Eid al-Adha, or called as the Festival of Sacrifice, is a significant Islamic holiday commemorating the keenness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son in compliance to God. Celebrated annually, it coincides with the Hajj pilgrimage. The festival involves special prayers, communal fests, and the sacrifice of animals such as sheeps, goats, or cows, symbolizing Ibrahim’s devotion. The meat is distributed among family, friends, and the less fortunate. Eid al-Adha emphasizes charity, community, and gratitude, fostering a sense of unity and reflection on faith and sacrifice among Muslims worldwide. Below are some of the delectable Mughlai dishes for Eid al-Ada.
1.Biryani
Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes. Cook until 70% done and set aside. Heat ghee in a large pot. Fry biryani masala spices until aromatic. Add onions, and sauté until golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add meat, turmeric, chili powder, and salt. Cook until the meat is brown in color. Stir in tomatoes, yogurt, and biryani masala. Cook until oil separates. Layer partially cooked rice over the meat mixture. Sprinkle garam masala, mint, and coriander leaves. Drizzle saffron milk over the rice. Enclose the pot and cook for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot, garnished with fried onions and boiled eggs.
2.Nihari
Dry roast the nihari masala spices, then grind to a fine powder and set aside. Heat ghee in a large pot, fry onions until golden brown, and set aside. In the same utensil, add ginger-garlic paste, beef or mutton, and sauté for a few minutes. Add yogurt, salt, red chili powder, and nihari masala, cooking for 5-7 minutes. Pour in water, boil it and then simmer on light heat until the meat is edible. Mix wheat flour with water to form a slurry. Pour it to the stew, stirring until thickened.
3.Anjeer Halwa
Immerse the cleaved dried figs in warm water for about an hour to soften them. If using saffron, soak the strands in 2 tablespoons of warm milk. In a blender, make the soaked figs into a coarse paste. Heat ghee over medium heat. Add the fig paste and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring continuously. Add sugar and cook until the sugar liquifies and the mixture thickens. Add milk, khoya, and soaked saffron milk. Mix well and cook for another 10-12 minutes until the halwa thickens and start leaving the sides of the pan. Stir in the cardamom powder, chopped almonds, cashews, and raisins. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Serve warm, garnished with additional nuts if desired.
4.Shahi Tukda
Boil sugar and water until it forms a syrup. Set it aside. Boil the milk until it reduces to half. Add condensed milk, cardamom powder, and saffron strands to it. Simmer the milk until thick. Cut a bread into triangles and fry in ghee until golden brown. Soak the bread in the syrup for a few minutes, then arrange on a serving dish. Pour the prepared Rabri over the soaked bread pieces.
5.Rogan Josh
Mix lamb with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, and salt. Let it marinate for at least 2 hours, and heat mustard oil in a pan. Let it cool slightly, then reheat it on medium. Add cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. Sauté for a minute until fragrant. Add finely sliced onions and sauté until golden brown. Add the lamb to the pan and cook on high heat for 5-7 minutes until the meat becomes brown. Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes. Add enough water to cover the meat. Bing to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes until the lamb is edible.
6.Murgh Musallam
Marinate the whole chicken with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and salt. Leave it for 2 hours. Heat ghee in a large pan. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. Fry till aromatic. Add sliced onions and fry until yellow. Add tomato puree and stir till the oil separates. Add ground cashews and cook for a few minutes. Add the marinated chicken and cook on medium heat, turning occasionally. Cover and let it cook until the chicken is edible. Drop in some cream and cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
7.Galouti Kebab
In a bowl, fuse together the minced meat with ginger-garlic paste, finely chopped onions, and all the spices. Add roasted chickpea flour, hug curd, and salt. Mix thoroughly to combine all ingredients. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight for better flavor. Shape the mixture into small, flat patties. Heat ghee in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the patties until golden brown.
8.Korma
In a bowl, mix yogurt, garlic, ginger, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt. Add the meat, coat well, and marinate for at least 2 hours. In a large pot, heat ghee or oil. Fry the onions until golden brown. Remove and grind it to a paste. In the same pot, add the whole spices (cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon). Add marinated meat, cooking until browned. Stir in the onion paste, ground almonds, and remaining spices (turmeric, chili powder, garam masala). Cook for a few minutes. Add a little water if needed, cover, and cook on low heat until the meat is edible. Stir in the crem and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with fresh cilantro, alongside naan or rice.
9.Butter Chicken
Mix yogurt, lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder, and salt. Marinate chicken for at least 2 hours. Heat a cube of butter in a pan, add onions and sauté until golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté until fragrant. Add tomato puree, turmeric, and salt. Cook until oil separates. Add marinated chicken and cook until tender. Mix in cashew paste and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in fresh cream, garam masala, and fenugreek leaves.
10.Mutton Rara
Mix mutton pieces with yogurt, turmeric, red chili powder, and salt. Marinate for at least 2 hours. Heat ghee/oil in a large pot. Add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Sauté until fragrant. Add onions and cook until golden brown. Stir in ginner-garlic paste and green chilies. Cook for a few minutes. Add tomato puree, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt. Cook until the oil separates. Mix in marinated mutton and cook on high heat for 5-6 minutes. Lower the flame and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until mutton is edible.
