Arcot Nawab Kabab / Mutton Bonda - Regional Special

Mutton Kabab:

Ingredients:

Mutton
Ginger-garlic paste
Salt
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Chili powder
Garam masala powder 1/4 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 spoon
Oil few spoons.

For Batter:

Besan/kadalai maavu 1-2 cups
Mutton cooked water
Ginger-garlic paste 1/4 spoon
Green chilies 6 chopped
Shallots chopped
Curry leaves finely chopped
Cilantro leaves - chopped
Mint leaves chopped
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1/2 spoon
Garam masala powder
Oil for deep frying.

Method:

Cook mutton in a pressure cooker with little salt in it. Once it is tender, remove the pieces and set aside. Do not throw the water...we can use it for mixing the batter.

Now, fry this mutton with above mentioned spices, set aside.

Meanwhile mix the batter with above mentioned ingredients, except oil. Maybe till dropping consistency.

Heat oil in a wok, dip pieces of meat in the batter and fry the same. Allow this to turn golden to reddish brown and crisp.

Serve warm as a tea time snack.

Makkan Peda:

Arcot Makkan Peda.

Makkan Peda is quite famous sweet around North Arcot Districts. After a nice Arcot Biriyani....treating with Makkan peda is kind of special! My lecturer cum friend Punitha mam(she is from Melvishaaram!) she used to bring home made 'makkan peda' & 'Mutton Kheema Balls' for me! She is not only a very good teacher, a dear friend to me and an excellent cook! She is the one...who shared most of the secret recipes from arcot belt! like Mutton Kebabs, Minced Meat Balls, Makkan Peda....etc.

Ingredients:

Kowa(sugarless) - 250 gms
All purpose flour few spoons(to knead-optional)
Cooking soda - a pinch
Yogurts 1 cup
0i1/ Ghee for deep frying.

For stuffing:

Sliced almonds 1 spoon
Chopped cashews 1 spoon
Saarai Paruppu(I don't know in English) 1 spoon
Pumpkin seeds 1 spoon
Raisins 1 spoon.

For sugar syrup:

Sugar 1 1/2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Saffron few strands.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing together. set side.

Prepare sugar syrup of sticky consistency. Set aside t cool down.

Mix soda with few spoons of unmelted ghee.... till it becomes frothy.

Now mix the sugarless kowa and all purpose flour...bring them to crumbled stage.

Add yogurts and knead them to make a smooth fissure less dough.
Keep well covered for about an hour or so.

Now make equal parts out of it....as big as large lemon/orange size. Push a spoon full of stuffing inside it. Repeat the same for all the remaining dough and stuffing.

Then gently tap their sides...its should be in saucer shape(enterprise space ship shape)

Deep fry them gently in ot ghee...till golden to reddish brown outer. Remove and leave over kitchen tissues. Then immerse in the sugar syrup.

Let the pedas to soak in the syrup for really really long time. The pedas should be very soft and like melting in your mouth. Serve chilled!

Arcot Kushka

Arkot Star Hotel Kushka:

Arkot Kushka. Kushka Rice. Kushka Biriyani. Kuzhka Biriyani.

Kushka is a recipe....where the rice is cooked with meat(generally mutton and rarely chicken)! Much similar/just like a Biriyani. Then they remove the meat chunks from the rice! Rice is served in the name of Kushka! There are so many vegetarian fans too for this recipe! Actually when someone hate to take a bite of meat....but yet love the flavour of this rice! This is for you! The meat broth makes this rice very tasty! So either use meat/meat broth for preparing kushka.

Arcot, Star Hotel has one hell of a great kushka recipe....the best I ever had! They are unique....they serve their Biriyani/Kushka just in particualar time. They prepare right amount and sell withing minutes. Either if we go early or bit late.....we can't find it. Around 11.30 to 12 almost everything will be Gaayap(over)! So I always make sure to be there before 12- 12.30! There are so many fans like me for this mouth watering Arcot Kushka!

Ingredients:

Cloves 3
Cinnamon 2
Cardamon 3
Maratti mokku 2
Bay leaves 2
Star anise 1
Ghee 1 cup
Green chilies 6 slitted
Onion 1 finely chopped
Ginger paste 1 spoon
Garlic paste 1 spoon
Mint leaves few
Coriander leaves alone few
Tomato 1 chopped
Lemon juice 1
Salt
Chili powder
Red/Kesar food color/turmeric 1 pinch(optional)
Mutton cooked broth 1 and 1/2 cup(goat's meat cooked water alone)
Short grained rice 1 cup(seeraga samba rice)

Note: To prepare Mutton broth/Goat's meat broth. Cook 1 cup of meat with salt and 2 cups of water. Once the meat is done. Filter and discard meat/the flesh and reserve the cooked water....the broth! One can use the same meat for some other recipes like, Arcot bonda or anything. If you wish while cooking meat, one can saute it before with little spices like onion, ginger-garlic and few spons of oil.

