Venison pasanda (Hiran ke Pasanda)
This is another of Reza Mahammad‘s curry recipes. He made it with kudu meat and although I didn’t try it everyone else raved about it.
Here are Reza’s instructions for making this unusual curry:
First flatten your venison (not literally – just flatten the strip of meat with a rolling pin). Now you know what pasanda means. Brinder, my chef at The Star of India, introduced this dish a while ago and it’s already a big favourite.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 500 g venison strip loin
- 60 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 x 4 cm cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 4 green cardamom
- 6 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 5 cm ginger, finely grated
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- salt to taste
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander
For the garnish
1 large potato, peeled and cut into juliennes
Clean and remove the silver skin on the strip loin. Thinly slice the strip loin to a thickness of about 1 to 2 cm and flatten it between cling film almost like carpaccio. In a wide heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and add the fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, star anise and green cardamom; allow them to crackle.
Add the onions and fry them until they are a pale golden brown. To this add the ginger and garlic and cook for a few minutes.
Now add the venison and stir fry so as to brown the meat on both sides. Add all the powdered spices and cook for 2-3 minutes. Once the spices have coated the venison, add a cup of water, approximately 250 ml and simmer on a low heat for 7-8 minutes. Add the tomato puree and cook for a further minute. Sprinkle the coriander on top and remove from the heat.
In a separate frying pan heat the oil and add the potato juliennes. Fry them until they are gold and crisp. Drain them on kitchen paper and lightly salt them.
Serve the venison topped with the straw potatoes.
