Chicken Curry

People always say that it becomes difficult when you marry a person with different food habits. Just as, i am a vegetarian (egg-etarian) and my husband is a non-vegetarian. Well, i guess it doesn't remain an "issue" when you take food as food (and don't really categorize it), and respect what the other person likes or dislikes. Like our day-today meals are vegetarian, but i make sure i make one non-vegetarian dish on weekend, just to satisfy hubby's cravings. At times, when we go out, i insist that he eats chicken or meat and i love it when he enjoys it. So, we maintain a balance of our habits and things become simpler.

Last weekend, i made Chicken curry. I don't really like to give names to a curry as the basic ingredients are always the same - onions, tomatoes, garlic, and ginger. What differs is the spices (masalas) that you add. It brings out a different taste and flavour to the onion-tomato paste. The last time, i had posted Kaala Masala Chicken curry recipe, this time i kept it quite simple and didn't add any special masalas but the regular kitchen masalas that we have. Guess keeping minimalistic is always the key ;)

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces - 250 gms

Onions - 3 medium

Tomatoes - 2 medium

Garlic - 8-10 pieces

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Red chillies - 2 (optional). 

Salt - to taste

Oil - 3 tbsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Corriander powder - 2 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Water - as required

Asafoetida - a pinch

To marinate :

Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

salt - a pinch

Recipe:

Wash the chicken pieces and marinate it with ginger garlic paste, lemon juice and salt and keep aside for an hour. You can cover it with a cling foil and refrigerate or just keep it aside till you make your masalas.

Roughly chop the onions and heat little oil on tava and fry the onions till they turn golden brown. Make sure the onions don't burn.

In a mortal and pestle, crush the ginger and garlic together.

Burn the whole tomatoes directly on flame (As we burn brinjal while making Baingan Bharta). This way, the tomatoes get a burnt/smoked flavour. Remove the skin if it has already come out, or use it as it is. Chop the tomatoes roughly when cooled.

Let the onions cool down and make a paste of it in mixer grinder (Add little water only if needed, or else avoid).

In a kadhai, heat 3 tbsp oil, add the red chillies and asafoetida. Now add the onion paste and fry till it becomes more brown. 

Meanwhile, make a paste of tomatoes in mixer-grinder. The paste should be smooth.

Now, add the crushed ginger-garlic to the onions and fry for about a minute.

Then add the tomato paste and mix well.

Now add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, corriander powder and some salt. Mix it all well and keep frying the masala till oil starts leaving the sides (takes about 20-25 minutes). Keep adding water little by little (from the sides, and not in the middle) when the masala starts to thicken and become sticky. 

Don't add a lot of water at a time, as the masala would lose the colour and look.

Now add the chicken pieces, and mix well so that the pieces are quoted well with the masala.

Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Now, add garam masala and adjust salt.

Add water to the desired consistency (from the sides) and cook uncovered till the chicken is done.

I served it alongwith Bhaakri (the traditional Maharashtrian bread), but it can be eaten with chapati/paratha or even rice as per your choice.

Enjoy this simple chicken curry :)

Happy Cooking :)

Kaala Masala Chicken/Egg Curry

I don't know if i have mentioned this earlier, but since me a vegetarian( Egg-etarian and Dessert-arian actually ), and hubby being a non-vegetarian, we always have to cook two dishes when making Chicken/Meat. So i found an easier way out of separating the gravy before adding chicken and then adding either eggs or paneer to it. Sometimes even adding boiled aloo ( potatoes) tastes great! 

So this way hubby gets to eat his favourite chicken, and i don't have to stress on making two curries :)
I have already posted the Kaala Masala Recipe earlier. ( http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2014/03/khandeshi-masala-kaala-masala.html )

While making the curry with the masala, what's important is to cook the masala and let it blend very well with the onions/tomatoes paste to form a nice brown gravy. It would take a while, but guess the real taste comes from slow-cooking! 
One of the main ingredients i learnt from my mother-in-law while making this curry is Garlic. My MIL loves garlic... she would add it in raw form, or in a paste form or just crush and add to any and every thing from daal to dry sabzis to curries. Another important thing to keep in mind is the law of minimalism. Since the Kaala Masala itself has a strong and intense flavour, adding a lot of other masalas would dominate the taste. So, just a spoonful of corriander powder and little red chilli powder is enough.

Make this one, and you will end up licking your fingers and craving for more...:)

Ingredients :

( The gravy proportion is for 250 gm chicken and 2 eggs for the egg gravy as mentioned above, so you adjust accordingly )

Onions - 3

Chicken - 250 gms (The best part about making this one is you don't have to marinate the chicken for long. Just clean the cut chicken pieces and add a pinch of salt and keep aside while your masala is cooking )

Tomatoes - 2

Garlic - 12-15
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Khas khas ( optional ) - 1/2 tsp

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Oil - 3 tbsp
Dry coconut ( roasted till brown ) - 2 tbsp ( I had mentioned about this one in one of my earlier posts... I normally grate dry coconut and roast it and keep in air tight container and then add to different curries/ sabzis as required, gives a very different taste and colour to any dish ) Looks somewhat like this :

Kaala Masala - 2 tbsp

Corriander powder - 2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp

Hing ( Asafoetida) - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Corriander leaves - to garnish

Recipe :

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. (This pan should be the one you are going to cook the chicken in ). Add roughly chopped onions and fry well till they are golden brown. Let them cool down.

