3 Eid recipes guaranteed to spread sheer (khurma) delight

Eating your way through Mohammed Ali Road is a sacred pre-Eid pilgrimage for most Mumbai bhukkads. Arguing over whether Chicken Sanju Baba at Noor Mohammadi Hotel (named for its most famous patron, Sanjay Dutt) trumps the Nalli Nihari at Chinese Grill. Sweating off half your body weight while you juggle a paper plate of hot kaleji. Biting into golden discs of malpua, fished out of a vat large enough to deep fry a human being.

Even the vegetarians tag along just to be a part of the spectacle.

With social distancing getting in the way of our food coma, we have no choice but to make it up to ourselves (and Sanju Baba) with an Eid buffet at home. We asked a few of our favourite chefs to help perfect our biryani skills.

Eid Mubarak to you and your tastebuds.

Eid recipes we’re diving into

Ghutwan kebab by Manzilat Fatima

Her family is credited with introducing potatoes to biryani, creating the famous Kolkata Biryani. No amount of gratitude is really enough.

Ingredients:

• 500 gm flattened boneless meat
• 250 gm mincemeat

For the marinade:

• 1 tbsp raw papaya paste
• 3/4 tbsp ginger paste
• 3/4 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tsp dhania powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tbsp curd
• Few drops of Kewra water
• 2 tsp roasted gram flour
• Marinate the mutton and mincemeat together in the marinade for 1/2 hr
• 3-4 tbsp mustard oil (smoked)
• 3 medium size onions (finely chopped and fried)
• Few cardamoms cloves and cinnamon
• Dry garam masala powder (Maze, nutmeg, shahzeera, kababchini, cloves, cinnamon black and green cardamoms made into a fine powder)

Directions:

• Heat and smoke mustard oil. Add whole spices, chopped onions and fry till golden brown.
• Strain the oil and save the fried onions till cool. In the same oil, add the marinated mutton and cook till totally soft or mashed.
• In a small mixie jar, grind the fried onions and add the powdered garam masala. Add this to the meat preparation. Start mixing it well over slow heat.
• Also add roasted gram flour and a few drops of kewra water. Cook till water is completely dry and soft mashed consistency of the meat remains.
• Serve at room temperature, garnished with ginger and mint leaves, with roomali roti, paratha or puri.

Bohri chicken pulao by Chef Hussain Shahzad 

The man who powers O Pedro to most ‘Best Restaurants in India’ lists shares an elaborate Eid recipe for pulao perfectionists.

Ingredients:

Chicken base

• 1 kg chicken thighs, boned out and skinless
• 300 gm peeled and fried potato
• 3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp green chilli paste
• 1 cup fried onions
• ½ cup yoghurt
• 1 tsp green cardamom powder, freshly ground
• 1 tsp white pepper powder, black pepper can be an alternative
• 1 tsp fennel powder
• 1 tsp garam masala, store bought or homemade
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 2 pc stone moss or pathar ke phool
• ¼ cup ghee
• Salt to taste

Rice

• 3 cups basmati rice or any other long grained rice you prefer
• 6 cups water
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 2 pc stone moss or pathar ke phool
• ¼ cup ghee
• Salt to taste
• Sugar
• Splash of rose water

To finish / garnish

• 4 boiled eggs, peeled + salted and deep fried in oil
• 2 inch ginger, julienned
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• Juice of one lime
• 2 tbsp fried onions

Method:

To make the chicken base:

• Wash the chicken under running cold water and pat dry.
• Take the chicken in a bowl and salt.
• Marinate the chicken with all the pastes, fried onions, yoghurt and the powdered spices.
• In a medium sauce pan, heat ghee over slow heat and add in the whole spices.
• Let them bloom and add in the marinated chicken and cook on a medium flame, stirring occasionally.
• Cover and cook for 8-10 mins and the chicken should be done, add in the fried potatoes and cool.

Reserve the base for layering later.

To make the rice:

• Wash the rice until the water runs clean, do this gently making sure to not break the rice. Strain and reserve.
• In a wide sauce pan (with a lid) heat ghee on a medium flame and add in the spices and let them bloom.
• Add the rice in and toast gently in the ghee.
• Add salt and sugar follow with water.
• Taste the water — it should taste slightly over-seasoned, the seasoning will be absorbed by the rice and be just perfect towards the end.
• Set it on a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally.
• Hit it with some rose water for that added fragrance.
• Cover the pot and cook for approx 10- 15 mins on a very low flame.

To layer:

• Now that we have both components cooked and ready. Choose serve ware large enough to fit everything (preferably oven proof).
• We just do essentially two layers, but you can get adventurous and do multiple layers.
• Place all the chicken at the bottom of the container, sprinkle half the quantity of coriander leaves , ginger, mint and fried onions.
• Top that up with all the cooked rice and garnish with eggs, ginger, fried onions, mint and cilantro.
• Cover the serve ware with tin foil or a lid and place over a tawa on medium flame or in the oven so it can steam and all the components get cohesive.
• Serve with raita and papad or pickles.

Sheer Khurma by Huma in The Kitchen

With almost 6.5 million views, it’s safe to say this sheer khurma recipe is the Eid hit you’ve been looking for.

• 1 litre or 4 cups of full fat milk (regular milk with cream)
• 150 ml sweetened condensed milk
• 5 tbsp ghee
• 25-30 gm vermicelli
• 2 green cardamom pods, crushed, seeds only
• A pinch of saffron or few drops of rose water or kewra water

Dry Fruits:

• 15 gm almonds
• 15 gm pistachios
• 15 gm cashew
• 4-5 dry dates
• 10 gm chirongi (charoli)
• 15 gm raisins