City Food – Julia Child Makes Badaam Pasanda in I.P. Extension

The Delhi Walla

14 years ago

The great chef’s life in Delhi.

[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Meet the Julia Child of I.P. Extension, a neighbourhood in east Delhi. Ms Child organizes culinary festivals in a city’s 5-star hotel, but when she has a party in her house, she calls in the services of Rajeev Rishi, her father. A consultant on ‘geo-physical investigations’, Mr Rishi lives with his wife in a sixth floor apartment in the same neighbourhood as his daughter. Every time the family hosts a formal dinner, he is responsible for the non-vegetarian dishes. As a young scout, Mr Rishi took care of the cooking in the camp. At his engineering college in Madras, he was in charge of the hostel mess. After he married, his wife took over the kitchen. When the family is out of town, Mr Rishi does not depend on takeaway burgers. Instead, he cooks a full meal of dal, vegetables, raita and salad and lays it out on the table before sitting down to dine. Here is the recipe of his family favourite ‘badaam pasanda’.

There is so much joy in cooking for the children and watching them enjoy the meal. I’m so glad that our family tradition is alive. My daughter has learned cooking from me, and I learned it from my late mother, Swaroop Mathur. We Mathurs are hardcore meat-eaters and our caste (Kayastha) has its own distinct cuisine. While badaam pasanda is a Muslim dish, the Kayasthas love cooking it too. Both schools recommend a generous addition of ghee and spices. Pasanda is mutton from the thigh part of the goat, which is sliced in rounds and flattened. It is not usually available in regular meat shops. Kallu, at Hauz Khas market, is one of the few places in Delhi where you can get it.

1 kg pasanda (boneless goat meat)
1 kg curd
0.25 kg tomato
0.4 kg onions (four big varieties)
0.1 kg ground kachari
0.1 kg garlic paste
0.05 Kg ginger paste
0.20 kg almonds (0.20 kg)
2 tea spoon garam masala
Salt to taste
Degi mirch to taste
100 gm refined oil

Wash pasandas, pat dry and keep aside. Beat well about 100 g of curd, 25 g of garlic, salt and kachari. Apply on the pasandas and keep aside for 45 minutes. Make a paste of the tomatoes and keep aside. Remove skin of almonds and make a paste of half the quantity and keep aside. Fry thinly-sliced onions to dark brown and keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep pan on low fire, add the remaining ginger-garlic paste and almond paste. Stir well till it turns golden brown. Add salt and degi mirch. Add tomato paste and stir well till the oil separates. Add curd and cook for a few minutes. Add pasandas along with two cups of water and the whole almonds. Let it simmer on a low flame for about 15 to 20 minutes, till the meat is well done. Add fried onions. Add garam masala and onion paste and cook for five minutes. Serve hot with rotis.

Ms Child’s empire