11.Yakhni Pulao
Tie the whole spices in a muslin cloth. In a large pot, add mutton or chicken pieces, the muslin spice bag, quartered onion, garlic, ginger, bay leaves, and water. Cook until the meat is tender. Strain and reserve the broth (yakhni). Discard the spice bag and set the meat side. In a pot, heat ghee or oil. Fry the sliced onions until golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté. Mix in the yogurt and cook until the oil separates. Add the cooked meat and stir well. Add the washed basmati rice, reserved yakhni, and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer until the rice is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff the rice gently with a fork.
12.Shammi Kebab
In a pressure cooker, combine minced mutton, soaked chana dal, onion, ginger-garlic paste, green chiles, garam masala, black pepper, red chili powder, turmeric, cumin powder, and salt. Add enough water to cover the ingredients. Cook until the meat is edible (2-3 whistles). Once cooled, grind the cooled mixture to a fine paste. Ensure there are no whole spices left. Mix in the chopped coriander leaves. Carve up the mixture into equal portions and shape into flat, round patties. Dip each patty in the beaten egg. Heat oil and fry the kebabs on medium heat until they are yellow and crunchy on both sides.
13.Keema Matar
Heat oil or ghee and add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and cardamoms. Sauté until fragrant. Add finely chopped onions and fry until golden brown. Stir in ginger-garlic paste and green chilies. Cook for 2 minutes. Add minced meat and cook until it changes color, breaking any lumps. Mix in chopped tomatoes, turmeric, red chili, and coriander powder. Cook until tomatoes are mushy. Mix yogurt and cook again. Add green peas, mix well, and cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Season with salt and garam masala. Cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander and mint leaves.
14.Sheer Khurma
Heat ghee in a large pan, add vermicelli and roast until golden brown. Set aside. In the same ghee, fry the chopped dates, almonds, pistachios, cashews, and raisins. Remove and set aside. In a separate, heavy-bottomed pan, bring milk to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer. Drop the roasted vermicelli to the milk and simmer until soft, stirring occasionally. Mix in the sugar, fried dry fruits, and cardamom. Stir in the saffron-infused milk and rose water. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the sheer khurma reaches a creamy consistency. Serve warm or chilled.
15.Aloo Gosht
Heat ghee in a large pot. Add bay leaves, green cardamom, black cardamom, and cloves. Sauté for a minute. Add onions and cook until golden brown. Stir in ginger-garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add mutton pieces and cook until brown. Add tomatoes and cook until soft. Mix in coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, red chili powder, and salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Add yogurt and cook until oil separates. Add potatoes and mix well. Pour in milk and enough water to cover the meat and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until meat is tender and potatoes are cooked.
16.Hyderabadi Haleem
Soak the brown heat and all dals together for 30 minutes. Cook them in a pressure cooker with water until soft. In a pot, heat ghee and fry onions until golden. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté. Add mutton, turmeric, chili powders, yogurt, and salt. Cook until mutton is tender. Mix cooked dals and mutton. Add garam masala, black pepper, coriander, and mint. Cook on low flame, mixing in intervals, until the mixture becomes thick and homogenous. Use a hand blender to blend the haleem to a smooth consistency. Serve hot, garnished with fried onions, lemon wedges, fresh coriander, and mint leaves.
17.Badam Pasanda
Begin by marinating thinly sliced pieces of tender meat, typically chicken or lamb, in a blend of yogurt, coriander, cumin, garam masala and crushed almonds. Allow the flavors to meld together for a few hours or overnight. Next, heat ghee or oil in a pan and gently sauté finely chopped onions until they turn golden brown. Add in the marinated meat and cook until it’s tender. In a separate pan, prepare a gravy by blending together almonds, cream, and some spices. Once the meat is cooked through, pour the almond gravy over it and allow the dish to simmer gently. Garnish with additional crushed almonds and fresh coriander leaves.
18.Murg Malai Tikka
In a bowl, combine yogurt, cream, grated paneer, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, garam masala, black pepper, cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric powder, and salt. Mix well to form a smooth marinate. Coat the chicken with the marinade. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Preheat your grill or oven to 200°C (400°F). Thread the marinated chicken pieces onto the skewers. Brush the grill grates or a baking tray with oil or melted butter. Place the skewers on the grill or baking tray. Grill the chicken for about 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally, until it’s cooked through and has charred edges.
19.Phirni
Rise the basmati rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Then, soak the rice in enough water for at least 30 minutes. Drain the water afterward. In a blender, grind the soaked rice to a coarse paste. In a pan, boil the milk over medium heat. Once boiling, lower the heat and let it simmer. Add the ground rice paste to the simmering milk, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Cook the mixture on low heat, stirring until it thickens. This might take around 15-20 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, add sugar, cardamom powder, and saffron strands. Mix well until the sugar dissolves completely. Cook for another 5-7 minutes until the mixture reaches a thick consistency. Remove the pan from heat and let the phirni cool down slightly.
20.Chicken Changezi
In a bowl, mix chicken cubes with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, and salt. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes. Heat oil or ghee in a pan and add chopped onions. Sauté until golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for another 2 minutes. Mix the tomato puree and cook until the oil separates from the mixture. Add red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, black pepper powder, and salt. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Combine the marinated chicken to the pan and mix well with the spice mixture. Cook the chicken until it is tender and fully cooked, stirring occasionally. This usually takes around 10-15 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, add yogurt and cream to the pan. Stir well and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
