IMPERIA |
october-november-december 2019
26
b o n v i v a n t
Dal Maharani
Make Diwali festivities extra special
with Dal Maharani that’s as majestic as
the festival of lights. Dal Maharani is a
mixed lentil preparation that’s not only
rich in flavour but also in health benefits.
While several hold a contradictory view
on whether this is just another name
for Dal Makhani, it is undisputable that
this lentil preparation is, as the name
suggests, royal! While Dal Makhani uses
kidney beans and black urad dal, Dal
Maharani also includes channa dal and
a different mix of spices, which makes
it taste different. The preparation for this
begins the previous night, by soaking the
three lentils. They are then slow cooked
with butter and spices to create a thick
textured gravy. This rustic preparation
gets a final tempering of ghee, spice-
sautéed onions and Kashmiri red chillies.
Team it up:
Basmati coconut rice would
make a regal counterpart.
Anjeer Barfi
Barfi by itself is a delicious fudge made
of condensed milk and sugar. Due to
its almost white appearance, it was
named barfi, derived from ‘barf’, which
is Persian for snow. Many avatars of
barfi evolved over time, ranging from
almonds, cashews, pistachios, coconut
and even chocolate. However, anjeer
barfi stands a class apart and is tough
competition even for its dried fruit-and-nut
counterparts. It is made by grinding dates
and figs individually into a fine paste. The
paste is cooked in pure ghee, while slivers
of almonds, pistachios and cashews are
added to provide texture and bite to the mix.
Set to cool and decorate it with poppy seeds
or edible silver foil. Anjeer barfis can do the
disappearing act from a plate of treats very
quickly indeed.
Team it up:
Mix up the flavours with savoury
snacks like crunchy
chakli
and spicy
sev
.
Mutton Pulao Dal
The year-end is also hailed as wedding
season, and that in itself is reason for
celebration. Amidst all the festive cuisine
discussed so far, here’s one straight from
the Parsi wedding menu – Mutton Pulao Dal.
It is as the name reads – a combination of
mutton pulao served side-by-side with the
traditional Parsi dal. Tender meat is cooked
with fragrant rice in a slightly tangy gravy
that’s characteristic of Parsi cuisine. The dal
is much like
dhansak
, but sans the meat.
‘Dhanajeeru’, which is a Parsi spice mix
of coriander and cumin powder is used to
flavour the dish. Depending on the chef’s
recipe, the spice mix could also hold flavours
of cinnamon or cloves in it. Mutton Pulao is
served garnished with dried fruits, chopped
nuts and deep-fried onion strands, with
delectable dal to go with it. What’s not to
love?
Team it up:
This wedding affair ends with a
Lagan-Nu-Custard, made for the occasion.
(Top, left)
Dal
Maharani.
(Top, right)
Anjeer Barfi.
