Parsi Ras Chawal....

Ras chawal is a soupy Parsi dish which for my family is the ultimate comfort food. Have it on it’s own as a nice soup on a cold winter’s night or have it rice in the afternoon and follow it up with a nice siesta or “baporyu” as Parsis’ call it.

Like most Parsi things, I guess the name originates from the Indian word for gravy ‘rassa’. This is flavoured with minimal spices and condiments but it sure does pack a punch when made right. There are various version of this too. My sister makes this really nice bland version which is based only on ginger, garlic and peppercorn. Ras chawal is a meal we have atleast once a week. My wife learnt it from my mum and has pretty much improvised the recipe over time. I really shouldn’t have said “improvised” when talking about my mum’s recipe being cooked by my wife.. But here goes…

You’ll need:

1 large onion, finely chopped or sliced

2 tomatoes finely chopped

2-3 potatoes halved or large cubes

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2-3 bay leaves

6-8 cloves

1-2 cinnamon stick (depending on size)

2-3 star anise

2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala

½ tsp Parsi Sambhar masala or Tandoori masala (if you don’t have this, just use Corriander or Cumin powder)

5-6 pieces Chicken drumsticks or thighs – bone in (I would not recommend using boneless chicken).
1 stock pot or Maggi soup cube

Salt and Pepper per preference

Marinade the chicken with salt, pepper and half of the ginger garlic paste. Start with heating some oil in a deep pressure cooker. Add in the aromatics starting with bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon stick. Once this starts catching a bit of colour, add the onions, tomatoes and ginger garlic paste. Once the onions turn a bit translucent add the spices. Add the potatoes and chicken at this point and give it all a good mix.

Let this cook for about 5-7 minutes and add a pint of water along with a soup tablet or stock pot. Let it cook at high flame for 2 whistles and then turn the gas off. Let the cooker cool down naturally giving time for all the flavours to infuse. Simply dip your baguette in it and have it like a soup or pour it on a bed of steamed rice. An onion and coriander salad seasoned with salt pepper and lime juice is a perfect accompaniment with this too…