Make a paste of the fried onions in a grinder along with roasted coconut, khas khas, ginger and garlic.

Now Heat 2 tbsp oil in the same pan. Add the fennel seeds and then add the paste and fry for around 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile chop tomatoes roughly and make a paste in the grinder.

Add the tomato paste to the pan and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. 

Now add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, corriander powder and the kaala masala. Add salt and mix it all well. Keep frying the masala stirring occasionally, as once the water evaporates, it might stick to the pan. Keep adding water ( maybe a spoon or two) in between , so the masala blends well and doesn't burn out. Fry till the masala starts leaving oil.

Now separate the gravy, if you want to make a paneer or egg curry along with, else add the chicken pieces to this.

Let the pieces get coated with the masala and fry it for 5 minutes or so.

Now add about 2 cups of water, depending on the gravy consistency that you desire.
Remember, the chicken will also leave it's juices.

Cover and cook for about 10 minutes.

Now add half of the chopped corriander leaves to this and let it cook in open till the chicken is done.

Once done, keep it covered on the gas stove and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

Garnish with corriander leaves and serve with roti, paratha or rice :)

Isn't it mouth-watering?? 

Happy Cooking :)

 

Mutton Curry

Hubby's special : And it was one of those days when hubby says , "Why don't you rest and i will cook today"...Blissssss...
This weekend was one such bliss when hubby wanted to eat meat and decided to cook it himself, and for me he would make egg curry ( me being an eggetarian)...So, i just relaxed with a mug of coffee watching television, and hubby was in the kitchen enjoying the cooking :) Yes, Thankfully he loves to cook...And he does make some awesome curries :)

Coming from the home of die-hard non-vegetarians, he had always seen his mother and even father cook some really awesome dishes. And the ones he remembers and tells me stories about, are when they used to cook in the farms, with the age old stove of coal and mud vessels... Ahhaaa, am sure it would have tasted heaven ! I also remember him keenly watching his mother cook whenever she's making a special dish on the menu... So i guess, half of his work was done with observation and the other half practicing cooking living alone as a bachelor all the years away from home for work !!!

What we did was, when the gravy was cooked, we removed half in another pan and added boiled eggs to it. You can even add paneer or any other vegetables to the gravy if you like. So, the gravy ingredients quantity are according to meat curry and egg curry both together.

 My Twist :  My mother has given me this roasted dry coconut that i normally add to any gravy, curry, or vegetable. It tastes yumm. You can simply grate the coconut and dry roast it on tava/pan and store it in air tight container. It comes in handy to add taste to any dish. It looks like this :

Ingredients :

Meat pieces : 250 gms
For marination - Curd : 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp 
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

For gravy : Onions : 2 large
Dry coconut powder - 2 tbsp
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Green chillies - 2
Corriander powder - 1 tsp
Corriander seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 4 cloves
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Amchur powder - 1/4 tsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Kasuri Methi - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper - 8-10
Cinamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 3-4
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green cardamom - 3
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp
Corriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Recipe :

Wash the meat pieces well and marinate them with Ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and curd. Keep refrigerated as long as you can. We kept it for 3-4 hours.

Dry roast Corriander seeds, Kasuri Methi, Black Pepper, Cinamon, Cloves, Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds, Green cardamom, Mustard seeds and sesame seeds in a pan. Let it cool and then grind them in a mixer to fine powder. 

Slice the onions lengthwise. Heat 1/2 tsp oil in the same pan and saute the onions and ginger and garlic till brown. Let it cool.

Grind the onions-ginger-garlic to a smooth paste along with the coconut powder.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker. Add a pinch of Asafoetida, Bay leaf and the onion-coconut paste. Let it fry for 2 -3 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in large pieces and make a paste along with corriander leaves and green chilli. Add this to the onion paste and mix well. Saute for a minute and now add the powder masala that we grinded, along with kashmiri red chilli powder, corriander powder and amchur powder.

Now let this cook on low flame until the masala starts to leave oil ( add water little by little if needed ). This will take around 10-15 minutes. The masala will start sticking to the sides of the vessel. This is when you know it's cooked.

Now is the time to separate the masala if you want to cook any other vegetarian dish or egg curry too. If not, add the meat pieces, salt and water ( as much as you want the gravy ). We added 2 cups for 250 gms of meat. Let it cook for 5-6 whistles.

