Shola - Old Delhi style

 

           SHOLA, an ancient Mughlai dish hailing from the bygone days of Old Delhi, has been largely forgotten over time. Its roots trace back to Afghanistan or Peshawar, with its remnants now found sporadically in a handful of households and a few aged eateries nestled in the alleys of old Delhi. 

          This culinary gem can be relished as a satisfying standalone meal or savored alongside some refreshing raita. For a detailed guide on preparing my innovative fusion rendition, follow the step-by-step visual recipe provided. 

          The traditional method involves crafting SHOLA from leftover mutton korma,  incorporating elements of spinach, lentil and rice. This makes it a clever way to repurpose any culinary excess.

          Alternatively, the option to introduce mutton or chicken mince exists as well. Reminiscent of the esteemed Mughlai delicacy Haleem, SHOLA boasts similar characteristics.

           Inspired by this remarkable recipe, I've introduced my own twist by replacing rice by Foxtail millet and mutton with chicken. The result is a nourishing, well rounded and diabetic friendly one-pot masterpiece. 

• 1 cup boneless chicken, finely chopped / chicken keema
• 1 cup spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup foxtail millet, soaked for an hour
• 1/3 cup split green moong dal, soaked for an hour
• 3 tbsp. oil
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 2 onion, sliced
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. coriander-cumin powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt or to taste
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup curd 
• 2 green chilies, slit
• 1 tbsp. Chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chilies, ginger julienne & lemon wedges to garnish

          Heat oil in a pan / kadai and sauté one sliced onion till light brown. 

          Now add the ginger garlic paste and all the dry spices mixed with 1/4 cup water. Sauté till the oil separates. 

          Add the tomatoes and stir fry till it is mashed. 

          Next add the chicken and continue to sauté till well browned. 

          Then add the curd and keep sautéing till it leaves the sides of the pan. 

          Now add the chopped spinach, soaked moong dal and millet, slit green chilies and 3&1/2 -4 cups water. Pressure cook for 5-6 whistles. 

          Meanwhile, for the tempering, heat the ghee in a pan and fry the remaining onion till light brown. 

          To serve, spoon the prepared SHOLA into a serving dish and pour the tempering over it. 

          Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chilies, ginger julienne and lemon wedges. Enjoy this delicious one-pot delicacy just as it is or with some raita.  

                                  Heat oil & sauté one sliced onion till light brown. 

                        Add ginger garlic paste & all the dry spices mixed with 1/4 cup water. 

                        Sauté till the oil separates. 

                                  Add the tomatoes and stir fry till it is mashed. 

                                 Next add the chicken & continue to sauté till well browned. 

                          Then add the curd & keep sautéing till it leaves the sides of the pan. 

                                  Now add the chopped spinach, 

                                  soaked moong dal and millet, slit green chilies 

                                  and 3 & 1/2 - 4 cups water. 

Pressure cook for 5-6 whistles. 

  Meanwhile, for the tempering, heat the ghee in a pan & fry the remaining 

onion till light brown. 

                                  To serve, spoon the prepared SHOLA into a serving dish

                                  and pour the tempering over it. 

                       Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chilies, ginger 

                       julienne and lemon wedges.

                            Enjoy this delicious one-pot delicacy just as it is or with some raita.  

Chicken Haleem - Hyderabadi Style)

 

          Chicken Haleem is a delicious one-pot meal that has its origin in Hyderabad. This popular dish is usually had during the holy month of Ramzan. It is traditionally prepared with mutton, But I tried the easier method with chicken in a pressure cooker. It is typically cooked on an open flame. It is quite a rich dish with loads of dry fruits and ghee. But it is equally nutritious and wholesome as it contains broken wheat, oats and various types of lentils.

          It also contains chicken which is a lean meat and is better than any red meat. Chicken has proteins and antioxidants that improves our immune system. Mixed lentils and oats have loads of proteins, fibre, has less cholesterol and is heart healthy. This delicacy is best relished with a dash of lime and garnished with fried onions, coriander leaves and roasted cashews. 

Ingredients - 

• 400 gms. boneless chicken, cut into small pieces 
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 3/4 cup yoghurt 
• 1/3 cup cracked wheat 
• 2 tbsp. oats
• 2 tbsp. each of masoor, split moong, urad and chana dal 
• 2 tbsp. each cashew, almonds & pistachios
• 3-4 tbsp. ghee
• 1-2 green chilies, slit
• 3 onions, sliced + 1 cup oil to deep fry
• 1 tsp. rose essence 
• few drops of kewra essence
• Roasted cashews, coriander leaves, lemon wedges, fried onions & mint leaves to garnish

Garam Masala - 

• 1" cinnamon sticks
• 10-15 whole peppercorns
• 4 green cardamoms
• 6 cloves
• 1 mace
• small piece nutmeg
• 5 whole red chilies
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. shahjeera
• 1/2 tsp. kebab chini
• 2 tbsp. dry rose petals 

          Soak all the lentils, dry fruits and wheat overnight. Heat oil and deep fry the onion till golden brown and crisp. Drain and keep aside. 

         Garam masala - Dry roast all the mentioned ingredients for a few seconds and set aside to cool. Then grind into a fine powder and keep aside. 

          Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste, yoghurt, salt to taste, rose water, kewra essence, turmeric powder and the prepared garam masala powder for an hour. 

          Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and sauté the marinated chicken till the oil separates. 

          Add the soaked lentils, wheat, almonds, 3/4 of the fried onions and 4-5 cups of water. 

