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GOBI MUSALLAM

    Musallam literally means whole or complete.


    Gobi Musallam is a dish made with a whole piece of roasted cauliflower which is cooked with mildly spiced creamy gravy.

    Gobi Musallam is a dish which is inspired by the famous stuffed chicken dish called Murg Musallam, where the whole chicken was stuffed with boiled eggs, keema(minced lamb meat), which is marinated and cooked in a rich makhni gravy, and delicately flavoured with whole spices. This dish gained its popularity because of its royal heritage as it was cooked in the imperial kitchens of Mughals. This dish is also a centerpiece of Avadhi lavishness. Awadh (which is now known as Lucknow) invented 'dum' style of cooking or an art of cooking on slow fire. So basically, Gobi Musallam is actually a vegetarian version created by adapting these two imperial styles of cooking. The whole head of cauliflower is blanched then tossed in oil to fry or is roasted and drenched in makhani gravy, cooked on slow fire and served whole.


    You can serve this with usual Indian fixes of flat breads like naan, parantha, roti or even with the rice or pulao.


    I was introduced to this dish when I got married; my mum-in-law would prepare this dish on special occasions. I learnt it from her and gave my own little spin to it. It certainly is an attractive center piece dish. I love to serve this stunning dish whenever I have a get together or a lavish dinner party as this is one of those dishes which always grabs my guests’ attention.


    I am really excited to share this beautiful finger-licking vegetarian dish which is deep, rich and perfectly balanced with harmony of spices blended together that elevates this humble cauliflower dish to a delicious gourmet standard.


    Try making this dish following the step by step instructions given in the method, and I’m sure you will win the hearts of even your hardcore non-vegetarian eaters. Read the cook’s notes for a slight variation of cooking the recipe.




    SERVES: 8-10

    PREP TIME: 20 minutes

    COOKING TIME: 45-50 minutes




    INGREDIENTS


    For Blanching Cauliflower:

    • 4 small cauliflowers

    • Large cooking Pot

    • Water for boiling

    • 1/2 tbsp salt

    • 2 tsp turmeric/haldi

    For Tempering:

    • 3 large onions, cut into eights

    • 5-6 fat garlic cloves

    • 2.5” piece ginger, peeled roughly chopped

    • 3 large tomatoes, blanched, deskinned and puréed

    • 1-2 green chillies, chopped

    • 6 tbsp oil

    • 4 cups oil for frying

    • 1 tsp cumin/jeera

    • 2 bay leaves/tej patta

    • 1 cinnamon stick/dalchini

    • 4-5 green cardamom, slightly bruised

    • 2 tsp salt

    • 1 tsp red chilli powder

    • 2 tbsp coriander powder

    • 1/2 tsp garam masala

    • 1 tsp turmeric

    • 2 tsp salt or to taste

    • 2/3 cup yogurt

    • 3-4 tsp sugar

    • 1/3 cup raw cashews

    • 1/3 cup water

    • 1 tsp kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves

    • 3-4 tbsp fresh cream (use coconut cream to make it vegan)

    For Garnish:

    • 2 tbsp chopped coriander

    • 2-3 tsp fresh cream



    METHOD

    1. Wash and trim the green stalks or leaves from the cauliflowers. Remove the extra long stem, keeping intact some stem upto the base of cauliflower.

    2. In large cooking pot, pour enough water to fully immerse the cauliflowers. Bring it to boil. Once boiled, add salt and turmeric. Immerse the cauliflowers in the water, cover the lid and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes, until they are par boiled.

    3. With a slotted spoon, remove cauliflowers from the water, drain them on absorbent paper.

    4. Now heat the oil for frying in a wok or deep pan, gently slide in the cauliflowers and deep fry until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and keep aside until used.

    5. In a blender jar, add onions, garlic and ginger, blend to a coarse consistency.

    6. Heat a large pot, then add 6 tablespoons of oil used for frying the cauliflowers, add cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, cardamom and bay leaves. Roast for few seconds to release the aromas from whole spices. Add blended onions, give it a stir for few seconds and then add green chillies. On a high flame, keep stirring in frequent intervals for about 7-8 minutes until well roasted and light brownish in color but not burnt.

    7. While the onions are getting roasted, make the cashew paste. In a small blender jar, drop cashews along with 1/3 cup of water and blend to a smooth paste. Keep aside until needed.

