Bohra Style Kaari Chawal
Bohra Kaari, kari or curry is traditional Bohra dish. It is coconut and cashew-based curry that requires a special masala called Kari masala. Kaari is clearly a version of the word Curry, and only God knows what came from what. Chawal is the Hindi word for Rice. The taste of curry is mildly spiced and coconutty. It is a very easy to cook, if you have masala prepared in advance, it requires very little effort. Although, allow slow cooking of curry to accentuate flavours.
All Bohri General Stores (In India) keep Kaari Masala, but I recommend you to make it at home as it will give a different kick to your Kaari as you know what kind of spices you are using. If, you use a readymade kaari masala mix then you might need to twist this recipe with some extra red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and whole spices. But with my homemade Kaari Masala you Just add these in tempering when we fry masala.
For Kaari Masala
Ingredients for Kaari Masala : -
75 gram or ¾ cup roasted gram - (bhuna channa)
Nuts
75 gram or ¾ cup cashew nuts - (kaju)
75 gram or ½ cup almonds - (badaam),
100 gram or ¾ cup peanuts - (moong phali)
Seeds
25 gram or ¼ cup sesame seeds - (til)
25 gram or ¼ cup pumpkin seeds - (char magaz), optional
Spice powder
2 teaspoon ginger powder - (soonth)
1 ½ teaspoon turmeric powder - (haldi)
1 ½ teaspoon coriander seeds - (dhanya)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds - (zeera)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds - (sauf)
1 teaspoon black pepper - (kali mirch)
5 cloves - (laung)
5 button red chili - (gol lal mirch)
2-star anise - (badyaan phool)
1 large Kashmiri chilli - (talhar mirch) , optional
2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Roast cashew, almond (if using) and peanuts on medium heat for 5 minutes until fragrant. Let the nuts cool then mix with roasted gram and grind into fine powder.
Roast all seeds and spices for 3 minutes on medium flame until fragrant. Let the spices cool for few minutes. Then grind into fine powder.
Mix all ingredients together. Masala is ready, store in an airtight jar in fridge. Use within 6 months.
Notes
- You can substitute roasted grams with split gram (channa dal). Roast split gram with nuts.
- You can substitute 75 grams almonds with 75 grams cashew. So you use 150 gram cashew.
- Pumpkin seeds can be substituted with sesame seeds. So you need 50 gram sesame seeds.
- Grinds nuts separately.
Now Lets prepare Kaari
Servings - 4 People
Ingredients: -
· About 7-8 skinless chicken drumsticks or about 2 lbs of bone-in, skinless chicken
· 2 cups of homemade Kaari Masala
· 2 cans Coconut Milk, diluted in 1 can-full of water
· 2-3 tbsp dessicated coconut
· 3-4 whole green chilies, slit lengthwise
· 1 cup Ghee or clarified butter
· 2 cinnamon sticks
· 3 Anise Stars
· 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
· 3 tbsp Ginger & Garlic paste
· 1/2 tbsp Red Chili powder (if required)
· Salt to taste
· 1/2 cup tamarind pulp
· A handful of chopped coriander and mint leaves
· Lemon juice for garnishing
Method: -
· Clean the chicken, pat dry and keep aside. You can also use mutton in this dish, but cooking time will be much longer
· In a large pot, heat the Ghee on medium heat. When heated, add the Cinnamon sticks, Anise Stars and cumin seeds
· When the spices crackle and are fragrant, add the Ginger & Garlic paste.In a bowl add 2 cups of Kaari Masala and add 1 cup of water to it .Make it in a paste consistency . Now add the Kaari Masala paste to the Large Pot and lower the heat and toast it in the Ghee, stirring occasionally, until the fat separates from the sides of the mixture. (oil will ooze out from the sides)
· Now add the chicken or mutton, and mix well. Allow the meat to cook partially in the spice mix, with a lid on the pot.
· Add the diluted coconut milk, dessicated coconut, and slit green chilies. Mix very well and add salt to taste. Put a lid on the pot, set heat on low-medium and allow the curry to simmer
· When the meat is partially cooked, add the red chili powder, mix well and continue to cook
· When the meat is fully cooked, add 1 cup of Tamarind pulp to the curry. Mix well. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes more.
· Garnish with chopped coriander and mint leaves. The true test of a well-done Kaari is when the fat from the clarified butter rises to the top of the curry
· Serve with hot naan and Cumin Rice
Tips by Nisrin
Always make more amount of Kaari masala so that you can store it in fridge (for 6 months) and save much of your time while you are preparing Kaari.
If you are cooking Kaari with Meat, then cook Meat in a pressure cooker till its 60% cooked. It will save your time a lot. Otherwise if you will cook Meat with Kaari than your Meat will be raw a bit.
Kaari should not be on thicker side neither on thinner side …. You can enjoy Kaari with Toasted Bread too.
Kaari should be little Sour in taste. If you feel its not sour, then its advisable to add little lemon juice while serving.
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