Method:

In a pressure pan, heat ghee. Add cloves, cinnamon, cardamon, maratti mokku, sat anise, bay leaves and green chilies. Fryt hem till the green chilies crack and turn opaque.

Now add onion and fry them till it turns to golden color. Followed by ginger-garlic paste. Fry them real good until its raw smell leaves.

Then add tomatoe and fry till its water content is lost and oil shows up on sides.

Add mint and coriander leaves and fry fry till they wilt.

Now add salt, chili powder, lemon juice and food color to this. Add rice and saute for few minutes. Maybe till the rice is slightly fried.

Then add your reserved Mutton/Chicken broth. Cook over low-medium heat till 1 whistle sound. Do not release the pressure in hurry. Let the rice stand in pressure and get cooked.

Serve hot with Brinjal Serva and onion/cucumber raita.

Mutton 65:(Arcot Muslim Style)


Deep Fried Mutton. Fried Meat. Fried Goat's Meat Recipe. Meat Fry.

This recipe was shared by my Mommy's friend 'Mrs. Babulal'. She is a great cook! She always sends over her specialities.....frequently! I like her Non-Veg preparations. Especially Biriyani, Vanjiram Fish Fry....! On one special occassion she prepared this 'Fried Mutton'! This particular recipe caught my attention....coz its so unusual for me! All I know is meat should be cooked for really really long time! Never thought of attempting anything new....like 'Deep Frying Meat'! She said....she marinates it for long time and shadow dries the meat before frying! Sounded like a good idea to me! Just like that....I fixed few more things myself, I made it bit spicy, added lemon juice to give tangy taste and chopped the piece too small...to ensure thorough cooking!!!

Ingredients:

Goat's meat 1/2 kilo(boneless and diced into too small pieces)
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/2 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Red food color 1 pinch (optional)
Garam masala powder 1/2 spoon
Lemon juice 1/4 cup
Ginger -garlic paste 1 -2 spoons
Oil for deep frying.

Method:

In a large bowl, bring all the above said ingredients together, except oil. Let this marinade sit in fridge for 20 whole minutes.

In a very wide tray....arrange each mutton piece(meat) giving enough gap between each piece.

Set this tray under fan. For about 2 hours. Maybe you should turn the pieces to the other side(once it is dry to one side)

Deep fry them in hot oil. Till it is deep reddish brown. Maintain the stove at medium heat. Never load the oil. Fry only few at a time.

Garnish with crisply fried curry leaves and serve along with lemon wedges.

Serve warm. As a side dish to go with your lunch or as tea time snack.

Arcot Mutton Bonda:

Mutton Bonda. Arcot Mutton Kebab/Kawaab. Meat Kebab. Goat Meat's Bonda.

I learnt this recipe from a road side cook on Madras highways. Though its not run in skewers....they call it 'Kebab'! But I wanted to call it 'Mutton Bonda'. I have made some modifications myself for better taste. Hope y'all will enjoy with me!

Ingredients:

Goat's meat 1/2 kg(boneless and diced)
Gram flour 2 cup
Rice flour 2-4 spoons
Oil for frying.

Make a batter mixing these with gram flour:

Gram flour
Rice flour
Salt
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Coriander powder 1 spoon
Baking soda less than 1/4 spoon
Ginger -Garlic paste 1 spoon
Mint paste 1 spoon
Garam masala powder 1 spoon(ground cloves and cinnamon)
Egg white 1 (optional)

Mutton masala ingredients:

Salt
Turmeric powder 1/2 spoon
Chili powder 1/2 spoon
Coriander powder 1/2 spoon
Ginger - garlic paste 1/2 spoon
Onion paste 1 spoon
Mint leaves finely chopped 1 spoon
Pepper powder 1/2 spoon
Garam masala 1/2 spoon

Method:

1. Pressure cook, meat with little salt in it till tender.

2. In a pan add few spoon of oil and fry cooked meat. Add all the mutton masala ingredients now. Fry till fragrant and oil shows up on top. Maintain your stove over high flame. Never cover during this process.

3. Heat oil in deep pan(medium to high flame).

4. Take a piece of meat and dip it in the batter and fry them in hot oil. Fry them till golden brown and crisp.

This is heavy for appetizers, better treat as an evenning snack with cup of Iranian Chai!

Arcot Brinjal Serva

Brinjal Serva:(North Arcot Muslim Style)


Egg-Plant Serva. Kathirikkai Serva. Baingan ka Salan. Kathirikkai Ellu Kuzhambu.

Brinjal serva makes an excellent side dish for Nawabi biriyani/Arcot Biriyani. It tastes rich with this biriyani for sure! It may sound weird for some of you 'Brinjal/Eggplants with Biriyani!! But it is an unique dish found only at North Arcot belt! Where Nawabs were ruling for the small time!

The basic recipe is the same around Arcot, Vellore, Amboor/Ambur and Vaniyambadi...but the speciality comes from the powdered spices, with slight variation...the authentic spice blend promotes this regular curry to standard/trade mark dish!

