Misbah ul-Haq's Captain's Knock and his Do Piaaza! Does Life Get Any Better???

And a great good morning to you if you're in Pakistan!  It's late afternoon in Melbourne, time for me to actually be making dinner, but I just had to get online and share the in happiness!!!  Pakistan has won their first test series in years, and lots of it is thanks to the Hot Chilli Captain, Misbah ul-Haq!  What a great captain, scoring over 50 runs in each and every innings and guiding everyone to victory!  His captain's knock in every inning was absolutely inspiring and beautiful to watch.

The Captain in South Africa.  Style, grace, athleticism....woo hooo!

What patience, what style, what awesomeness!  In fact, it was so good that if Misbah ul-Haq were here, in Melbourne, I'd make him his dinner.  And dessert.  And after-dinner coffee!!!!

So Pakistan won the first test against New Zealand by an entire 10 wickets, and they drew the second test.  Good on them!  And good on New Zealand for getting their act together in the second test and giving all of us cricket fans a cracking good show.

I'm so impressed with the captain that i'm naming my Do Piaaza Salan Captain's Knock Salan.  Right on Misbah ul-Haq, and Right on all of my lovely lads on the Pakistan Team.  This salan's for you!

Captain's Knock Salan

This rich gravy in this salan is made from 2 onions, hence the name "do piaaza" which is urdu for "two onions".  Make it with goat meat if you can find it.  Beef or lamb will also do, but goat is the best for it's mild flavour and healthy qualities.  You'll probably notice as well that this is similar to Chana Daal Gosht, a previous dish we learned how to make.  You're right; the only difference is we don't add chickpeas to this and the spices are added at different times which gives this dish distinct characteristics.  Ok, enough of the chatter from me.  Let's get busy, you glorious bunch of kitchen bandits!!!

Ingredients:

1 kilo goat meat, cut in 2.5 cm cubes

2 big onions, very thinly sliced

7-9 cloves garlic, crushed into a paste

3 cm piece of ginger, crushed into a paste

1 cinnamon stick

3 black cardamom pods

5 cloves

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon cuminseeds

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon lal mirch (red chili powder

Green chilies, sliced or whole

Chopped coriander

Salt

Water

Oil for cooking

Heat  2 or 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan, and fry the sliced onions on medium heat until they’re golden and slightly crispy.

Add the garlic and ginger, and fry for a couple of minutes.  Don’t burn the garlic!

Add the cinnamon stick, black cardamom pods, cloves, bay leaves and cuminseeds.  Fry a few seconds.

Add the turmeric and lal mirch.

Add the meat.

Now here we’re going to use the bhunna method described in previous articles; when the meat/onion mix starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a small amount of water, and stir.  This is going to lift what’s stuck on the bottom and incorporate it into the gravy, making it lovely, dark, and flavourful.  Repeat this step several times:  when the mix sticks, add water, and reduce the mix again.  You will notice that the onions will  disintegrate completely, forming a uniform, thick , dark brown gravy.  You will also notice that the meat becomes fragrant and well-browned at this stage.

Add 2 or 3 cups of water, enough to cover the meat, and bring to a boil on high heat.

Add salt.  Be careful not to add to much because the gravy will reduce a bit and concentrate the flavour.

Add chilies.  Slice them if you want more heat, put them in whole if you only want the fragrance.

Simmer  on low heat for 30 minutes or more so that the meat becomes tender, adding more water if necessary.

Garnish with some freshly chopped coriander.

If  you’re going to eat this with rice, leave the dish saucy, and add water if you need to.  Just make sure that whenever you add water that it comes to a boil, or else it will leak out of the gravy when you serve it.

If you’re going to eat this with roti or naan, reduce the gravy until it becomes quite thick.

And there you go, a beautiful meat dish with a thick gravy which one of us may one day get to serve to the hunky Captain, Misbah ul-Haq!  Keep on cooking, and keep on supporting our lovely lads on the Pakistan Cricket Team.  What a way to start the year!  Pakistan Zindabad! 

Happy Cooking, Happy Cricket!