Came across this in an old book but it doesn't have the same ingredients that my dad remembers, this says chicken, he remembers mutton. Do you have any recipes for Pish Pash? Dad has the book at the moment.
No idea what Pish Pash is Ann, please let us know when you get it from your dad's book. It is probablly a 'Raj' dish and I would love to find out what it is!
Mamta
I hadn't heard of it but I googled it and found a few recipes... of course, no idea if they are any good...
My mum was from Mumbai and I clearly remember her (and my aunt) making a dish which she call 'pish pash'.... it's a rice dish (sort of like a pullau) with mutton or chicken, spinach or silverbeet and the spices were cumin, garam marsala and coriander powders and some others which I unfortunately cannot recall. The rice was very soft and it was very tasty. I think the difference between pish pash and pillau was the consistency of the rice - in pullau the rice is individual grains whereas in pish pash is was quite soft but not sloppy.Something to do with the starch in the rice perhaps.
Not much help I know but yes it was around.
ciao
JL
I'm also from Bombay and I can recall when a dish became too soft and mushy, it was referred to as "pish pash". but i had no idea this was actually a dish in its own right.
My Mother in law makes this. She is from Calcutta and told me Pish Pash is like a "Boiled rice pudding,only savoury". Pish Pash is good when weaning babies off the breast or bottle,a bit like Farleys. Its also good for people who are recovering from illness. She made it for my kids over the years but passed the recipe to me..as follows.
Chicken or beef
8oz Basmati rice
1 small onion
2oz butter
1 pint of milk or cream or half anf half.
Peas and carrots
1 bay leaf, ginger, a few peppercorns,2-3 cinnamon sticks,a few cloves, s+p to taste.
Wash & rinse rice and boil as normal.
Fry onion with peppercorns,add to rice in a large saucepan.
Add spices and meat (You can pre boil the chicken and take off the skin).Add carrots and peas,2oz butter,add milk/cream and bring to the boil.
Simmer and stir for 20 mins. Add more butter if necessary. When I use beef I boil it in my pressure cooker 1st just to get that extra tenderness. Hope this helps. JJ.
Looks good JJ but should there be some garlic in there? (nearly all my food has garlic in it, even plain pan of peas might get a touch if I'm that way out.... lol)
Steve
I like pish pash! I boil up basmati rice, tinned tomatoes and small pieces of chicken along with chopped ginger and powdered ginger (because I like ginger!), a little chopped garlic and small amounts of other spices and stir in a little garam marsala at the end. I was first given some by a lady from Calcutta when I had recently had my gall bladder out and was feeling sick and not wanting food. I understood it to be an Indian invalid or nursery food. It's really just a sloshy mess of rice, meat and spices but very digestible and I still make it for myself whether I'm ill or not, just varying ingredients slightly and tasting it until I like the flavour.
Sounds like ultimate comfort food - will have to give it a try!!
Wow! Thats a great name for my wifes early attempts at cooking Pilou or biryani dishes. We used to call it sloppy rice. Now she is very pleased she was cooking a proper dish!
(LOL):)
I was born in Calcutta,and lived there for 12 yrs before leaving India for UK in 1948.My mother used to make it for lunch when we did not have a "boochi" cook available. I loved it and and have always wondered where I could get a
recipe for it.I went to boarding school in Nilgiri Hills and when I came back
home to Calcutta, the first thing I asked for was PIshpash,yummy.
Ronnie.
Coming from a Parsee family in Bombay, I recollect pish pash was a somewhat bland dish that was a favorite with us kids. I recollect rice, ground meat, onions, very mildly spiced, and cooked all together to form a gooey sticky mess. We would add large helpings of butter and absolutely enjoy it down to the last grain of rice.
It sounds like a meaty and spicy version of a north Indian dish called Khitcheri , with other things added besides lentil and a few vegetables. Pish pash sounds a little like Mish mash? It is a one pot food where different things are added. I bet each family had their own way of doing this!