Food Talk
Pasande for all

The pasande can be adapted for the tastebuds of the oriental as well as the westerner alike. Pushpesh Pant on the favourite cut of meat

THE literal translation of the word pasande is the favoured one, in this case the most preferred cut of meat. We are told that the name derives from pasandida or dilpasand meaning the favourite. This is the cut which resembles the western steak the most and delights alike the oriental and the westerners.

Some who are not happy without a dash of jargon insist on calling it the piccata. There are as many recipes of pasande on the subcontinent as there are regional culinary styles. Different spicing and aromatics provide breathtaking improvisations on this tasty theme. In Lucknow, it goes by the name of parchey, which is a thin wafer a sheet of paper in singular is a parcha.

Chef’s special

Ingredients

1kg lean mutton from the leg cut into pasande
 120 gm curd
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder (to taste) 1½ tsp
Coriander seeds powdered 1 ½ tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
 Methi leaves dried or fresh leaves finely chopped 1 tbs
Green chillies chopped and deseeded
Onion paste 3 tbs
Garlic ground 1½ tbs
Ginger paste 1½ tbs
Ghee or oil 125gm
Black cardamoms whole six
Cloves whole six
Cinnamon sticks whole two of 2"
Onions thinly and evenly sliced 115gm

Method

Remove white membranes from the surface of the meat. Cut ½" thick strips and about 2" square. Beat each piece with the back of a knife or wooden hammer, wetting knife or hammer with a little water to avoid sticking, till they are flattened out and fibres broken. Meat thus cut and beaten is called Pasanda. Mix curd, salt, chillies, coriander seeds,

turmeric, cumin seeds, fenugreek leaves, green chillies, ground onions, garlic and ginger into the meat and marinade for half an hour. Heat the ghee and add cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. Add sliced onions and fry till golden brown. Remove the pan from the fire. Add meat spreading the pieces flat and evenly. Add one cup of water. Cover and cook on medium heat. When tender and very little water remains, put on dum till water dries up and only ghee remains.

Interestingly, the Avadhi epicure priding himself on delicacy and refinement even fabricates parchey out of chicken. In Delhi, the gourmet take delight in badam pasande, a more robust and richer dish always made with red meat.

A more elaborate a dish is created when the chef serves a stack of pasande as taash kebab. One may well ask why is it that one encounters pasande only rarely.

The fact of the matter is preparing pasande is quite a bothersome task. First a large slab of meat is slit from the leg and then it is slit from the middle thinning it considerably. Next comes the flattening with the heavy meat carver. What follows is scoring marking the rectangles with criss-cross taking great care that the sharp-edged does not cut through the meat. To facilitate the process it has to be regularly sprinkled with few drops of water. It goes witho ut saying that no fat, membrane, or tendons are allowed to remain. Then the pieces are gently placed together in bite-size pieces. All this is worth the trouble-it allows the meat to soak in the flavourful marinade, cooking time is considerably reduced and the meat retains its juicy succulence.

Pasande are best served draped in a thick sauce-like gravy and are equally enjoyable with chapatti or rice. We have had the good fortune of savouring pasanda kebab in not one but two equally seductive avatars. It was in Hyderabad that we were won over by the pathar kebab — a piquant pasanda grilled on volcanic stone and it was in Gorakhpur that good-old Waheed Miyan intrigued us with the Bihari kebab, a pasande spit-roasted on a skewer.

The best part is that once the butcher has taken care of the tedious task of preparing the pasande, and the marination has been done beforehand (preferably overnight), the exotic delicacy can be prepared in a jiffy.

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