Kissi Koti, Salli Boti
Kissi Koti, Salli Boti
The slow-cooked one-pot Parsi wedding dish that's sweet, sour and spicy all at once
For my recipe lovers:
Love Podcasts? You’ll love this audio cooking class of me making Salli Boti
We Parsis are an affectionate lot. We love our kissi koti.
What’s that?
Kissi Koti translates to kisses and hugs. Go to a Parsi wedding, and the minute you enter the venue, you’ll find a member of the wedding family ready to welcome you with a kissi koti. Keep your head down because if an older aunty spots you, then she’s gonna want a kissi koti too.
Back in the day, my father-in-law owned a wedding photography business. He loves to tell us the story of a rival photographer who always seemed to miss the crucial couple kissing shot.
He’d be up on the stage with them, face hidden behind the large Canon camera (film cameras were quite large) and then up from behind the camera would come his pinky finger as he said, “Ek aur kissi-koti karo please | please kiss once more”. The couple would oblige him again, but more times than not, he’d ask for one more kissi koti and then another until the bride was blushing tomato red.
Why am I going on about Parsi weddings?
It’s because it’s on this rare festive occasion that you will have a chance to eat Salli Boti. And once you eat the Salli Boti - tender lamb chunks slow-cooked in a sweet, sour and spicy tomato gravy - the kissi koti will be a chore worth putting up with.
The dilemma, then, is securing an invite to a Parsi wedding.
It’s a dilemma because there are just over 130,000 Parsis in the world, which makes attending a Parsi wedding a rare occasion (unless you live in Mumbai and knew a Parsi growing up).
Despite being relatively easy to cook, Salli Boti is rarely cooked in a Parsi home. Very few Indian homes sport a slow cooker, and cooking this delicacy on the stove can prove tedious as it would take 2-3 hours for the meat to be fall-apart tender.
The magic is in the Salli
Half the magic of this dish is in the Salli, the crisp potato sticks that are sprinkled over the meat stew. They add a beautifully crispy and salty texture to the dish that rounds off the spice.
Trouble is, not all Indian shops stock Salli. And if they do, it’s hardly ever the fine version you see in the picture above.
In fact, so obsessed is my dad with Salli Boti and my mom with Salli per Eedu that my mom often takes back 3 – 4 Kilos of Salli with her from India. It’s the one thing she won’t be generous about if you visit our home, and you will only get a second serve of it if you ask.
Tikhu, khatu and mithu - the holy trinity of Parsi cooking
Salli Boti stands apart from other Indian mutton curries because of its unique flavour profile of tikhu-khatu-mithu aka spicy-sour-sweet.
Gujarati curries are sweet, North Indian curries are spicy, and Goan curries are sour, but rarely are Indian stews, all three at the same time. The addition of both dark vinegar and earthy jaggery is something that’s unique to Parsi cooking and you’ll find them being used in a lot of our dishes, such as our Prawn Patio and also the Saas ni Fish.
Cook Salli Boti at home
Ingredients
For Marination
1kg boneless lamb or goat meat cut into pieces
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 cup yoghurt
For Cooking
4 tbsp oil
3 large onions chopped very finely
600 gm canned or fresh tomato
100 ml concentrated tomato puree or paste
4 bay leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp garam masala powder
4 cloves
4 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbsp Kolah's sugar-cane vinegar. Can be replaced with malt vinegar. If you use any other type, you may need a bit more.
50 gm jaggery or raw sugar
Salt to taste
For Garnish and Serving
finely chopped coriander
150 gm fine salli or handful of crushed Salt ‘n Vinegar chips
freshly made roti's
Instructions
Marinate the meat in salt, ginger and garlic paste as well as the yoghurt. Cover the bowl and let the meat marinate for at least 2 - 3 hours. The longer you marinate, the faster your meat will cook and the better it will taste, so I recommend you take your time with this - I prefer to marinate this overnight if time permits.
Now, in a saucepan, heat the oil and add in the finely chopped onions. Fry the onions till they are completely brown. Not till they are soft, but completely brown. It will take longer than you think.
Now, add in the whole spices and mix well for 2 - 3 minutes.
Add in the tomatoes as well as the concentrated puree and mix well. Also, add in the powdered spices and season with salt. Once you have a thick gravy, add in the mutton pieces, jaggery and salt. Give everything a good stir.
Empty the entire mixture into a slow cooker. Cook on medium for 4-6 hours until the meat is fall-apart tender.
If you’re cooking this on the stove, cover your pot so that the meat can start slow cooking on a low-medium flame. Check on the meat every 10 - 15 minutes until completely tender (about 1-2 hours).
When the meat is ready, open your pan. Covering the pot may have made your gravy slightly watery. If that’s the case, empty it back into the saucepan and for the next 15 minutes, leave the pot slightly open so that water can evaporate.
Now, add the vinegar and some more salt. Cook another couple of minutes.
You may need to adjust the flavour. If it is not spicy enough, add in a little more garam masala. If it is too spicy, add in a little more jaggery. If you feel that the gravy has become too sour for your taste, just let the vinegar cook off.If you can't point out what's missing, it's usually just a bit of salt.
Add in some finely chopped coriander and give it a final stir. Serve hot with LOTS of salli and fresh roti's on the side.
Make Salli-Boti faster with Dolly Mumma’s Indian Everyday
Don’t have all the spices at home? You can make this dish faster with our Indian Everyday paste.
Ingredients
For Marination
1kg boneless lamb or goat meat cut into pieces
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 cup yoghurt
For Cooking
4 tbsp oil
3 large onions chopped very finely
400 gm canned or fresh tomato
1 bottle Dolly Mumma’s Indian Everyday paste
2 tbsp Kolah's sugar-cane vinegar. Can be replaced with malt vinegar. If you use any other type, you may need a bit more.
50 gm jaggery or raw sugar
Salt to taste
For Garnish and Serving
finely chopped coriander
150 gm fine salli or handful of crushed Salt ‘n Vinegar chips
freshly made roti's
Instructions
Marinate the meat in salt, ginger and garlic paste as well as the yoghurt. Cover the bowl and let the meat marinate for at least 2 - 3 hours. The longer you marinate, the faster your meat will cook and the better it will taste, so I recommend you take your time with this - I prefer to marinate this overnight if time permits.
Now, in a saucepan, heat the oil and add in the finely chopped onions. Fry the onions till they are completely brown. Not till they are soft, but completely brown. It will take longer than you think.
Add in the tomatoes and the Indian Everyday paste. Once you have a thick gravy, add in the mutton pieces, jaggery and salt. Give everything a good stir.
Empty the entire mixture into a slow cooker. Cook on medium for 4-6 hours until the meat is fall-apart tender.
Now, add in the vinegar and some more salt. Empty into a saucepan and cook off the vinegar for 4-5 minutes.
Add in some finely chopped coriander and give it a final stir. Serve hot with LOTS of salli and fresh roti's on the side.