Indian Cooking Recipe: Machh
The following are the instructions on how to cook delicious Indian food: Machh
Ingredients:
1. Minced meat chopped granular or machine minced and pounded 1 kg
2. Ghee or Mustard oil 1 tbsp
3. Dry ginger powder 1 tsp
4. Aniseed powder 1 tsp
5. Salt 1 tsp
6. Red chilli powder 1 tsp
7. Asafeotida solution 1 tsp
8. Curd 1 tbsp
9. Garam masala 1 tsp
10. Some extra oil for greasing the hands.
11. Mustard oil 1/2 cup
12. Cloves 3
13. Jeera 1 tsp
14. Asafeotida 1 tsp
15. Chilli powder l/2 - 1 tbsp
16. Turmeric 1 tsp
17. Curd 1/2 cup
18. Sugar 1 tsp
19. Dry Ginger Powder 1 tsp
20. Aniseed Powder 2 tsps
21. Salt 1 tsp
22. Garam Masala 1 tsp
23. Ghee (Optional) 1 tbsp
Method of Preparation:
For Making Granular 'Machh', in which case the fine mincing of meat is done with a chopping knife, mix and knead all the ingredients (2 to 9). Mentioned above in Ingredients part A, with the minced meat. Divide into 30 to 40 portions, each about the size of a small egg. After anointing a little oil on the right hand palm and the front of its fingers, take each portion of the minced meat into the hand, one by one, and by alternately opening and half closing the fist, work each mass into a kofta, about 3" long cylindrical piece, avoid at the ends. The oiling of the palms makes the 'Koftas' smooth and compact.
In case the mincing is done by a Machine, mix with the minced meat, items 2 to 9 of part A of Ingredients, and then pound nicely, by means of a pestle and mortar, preferably a wooden pestle and a stone mortar, called Havan Dasta or Chhota Ta Niyam in Kashmir, and Okhli and Musal in Hindi. Thus the ingredients will get mixed uniformly and all turn into a finely beaten mince. In this case also, Koftas are prepared as already described. Sometimes instead of mincing by a chopper or a machine, lean pieces of meat are pounded on a flat stone by a wooden mallet, as in case of making Goashtaba, Rista etc.
Take a patila or kadhai of about 2 liters capacity. Now ingredients mentioned in part B is used. Pour the oil in the patila or kadhai, and heat it till the froth disappears and the oil begin to smoke. Remove the cooking vessel from the fire for a minute or two, to lower a little the temperature of the oil. Add cloves, jeera, and asafeotida. Stir well. Then again, while stirring, add chilli Powder, turmeric and a quarter cup of water. Again place the patila on the stove and resume heating on medium flame. Go on stirring with a ladle till oil acquires a reddish brown color and begins to separate.
Add half a cup of well beaten curd, and continue stirring till the curd also gets a little fried and all blends into thick reddish brown sauce. Now add half a liter of water, ginger powder, aniseed powder and salt. Stir and mix well. Place all the Koftas, one by one, gently in the vessel and let the whole boil slowly for 15 minutes to half an hour, till most of the water disappears and the gravy thickens and oil begins to separate again. Add pure ghee and the garam masala and mix it, by lifting the pot with a cloth or tongs and shaking it gently so that Koftas do not split. 'Machh' is now ready to be served.
