and store in air-tight containers. They keep for weeks without refrigeration. Keeping fried onions ready cuts cooking time by almost half, says Sadia. The colour of the onions must be a perfect golden brown or else the colour, flavour and taste of the dish will be affected adversely. Slicing onions finely in half circles and deep-frying them to the right colour is truly an art, she adds.