#1000Kitchens Recipe Drop: Sem ke Beej ka Salan
It is in Lucknow, in her married home, that Sheeba Iqbal (Sheeba aapa) learnt to cook elaborate recipes including the unique sem ke beej ka salan.
An everyday curry made with basic spices like haldi-dhania-mircha, salans are a staple on the Lakhnavi dining table (now that the dastarkhwans are spread only on special occasions). The term borrows its name from the word salsala which means gravy in Urdu. The curry changes with season, and is often cooked with a combination of meat and vegetables — potatoes, bottle gourd, colocasia in hotter months and beetroot, carrots and beans in winter.
Sem ke beej ka salan however is a lesser-known version because of the novelty of the main ingredient: the seed. Available only in the thick of the winter, these seeds of the local flat bean, sem (pronounced same), are sourced from mature beans. They are peeled, boiled, and fried before being added to the salan.
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SHEEBA AAPA’S SEM KE BEEJ KA SALAN
Ingredients
500 g mutton on the bone
2 medium onions sliced lengthwise
1 tsp fresh ginger paste
1 tsp fresh garlic paste
2 medium fresh tomatoes, pureed
3 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp homemade garam masala powder
Salt, to taste
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 cup mustard oil
1 bunch fresh coriander
500 g fresh sem ke beej
Method
Wash the mutton and keep aside.
In a pressure cooker, add half the oil and heat it until it smokes.
Next, reduce the flame and add the onions, bay leaf and a pinch of salt. The salt helps the onion to brown faster.
Once done (should take about 4-5 minutes), add in the mutton and saute it until nicely browned (about 8-10 minutes).
Once done, add the ginger garlic paste and stir for a couple of minutes so that they are not raw.
Next, add turmeric, chilli powder and coriander powder with a splash of water so that the spices do not burn, and cook until the oil starts to separate from the meat.
Next, add salt to taste and just enough water to cover the meat.
Close the lid and cook it for fifteen minutes on low flame.
While the mutton cooks, peel the seeds and then boil for 2-3 mins in hot water.
Pat dry and deep fry in a shallow pan in remaining mustard oil for about 1-2 minutes and keep aside .
After about fifteen minutes, turn the flame off and let the steam release on its own from the pressure cooker.
Once open, add the tomato puree and simmer for another 2-3 minutes until it blends well. Add water to adjust the consistency if needed. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon but not be thick at all.
When done, add the seeds, more water if needed; cover the cooker with a plate and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes or until it begins bubbling. You do not have to pressure cook at this stage.
Turn the flame off and keep the cover on for another few minutes (opening it hurriedly will result in losing the roghan).
After about five minutes, open the lid, add the garam masala and coriander and mix well.
Serve hot with freshy made roti or rice.
Words by Anubhuti Krishna. Photograph by Sanskriti Bist. Art by Namrata Vansadia.
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