Recipe for Kashmiri Salan Walah Chawal
This recipe is an everyday pulao elevated with a little patience and technique. It comes from the Kashmiri Pandit community, and was taught to Alok Ganju by his mother, who in turn, learned it from her mother. Read the full story of Salan walah chawal here.
RECIPE: ALOK GANJU’S SALAN WALAH CHAWAL
Ingredients
1 kg mutton (preferably from rear shoulder, cut into medium-large pieces)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
4 heaped tbsp ghee
1 ½ cup + 1 tbsp yogurt
2 ½ tsp salt
2 cups aged basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder + 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ginger powder
Afghani hing (asafoetida), a few flakes diluted in 2 tsp water
4 bay leaves
2 black cardamom pods, crushed lightly
8-10 cloves
3 tsp cumin
4 heaped tsp coriander powder
1 tsp fresh ginger paste
2-3 pinches of Kashmiri wadi, if available (do not use Punjabi wadi)
Method
Place a wide, heavy bottomed pot over medium flame. When hot, add in oil and ghee, 1 and ½ cup yogurt. After a minute, add a few drops of asafoetida.
Next, add in mutton and 1 ½ tsp salt.
Turn the flame up to high, and allow the meat to release its water, as the yogurt and ghee cook down.
Meanwhile, mix 2 cups of water with a tablespoon of yogurt, ½ tsp of Kashmiri red chilli powder, ½ tsp ginger powder and a couple of drops of hing.
When the water in the pot has evaporated, lower the flame and add 2 tablespoons of the yogurt-chilli-water mixture, a little at a time. Allow the meat to brown slowly. This step is crucial, will need patience.
As the water reduces and dries out, add a couple of spoons more of the yogurt-chilli-water mixture. Repeat this for about 45 minutes, with the flame on medium/low.
Now add in the spices: ½ tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp ginger powder,½ tsp of Kashmiri red chilli powder, cumin, coriander powder, clove, cardamom, bay leaves and 1 tsp fresh ginger paste.
Add enough water to cover the meat, and cook under pressure for 15 minutes after the first whistle, on medium/low flame.
When the meat has cooked, open the pot, and add in the pre-soaked rice, with 4 cups water, 1 tsp salt and Kashmiri wadi, and cook on a low flame with the lid ajar a crack, until no water remains.
When the rice is dry and a little short of being perfectly cooked, place on a heavy tawa or griddle, over low flame. Cover with a lid, lined with a towel inside, over the mouth of the vessel (to catch condensation). Cook for 13-15 minutes. When done perfectly, each grain of rice should be separate, and standing up along its length.
Best eaten with chilled raita of diced tomatoes and onions.
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