Food talk
Meat with a tang

Contrary to popular impression, there is no dearth of non-vegetarian delicacies in Gujarat. Surati gosht is a Parsi contribution to Indian cuisine, says Pushpesh Pant

AS the old saying goes, Surat nu jaman, Kashi nu maran—nothing compares with the food in Surat and kicking the bucket in Kashi after, hopefully, a life full of gluttonous gorging! Kashi, too, boasts of a peerless culinary repertoire, particularly chaat and sweets, but its other claims to fame have always succeeded in upstaging the city’s food.

We intend to set the scores right soon but today is our date with Surat, the city that sparkled with diamonds—this is where dwell the dealers in bewitching ‘stones that are forever’, master cutters and polishers till rumours of scourge scared people away from feasts there—but all that is history.

A misconception about Gujarat is that it is the exclusive domain of vegetarians.

Chef’s special

Ingredients

Mutton shoulder (cut into pieces, with bone) 1kg
Curds (thick, whisked) 750 ml
Medium onions (chopped) 3-4
Ginger (scraped, washed and chopped) 2-inch piece
Garlic 1 pod
Red chillies 2
Cinnamon 1-inch piece
Cloves 4-6
Black cardamoms 8-10
Coconut (grated) ˝
or Coconut powder 1heaped tbsp
Red chilly powder 1 tsp
Haldi powder 1 tsp
Zeera powder 1 tsp
Dhaniya powder 2 tsp
Ghee 4 tbsp
Refined oil 100 ml
Salt to taste

Method

Heat half oil and ghee in a thick-bottomed pot and stir-fry the onions in it till golden, then add chopped ginger, garlic chillies all the whole with salt. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, sprinkling a little water if required. Add meat and continue cooking on low-medium heat till done to taste. Add one cup of boiling water, if needed. Heat the ghee in another pan and stir-fry the coconut with the powdered spices and curd in slow stream to prevent curdling. Add the meat and stir-fry for another three to four minutes. Garnish with ginger matchsticks, and fresh coriander. Serve with roti or rice.

Serves 4-6

True the majority is shaakaahari and some of the gastronomic gems from the Jaina treasure trove are breathtaking, but there is no dearth of non-veg delicacies in the state. We have wondered for long, ‘Does Surati repast has something interesting for the carnivores?’

We acknowledge our debt to redoubtable Bhicoo Maneckshaw who introduced us to Surati Khatu Gosht. Its sour and savoury tang is quite addictive. Superficially it may resemble the commoner bhuna gosht but, as they disclaim in tear-jerking TV soaps, this is purely coincidental.

We suggest that don’t fiddle with the recipe and try to improve it by adding tomatoes for a different kind of sourness. Nor is there any particular need to enrich it with kaju and baadaam. The original recipe uses readymade curry powder in place of different powdered spices and we must confess that if you can lay your hands on a tin of reliable product, do please stay with it.

After all Surati gosht belongs to the list of Parsi contributions to Indian cuisine and this community has always effortlessly bridged the gap between the East and the West. They have made an excellent use of ingredients that were originally designed to temper the stronger taste of the natives to suit the palate of the Sahibs. A hint of Raj nostalgia and exotica promises to go down very well with the urban youngsters in India in the 21st century.





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