Ammi’s kitchen: Heritage recipes from Rampur

 

Editor’s Note: In 1946, an arranged marriage took Musharraf Begum from a small town in Uttar Pradesh to the kitchens of Rampur—where she created a food language that was uniquely her own and soon earned the moniker of ‘Ammi.’ Ammi’s Kitchen’ by author Pernia Qureshi (better known for Pernia’s Pop Up stores) serves up a treasure trove of heirloom recipes with a side of family history. We’ve picked our faves— kathal kabab, namkeen gosht, zarda and anda halwa. Excerpted with permission from Roli Books.

 

Musharraf Begum’s beginnings were humble. She was from a small town in Uttar Pradesh called Chandausi. Due to the hardships faced by her family, they agreed to marry her off to a rich, much older gentleman from Rampur as his fourth and only surviving wife then. To this day, the tales of how my grandfather’s first three wives died are vague and come in several versions. One story goes that my grandfather’s wife was travelling to him on a ship after the nikah and they were caught in a storm where she passed away. The bottom line was that here was this nobleman with the worst luck when it came to his wives, so much so that no established family was willing to marry their daughter to him. The ‘jinxed’ Abdul Majeed Qureshi had to then seemingly settle for a fair, young uneducated girl from a family that was in desperate need of his financial support. She would later boast that she was chosen based on her beautiful hands and feet since that was all her in-laws saw before her marriage was arranged.

 

Soon enough, her staff, children and townspeople began to call her Ammi – a moniker she earned early on, likely because of the authority she wielded at home and in the kitchen. Around 1946, when she was a young new bride who had entered Rampur, a princely town much bigger than what she was used to, she had a lot to prove and a significant role to take on. Her biggest assets proved to be her passion for food and her ability to cook. As women of her generation often did, she controlled the kitchen, and her dazzling personality began to reflect in her food. With the influences of her hometown mixed with her newfound exposure to Rampur’s more modern cuisine, Ammi created a food language that was uniquely her own. For instance, keema khichdi, a meal in itself made by slow-cooking mutton keema with rice and spices and eaten with a cube of yellow butter, cold dahi and mint chutney, is one of our most popular household staples, and has its origins in Chandausi.

Kathal Kebab

Tender and flavourful jackfruit kebabs

 

Ingredients 

 

1 kilogram diced jackfruit (kathal)

1½ cups Bengal gram (chana dal),

boiled

1 tsp red chilli (kutti lal mirch)

powder

1 tsp garam masala (p. 16)

1 medium onion, sliced

1 Maggi Magic Vegetarian Cube

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (p. 21)

1 tsp salt

1 medium onion, finely chopped

5-6 green chillies (hari mirch),

chopped

2-3 tbsp fresh coriander

(dhaniya), chopped

1 tbsp gram flour (besan), roasted

1 cup refined oil

 

Method

 

1. In a pressure cooker over high heat, combine the jackfruit, chana dal, chilli powder, garam masala, onion, Maggi cube, ginger-garlic paste, and salt with 2 cups of water.
2. Lock the lid in place and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until 3-4 whistles are released, ensuring that the dal and jackfruit are thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat.
3. Let the pressure release and open the lid. Allow the mixture to cool and transfer it to a blender. Grind it over medium setting until it turns into a thick paste.
4. Add the finely chopped onions, green chilli, and coriander to the paste and mix well. Stir in the roasted besan and gently knead the mixture.
5. Wet your hands and taking small portions shape the mixture into equal-sized round, flat kebabs of 2 to 3 inch diametre.
6. In a large heavy-bottomed frying pan, add 3 Tbsp oil (for a batch of 4-5 kebabs). Shallow fry the kebabs in small batches until golden brown on both sides.
7. Serve hot with sliced onions and green chutney (p. 23).

 

Namkeen Gosht

Grilled chunks of tender meat

 

Ingredients

 

1 kilogram neck pieces of mutton

150 grams mutton/lamb fat (charbi)

½ tbsp Ajinomoto (optional)

3 tsp black peppercorns (kali mirch), crushed

2 tsp salt, or to taste

 

Method

 

1. In a large bowl, combine the mutton pieces and fat together with Ajinomoto (if using), and black peppercorns. Season to taste with salt. Allow it to marinate overnight or for 8 hours in  the refrigerator.
2. In a pressure cooker over high heat, add the marinated meat and 2 Tbsp of water and close the lid. Pressure cook for 10 minutes, for 3-4 whistles.
3. Remove from heat and let the pressure release. Open the lid and return the cooker over medium heat. Simmer until any excess water evaporates and the meat is tender.
4. Preheat the oven or grill to 150°C.
5. Transfer the cooked meat pieces on a foilsheet, ensuring that they are completely covered from all sides.
6. Transfer the foil-covered meat into the oven or grill and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven or grill and serve immediately.

 

Zarda

Saffron-infused sweet rice

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup basmati rice

60 grams ghee

8-10 cashews (kaju), halved

8-10 almonds (badaam), chopped

1 Tbsp raisins (kishmish)

2 Tbsp dry coconut

2 cups sugar

2 pods green cardamom (hari

elaichi) pods

4 cloves (laung)

¼ tbsp saffron (kesar)

¼ tbsp orange colour

1 litre water

 

Cooking time: 40-45 minutes

 

Method

 

1. Rinse the rice well for a couple of times until the water runs clear of starch. Soak for 30 minutes in 4-5 cups of water. Drain excess water and set aside.
2. In a pot over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of ghee. Once it starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
3. Add the cashews, almonds, raisins and dry coconut, and roast them until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon and drain the roasted dry fruits on kitchen towels. Set aside to cool.
4. In the same pot, now add the remaining ghee, sugar, green cardamom, cloves, saffron, and colour. Add 1 litre water and stir well to combine.
5. Now add the soaked rice and stir well. Cover the pot with a lid.
6. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until the rice is half cooked.
7. In a large pan over medium heat, add 100 grams ghee and transfer the contents of the pot into it. Cover the pan and cook until the water dries out and the rice is fully cooked. Remove from heat.
8. Garnish with the roasted dry fruits and nuts. Serve warm or cold.

 

Anda Halwa

Egg halwa

 

Ingredients 

 

6 eggs

500 ml milk

200 grams ghee

250 grams sugar

1 tbsp cardamom (elaichi) powder

80 grams almonds (badaam), chopped

80 grams cashew nuts (kaju), chopped

80 grams raisins (kishmish), chopped

 

Method

 

1. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with milk.
2. Heat the ghee in a wok over low heat. Add the whisked eggs and cook slowly whilst stirring continuously.
3. Add the sugar, cardamom powder and cook until the sugar dissolves and the halwa thickens and becomes grainy. Remove from heat.
4. Garnish with almonds, raisins, and cashews. Serve warm.