Chittarni

Today, I have a guest post from my father. This is a recipe that he had told me about but only as a memory from his childhood.  We cooked it together a few days ago and I will certainly be introducing it to the rest of the family.  I have found another recipe for this in Copeland Marks', The varied kitchens of India which has a chapter on the food eaten by the Jews of Calcutta.  It was almost exactly the same as this one except that he uses tamarind paste rather than vinegar. I wonder if the vinegar was added by my great grandmother and others finding themselves transplanted in England, as an alternative, since tamarind must have been pretty tricky to come by in England in 1941!

Guest post

"My first recollection of the dish called chittarni which we put together today is specific.  It was during World War II. My Grandmother (Big Granny) was staying with us in Sidmouth,  Devon, where we occupied a flat on the sea front. The dish was  a favourite of Granny's because one of her daughters had cooked some for her at home in London, and sent it to her by post.  It consisted of pieces of chicken stewed  in a  smooth and richly spiced onion sauce to which tomatoes had been added and which is  sharpened by vinegar. The sauce you could tell both preserved and enhanced the chicken. It arrived in one or two glass jars. I have  never forgotten its smell and its sweet and sour taste. Nor my greed in wanting to eat it then and there as Granny unpacked her parcel  even though I knew that it was meant to be warmed up and was intended as a  treat for her and not for me. Treats were in short supply in 1941.  I have thought of that day but did nothing about trying to recreate the experience, until I discovered its recipe in the Sephardi section of Claudia Roden's brilliantly researched  Book of Jewish Food.  

Here's how you cook it. You need a lot of onions which slow cooking melts down - two Kilograms, say six large ones. In the old days you would grate them or chop them very fine. Fortunately  adding the onions coarsely chopped to a food  processor will quickly give you a large bowl without tears or too much effort. The onions should then be slowly softened  in oil in a large pan with the lid on and stirred from time. This may take half an hour or more. The onions should on no account be allowed to brown.

While the onions are cooking prepare the spices. You will need:  several cloves of garlic mashed into a paste,  a generous portion of grated ginger, a teaspoon of turmeric, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 and half teaspoons of ground coriander. ground cardamom, chili powder and a couple of bay leaves. I leave some of these amounts open to allow for taste preferences. Add these spices and cook slowly for five minutes stirring from time to time.  Add chicken pieces, thighs on or off the bone and sauté for a few minutes. 

Now add a can of chopped tomatoes and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Finally stir in a three of four tablespoons of wine vinegar according to taste. I find that this sour element is very important to the final balance of taste. Cook for a further 10 minutes.

 

It gives me pleasure to think Dear Pippa that the  dish which we had for lunch and which your bother Toby ate the same day when he came to stay the night, should bring so long a strand of memory leading to your great grandmother and to a seaside  flat in wartime England. A true family recipe I suppose."