          Pressure  cook for 20-25 minutes on a very low flame after the first whistle. After the pressure is released, continue simmering and mashing with a potato masher.

          Serve hot with some lemon wedges, fried onions, roasted cashew and coriander leaves. 

Mutton Haleem - Hyderabadi Style

          This is a very popular Hyderabadi dish during the holy month of Ramadan. It can be prepared with either mutton or chicken. But now a days, you come across vegetarian haleem too. Traditionally it is slow cooked for many hours on an open flame. But I tried the simplest method - Pressure cooking method.

           It is quite a rich dish with loads of dry fruits and ghee, but it is equally nutritious as it contains various types of lentils and oats (traditionally wheat is used). This delicacy is served with a dash of lime, fried onions, chopped coriander-mint leaves and dry fruits. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.

• 2 cups boiled mutton, shredded
• 2 tbsp. masoor dal (red lentil)
• 2 tbsp. chana dal (Bengal gram lentil)
• 2 tbsp. moong dal (Split green gram lentil)
• 2 tbsp. tuvar dal (pigeon pea lentil)
• 2-3 tbsp. oats
• handful of almonds and cashews, chopped
• 3 tbsp. ghee / oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 2-3 green cardamoms
• 4-5 cloves
• 1/2 tsp. peppercorns ( I used red peppercorns)
• 2-3 onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 2-3 green chilies
• handful of coriander leaves 
• handful of mint leaves
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 2-3 tbsp. dry rose petals (opt) 
• lime juice as required
• 2 tbsp. fried onions 
• few dry fruits to garnish
• coriander & mint leaves to garnish     
• lime wedges to garnish

          Dry roast the lentils, almonds and the oats for 2 minutes or till you get a nice aroma coming through. Soak in sufficient water for 3-4 hours. 

          Heat ghee / oil in a pan and temper with cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cumin seeds. Sauté for a few seconds.

          Add the onion and fry till light brown. Now add the ginger-garlic paste, green chilies and all the dry spices. Fry for a minute.

          Add the drained lentils, mutton, rose petals, coriander leaves, mint leaves and 4 cups water.  Pressure cook for 20-25 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle. 

          After the pressure is released, simmer further on a low flame. Keep mashing while it is simmering. Garnish with coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions, dry fruits and lime wedges.

                  Dry roast lentils, almonds & oats for 2 min. or till you get a nice aroma. Soak
                  in sufficient water for 3-4 hours. 

                  Heat ghee / oil & temper with cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns
                  and cumin seeds. Sauté for a few seconds.

                                  Add onion & fry till light brown. 

                                 Now add ginger-garlic paste, 

                                  green chilies & all the dry spices. Fry for a minute.

                                  Add drained lentils, 

                                  mutton,

                                rose petals, coriander leaves, mint leaves 

                     and 4 cups water.  Pressure cook for 20-25 minutes on a low flame after 
                     the first whistle. 

                 After the pressure is released, simmer further on a low flame. Keep mashing 
                 while it is simmering. 

              Garnish with coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions, dry fruits & lime wedges.

Vegetarian Haleem - Hyderabadi/Telangana Style)

          This is a very popular dish during the month of Ramadan. It is traditionally prepared with mutton. But here is my version of a Vegetarian Haleem cooked in a pressure cooker. It is quite a rich dish with loads of dry fruits and ghee. But at the same time it is nutritious and wholesome too, with the presence of lentils, mixed veggies and oats. 

          I made it even more healthier by adding very little ghee to the end product and using olive oil instead. This exotic dish can be had as a one-pot meal too with a dash of lime and with all the garnishes. So do give it a try by checking out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.

• 2 tbsp. urad dal (split black gram)
• 2 tbsp. masoor dal (red lentil)
• 2 tbsp. moong dal (split green gram)
• 2 tbsp. tuvar dal (pigeon pea lentil)
• 2 tbsp. oats 
• 10 almonds
• 10 cashew nuts
• 12 pistachios
• 8 walnuts 
• 1 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, beans & corn), chopped 
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 3 green cardamoms
• 5 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. roasted coriander-cumin powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• salt to taste
• handful of coriander & mint leaves
• 1 tsp. ghee
• 2 tbsp. fried onion, 2 tsp. chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, dry fruits & lemon wedges to garnish

          Soak all the lentils and the dry fruits separately for an hour. Heat oil in a pan and temper with cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves. Sauté for a few seconds. 

          Add the onion and fry till light brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and all the dry spices (except salt), mixed with 1/4 cup water. Sauté on low flame till the oil separates.

          Add the soaked lentils, oats, soaked dry fruits and the veggies. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add 3 cups water, salt to taste and the coriander-mint leaves.

          Pressure cook for 15-20 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle. When cool, blend it and heat through. Add the ghee and mix well.

          Serve, garnished with fried onion, chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, cashew nuts, almonds and lemon wedges.

                       Heat oil & temper with bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms & cloves.

                                  Add onion & sauté till light brown.

                       Add ginger-garlic paste & all dry spices (except salt), mixed with 1/4 
                       cup water. Sauté till oil separates.

                      Add mixed veggies, soaked dals, oats & dry fruits. Sauté for 2 minutes.

                  Add 3 cups water, salt, coriander & mint leaves. Pressure cook for 15-20 min.
                  on a low flame after the first whistle.

               When cool, blend it. Heat through & add ghee. Mix well & serve, garnished 
               with coriander leaves, fried onion, mint leaves, cashew nuts, almonds & lemon 
               wedges.