another masterclass with Chef Miraj ul Haque | more vegetarian kababs, some more fish and meat kababs to learn at The Great Kabab Factory

Chef Miraj ul Haque has some magic in his hands. Actually some more magic lies in his attitude towards food and learning also. Bees saal se chala raha hoon karchhi, ab tak ban nahi paya baawarchi. That means, I have been cooking since 20 years and haven't yet become a chef, this is what he says about himself. In fact he is a khandani chef whose many generations have worked in the field, fine tuning the techniques to bring the best in the food they serve.

That humility, the eagerness to share the intricacies of cooking and sharing tips generously makes him the person who believed in 'sharing is learning'. He told us that he feels happy to answer any queries regarding cooking as he doesn't want his pupils making mistakes in the kitchen, after a 3 hour long masterclass and volley of questions these words affirm our faith about Awadhii cooking being delicate in temperament.

People were seen recording his masterclass and taking pictures to document the process. Of course for instagraming and facebooking too :-) This one was even more crowded than the last masterclass I attended.

The most intriguing kabab was a Jaitooni Tawa Paneer that was made very innovative. A block of Paneer was hollowed and a black olive mix was stuffed in it and the block was tawa fried. This was the most amazing dish in looks and taste.

The other vegetarian kabab that was really interesting was a Sarsonwali Broccoli. I love my steamed broccoli so much that I rarely douse the broccoli with anything else. I have made a grilled mustard broccoli earlier but this one was a notch above. With the addition of cashew nuts, hung curd and cheese in the marinade the flavours are rich and textures very melt in the mouth type.

I am sharing the recipe card so you can cook it yourself to see how good it is.

Note that the use of cheese in these marinades is very clever. It holds the marinade, makes the mouth feel more creamy and adds the umami factor to the dish. Wonderful trick.

Another interesting recipe he shared was a Kesari Raan-e-Murgh, a saffron infused chicken leg that is grilled at high temperature to retain the juiciness. Here the marinade is hung curd based but processed cheese is used again even though there is delicate saffron to flavour.

One can always skip processed cheese for home cooking, I feel the flavour of saffron will be better if done so.

A fish preparation, Karare Tawa Pomfret was good, more like a deep fried pakoda but done well.

Chef Miraj also taught Soyabean ka Shikampuri Kabab and Hussaini boti kabab, both were great in their own right. I am meaning to cook both of these soon and share the recipe in a little detail here.

Later we sat down for a lavish lunch and tasted the secret recipe Galouti kabab again. The galouti kabab as I said last time, are the best you get outside Lucknow, the overall flavour being a bit robust as compared to Lucknow, the texture is creamy and rich just as the original.

And I tasted the breads this time. The garlic bread and Lachha tandoori roti is really good, in fact I ate more roti than I usually eat.

I tasted daals too, the peeli daal and kali daal both were done perfectly well, finger licking good type. Homely, rich and yet not cream laden fatty mix of lentils.

Desserts that I liked were the same as the last time. Kulfi is not to be missed, I enjoyed the whole stick slowly.

Jalebi is crisp and thin, I had a few bites of it without the rabri which is not as good as it should be.

But most of the other guests love this jalebi rabri combination there, I am biased with rabri as I have tasted the best in Banaras. Sharing the best rabri and doodh from Banaras really soon, haven't been free to sit and write about those gems of Banaras at leisure. But I will correct that really soon.

Stay tuned.

a kabab masterclass at The Great Kabab Factory, Radisson Blu Plaza ; learn the tricks with Chef Miraj ul Haque and eat your kababs too...

Making kababs is considered quite a delicate art as well as a daunting task, a territory that many of us home cooks dread entering into. But those who have taken the first steps towards kabab making have never stopped at one I must tell you. Even vegetarian kababs can be made so delicious and special that can lift up a meal by a few notches. And that too with not so much of effort trust me.

I know you must be thinking one can always order kababs and biryanis by any of the specialised places around town famous for home deliveries of such foods. Yes one can always order or takeaway great kababs, biryanis and kormas when one can't handle cooking for a large gathering sometimes, there is always Foodpanda at your fingertips, they are even collaborating with NGOs making sure children's access to food, education and health. I like a business that supports social causes, so go ahead and order good food when you want to.

That apart, an intimate family meal becomes special when you cook together in the kitchen and eat together at the table you would agree. Cooking is such a life skill everyone should have, some might take it to another level with special skills to cook a few complicated recipes too.