    8. Reduce flame and add salt, turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and stir for few seconds to roast the spices. Now add the tomato purée, increase the flame to high, stir and cook. After 5 minutes add tomato paste and keep stirring every now and then. Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until tomatoes shrink down, all the water is evaporated from them and oil is separated from the masala.

    9. Now whisk the yogurt and add it to the prepared onion and tomato masala. Add a little water (about 1/4 cup), and cook further stirring frequently for another 4-5 minutes until its nice thick and creamy. Add sugar and stir.

    10. Pour the prepared cashew paste, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes on slow fire until its rich, creamy and thick in consistency. Add little water if it starts sticking to the bottom.

    11. Add kasuri methi and stir. Reduce the heat, add cream and 1 cup of water. Stir to combine. Check seasoning, add more if required. Place the fried cauliflowers gently in the pot, spoon some gravy on top of the florets to coat them well. Cover the lid and simmer for 5-6 minutes on low flame.

    12. With a flat wide serving spoon, gently remove cauliflowers from the gravy and place them on the serving platter. Pour the gravy on top of the florets using a ladle. To garnish, drizzle cream on top and sprinkle chopped coriander. Serve with paranthas, naan or roti.



    COOK'S NOTES:

    • Do not over boil the cauliflowers as it will break apart when you cook it in the sauce and serve.

    • This dish can be prepared in advance but keep the gravy and cauliflowers ready separately. Just before serving, heat the gravy by adding little water, place the cauliflowers in the gravy and follow the rest of the recipe.

    • To make this vegan friendly, replace the cream with coconut milk.

    • Alternatively this dish can also be cooked by roasting it in the oven. Once the gravy is ready, place the cauliflower heads upside down in a baking dish, pour pour some gravy on them to deep through the cavities of the cauliflower head. Carefully turn them all around and pour the rest of the gravy on of all to cover them completely. Place in preheated oven at 200°C and cook for about 25-35 minutes depending on the size of the cauliflowers. For even roasting results turn the baking dish around halfway during baking.

    • To make it bit more appealing to the eyes, garnish with silver leaves and lightly toasted flaked almonds.


    SIMIT BREAD



      Turkish breakfast was served to the family on the weekend as I was so tempted to try making this Simit bread which was always at the back of my mind since I visited Istanbul few years back. You will see those street vendors standing or rolling up their carts through the streets or bazaars to sell this amazing looking bread which is their livelihood.


      Simit is a twisted circular bread, typically dunked in molasses and encrusted with sesame seeds or, less commonly, poppy, flax or sunflower seeds. This is found across the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East. Its also known as Gevrek, Bokeh, or Koulouri. The size of the bread, its crunch, chewiness, and other characteristics vary slightly by region. They are typically served in the breakfast with lebnah, salad, fresh fruit jams, honey, olives etc.


      I made the classical version of this bread, encrusted with toasted sesame seeds. Served the Simit with the Turkish lebnah which was dabbed with chilli infused burnt butter. Alongside that was the shakshuka made by my daughter. Man the whole combo was delicious!


      Saffron, rose petal and camomile infused tea was also served in the Turkish tea glasses. Bought these beautiful hour glass shaped tea cups(very typical to Turkey) back in Sydney from a Turkish grocery cum crockery shop. Had them with me over 2 decades, still pretty intact after number of transits and so many years of traveling to different continents and countries, but as soon as I finished shooting for the spread, one of the saucers broke. It was heart breaking! 😔


      Follow the step by step recipe below and try making these interesting looking delicious breads at home which is pretty simple and easy to make. Bake your own bread at home during these interesting times. Stay home, stay safe!



      YIELDS: 10

      PREP TIME: 20 minutes

      BAKE TIME: 25 minutes

      PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour


      INGREDIENTS


      • 2 cups warm water

      • 1 tbsp sugar

      • 1 tbsp instant yeast

      • 5 cups all purpose flour plus 2 tbsp extra for dusting and kneading

      • 2 tsp salt

      • 1/4 cup olive oil

      • 250g/ 1 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted

      • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses

      • 2/3 cup water, extra



      METHOD


      1. In a stand mixer bowl, fitted with the hook attachment, pour 1 cup of warm water, add sugar and yeast, let it rest for 10 minutes until the yeast becomes foamy.

