Achari pheasant, spiced aubergine, caviar and poppy seed-pheasant cake
This remarkable Indian pheasant recipe from Vineet Bhatia has a number of stages to it and requires a reasonable amount of preparation plus overnight marinating, but the end result is fabulous. It is unlikely that guests will have had such an interesting game dish with spiced aubergine caviar before. The mustard oil and the chat masala can easily be found in an Indian supermarket or from online retailers.
Servings
4
Passive Time
540minutes
Servings
4
Passive Time
540minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. For the archari pheasant breasts, make 4 light slashes in each pheasant breast. Mix all the ingredients for the first marinade together in a bowl and rub them on to the pheasant breasts. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes
  2. 4 pheasant breasts
  3. 1 tbsp of ginger paste
  4. 1 tbsp of garlic paste
  5. 1/2 lemon
  6. 1 pinch of salt
  7. 2
  8. For the second marinade, roast all the cardamom, coriander, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, dried chilli, black onion seeds, fenugreek seeds in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Shake and stir them constantly until a shade darker
  9. 1 tbsp of fennel seeds
  10. 1 tbsp of coriander seeds
  11. 1 tbsp of cumin seeds
  12. 4 cardamom pods
  13. 1 tbsp of black onion seeds
  14. 1 dried chilli
  15. 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
  16. 3
  17. Crush them coarsely in a mortar and pestle then add to the Greek yogurt, along with the ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilli, mixed pickle, mustard oil and garam masala. Lastly, add the turmeric and salt to taste – the pickle contains turmeric and so you don’t want the sauce to be too yellow
  18. 300g of Greek yoghurt
  19. 1 tbsp of ginger paste
  20. 1 tbsp of garlic paste
  21. 1 tbsp of green chilli
  22. 1 tbsp of turmeric
  23. 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
  24. 2 tsp garam masala
  25. 3 tsp Mixed vegetable pickle
  26. salt
  27. 4
  28. Rub the second marinade on the pheasant breasts and leave in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours
  29. 5
  30. To make the Tikki you need to start with the pheasant confit. Place all the ingredients in a deep pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the meat is falling away from the bone
  31. 4 pheasant legs
  32. 2 garlic cloves
  33. 1 tbsp of ginger
  34. 1 green chilli
  35. 1 dried red chilli
  36. 2 sprigs of curry leaves
  37. 2 tbsp of coriander stalks
  38. salt
  39. 6
  40. Remove the pheasant legs and leave them on a wire rack to drain and cool completely. Bone the legs and cut the meat into pea-sized cubes
  41. 7
  42. Boil the potatoes until tender, cool then grate. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the garlic, ginger and green chilli and sauté for a minute
  43. 300g of Désirée potatoes
  44. 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  45. 1 tbsp of cumin seeds
  46. 1 garlic clove
  47. 1 tbsp of ginger
  48. 3/4 tbsp of green chilli
  49. 8
  50. Add the diced pheasant legs and sauté for 2 minutes over a medium heat. Add the grated potatoes and some salt and mix well. Remove from the heat and leave to cool
  51. salt
  52. 9
  53. Mix in the coriander leaves and check the seasoning. Shape the Tikki mixture into 4cm cakes, about 1.25cm thick. Coat them in the poppy seeds and then chill for 30 minutes to firm up
  54. 2 tbsp of fresh coriander
  55. 8 tbsp of poppy seeds
  56. 10
  57. To make the spiced aubergine caviar, put the aubergines on a baking sheet and brush with a little oil. Place in an oven preheated to 200°C/Gas mark 6 and roast for 20 minutes or until they are lightly charred and completely tender. Leave until cool enough to handle, then peel off the skin. Chop the flesh finely to form a paste
  58. 2 aubergines
  59. 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
  60. 11
  61. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. As they begin to crackle, add the chopped garlic, ginger and green chilli and cook until the garlic turns golden
  62. 1000ml of vegetable oil
  63. 1 tsp cumin seeds
  64. 1 garlic clove
  65. 1 tsp fresh ginger
  66. 1 tsp green chilli
  67. 12
  68. Then add the onion, tomato, grated ginger, crushed garlic, turmeric, chilli powder and ground cumin and coriander. Stir the spices together and sauté over a medium heat for 4 minutes, until the raw aroma has gone
  69. 1 onion
  70. 1 tomato
  71. 1 tsp ginger paste
  72. 1 tsp garlic paste
  73. 1/2 tsp turmeric
  74. 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  75. 3/4 tsp ground cumin
  76. 3/4 tsp ground coriander
  77. 13
  78. Add the aubergine flesh, stir to combine thoroughly with the spice mixture and season with salt. Cook for 7-8 minutes, until the excess moisture has evaporated. Add the chopped coriander and stir
  79. 2 tbsp of fresh coriander
  80. salt
  81. 14
  82. Combine all the ingredients for the red onion, tomato and cucumber relish in a bowl and mix well. Chill
  83. 1 red onion
  84. 3 tomatoes
  85. 1/2 cucumber
  86. 1 tsp green chilli
  87. 2 tbsp of fresh coriander
  88. 1/2 tsp chaat masala
  89. 1 lemon
  90. salt
  91. 15
  92. Heat the vegetable oil to 180°C in a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan. Take the Tikkis out of the fridge and deep-fry for about 2 minutes, until the seeds turn crunchy. Drain on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil
  93. 1000ml of vegetable oil
  94. 16
  95. Pre-heat the oven 190°C/Gas mark 5. Remove the pheasant breasts from the marinade, thread it on to skewers and place them over a roasting tin so the meat is suspended above the tin
  96. 17
  97. Roast in the oven for 9 minutes, until cooked through, basting occasionally with the excess marinade. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 2 minutes before serving
  98. 18
  99. To serve, place the aubergine caviar in the centre of 4 plates and spoon the red onion, tomato and cucumber relish around it. Place the pheasant breasts on top of the aubergine and garnish with the pheasant tikki and some chives
  100. 2 2/3 handfuls of chives