And if you still fear cooking you can always look out for masterclasses. In Delhi we have Radison Blu Plaza where they conduct Masterclasses often. I have attended a wonderful Thai masterclass by Thai Chef Suthiwaja at Neung Roi and their first Masterclass at The Great Kabab Factory, the iconic restaurant known for kababs and Indian Mughlai cuisine, that I attended was a huge success. Chef Miraj ul Haque who hails from Lucknow, patiently taught us six different kababs and tikkas, one of them being a very interesting chaat style grilled fruit tikka with pineapples and apples. 

The class was house full, a bunch of men and women learnt the tricks and tips followed by a lunch that included the dishes we learnt and a few more specialties of the Chef Miraj.

He taught us Hyderabadi Shammi kabab, Kasoondi tawa machhi, Bhatti ka murgh, Bharwan dahi ke kabab, Sev aur ananas ki chaat and Kathal ke tikkey. The way Chef Miraj teaches the techniques, the tips to stuff the kababs with a filling that enhances flavours, marination and grilling techniques is commendable. I liked the idea of the Kathal ke tikkey. 

 
The Sev aur Ananas ki chaat was another winner, a chaat (and more spices) doused platter of fruits that has been grilled lightly is something you can't resist, I actually had second and third helpings of the spicy grilled pineapples.

Dahi ke kababs were good too, but I would have liked them a little more soft. But the techniques that dahi ka kabab involves were taught really well, the textures you can always tune to your taste and preference.

At lunch we ate the best Galuti kabab that you find outside Lucknow.

Bhatti ka murgh that came to my plate was quite raw from inside, but the service at The Great Kabab Factory is so good they promptly replaced it with a well done piece of Bhatti ka muurgh which is deliciously smoky and earthy. Thumbs up to the service.

The biryani, the breads and the daals are also good but I would advise you to stick to kababs more to enjoy eating and still not feel stuffed.

As I said you would like to go easy on breads and biryanis at this restaurants, saving some space for the desserts. The kulfi is fabulous and the jalebi is thin and crisp just like they make in UP and Amritsar. Rajbhog is also made really well, reminding me of the Odiya Rajbhog, too sweet for my taste but that is how Rajbhog is.

Paan is served to round off the meal, the tradition that indicates good food has to be pleasant on the stomach, paan helps in digestion and works as a mouth freshener too. I like places that serve paan after a meal.

The mind always finds Banaras connections.

Head over to the next masterclass they are conducting at The Great Kabab Factory, Radison Blu Plaza at Mahipalpur on 25th of April and thank me later. It will be worth your time and money trust me. Chef Miraj ul Haque has magic in his fingers, watch him shaping the kababs and see how much love and passion goes into cooking good food.

shami kabab awadhi style...

Kabab is minced meat patty spiced delicately to bring up an aromatic finesse to a melt in your mouth texture of meat. I cannot come up with any other fitting description for this simple looking food. It has transcended generations and has perfected it's form over time.

Some variations of kabab have come to the point of perfection and have stopped 'getting perfected'. Shami kababs and Galouti kababs of Lucknow come in the same category. While shami kababs have a soft bite, galouti are absolutely melt in the mouth texture. Eating kababs in any of the old Luckow eateries can give you a taste of how a centuries old recipe can take you to heaven, talk of the famous Tundey ke kabab or any other joint around the place....

We sometimes try and touch a fraction of that tradition and thank ourselves to be able to feel the heavens with eyes closed. Kababs are such food, served as starters, main course or even snacks you can't deny when a platter has a possibility of hitting your table any time of the day...

For a meal these kababs are served with ulte tawe ka paratha (a thin layered flatbread baked on an inverted round bottom pan and smeared with ghee while being baked, pressing it all the while), along with some green chutney and slices of onion. If you are eating at Tundey kabab or any other joint in old Lucknow...

At home we like it with thin chapatis, rolled with some sliced onions with a dash of lime juice...

The kababs are delicious always, you rarely make mistakes while making shami kababs, just the minced meat mixture should be perfect. Lightly spiced so the meat flavors are not overpowered by other elements and still some aromatic spicing to enhance the delicate meat. Chana daal works as a binder which is almost neutral in taste when boiled along with the minced meat ...

