A palate to cool the senses

Pushpesh Pant

Kalidas, the great Sanskrit poet, has painted with his words a wonderful picture of the arrival of scorching summer and the end of spring. This is a time when the body feels drained of energy and the appetite is sluggish. What then is the remedy? Another verse in his work, Ritusamhara, provides a list of things that have remarkable cooling properties. Some of them bring immediate relief and the others act as a balm to sore eyes. Rays of moon, sandalwood paste, pearl on the ring, splash in a pool of cold water... For us, however, it is food that is the most reliable friend during days of distress.

Curd, white as snow, and its various derivatives — chaach, lassi, raita and shrikhand — have protected us from heat stroke and averted upset stomach for years. Our favourite lunch is thayir sadam, curd rice, from the Tamil repertoire, enjoyed best at room temperature or slightly chilled. It is tempered with lentils, curry leaves and green chillies; diced ginger completing the bliss.

For dinner, we mostly opt for yakhni, the delectable, to-die-for recipe from the Valley with its thin, yogurt-based gravy redolent with fennel, dried ginger and green cardamoms. It is usually prepared with soft succulent cuts of shoulder and ribs, but has an equally delectable vegetarian avatar prepared from nadru or lotus stems.

Our young friend Bilal Ahmed recently treated us to homemade yakhni garnished with dried and crushed mint leaves that left nothing more to be desired. Paired with steamed rice, and served not-so-hot, it seemed perfect even for a late dinner.

Die-hard carnivores needn’t lose heart. They may tickle the palate with Dum Ka Chandi Murg, claimed by the bawarchis of Awadh and Hyderabad as their own creation. In this, chicken is marinated overnight in curd with garlic-ginger-green chilli paste and spiced very mildly with white peppercorns, green cardamoms and extremely slow cooked in its own juices. Just before serving, it is garnished with fresh green coriander and mint leaves.

Nothing rounds off the snow white summer repast better than shrikhand. It is only malai kulfi with slivers of almonds that can give it a run for its money.

Our tip for you is: play around with cooling curds as much as you can. It is now available in skimmed milk version also and you can indulge without guilty conscience! And do watch this space for cooling foods of different hues.

Dum ka Chandi Murg

Ingredients 

Chicken 800g

Curd 1 cup

Onion (medium sized, peeled and sliced lengthwise, very fine) 1

Melon seeds (soaked in water and ground to a smooth paste)   1 tbsp

Poppy seeds (soaked in water and ground to a smooth paste) 1 tbsp

Green cardamom seeds (ground) 1 tsp

White peppercorns 1 tsp

Yellow chilli powder 1 tsp

Garlic paste 1 tsp

Ginger paste 1 tsp

Green chillies (deseeded and ground to paste) 3

Salt to taste

Ghee 1 cup

Garnish

Almonds (soaked and skin removed, slivered)   12 

A sprig of fresh coriander/mint

Kewra water, a few drops (optional)

Method

• Remove the skin and dress the chicken. Wash and clean the insides well. Pierce the chicken all over with a sharp fork and score deep gashes on legs and breast. Prepare the marinade mixing  all the listed ingredients, except ghee and curd. Keep in a cool place for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. 
• Heat ghee in a thick bottommed pan and put the whole chicken with the marinade in it. Cover with a tight lid and cook over low-medium flame for 8-10 minutes. Uncover, turn the chicken over, cover again and cook for 5-7  minutes more or till done to taste.
• Serve at room temperature.