India: The tastiest khichdi

Recipes of three types of rasam sit beautifully between a dal palak and dahi kadhi Therersquos Karnatakastyle mutton kofta juxtaposing the shami kabab Space is alotted to the rarely discussed pasanda a UP meat speciality that relies on skill of the butcher to give you boneless flattened meat pieces These are simple recipes from Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh belonging to both Hindu and Muslim traditions Kshatriya and Syed vegetarian and nonvegetarianSumitra and Anees An Indian MarriagemdashTales and Recipes from a Khichdi Family HarperCollins India is journalisteditor Seema Chishtirsquos latest projectLaced with sepiatinted nostalgia the book tells you Indiarsquos story through the food of Chishtirsquos home as it explores the culinary traditions of two families belonging to different faiths and regions And yet itrsquos not your regular recipe bookThe first three sections are about Chishtirsquos father Anees born in 1940 to a Syed Muslim family in Deoria Uttar Pradesh who later arrived in Delhi as a statistician and worked as a journalist Her mother Sumitra who was born in Arsikere Hassan district of todayrsquos Karnataka in 1933 to a Shaivite woman and Vaishnavite manmdashan unusual union in those daysAs Chishti believes food history is serious history and sometimes the best way to tell the larger story ldquoLike the ingredients that make it food crossed cultural boundaries centuries before the word lsquoglobalisationrsquo entered our lexiconrsquo she writes in the book Her parents were both firstgeneration migrants to Delhi This was the late 1960s and Sumitra a working mother like many of her time found herself being in charge of the kitchen growing a few herbs and ingredients in pots especially the curry leaf and mint lsquoIngredients too were different thenmdashthe whole turmeric as a root was used more as there was no turmeric powder easily available coconut milk had to be pressed and extracted from fresh coconuts and the texture of the masala handground was different from what the blender yieldedrdquo she writes in the bookAn old longbook in which Sumitra wrote down recipes for her daughter SeemaChishti tells Sunday midday ldquoIn marriages which bring people from different cultures together kitchens are important of places where different lives express themselves as sweet sour and spicemdashdifferent tadkas and techniques of making food make life more interesting as they did in my case too The myriad possibilities of whatrsquos cooking today were itself exciting Unlike me my mother took great interest in the kitchen as did my father and they were very hospitable peoplerdquo She is referring to her parents and perhaps even her current household Chishti is married to veteran politician and CPIM general secretary Sitaram YechuryWhy did she decided to write the book now Chishti says that much of it has to do with where India finds herself ldquoWhen talk of separation of demonising Muslimsmdashfor their food and ways of livingmdashas alien and unIndian when history books began to be changed to take their significance and presence away from India it became important for me to share a slice of real lived history The laws in at least eight states virtually criminalise marriage between Hindus and Muslims especially between a Hindu woman and Muslim man Telling a story such as this became morally imperativerdquo thinks ChishtiSeema ChishtiBut she is optimistic that her idea of India still does exist ldquoThat explains the concerted attack on it No doubt the push to demonise those that live or accept differences is very hard Layered like a biryani khichdi or as author Tony Joseph puts it like lsquopizza toppingsrsquo several layers of Indian society continue to stay and make our beautiful landrdquoMutton PasandaIngredients500 gm mutton cut into pasanda pieces flat and batteredfrac12 small green raw papaya1frac12 tbsp of cooking oil4 cloves4 small cinnamon sticks2 large onions1 pod of garlic1 mediumsized gingerfrac12 tbsp poppy seeds2 tbsp curdSalt to tastePreparationCut onions into small pieces and divide into two equal halves Grate the garlic ginger and papaya Roast the poppy seeds on a tawa for 34 minutes and make a dry powder of it set it aside Take half of the onions and the other masala items including papaya and make a paste Wash the mutton Mix the masala paste salt and curd and leave it to marinate for six hoursTake the pressure cooker add oil and heat it Put the remaining onions in and fry nicely Add the marinated mutton along with ground poppy seeds and fry for 10 minutes If necessary cook the mutton in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes Open the lid of the pressure cooker and continue to cook and dry the mutton After it dries put in green coriander leavesI recommend roasting cumin seeds by frying on a tawa and then making a dry powder out of it Sprinkle it on the pasanda while serving