I normally boil the minced meat with chana daal and grind it beforehand so the making of kabab when required is convenient. The boiled mixture is ground to paste and kept inside the fridge so it gets a bit thicker in consistency, to be able to shape into patties. So if you plan to make it for dinner, do the boiling and grinding in the morning and if you like it as a weekend brunch, like we had it, do the preparation in the previous night. The ground paste can stay in the fridge for a couple of days so you can use it accordingly.

ingredients....
( makes about a dozen kababs)
minced meat (goat meat) 300gm
chana daal(split chickpeas) 2 tbsp (about 30-40 gm)
salt to taste

To be ground with boiled meat...
black cardamom 1 medium sized
green cardamom 2
cloves 4 nos
cinnamon stick 1/2 inch pc.
shahi jeera(caraway seeds) a generous pinch
black peppercorns 15 nos.

To be mixed with the paste...
finely diced onions 1/3 cup
finely dices green chillies 1 tbsp
finely chopped ginger 1 tbsp or more if you like
finely chopped green coriander leaves 2 tbsp
finely chopped mint leaves a pinch

ghee to fry the kababs (3-4 tbsp will be enough for these many kababs)

procedure....

First of all wash the chana daal and dunk it in the pressure cooker along with minced meat and salt to taste. Add 3/4 cup of water and pressure cook for 5 minutes after the whistle blows, turning to low heat after the whistle. Let the pressure release, open the lid and cook without the lid till all the water evaporates...

The ground or minced meat can be cooked in a covered pan too, it will take more time to cook in that case and you might need to check it in between and add water if required.

Now, grind the cooked mixture with the spices listed for grinding with the paste.

It's time to tell you my little secret, normally people do it the way I told but I boil all the whole spices listed here along with the minced meat and chana daal and that makes the kababs much more delicate. This way the spices are just perfectly mild and aromatic and blended well with the base...

Empty the paste into a mixing bowl and keep in the fridge so that it gets a bit thicker in consistency ... It should hold it's shape when scooped with a spoon...

You need the chopped onions, green chillies, ginger and coriander and mint leaves not at the time of shaping and frying the kababs. You can use lesser onions if you like but chopped green chillies and ginger add a lot to the final taste. As does the green coriander and a hint of mint.

Add these chopped bits to the paste, shape into small flat patties and shallow fry using ghee.

No other oil should be used for kababs as it makes a lot of difference in final taste. Commercial joints use hydrogenated oils to get the crisp texture, beware of that....at home ghee is the best bet...

Turn when the kababs get browned on one side, shallow fry both sides till they get a nice brown crust, a crisp crust and well set but softer interior makes a great kabab...you may want to turn them 2-3 times both sides for repeated slow browning....medium heat is a must...

Serve with lots of onion rings and lemon wedges...with parathas or plain chapatis...

A green chutney made with coriander leaves, mint, green chillies and some garlic is an optional dip served with kababs. We like it just with a squeeze of lime and lots of onion rings most of the times ....

Wrapped in a chapati, it makes a nice kathi roll ...... we had a nice and warm mug of thin tomato soup to go with it....

Kababs are not a privilege of non vegetarians only. You can make kababs with soy granules or with zamikand or yam (elephant yam) if you are a vegetarian, other mixed vegetable kababs do not come close to it. Only the brown pulp of zamikand makes a nice vegetarian kabab if it is not soy granules . Although that is strictly my own opinion.....many people like kababs made with cauliflowers and other vegetables also.

Hara bhara kabab or hariyali kabab is another vegetarian kabab I like which is made with boiled green peas and a generous helping of steamed spinach leaves...that reminds me it's been ages since iImade a nice hara bhara kabab. Come winters I am game for a hara bhara (all green) season :)

What kind of kababs do you like? 

diwali wishes : recipes of malpua and sooran ke shami kababs

Wishing all of you a happy festive season as it is quite late to wish you all for diwali. My diwali was very good as people gifted me so many valuable things, somebody prayed for me at the kaali temple, some more friends communicated without sounding like a formal diwali wishing, Mithi eating a small piece of malpua and understanding that it's prashad and the husband finally deciding that the lights (electric ones) are not that important for a happy diwali......all that time could be saved for being together........what could have been happier than this..

There was no rangoli....though I placed a terracotta urli with paarijat flowers and floating candles at the entrance ....lit the diyas, terracotta ones, and soaked into a quite diwali (quite?? it was very noisy outside with all the crackers...:)....as I told you, it was beautiful......

Coming to the the recipes now.....

Malpuas are kind of gulabjamun descendants, a banaras specialty.....the gulabjamun mixture is made a bit runny and fried like pancakes and soaked in syrup.....easy and yumm...

I had planned to make jalebis for diwali earlier but at the last minute I was reminded that I had made some khoya for diwali and that needed to be consumed.......no plans work for me you know..

