Kabouli

The last couple of days have been awful in terms of weather. A hazy dust storm seems to have enveloped Muscat resulting in poor visibility and recurrent dusty winds. Thanks to low humidity,or else moving outdoors would have made anyone sick.

Sadly, the signs of spring seem to be gradually coming to an end. How quickly it passed. Now we are a few weeks into March with the Air Conditoners back to work. The shimmering rays of the early daylight streaming in through my bedroom window to awaken me & the blazing sun dominating the day are the perfect indicators for an unwelcome summer.

So what can you do when you tend to feel gloomy? Simply cook a crackerjack meal, delight yourself in it, enjoy in the flavours and lick your fingers !!! That's exactly what I feel like doing this weekend. No promises ... Just a plan playing in my mind.

Now coming to the subject. This is an awesome cuisine that is sure to add some exquisitiness to a table. This delectable & heavenly dish is sure to entice your guests and is undoubtedly my ultimate choice when it comes to picking a unique menu for parties/occasions.

Kabouli is basically an arabic dish and is a combination of Biryani, Khichdi & Lentils. This dish makes an extensive use of spices such as cloves, cardomoms & cinnamons . Its easy to cook and its aroma is amazing.


INGREDIENTS:

For the Akhni:

1 kg of  small sized pieces of boneless mutton
4 big sliced Onions     
2 big chopped Tomatoes  
6 Green Chillies - cut slanted
200 gms Curd        
4-5 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
3 tbsp Chilli powder     
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
Whole Garam masala items - 2 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 cardamom, 2 medium sized cinnamon sticks,
A pinch Garam Masala powder 
Salt to taste
1 cup Oil
1 Kg Basmati rice
1/4 th cup Mint leaves (pudina)
1/4 th cup finely chopped coriander leaves
1 cup rice

For the Khichdi:

2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 Cardomom
2 Cloves
1 small Cinnamon piece
1/2 Onion Sliced
1 hand Coriander Leaves chopped finely
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
6-8 Mint Leaves
2 Green Chillies Slit
Salt to taste

For the Lentils:

1/2 cup Bengal Gram Dal/ Chickpeas soaked in water and boiled in a pressure cooker till soft. (I used Bengal gram Dal)

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  In a Pressure Cooker, heat oil and add the whole garam masala items. Add onions and Saute them for a while. Then, add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.

2)  Add the mutton pieces and saute it and let the water dry up completely till you see the oil  on  the top  so that the meat odour goes. 

3)  Add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder,coriander powder, salt and fry for a minute. Then add the curds, tomatoes and little water and cook till you see oil coming up and the mutton looks soft. Pressure cook the mutton for 5 minutes.

4)  Open the Pressure Cooker & add the coriander leaves, green chillies and the mint leaves and cook for a minute before turning off the stove. This forms the Akhni or the gravy mixture for the Kabouli. Keep it aside.

5) Now for the Khichdi - Heat oil in a big vessel. Add the cinnamon, cardomom, cloves. Add the sliced Onion and fry till onion turns pink/light brown. Next add ginger garlic paste and Turmeric powder and salt. Stir and mix well. every grain of rice needs to be seperate and hence do not stir often and preferebly use a flat spoon to avoid rice to break away. The rice should not be overcooked. 

6)  Add the boiled Lentils (Bengal gram lentil/Chickpeas) and add the Mint leaves, Green Chillies and Coriander leaves & the akhni mixture (Mutoon gravy). Add the required quantiy of water - I added 1 litre of water as the lentils also have some water in them and the akhni also has some water content in it. Bring it to boil.

7)  Add the rice and stir well so that it gets mixed with all the gravy. Toss in  a handful of mint leaves, cover lid and  keep on low flame for about 10 mins for the flavours to blend . I usually keep the vessel on a griddle for the Dum.

8)  Serve hot with onion raita or cucumber raita.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   MEDIUM
              RATING  POINTS         :    8/10**

**   Care should be taken when adding water in step 6. Excess water can make the rice grains soft and the dish may lose its charm.

**  Kabouli is best when the gravy gives the rice only a light shade. That is the reason we make less gravy and mix with more rice.