Food Talk: Parsi flavours on your plate

In popular mind, tomato rice is associated with the South Indian — Tamil, Kannadiga and Telugu — versions prepared with curry leaves and tempered with chillies (whole red dry and green), fenugreek and mustard seeds. It is a purely vegetarian dish.

Imagine our surprise when we came across a Persian staple that goes by the name of Dami-e Goje Farangi. Dami translates as rice and Goje Farangi is what the tomatoes were called when they first reached Iran and India. The Bengalis still call them Vilayati Baigun.

What is even more interesting is that the Tamato Na Chawal Ne Murgi is a non-vegetarian delicacy that can be easily mastered and prepared at home. Lots of warm spices are used that subtly impart heat to the body and help it combat the creeping chill of early winter. But if you do not like the idea of adding fowl or flesh to steamed rice, you can enjoy a shuddh shakahari version by cooking the rice in vegetable broth and adding vegetarian proteins like paneer or tofu to the gravy. Our suggestion is that do not combine makhani paneer with this subtly aromatic and mildly flavourful pars dish.

Before we conclude, we must acknowledge our debt to the wonderful cookbook Niloufer Mavalvala has come out with. It is titled ‘The Route to Parsi Cooking: From Pars to India and Beyond’. Endorsed by the musical genius Zubin Mehta, it is beautifully photographed and printed very lavishly. This is where we stumbled upon this unusual alluring recipe. This work reminds us how much the cuisine of Hindustan owes to this minuscule minority that came to India to escape religious persecution hundreds of years ago.

The Parsi recipes dating back to pre-Islamic Iran have a very different signature from the Persian recipes imported during the Mughal period.

Tamato Na Chawal Ne Murgi

Ingredients

For chicken broth

Chicken (skin removed, cut in large pieces) 1 kg

Onions (peeled, sliced fine) 500 gm

Whole red chilli dry 3-4

Ginger paste 1 tsp

Garlic paste 1 tsp

Salt 1 tsp

Oil 6 tbsp

Water 4 cups

For tomato gravy

Tomatoes (fresh, chopped) 3 cups

Sugar 2 tsp

Garlic cloves 4

Cinnamon stick 1x2 inch piece

Black peppercorns 8-10

Sugar 2 tsp

Ginger (diced) 1tsp

Flour 2 tbsp

Mint fresh (chopped fine) 1/2 cup

For the rice

Rice 2-1/2 cups

Tomato gravy (see recipe) 1-1/2 cups

Chicken broth (see recipe) 2 cups

Cinnamon stick 1x2 inch piece

Salt ½ tsp

Chilli powder ½ tsp

Oil 4 tbsp

Method

Preparing the broth: Take a thick-bottomed pan, add oil. When hot, put in the onions. When these turn golden brown, add the chicken and continue cooking on medium flame till the chicken is well browned. Put in all the remaining ingredients. Stir-fry, then pour in the water. Bring to a boil, reduce flame and simmer till the chicken is almost cooked but is not falling from the bones. Sieve through a soup mill to separate the chicken pieces and the stock. Divide the broth into two equal parts, one to cook the rice and other for use in the tomato gravy.

To prepare the tomato gravy, put everything in a pot, except the flour. Reduce heat to medium and cook covered for 15 minutes, uncovering and stirring occasionally. Dry roast the flour on a griddle. Add to the pot in which the tomato gravy is being prepared. Add cooked chicken to the tomato gravy and simmer for about 30 minutes. Pour half of the tomato gravy and half of the chicken broth to the pot, whisk well to blend and cook until the desired thickness is obtained.

Parboil the rice in salted boiling water, drain and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and put in the cinnamon, chilli powder and salt, stirring briskly for 15 seconds before adding the rice. At this stage, pour in the reserved tomato gravy and chicken stock. Bring to boil and let the liquid evaporate. When bubbles appear on the surface, place a thin moist cloth on top of the cooking rice (similar to when cooking dum biryani) and cover the pot tightly with the lid. Continue cooking on very low heat for about 20 minutes. To serve, plate using a mould if you like, pour the gravy on top or in the hollow and place chicken pieces on the side.

— The writer is a food historian