Food talk
 Spicy treat

Mirchiwala Gosht, which uses all kinds of chillies — red, green and yellow, Kashmiri,
kali and pipli — blends various flavours and colours, writes Pushpesh Pant

THE Portuguese, we are told by food historians, brought chillies, to India, from South America sometime in the 15th and 16th centuries. We have often wondered what our did ancestors do to enjoy the pungent (hot) taste in their repast? Scholars are of the view that the queen of spices black pepper called marich in Sanskrit served this purpose. The lady in waiting with her was pipli, a spice not encountered very often these days.

It has an impact on the palate much more subtle than the imported and by now all-pervasive import. But we digress. This chain of thought was triggered when good friend Wahid miyan cooked for us mirchiwala gosht recently. The recipe uses all kinds of chillies — red, green and yellow, Kashmiri, kali and pipli. An interesting accent is added by miniscule quantity of dried ginger powder. A most interesting dish that blends aroma, flavour and colour all largely contributed by lal charhi maidan khari and her companions of
different hues.

Prof Sevak Singh Sahni, who taught History at Khalsa College in Delhi University for years, used to cook a lean and mean gosht kali mirch that was absolutely delightful but that recipe scrupulously eschewed red chillies. We have always enjoyed Rajasthani laal maans and are quite partial to martswangan korma from the Vale but must confess that the mirchiwla gosht is quite a show stealer. The secret is letting the variety of same spice become the life of the dish.

Chef’s corner

Ingredients

Mutton (shoulder, hind leg and chops) 1 kg

Onions (sliced fine) 400gm

Garlic paste 1tsp

Red chillies (whole dried) four

Green chillies (slit, deseeded and

chopped coarsely ground) six

Peppercorns 10

Pipli (two-inch-long) two

Dalchini(1 inch piece) one

Badi Elaichi two

Laung two

Dhania powder  ½ tsp

Jeera powder  ½ tsp

Red chilli powdered  ½ tsp

Kashmiri red chillies  ½ tsp

Yellow chilli powder  ½ tsp

Dried ginger powder  ½ tsp

A pinch of haldi

Curds 1 cup

Ghee/refined oil or both mixed 250ml

Salt to taste

Method
Trim and wash the meat. Prepare a marinade by mixing curds and all the powdered spices, chilies, garlic and green chilly paste. Place the meat in this and keep aside for 2-3 hours.

Heat ghee/oil in a thick-bottomed pan put in the whole spices and when these begin to change colour the whole red chillies. Add onions and fry till light golden. Now add the meat along with the marinade and stir-fry on medium heat till masala is well blended, the moisture evaporates and fat begins to leave sides. Add `BD cup of hot water continue cooking on low heat till meat is done to taste. Don’t let the name deter you- the extra measure of onion contributes a pleasant sweetness and the curd too tempers the pungency. This recipe certainly doesn’t light up taillights! The pipli, peppercorns and whole red chillies can be discarded before serving. We, on our part prefer these to any other garnish. If you dispense with haldi you can enjoy a mirchiwala gosht that is more qormanuma. For us, it has been love at first bite.





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