A few special recipes to try this Ramzan:

Haleem
Serves 6

Ingredients

1/2 kg mutton, cubed and washed
1 1/2 cups daliya or coarsely ground or cracked wheat, (available in Indian grocery stores)
1-inch piece ginger
3 cloves garlic
2 to 3 green chillies (or as per taste)
1 tsp turmeric or haldi powder
1 tsp cumin or jeera seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 medium-sized onion, cut into fine slices for baghar
1 tbsp chickpea flour or besan
1/4 cup oil
Salt
1 small bunch of mint leaves

Method

Grind the garlic, ginger and chillies into paste. In a pressure cooker or heavy-bottomed pot, with a lid, add washed mutton, the ground masala, haldi, jeera, garam masala , 2 cups water and half of the oil.

Pressure-cook or cook till meat is tender.

Add 2 cups water, stir in the wheat daliya (cracked wheat) and cook till wheat is done, stirring all the time to prevent wheat from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

In 1/4 cup of water, dissolve the besan completely; there should be no lumps. Pour the besan mixture into the meat and wheat. Bring to a boil.

Take the remaining oil in a pan and fry the sliced onion to a crisp brown, but take care not to burn it. Add 1/2 tsp jeera seeds. When they crackle, pour into the meat and wheat mixture. Keep covered for a while. Open and thoroughly mix, till all the oil is absorbed.

Serve hot in a bowl, garnished with chopped mint leaves.

Cream Tikka
Makes 10-12 skewers

Ingredients

1/2  kg lean mutton, shoulder or roast from leg, washed  (chicken can also be used)
1-inch piece ginger
1 clove garlic
1 green chilly, or more, as per taste
1 small raw papaya, sliced fine for marinating mutton (not necessary for chicken)
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2  tsp black pepper powder
1/2  tsp cinnamon powdered fine
100 gms white flour or maida
2-3 eggs
Salt
Oil for deep frying

Also required

4-inch long fine wooden skewers or bamboo sticks

Method

Slice the meat into 1/2-inch thick fillets and cut into 1-inch squares approximately. Grind the chillies, ginger and garlic into a paste. Marinate the meat pieces in a few slices of raw papaya, salt, the ground paste, and all the powdered masalas and mix well. Set aside for 4-5 hours, or more. The longer it is marinated the more tender the meat will become. Remove the papaya slices and throw away.

Skewer about 4 pieces on each stick

Mix a little salt into the maida. Apply maida to the meat on each skewer liberally on both sides and pat to remove excess flour. Beat the eggs in a shallow dish / bowl. Add salt and pepper to the batter. Heat oil in a deep pan or kadhai till moderately hot.

Test to see if it is ready, by putting in a bit of dough and if it sizzles, its ready. Dip each floured meat-skewer into the egg and cover all sides completely. Deep fry over a moderate heat. You can put in about 3 to 4 skewers in at a time, depending on the size of the pan. When both sides are a light golden brown remove from oil and drain

Serve hot. To be eaten off the stick with mint chutney and tomato sauce

Chatpati
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

500 gm small brown channa (not kabuli channa), boiled in salt and water
3 medium potatoes, boiled and cut in � inch cubes
4 medium onions, chopped fine
1/4 kg tomato, chopped fine
2 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
Green chilly paste, to taste
2 one-inch sticks of cinnamon
8 cloves
12-15 whole black pepper
1 tsp turmeric or haldi powder
1 tsp coriander or dhania powder
100 gms oil
75 gms besan or chick pea flour
50 gm tamarind, soaked in water, made into a thick pulp
Salt
Green coriander or dhania, chopped fine for garnish
Mint, chopped fine for garnish
1 medium piece of charcoal
1 curled layer of a large onion (not the peel but the next layer)
1 tbsp ghee  

Method

Heat the oil in a wide frying pan and fry the onions till translucent. Add the cloves, pepper and cinnamon and fry. Add the ginger-garlic-green chilly paste, haldi, dhania powder. Fry for about five minutes, till pink. Add tomato.

Stir fry till a thick gravy is formed. Add the boiled channa.

In a separate bowl take the besan. Add a little water and make a smooth paste, with no lumps. Add to the besan paste to the channa. Add a little more water, salt and the potatoes. Cook till the potatoes are well done.

Place the charcoal over an open flame and allow it to glow red-hot.

Place the curled layer of an onion on top of the cooked channa. Put a tablespoon of ghee in it. Then place the burning coal into the ghee. It will sizzle. Cover the pot immediately. Keep aside.

Before serving, discard the onion and coal. Spoon the Chatpati into bowls. Add a little tamarind pulp and garnish with chopped dhania and mint leaves.

Randeri Chicken
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

500 gms chicken, cleaned, skinned and washed, cubed into medium-sized pieces
50 gms almonds, grind to a fine paste
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 inch ginger, grind paste
4 cloves, grind into paste
3 tbsp poppy seeds or khus khus
1 1/2 tsp cumin or jeera seeds
1 inch-stick of cinnamon
2 tsp coriander or dhania powder
1 tsp turmeric or haldi powder
1 tsp red chilly powder
8 cloves
Milk extracted from one coconut
50 gm ghee
Salt
Juice of 2 limes

Method

In a vessel, heat ghee and fry the chopped onion till transparent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry a little. Add chicken pieces and fry till chicken is browned. Add 3 cups water and cook till chicken is done, and about 1 cup of stock/broth is left. Remove the chicken pieces carefully and set aside.

To the stock add the khus khus, jeera etc paste and cook for a while, till it just begins to boil.

Lower the flame. Gently, stir in the almond paste and coconut milk. Put the chicken pieces back into the gravy, and cook over slow fire, till the oil separates. Add the sour lime juice and stir. Take off the fire.

Serve hot, with Naan or Chapati