      2. Add olive oil and the second cup of warm water to the foamy yeast water and add 2 cups of flour. On a medium low speed, mix the dough until no dry bits of flour are visible. Let it stand for 20 minutes.

      3. Now gradually add rest of the flour in increments along with salt until a dough ball is formed wrapped around the hook. If required, add bit more flour to the dough if your dough is bit loose and sticky.

      4. Remove it on a lightly floured surface, knead it for 5 minutes to smoothen it. Tucking the seam side down, place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with damp kitchen towel or lightly oiled cling film. Leave it for an hour at a warm place in kitchen and let it rise double in size.

      5. Once the dough is fermented, transfer it to the lightly floured surface, divide the dough in 10 equal parts. Cover them with a kitchen towel to prevent them from drying.

      6. Take a piece of dough, drop it on a non-floured surface. Now roll it back and forth with your hands and make a long thin rope, about 2 feet long. Bend it in half from the center and hold the two loose ends together in one hand and twist the rope with your other hand to make the twisted rope. Now join the two ends together, slightly overlapping each other and make a circle/ring. To secure the loose ends, hold the dough ring from the top with one hand and with the other hand roll it back and forth to make it tight and secured.

      7. Repeat step 6 with rest of the dough pieces. Cover with kitchen towel and while working on the other pieces of dough.

      8. In a large bowl, mix pomegranate molasses and water to prepare the bath for the bread.

      9. Now dunk the bread in molasses water bath and dip them in toasted sesame seeds on both sides. Place it on the baking tray. Repeat the step for the other breads and let it prove for 30 minutes.

      10. Bake the bread in preheated oven at 180° C for 25-30 minutes.



      COOK'S NOTES:


      • Serve these with chilli infused burnt butter lebnah, olives, jams, honey and shakshuka for a scrumptious Turkish breakfast.

      • Make the healthier version of the same bread by replacing the all purpose flour with the wholemeal flour.


      DAWAT-E-BAINGAN



        Eggplants are an often overlooked vegetable, but I just love to eat them in any form. Thought of converting this humble and under appreciated vegetable into something exotic and delicious.


        I created this dish with a combination of flavours from India and Middle East, using ingredients such as chaat masala, coriander, ginger and green chilies, alongside dates and pine nuts.

        It’s such a simple dish to make but it tastes really delectable and regal, hence I named them Dawat-e-Baingan - dawat means royal feast, and baingan means eggplant!


        I hope you enjoy this simply delicious recipe.




        YIELDS: 24

        PREP TIME: 20 minutes

        BAKE TIME: 20 minutes

        ASSEMBLE TIME: 8 hours or overnight



        INGREDIENTS


        • 10-12 baby eggplants

        • 250g dates, chopped

        • 2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped

        • 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped

        • 3-4 tbsp lemon juice

        • 4 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

        • 3/4 tsp salt or to taste

        • 1 1/2 tsp chat masala

        • 3 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted

        • 1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds

        • 3-4 tbsp rapeseed oil/vegetable or sunflower oil

        • Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

        • Salt for seasoning


        For Garnishing:

        • 1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

        • 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds

        • 1 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted


        METHOD


        1. Wash, pat dry and cut the eggplants in half lengthwise along with stalks.

        2. Grease a large baking dish with the rapeseed oil, place the eggplants facing cut side up. Season them well with salt and pepper. Generously drizzle some more oil on top to coat well.

        3. Bake in preheated oven at 225°C for 20 minutes or until they are tender and cooked. Remove from oven and let it cool.

        4. In a bowl, combine dates, green chillies, ginger, lemon juice, pomegranate, pine nuts, salt, chat masala and coriander. Mix them well to make the stuffing. Check the seasoning, add more if you need any extra.

        5. Take the eggplant half, press the center with the back of a small spoon to make a cavity, put a small amount of stuffing on top. Repeat with rest of the eggplant halves.

        6. Place them on serving tray and garnish with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and chopped coriander leaves.


        COOK'S NOTES:


        • If you are serving these in a dinner party, eggplants can be baked ahead of time and kept aside to be assembled later.

        • The stuffing can be prepared without adding coriander, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts. Add these at last minutes to savour the crunch and freshness of the herb.


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