We’re long standing fans of Darjeeling Express restaurant and it’s all-female kitchen. This new cookbook from founder, Asma Khan is fittingly devoted to her ‘Ammu’, or mother. The word itself combines ‘amma’, which is used in South Asia to mean ‘spiritual mother’, and the Arabic word umm, also ‘mother’. It was born out of lockdown when Khan missed her family in India and drew upon the recipes from her childhood in Calcutta to bring them a little closer. The book includes 100 recipes – both warm and comforting dishes like Ma’s Prawns, and also recipes for special occasions like Nine Jewel Korma and Zarda that have been passed down through the generations of Khan’s royal Rajput and Bengali families.
Zarda Sweet Rice with Saffron and Nuts
Anyone attending a milad (religious gathering) or a Muslim wedding in the subcontinent would have come across this saffron-infused glistening dessert. Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive spices, but you only need a little, and infusing it in warm milk is a very effective way to bring out its flavour. The addition of nuts gives this dessert a further luxurious touch. Definitely serve with some thick or clotted cream on the side.
Ingredients
1/2 tsp saffron strands
2 tbsp milk
250g basmati rice
100g ghee or butter (or flavourless vegetable oil), plus extra for greasing
6 cloves
8 green cardamom pods
40g each shelled unsalted pistachios and unsalted blanched almonds, cut into thick slivers
30g dried apricots, cut into small cubes
150g granulated sugar
2 tbsp kewra (screwpine) water or rose water
Method
Put the saffron in a small bowl, warm the milk to tepid and pour over the saffron strands.
Gently wash the rice in a large bowl with cold water (not under running water as this will break the tips of the rice, which will make the rice sticky). Change the water several times until it looks clear, then soak the rice in cold water for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. Drain the rice well in a strainer.
Bring 1.5 litres water to the boil in a large pan. Add the rice once the water is boiling and boil until it is half done. It is hard to give an exact time for this as there are too many variables, but the way to check is to remove a single grain of rice from the hot water and squeeze it between your fingers – there should still be a hard core of slightly uncooked rice. Drain the half-cooked rice in a strainer and spread the rice thinly on a platter to cool and prevent it from continuing to cook.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.
Heat the ghee or butter in a heavy-based pan over a medium–high heat. Add the cloves and cardamoms, followed by the pistachios, almonds and apricots. Add 250ml cold water and the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Butter a casserole dish and add the rice, then pour over the warm, spice-infused sugar syrup. Add the saffron-infused milk and stir gently to ensure the saffron is evenly distributed. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Take the dish out of the oven. Gently fluff the rice, then re-cover and bake for another 10–15 minutes. Remove the foil and leave the dessert to stand for a few minutes.
Sprinkle the kewra or rose water over the warm rice before serving.
Navratan Korma (Nine-Jewel Korma)
Navratan is a traditional South Asian style of gem-setting based on nine different precious stones. This korma is made up of nine colourful vegetables. It’s a great way to use up odd veg from your fridge. Try red, yellow and orange peppers, aubergine, courgettes, baby sweetcorn, mangetout, cabbage and spinach. Or you could par-boil some carrots, parsnips, potatoes, French beans and pumpkin, then add red pepper, peas, sweetcorn and purple sprouting broccoli. A comforting, creamy (and extremely nutritious) curry that is ideal for children, too!
Ingredients
1kg mixed vegetables
6 tbsp vegetable oil
2.5-cm piece of cassia bark
2 green cardamom pods
1 clove
1 large bay leaf
2 large onions, cut in half and thinly sliced 3–4 garlic cloves, crushed
6-cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
250g full-fat Greek-style yoghurt
400ml thick coconut milk
2 tbsp ground almonds
Method
Cut all the vegetables into evenly sized pieces and set aside on a tray.
Heat the oil in a deep pan over a medium–high heat. Add the cassia bark, cardamoms, clove and bay leaf, then immediately add the onions and fry until golden brown.
Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute. Then add the ground coriander, chilli powder, sugar and salt and stir for 2 minutes.
Add the yoghurt, lower the heat to medium and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add all the vegetables, stir and cook until tender. If the vegetables start to stick, add a splash of water. When they are cooked, add the coconut milk and ground almonds, and stir until the gravy thickens.
Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving. This korma goes very well with any kind of rice or pulao, and is a great accompaniment for meat or fish.
Ma’s Prawns
Ma was a formidable person. She came to help my grandmother look after my mother when she was born. When my mother got married, Ma moved to my parents’ flat and was an integral part of our household. We were her family. We all called her Ma, or ‘mother’, which may have seemed strange to outsiders, who probably saw her as a regular ayah or bua (a traditional nursemaid – having a live-in carer to look after the children was a common practice in Indian households who could afford to keep one).
When Ma died, I could not go to her funeral. In the Islamic tradition, my brother carried her down to her grave: this is usually done by a child or relative. Ma would have been pleased to have seen the send-off she got: the local bazaar was closed in her honour and the street outside our house was full of people who came to pay their respects. A lady of substance.
This is the prawn dish she always made for me whenever I returned home from England. It’s a simple, heart-warming, no-fuss dish, that only takes 45 minutes or so to make.
I eat Ma’s Prawns with plain boiled rice.
Ingredients
3 onions
150ml mustard oil (if you can’t find it, use vegetable oil)
1 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp ground turmeric 11/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 green chillies, slit in half
1 tsp salt
1.25kg raw peeled prawns, deveined fresh coriander, to garnish
Note: If you are using mustard oil you need
to heat it to smoking point to reduce the pungency of the oil. Please ensure your kitchen is well ventilated so the oil does not set off the smoke alarm. Leave the oil to cool slightly before starting the recipe.
Method
Put the onions in a food processor and blitz to a paste. (Ma would have used a stone grinder.)
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium–high heat. Add half of the onion paste and cook until it turns light brown. Add the remaining onion paste, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, ground coriander, green chillies, salt and 4 tablespoons of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove the lid, increase the heat and cook the paste until you can see the oil coming to the surface. Add the prawns and cook, uncovered, over a medium heat for 10–15 minutes until the prawns have changed colour and are cooked through.
Serve immediately, garnished with coriander.
These recipes are extracted from Ammu by Asma Khan, published by Ebury Press, 22 March 2022, £26. Photography by Laura Edwards.
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