Carla Grossetti Joins Chef Anjum Anand to Uncover the Culinary
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INDIA Squares of char koni naan for sale at Munshi Naan Opposite: brightly dressed A ƬASTE women in Hyderabad OF HISTORY CA RLA GROSSETTI joins chef Anjum Anand to uncover the culinary secrets of India’s Hyderabad. Photography Aparna Jayakumar 148 / CUISINE / CUISINE.CO.NZ INDIA FROM TOP Anjum Anand examines “It is only through actually being here produce near Charminar monument; that you realise how important meat brightly hued spices for sale in is to the people of Hyderabad. The Laad Bazaar; a little girl in the streets of Hyderabad mutton is tenderised in green papaya, OPPOSITE, FROM TOP The area and it just falls apart so beautifully.” around Charminar monument is Historically known as a pearl- and always busy with traffic and street diamond-trading centre, modern-day hawkers; Anjum (at right) speaks Hyderabad is on the map for being with women at Laad Bazaar home to more than 1000 global conglomerates, including Google and Facebook. Anand is visiting the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana to gather inspiration for The Spice Tailor, her sauce and chutney range. With the help of a local guide, Anand says she aims “to get to the heart of Hyderabad through its cuisine”. While the city has plenty of he warren of streets around attractions and artistic treasures, it’s Laad Bazaar in the southern the Hyderabadi biryani that most Indian city of Hyderabad are intrigues Anand, and she’s thrilled to thronged with men and have been invited into the home of Twomen hawking everything from local culinary expert Mehboob Alam copper pots to strings of pearls, dried Khan to learn all about it. figs and dates, glittering plastic bangles Khan has dedicated decades to and large vials of pungent pickles. perfecting the city’s signature dish and All around are mobile vendors and adheres to a recipe that he says dates makeshift stalls piled high with back hundreds of years, to the kitchens pakoras, papaya, limes, red onions, of the Hyderabadi royalty. Like the ginger, coriander, turmeric and coils skyline shaped by minarets and of golden vermicelli. The harsh dome-shaped tombs, the biryani discordant sound of beeping horns is a legacy of the Nizams who ruled is the city’s soundtrack and the Hyderabad for two centuries until 1947. stallholders must put an extra edge “I was about 15 when I made my into their shouts in order to lift their first biryani and I learned this recipe voices above the whirrs and clunks from my mother. It follows the of the traffic around the iconic traditional method of cooking in a deg 16th-century Charminar monument. [a large pot-bellied copper pot] over a When British-born chef, TV charcoal fire and sealing the lid with a personality and author Anjum Anand circle of dough to keep the steam slices through the dusty streets of inside,” says Khan, who is in his late the old city in the golden light of the 60s. “Although my family migrated afternoon, she causes a commotion from the North West Frontier Province as she stops near a man barbecuing [modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, skewers of mutton. A crowd gathers near Pakistan], I am the fourth around Anand as she selects a sampler, generation to be in Hyderabad. marvelling at the beguiling spice mix I feel like this is where I belong.” of pepper, salt and cumin, along with As Khan talks Anand through the the meltingly tender meat. secret of making a good biryani – “a “I’ve always remembered mutton true Hyderabadi biryani is made the from my childhood visits to India, kacchi [raw] way of cooking rice with but what strikes me about Hyderabad raw mutton” – his words ring out like is how much attention they pay to incantations, his way of speaking tenderising the meat,” says Anand. both direct and precise. When the She was born in London, spent time giant deg arrives, Khan breaks the in Geneva, Paris and Madrid growing dough seal and Anand’s eyes light up. up, and inherited a love of Indian food The fluffy white rice is dotted with from her Punjabi-immigrant parents. rich, tender hunks of mutton, which is 150 / CUISINE / CUISINE.CO.NZ INDIA “If you’re interested in Indian food, the cuisine HyDERABAD BIryANI of Hyderabad is well worth understanding. It’s SERVES 4-6 Preparation 45 minutes (plus 2-24 hours marinating time) a cuisine that stands out because it’s so refined, Cooking 1 hour 30 minutes so pure. It is food that is not going to evolve The Hyderabad biryani differs from others I’ve tried. It is because people don’t want it to evolve – this is delicate and fragrant; subtle but flavourful. The art is in