Keema kaleji

T he best thing about a morning is the breakfast that comes with it. I don’t know about the early bird getting the worm — in fact, I’ve always felt a bit sorry for the early worm who gets eaten while out on his morning walk — but I do know that breakfasts show the day. And while I like breakfasts of all kinds, I sometimes think there is nothing quite as nice as breakfast in the walled city of Delhi.

There was a time when I used to land up there at five or six in the morning, standing in a long queue for zuban (tongue) and paya (trotters). I don’t do that very often now — but I have just realised I don’t have to. Shiraz in Calcutta has a breakfast menu that includes some of my old favourites.

Shiraz’s history is quite interesting. When it was set up in 1941, it was a little eatery called the Taj Hotel. In a decade-and-a-half, it had renamed itself as the Golden Restaurant. The title changed to Shiraz somewhere down the line, and today, its formal name is Shiraz — the Golden Restaurant, though Calcutta’s foodies simply refer to it as Shiraz.

Mughaz Curry

If you like your breakfast to consist of a small glass of orange juice and a dry toast, I would suggest that you give Shiraz a miss. If, however, you like a nice and hearty meal in the morning to keep you going through the day, I would recommend its keema kaleji prepared with minced goat kidney or mughaz (brain) curry.

Many of us wouldn’t think of dishes such as these as breakfast fare. But in large parts of the country — and among many sections of the people — it is. People line up for something like nahari — shanks cooked on slow heat overnight in a huge cauldron — early in the morning. And when the seal of the cauldron is broken open, the aroma of the meat cooked with masalas that wafts out is the closest that one can get to nirvana.

Brain curry is cooked over long hours too. The brain in first cooked in salted water for two hours. Then it’s thoroughly cleaned and cooked again with salt, turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder and vinegar. It’s finally fried with sliced onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic and topped with garam masalas.

The men behind Shiraz tell me that some of the recipes come from the kitchen of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruler of Awadh. Shiraz’s head khansama — chef Shammuddin — is a direct descendant of the Nawab’s khansamas, the restaurant stresses.

Wajid Ali Shah, who was a patron of the arts, is also believed to have been quite a food lover. When he came to Bengal from Lucknow, a huge contingent of chefs accom- panied him, who sought to keep the deposed king in good humour by cooking Avadhi delicacies for him. His comprehensive breakfast menu apparently featured such dishes as mutton dal gosht (mutton cooked with lentils), fried liver and mutton stew (or ishtoo, as we call it in the north).

A good breakfast has its own charm. I like them all — soft idlis with gun powder, fluffy bedmis, or stuffed puris, with potato curry, poha, or pressed rice cooked with fried potatoes and peanuts, parathas served with curd and eggs with bacon. One of my dreams — to have a Chinese breakfast of fish dumplings and pork or beef ball soup in Calcutta — is still to be realised. But meanwhile, there is always Shiraz.

Breakfast — with sheermal, or a sweet roti, rolled around a dollop of keema kaleji, or a thick broth of paya on a cold morning — can make my day. You just can’t beat something that’s adequately hearty and meaty.

Mutton paya (serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 mutton payas (trotters) • 2 large onions, finely chopped • 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped • 2 chopped green chillies • 2 tsp red chilli powder lsalt to taste • 3 bay leaves • 1/2-in cinnamon stick • 2 cloves • 2 cardamoms • 20 curry leaves • 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder • 1 bunch finely chopped coriander leaves • 1/2 cup coconut milk • 1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste loil for sautéing

Method:

Clean the trotters in running water and mix with turmeric powder. Pressure cook with salt, water and 1 tsp of red chilli powder. Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry till you get its aroma. Add curry leaves, onions, tomatoes and green chillies one by one and fry. Add coriander powder and 1tsp of red chilli powder. Stir well and cook for a few minutes. Now add the trotters with some water if needed and salt to taste. When it starts boiling, add coconut milk and let it boil for a couple of minutes. Add finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.