Generally they use 'Vellore Mullu Kathirikkai' its nothing but a wild kind of Eggplant/Brinjal, which has deep violet color, very solid shiny and measures about a handfull. Its has thorns and pricky on its peduncle(stalk and umberlla)...its seeds are not obvious. It has definite flavour and taste. It wont disintegrate faster while cooking even if you prolong your cooking time.

Anyways...since its very hard find even a regular eggplant here...the whole idea of showing you all the picture of 'Mullu Kathirikkai' is moot! I made them with these short violet eggplants here, they turned up fairly okay. Let me share the recipe, then.

Use sesame oil and dark sesame seeds for rich and strong flavour. Try to cook whole Eggplant/brinjal with few slits( twice will be perfect) don't slit more, try to hold the shape.

Ingredients:

Vellore brinjal half kilo(make sure of all in equal size) - slit twice at the bulb end......do not actually cut them....maintain their shape. just trim the peduncle only.
Whole pepper half spoon
Mustard half spoon
Fenugreek seeds half spoon
Cumin seeds half spoon
Curry leaves 3 twigs
Gingili/sesame oil 1 cup
Green chilies 3 slitted
Ginger-garlic paste 1 spoon
Onion paste 1 cup
Tomato puree 2-3 cups
Tamarind paste thick just 1/2 spoon
Black sesame seeds roasted and powdered one cup
Salt
Turmeric powder
Red chili powder.

Preparation:

1. Make 2 slits in brinjal(eggplant)and set it aside in water....because brinjal turns dark when exposed. One can add little salt/lemon juice to the water to avoid the further coloration.

2. Now in a strong bottomed pan pour oil and add the spices one by one...
mustard, cumin, pepper, fenugreek seeds, green chilies and curry leaves.

3. Then add onion and ginger-garlic paste. Fry them till it looses its raw odour . Then followed tomato puree...fry until water content evaporates from them and oil shows up in the top.

4. Now add salt, turmeric, chilly powder and brinjal semi-cook them without adding water later by adding tamarind water. The whole process on low flame and preferably covered. Has the gravy bubbles a lot....it may spoil your stove top.

5. When brinjal is almost cooked add sesame powder and bring it to boil.

6. Garnish with few crisply fried curry leaves.

Iit makes exellent side dish for mughalai biryani...or can be served with any mild pulav.

Arcot Chicken Biriyani

Arcot Biryani(Mughalai style)

Arcot or North Arcot district belt of Tamil Nadu is known for its Biriyani. Well...Nawabs, small time Mughal ruler, governed this part. The outside Muslim influence and the local blend has improved this recipe. Strong south Indian chilies are the highlight here. Locally grown 'long duration paddy'...the short grain rice called 'seeraga samba' makes it outstanding!! One more speciality of this area served biriyani is, its always served with 'Kathirikai Serwa' (Eggplant Serwa/ Brinjal Serwa)! It may sound strange and weird...but people who have actually tasted it...will never yeild to any other side dish!!Here I actually attempted to give a short cut method for Biriyani. It is well known that, it is cooked with wide range of choices and methods.

Ingredients:

Cinnamon sticks 2-4
Cloves 5
Cardamom pods 5
Bay leaves 3
Biryani flower 2
Marathi mokku 3
Ghee 2 cup (clarified butter)
Green chillies 6-8 slitted
One big onion finely chopped
3-4 ripe tomato finely chopped
Mint leaves 1 cup
Lemon juice 2-4 spoon
Ginger-garlic paste 4-6 spoon
Coriander/cilandro leaves 4-6 twigs
Curd half cup
Rice 3 cups (Short grained rice - 'seeraga samba')
Chicken/turkey/mutton/beef/lamb 3 cup
Salt to taste
Red chili powder
Food color (optional).

Preparation:

Rub ginger-garlic paste with meat and add salt +lemon juice + curd and set it aside/in fridge.

Pour generously ghee in the pressure cooker and bring it to smoky hot...now add the spices one by one...cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, maratti mokku and birinji flower.

Then add green chillies, let them splutter well. Then add onions.....fry them real good until it turns to golden color.

Now followed by reserve ginger-garlic paste, fry them till it looses its raw odour. Then followed by cilandro/coriander leaves, mint leaves plus chopped tomatoes. Fryt hem till it looses its water content and oil shows up on top and sides.

Now start adding meat and fry them until the protein denatures(meat becomes pale and opaque) Reserve the marination liquid.

Start adding food color(optional)and add red chili power. Semi cook them without adding any water....(matbe can use marinade liquid now)until the raw smell of chili powder goes.

(in case of mutton,lamb,beef...cook them with plenty of water and when once they are cooked properly measure the same water according to the rice...2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice...so ensure of correct measure).

Now add water and bring it to boil followed by rice. Add enough salt again(salt for rice)Pressure cook them in Sim low-medium heat till one whistle (if you're in a hurry).or simply cook until rice is cooked 3/4.

Put them in dum for 20 minutes.

Can be served with onion raita, cucumber raita or brinjal serva/eggplant serva.

The same directions can be used for vegetables, mushroom and paneer biriyani.