LAHORI CHANNA DAL AND MEAT BALLS Chana daal cooked with lamb meat balls This is a Pakistani delicacy, combining daals and meats. This kind of preparation is usually served with plain rotis and mint chutney. In Pakistani Home cooking, this dish is prepared on weekly basis to provide the family with the proteins of meat and nutrients of channa daal. The attractive and delicious delicacy is always a hit with all, yet very seldom one finds it on the Restaurant menus. I do recall eating this dish in Kenya at my Muslim friend’s place preapared with goat meat and lamb. In my variation, inspired by this popular marriage of Meats and Daal, I am using mutton meat balls The chefs from Lahore are the ones who have mastered the art of blending the two textures of meats and daal, thus I am adding “Lahori” to name my variation. Ingredients for Channa Daal: 11/2 cups of chana daal cleaned, picked and soaked in water 6 cups of water 1 tbs. butter 1 tomatoes crushed 1 tsp. red chilli powder 1 tbs. garam masala 2 tbs. fresh ginger root chopped 1 tsp. turmeric powder 1 tbs, browned onion paste 1 finger hot green chili chopped 1 tbs. finely chopped coriander stems Salt to taste Cooking the Daal: It is always best to soak the daal for at least two hours before cooking. In a pressure cooker, add all of the above ingredients and cook the daal until soft but separate. Do not overcook. Remove the daal and keep it aside. You may not want to use a pressure cooker, then just cook the daal in a pot. Ingredients for Minced Meat Balls: 1 kg. minced lamb 1 tsp. green cardamom seeds coarsely ground ½ tsp. cinnamon powder 2 tbs. brown onion paste 2 tsp. fresh ginger chopped fine 1 tsp garlic paste 4 green chilies finely chopped 1 tbs. finely chopped fresh coriander 1 tsp. kasoori methi rubbed 1 tbs. cumin seeds rubbed between your palms 1 tbs. seeded Aloo Bhukhara (dried plums) chopped 1 tbs. fine breadcrumbs 2 egg whites beaten Salt and pepper to taste For the sauce: 5 tbs. cooking oil 1 cup finely chopped onions 2 tbs. ginger paste 1 tbs. garlic paste 1 tsp. turmeric 1 tsp. garam masala 1 tbs. Deghi mirch ½ tsp. Kasoori methi 2 cups finely diced tomatoes 1 tbs. tomato paste 6 cups boiling water 3 tbs. finely chopped coriander leaf stems Salt to taste Freshly chopped fresh corriander Method: In a mixing bowl add all of the Koftas ingredients and mix them well. Shape small balls about 1” in diameter by rolling the meat gently between your moist palms and keep the balls on a flat sheet and refrigerte them. For the sauce heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the chopped onions until lightly browned. Then add the ginger, garlic pastes, turmeric, garam masala, deghi mirch, Kasoori methi and salt to taste. Stir the mixture well and keep stirfrying until the onions start to brown. Then add the diced tomatoes and the paste and stirring constantly cook until the fat separates. Add the coriander stems and 6 cups of boiling water and bring the sauce to a boil. Gently slide in the meatballs one at a time into the boiling sauce. As soon as the sauce comes to a boil again, after all the meat balls are in, cover the pot and let it simmer until the meatballs are fully cooked and soft and are all smothered with rich sauce. In a large serving platter gently transfer the cooked daal and then carefully add the cooked meat balls and the sauce on top of the daal. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve it with Tandoori rot or Lachedaar Pronthis. Moolee onion salad with peppry pappad makes a good accompaniment. Please note that if you are using goat meat it may take a bit longer to soften up. You may need to use a pressure cooker to result in softer balls. Chicken Koftas or beef koftas also work great in this preparation.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 17:09:01 +0000
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