Yam kababs are made every diwali as yam (the zamikand) is considered auspicious for diwali ...it is supposed that once planted it keeps growing by it's own and is never destroyed (due to it's bulbils and suckers).....we want laxmi to stay like this forever in our house :):)

ingredients for malpuas ..

khoya (made by reducing whole milk till it becomes a pasty granular mass) 1.5 cup
maida (all purpose flour) 3/4 cup
milk 1 cup or more, as required
baking powder 1 tsp
ghee for shallow frying ( about a 100 gm if using a nonstick pan)
sugar 300 gm or more if you want it more sweet
water 600 ml

procedure for malpuas

the khoya, the maida and the milk along with baking powder have to be blended together .....i used a hand blender for this , the batter should be like a pancake batter with some granules of the khoya visible....

boil sugar with water to make a thin syrup ....the syrup can be made a bit heavier if you want the malpuas to be sweeter...and sticky....keep this syrup ready ( warm) on the side when frying the malpuas ........

heat a tbsp of ghee in a wide nonstick pan and drop spoonfuls onto it to make small pancakes.......traditionally it is deep fried in a jalebi kadai) ......flip when small bubbles appear on top ...add some more ghee to fry them till well browned , and crisp......drain and dunk them into the syrup ....

fry another batch of malpuas and in the meantime remove the malpuas with a slotted spoon when they have soaked enough syrup........they will become soft after soaking the syrup.......arrange in a deep dish , pour some extra syrup into the dish as well ...the malpuas keep soaking the syrup later too........

repeat the process with the next batch of malpuas and garnish with slivered almonds and cashews........

they are best when served warm......keep well in the fridge but has to be warmed before serving........
enjoy..

ingredients for yam shami kababs

yam peeled and cubed 500 gm
chana daal or split chick peas 200 gms
salt to taste
turmeric 1 tsp
finely chopped green coriander leaves (more stems and a few leaves)1 cup
finely chopped ginger 3-4 tbsp
finely chopped green chillies 4-5 tbsp
black pepper powder 1 tbsp
special aromatic garam masala powder 1 tsp
ghee for frying ( no replacements) i used about 1 tbsp for frying 10 kababs for breakfast today
*corn meal if can't manage the kababs*

procedure for yam kababs

since this is a shami kabab , you have to treat you yam with some respect ...so what if it has not come from the shoulder of a goat...it's called elephant's foot anyway........treat it with respect and you get good yummy crumbly shami kababs .....i tell you whenever you will eat a mutton shami kabab you'll think about this one too.....i keep the procedure of this kabab similar to the mutton shami kabab...just the cooking time differs....

boil the first four ingredients with a cup of water into a pressure cooker till 2 whistles and let it cool.....
the mixture can be mashed well to make a paste...i used my hand blender to make it smooth....

one thing to note here is that you do not want your kabab mixture to become dry like a dough...it should look like a paste...actually it should be as soft as you can handle while making the kababs...it is tastier that way.....if you make the mixture dry and dough like to shape perfect tikkis....the tatse will suffer....

okay, if the mixture looks too gooyi , heat it over medium flame while stirring all the time to dry a bit and then keep it in the fridge...it will become manageable once it cools down to that temperature......yes, you have to make this mixture well ahead of time...it's worth....as you see i made it for diwali dinner and then i made it again today as a second round of breakfast after a fresh fruit salad.......

the kabab mixture keeps well in the fridge for a week if chopped things are not added to it...otherwise for 2 days maximum....

**take out the mixture when you need to make the kababs...now if you find the mixture too gooyi , you can add some *cornmeal* or makki ka atta......mix all the chopped ingredients and the powders and shape the kababs...

smear ghee in a nonstick pan over heat and drop spoonfuls ( yes you can use your hands too but you just have to drop blobs of the mixture into the pan) like this....

now take another spoon , dip in a bowl of water and smooth out the blobs to make flat kabab shapes....

the kababs need to be rough edged as to be crisp...drops of ghee are poured aside every kabab so that they get crisp without soaking all the ghee....flip when browned on one side...

serve hot with a fresh green chutny ( no sauce or other chutny is good enough)...lots of coriander greens , green chilies, a couple of garlic pods, salt and lemon juice....don't you love your mixie for this........:)

any leftover kababs can be wrapped into a wholewheat chapati with some chutny and salad and you have nice kathi rolls for dinner...

enjoy ...the diwali treat on your screen........:)