The classic - Dhandaal and Prawn Patio

Over the years I’ve understood that one of the most difficult thing to adapt to when staying away from home is FOOD. FACT! Each of us has this one meal that always tends to bring back good food memories. For me this happens to be the humble plate of dhandal. A rich creamy daal prepared from toor daal, which is give a very simple tadka (spice/herb/condiment garnish). I think for any Indian abroad the humble daal chawal (lentils and rice) tops the list of answers to the question “what do you eat when you miss home?” For me too, it’s a simple Dhandal and Prawn Patio with steamed rice.

Now, this was one dish that my dad used to make for us when mum would be working on a weekend or would get late from work. So, for me it was my ‘baap’ ka daal chawal instead of the customary ‘maa’ ki daal. He would serve it with some pickle or his best in the world green coconut chutney. When we were courting, Resh used to wait for this meal. It was her favourite too. So, the recipe we use in our house is my dad’s.

You’ll need:

2 cups Toor dal (pigeon peas)

½ tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

5-6 garlic pods finely chopped

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 fresh green chillies slit in the middle

Start by washing the lentils and put it in a pressure cooker. Add the turmeric, butter and salt to it. Bring to a whistle on a high flame and then 2-3 whistles on a low flame. Let it cool down naturally. Add water if necessary and then blitz with a hand blender to create a nice thick yet liquid creamy consistency. In a small frying pan heat the ghee and add the garlic. Once it starts turning a nice golden brown, add the cumin seeds and the green chillies. Once the cumin start popping, take it off the flame and add the mixture to the daal and mix well. This brings the very simple daal to life!

Now, if you feel a bit fancy, there is nothing that goes along better with dhandal other than a Prawn Patio. It’s basically a spicy dry-ish curry that you have along with something bland-ish like a daal. I’ve recently been experimenting with this and have come up with a recipe that hits all the right spots when it comes to a patio.

So, you’ll need:

400 gms raw prawns peeled deveined

1 tin of canned sardines in oil

2 medium sized onions finely chopped

2 tomatoes finely chopped

3 fresh green chillies

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (WHAT!!!!!!!)

1 tsp vinegar (ACV or Red Wine vinegar)

1-inch block of jaggery or 2 heaped tsp of brown or white sugar

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground cumin and coriander aka. Dhana Jeera powder

1 tsp Parsi sambhar masala or you could even use Tandoori masala

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 lime

Salt and Pepper per taste

So, first things first, a few surprises in there! Worcestershire sauce in a Parsi dish? I suppose India’s love-hate relationship with England obviously has its roots from the time the British ruled India. And fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on whom you speak to) the Zoroastrian community imbibed and adapted the western culture from the British. The Parsis were one of the big supporters of the Raj in India. Not only did they support it but the elite Parsis to this date will tell you of stories of the British influence on the Parsis. My grandma for one, framed a picture of Queen Elizabeth right next to that of JRD Tata among the other British paraphernalia she collected over the years. When visiting her place as kids, seeing all this locked in a typical glass showcase or curio cabinet, we would marvel at these things as if we were visiting a museum. And thus, the Worcestershire sauce!

Sardines! Ay su dahi karech tu dikra? (That’s a how u say, “what nonsense are you up to man?”) This goes back to the days when tinned food in India was something that you’d go to the dock and buy from the Customs sales. My dad spared no thought when it came to food and this early exposure to ‘world foods’ in our early days opened our minds so to say. Like for me, I always wanted to go and live in Canada, because that’s where Cracker Barrel cheddar was made, and for me it was the flecking best cheese for me at that time. DAK ham, corned beef, SPAM, hot dog sausages, tinned sardines, mackerel, you name it and we had tried it all way before it was freely available in India. So, one thing me and dad really enjoyed was a tin of sardines, him having it with his whisky and me having it with my pretend whisky (apple juice).

Start with marinating the prawns with the Worcestershire sauce and half of the ginger garlic paste, salt and pepper. Keep that aside and heat some oil in the pan. You could use the oil from the tinned sardines. If that’s too fishy for you then go for your usual choice of oil. Once its’ heated, add the onions, tomatoes and ginger garlic paste. Cook this at a relatively high heat, as the burnt onion taste is what we’re going for. So, once it’s a nice golden-brown start adding the dry spices. Go to a low flame once you add the dry spices. If the spice starts sticking to the pan, deglaze it with a tiny bit of water and keep stirring it. Once this is cooked up, add the prawns and the sardines. Add some water to cook up the prawns a bit. Let it simmer for about 6-7 minutes. Now add the green chillies, vinegar (ACV or Red Wine vinegar), jaggery or 2 heaped tsp of brown or white sugar and the juice of the lime. It is extremely important to keep tasting this and playing about with the last set of ingredients till you hit the right balance. When you taste it, your tongue should get the sweetness from the jaggery and sugar, then the sour from lime and vinegar and finally the pleasant bitter of the burnt onion. This recipe will literally hit the perfect UMAMI spot!