everyday subzi : raw papaya stew | kachhe papeete ka ishtoo

Raw papaya is an interesting vegetable. While it becomes a table fruit once ripe, the raw fruit makes wonderful salad, raita, paratha, chutney and even curry. The neutral taste of raw papaya makes it a perfect candidate for any flavour you want it to acquire.

This kachhe papeete ka ishtoo is actually a stew that everyone loves with all types of Indian breads. I remember we used to love it with do pad ki roti, poori or crisp parathas. Kachhe papeete ka ishtoo is spicy, aromatic and yet very light so it can be a part of light meal with thin chapatis and makes a paratha meal comparatively light too.

ingredients  
(3-4 servings)

500 gm raw papaya peeled, seeds removed and chopped into big chunks
250 gm red onions sliced thinly
100-200 gm potatoes peeled and cubed (optional)
4 green cardamoms
2 black cardamoms
12 cloves
2 sticks of Indian cinnamon
1 tsp pepper corns
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds 
3 tejpatta leaves
4-6 whole dry red chillies
12-15 cloves of garlic peeled and smashed
1 tbsp thin julienne of ginger
2 tbsp mustard oil
salt to taste 

preparation 

Heat the oil in a deep pan keeping the heat low, a handi or pressure cooker that can be used with or without the pressure lid. Add the whole spices, dry red chilies and smashed garlic at once and wait till they all become aromatic. It takes less than a minute.

Add the sliced onions and potatoes, mix well and cook till both look a little glazed. It takes just 2-3 minutes. You don't need to brown the onions but a few brownish streaks are okay.

Add the papaya chunks, toss to mix well. Add salt and mix. Cover with a well fitting lid and let it cook on dum till everything gets cooked well. The papaya chunks will start disintegrating and the onions will almost dissolve. You can add a few spoons of water in between to keep the dish moist at all times. This dum cooking can take about 30 minutes but if you pressure cook it gets faster. Take care to switch off the gas just after the first whistle blows.

The onions and raw papaya has enough water in it to make this stew watery enough but you can add up to 1/4 cup water to make the cooking easier.

This kachhe papeete ka ishtoo is quite aromatic and delicious and can be made with bottle gourds too. Some people like it just with potatoes but use more onions in that case if you try.

The kathal ka dopyaza is a similar recipe with minor differences but the taste of kathal ka dopyaza is very different from this one. Some people call it kachhe papeete ka dopyaza as well.

Do try this recipe and serve with any regular chapati or roti you eat. This stew pairs well with light flat breads and not too much with millet breads but we like it with our mixed grain rotis too.

I have shared a basic recipe of this kachhe papeete ka stew with dal bhari poori here. It is actually a versatile subzi and can be served with whatever you like.

khade masale ka chicken dopyaza or chicken ishtoo

Ishtoo and Dopyaza are similar recipes made with meats and vegetables both. While Dopyaza normally stays dry as the ingredients are cooked in their own moisture, Ishtoo is stewed with some water so it becomes a comforting winter stew. And yes, Dopyaza is mostly made in summers while Ishtoo is made in winters, the ingredients are exactly the same the cooking pocess is modified to suit the season.

The chicken dopyaza is a mildly spiced recipe which can be a good finger food too if the juices are dried a bit during cooking, the stew version is great with chapatis, naans, khamiri rotis or parathas.

Dopyaza is a name given to a meat curry cooked with lots of veggies as some people say but I doubt of this theory. I call a recipe dopyaza just because there is lots of pyaaz (onions) in it. Onions in a 1:1 ratio to meat or a veggie make the curry dopyaza, as it has been called in my family.

Nothing more special about dopyaza, just a stewed kind of curry cooked with minimum effort, paired well with khamiri rotis or plain parathas.

ingredients...
( for 3-4 servings depending on the side dishes)

chicken with bone 800 gm (I used leg pieces)

sliced onions 500 gm (more onions if you want more gravy)

ginger chopped in julienne 50+25 gm

garlic cloves slit lengthwise or the whole bulb cut through the middle

dry red chillies broken and seeds removed as many as you wish

(no green chillies are used in this stew)

cumin seeds 2 tsp

crushed black pepper corns 2 tsp

small and black cardamoms 3 each 

cinnamon stick 2 inches piece broken
bay leaves 2-4 nos.

cloves 4-5

salt to taste  

mustard oil 2 tbsp

preparation....

Heat oil in a thick base kadai and throw in all the whole spices along with dry red chillies.

Add the 50 gm part of ginger julienne and slit garlic cloves or cut garlic bulb, stir fry till fragrant and then add the sliced onions. Let the onions coat with oil and get hot, there is no need to cook them actually, they get cooked and caramelized along with the meat.

Add the chicken pieces, mix well and cover to cook on medium heat. This takes about 5 minutes and you are free to do other chores in the kitchen as the dish needs minimal attention after this.

Add salt and mix well. The onion should start getting caramelised by now. Once the onions get caramelised, add about 500 ml water if making Ishtoo (like in the pictures) and cook covered for at least 40 minutes on low flame.

For making the dry dopyaza the chicken is cooked with a tight lid without adding any water or just a sprinkle of water if needed. No powder masala is used in this curry and the aroma of the spices need to be conserved during cooking. Hence the lid which also helps in cooking the chicken without any additional water for making dopyaza, the cooking is done on minimum possible heat.

Check after 7-8 minutes of cooking and give it a good stir, the aroma will be very pleasant by now and the onions start caramelizing, giving a darker colour to the dish. Add a splash of water if you feel it is getting dry and can stick to the base before getting cooked. Place the lid again and check again after 5-7 minutes. It should be cooked by this time, otherwise cook till done.

Add the 25 gm portion of ginger julienne in the last and mix them well. This step is optional as I like the crunchy ginger pieces in this dish, the cooked ginger is also enjoyable with a milder taste.

Serve hot with chapatis or anything you like. The dish has a sweetish taste due to caramelized onions and the whiff of the spices is wonderful. You may like to remove the whole spices before plating as some people do not like them in the dish. I like to press the black cardamom and soak in the juices with a piece of khamiri roti or kulcha...

The hollow red chillies also trap the most awesome flavor in it, this is crazy but I like to squeeze them and mix the juices in the caramelized onion gravy.

As I mentioned earlier the ginger pieces added in two steps are to be enjoyed with the masala too, they taste so good when cooked this way...

Enjoy the Ishtooo in winters as a stew comforts like a soup and fills like a hearty meat curry. The dry dopyaza can be made in every season and can be served like a roast too.