Travel - International Indian

Gujarat: DhoklaIngredients: 2 cups gram flour, 4 cups sour butter milk, 2 tablespoons ginger andgarlic paste, 3 teaspoons sugar, 50 grams chopped cashew nuts, ½ tsp of sodabicarbonate, 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves, 6 tablespoons oil, 2teaspoons mustard seeds, salt to taste. For decoration: 100 grams chopped cashewnuts, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves, ½ cup grated coconut.Method: Mix flour with buttermilk to a smooth batter, set aside for half an hour; mixin soda bicarbonate blended with 4 tablespoons oil, ginger and garlic paste, sugarand salt, put in a shallow greased dish and steam for 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into neatsquares and put in a serving dish. Heat 2 tablespoons oil and fry mustard seeds; pour over the dhokla and decoratewith chopped cashew nuts, grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Serve with chutney.Hyderabad: Kacche Gosht Ki BiryaniIngredients: 1 kilo mutton cut into serving portions, 1 kilo basmati rice, 250grams sliced onions, 500 grams finely cut onions, 500 grams tomatoes sliced, 2tablespoons ginger and garlic paste, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves, 2tablespoons garam masala, 2 cloves, 2 cardamoms, 2 bay leaves, 1 small piececinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ cup clarified butter + 4 tablespoonsclarified butter, salt and chilli powder to taste.Method: Par boil the rice with salt and remove the water. Fry the sliced onionsto a golden brown color. In half cup clarified butter, add the whole spices and fry nicely; add the onion, ginger andgarlic paste. Place the mutton along with the other spices on the the rice and pour 4 tablespoons of clarified butteron top. Cover the deep vessel with a tight fitting cover and seal the rim with dough and when smoke starts comingout from the vessel, reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for ½ an hour, remove the dough from the rim of the vessel andserve in the vessel itself with fried onions and hard boiled eggs. Serve hot.Goa: Chili CrabKolhapur: Roasted MuttonIngredients: 2 kilos whole leg of mutton cut into pieces, 1 kilo curd, 100grams mixed whole spices like dhania jeera powder, garam masala, chillipowder, 100 grams ginger and garlic paste, 250 grams ground almonds, 250grams clarified butter, salt to taste.Method: Make fine gashes on the pieces of lamb with a sharp knife, mix all theabove ingredients and marinate the lamb pieces for 8-10 hours. Put in a preheated moderate oven and cook till tender and golden. Serve hot.Ingredients: 1 medium crab cleaned and steamed, 250 grams onions, 1tablespoon ginger and garlic paste, ½ cup grated dry coconut, 1 teaspoonpepper corns, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, 2cloves, 2 cardamoms, 4 red Kashmiri chillies, 1 small piece cinnamon stick,2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves, 250 grams tomatoes pureed.Method: Steam the crab till cooked. Dry roast all the spices and coconutand grind to a paste. Fry onions to a red color along with ginger and garlicand grind to a paste. Mix both the pastes together, heat three tablespoonsoil and add the tomato puree and fry well in the tomato puree. Add boththe pastes and the crab and cook till the oil comes out. Decorate withchopped coriander leaves and green chillies. Serve hot.Golden Reejsinghani is a freelance writer based in MumbaiThe International Indian 91