food that was fit for royalty” – Anjum Anand achieving a harmonious flavour and cooking the meat and rice together to perfection. The green papaya tenderises the meat, but if you can’t find it you can leave it out. vegetable oil for frying then piled onto platters and served is so glaringly different from all other 2 onions, thinly sliced alongside raita and mirchi ka salan Indian cuisine. It gives me so much 500g lamb pieces (lean pieces of leg are ideal, (chilli and peanut curry). It’s a banquet joy to learn about it.” with the bone in if possible) fit for a Nazim, and 50 or so guests The next day, the air is humid and 4 large cloves garlic, crushed to a paste gather around the table that is also heavy as Anand again ventures into 10g ginger, peeled, crushed to a paste laden with dhal fry, creamy chicken the city, where she pinballs from chai ½ tablespoon green papaya paste (optional, made by with spices, mung bean masala, wallahs to stalls selling hand-churned peeling a green papaya then grating the flesh) eggplants in peanut sauce, stuffed ice cream. She stops to talk with a 1½ teaspoons salt roasted chickens, a whole barbecued sari-clad streetside vendor barbecuing ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper goat, a meat and lentil stew and corn, and calls into a kebab shop 1 heaped teaspoon garam masala chicken curry. To follow, there's stewed serving pathar ka gosht (meat cooked ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or to taste apricot dessert, bread pudding and tea. on a hot stone). Anand’s tastebud-led ¾ teaspoon black cumin seeds, lightly pounded Despite not growing up in India, tour also takes us to the cupboard-sized 2½ tablespoons lemon juice, plus 2 teaspoons extra Anand is reverential about her Indian Munshi Naan, which has queues 110g plain yoghurt heritage and it’s a pride she shares snaking around the block. 6 cloves with Khan, who is deeply committed It’s here that Anand is invited to 2 x 2-inch cinnamon quills to preserving the country’s ancient crouch alongside the roti wallah on a 12 green cardamom pods culinary traditions. bare cement floor that is quivering in a handful of chopped coriander leaves and stems, “If you’re interested in Indian food, film of heat. Anand watches as the plus extra to serve the cuisine of Hyderabad is well worth young man expertly slaps the roti handful of chopped mint leaves, plus extra to serve understanding. It’s a cuisine that stands against the wall of a cement oven, 200g chapati flour or strong bread flour out above a lot of the others because which is black from years of cooking 500g good-quality basmati rice it’s so refined, so pure. It is food that is smoke. As Bollywood music blares in large pinch saffron strands Wash the rice well in several changes of water, then put not going to evolve because the people the background, the roti wallah 4 tablespoons milk in a bowl, cover with water and soak for 18-20 minutes. don’t want it to evolve – this is food cackles and sings, before leaning green chillies to serve Meanwhile, fill a large saucepan with water. Add the that was fit for royalty and they forward and plucking out a square remaining 3 cloves, cinnamon, 6 cardamom pods, mint, are justifiably proud of that,” says of bread for Anand to try. “It’s soft on Heat 5cm of oil in a saucepan, then gently fry the onions coriander and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Season with salt. Anand. “The flavour profiles present the inside and crisp on the outside but for 10-15 minutes or until just brown and crisp. Remove Fry the saffron in a dry saucepan over medium heat until in Hyderabadi cuisine are so different. it’s not too dense or doughy. It’s unlike with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain and cool on crisp, then pour in the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook for The Mughals didn’t like heat and any naan I’ve eaten,” she says. paper towels. Reserve the oil. 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat. spices and it’s because the food has When Anand arrived in Hyderabad, Wash the lamb well, then pat dry with paper towels and Drain the rice, then add to the saucepan of water and such a strong Mughal history that it she had no firsthand knowledge of prick all over with the point of a knife. Place the lamb in a spices. Bring to the boil, then boil for exactly 3 minutes. the city. But the intimate experiences bowl. Add the garlic, ginger, papaya paste, salt, pepper, garam Drain, reserving the cooking water. Spoon the par-cooked of sharing street food with locals and masala, chilli, black cumin, 2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice and rice over the lamb.