Yummyliscious Mutton Curry is ready :)

Happy Cooking :)

Linking this recipe to Meat Lovers Month event at Recipes Passion and Haffa Bexi's Kitchen

Egg Biryani : Egg-Mint-o!!!

Jiggi Jikka Jikka : Recently i saw an advertisement of a mouth freshner candy "Mint-O" that is available in mint, eucalyptus and green mango flavours. The commercial is quite funny and claims you will be "Jiggi Jikka" ( LOVED this phrase!! :)) fresh after you pop in the mint!! Mint-o's tag line is "Jab laila ko karna ho impress, khao Mint-o fresh" which means " Eat Mint-o fresh if u want to impress Laila- the girl"....
The ad shows how a village boy after popping Mint-O is able to impress the village girl over a village brat who does everything possible to lure her earlier.
Here is the ad :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgLqutMZW7s

And yes, Mint-O is good :) Not to lure a girl, but just to get that fresh feeling in the mouth after you eat :) Food such as onions, garlic, eggs, meat always leave a foul smell in your mouth... Mouth freshners always work to the rescue... So, pop in a Mint-O after you eat Egg-Mint-O !!!! :))

Egg Biryani : Just the name makes me drool... Yes, am an eggetarian and i love eggs in any form...May it be boiled, scrambled, bhurji, omlette, half fry, egg curry...the list goes on....
I had made Veg biryani earlier, but never tried my hand at egg biryani...I was always under the impression that you only add eggs to the vegetable biryani and your egg biryani is ready!!! But i decided to make egg-biryani giving it a "hint of mint"... so this is mint rice with the egg biryani masala...It was the first time i cooked this and it turns out super delicious... i recommend everyone to try this recipe ( if you love mint )... If you don't like mint, you can make corriander rice or else leave the rice plain. The addition of mint also gives a nice green colour to the biryani. Make the Biryani only when you have time at hand because it does take a little time to cook, but trust me the patience is all worth it ...You can also make this in pressure cooker if you are in a hurry... but i always feel Biryani shouldn't be cooked in a pressure cooker, it should be cooked at its own pace and time. A mud-vessel is the best, but you can even cook it in non stick or any cooking vessel.

Ingredients :

Eggs - 3 ( Hard boiled, peeled and halved )

Basmati rice - 1 cup 

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon - 2 small sticks

Black peppercorns - 6-7

Cardamom - 3

Bay leaf - 1

Fresh corriander leaves - Around 1/2 cup

Fresh Mint leaves - Around 1/2 cup

Desi ghee - 3 tbsp + 1 tbsp

Green chillies - 2

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Onions - 2 medium ( sliced lengthwise )

Tomato - 1 big ( cubed )

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Corriander powder - 1 tsp

Curd - 1/2-3/4 cup ( thick )

Garam masala - 1 tsp ( you can even use readymade biryani masala available in market )

Saffron - a few strands soaked in milk

cashews - 7-8

Salt - to taste

Recipe :

Wash the Basmati rice and soak it in water for half an hour. Drain the water after half an hour.

In a mixer, grind together Garlic ( 1/2 inch piece ), Ginger ( 3-4 cloves ), Green chillies ( 2 chopped ), Mint leaves ( 1/2 cup ) and corriander leaves ( 1/2 cup ). Add little black salt to taste. Grind to a smooth paste( Add only 1 tbsp water if required )

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan... fry the cashews till golden brown. Drain and remove on a kitchen tissue.

In the same pan, add half of the sliced onions and fry until they are dark brown...Drain and remove on a kitchen tissue.

In the same pan, ( add more ghee if required ), add the whole spices ( Cardamom, cinnamon, black peppercorns and cloves ). Fry them for 10 seconds and then add the mint-paste and fry for another 30 seconds. Remove from flame and keep aside.

Add this mixture to rice and cook the rice uncovered ( on low flame ) along with 1.5-2 cups of water. Cook till the rice is done. The rice should be fluffy and not sticky. So fluff it with a fork after its done.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in the same pan and add cumin seeds, bay leaf and ginger garlic paste ( 1 tsp ).

Saute for 30 secs and then add the remaining sliced onions.

Saute for a minute more and then add the corriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and fennel seeds. Saute for a while till everything is mixed together well. 

Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook on low flame till the mixture starts to leave oil ( here ghee )...the tomatoes would turn soft and the mixture will leave aroma..Add little water ( spoon by spoon ) if required... Let it cook for about 10 minutes.

Now add the curd and little water ( 1/4 cup ). Let it cook on low flame till the masala becomes thick.

Now add the salt and garam masala. Mix well and cook till done.

Now, in a vessel( Mud or non stick ), make a layer of rice at the bottom, spread the masala on top of it, place the halved eggs on the masala and then again spread the remaining rice on top. Its like a sandwich. 3 layers - top and bottom of rice and in between the masala and eggs. Add a spoonful of ghee on top ( optional). Cover and keep it covered for about an hour ( not on flame ). This helps the Biryani to set and the flavours to blend.

Just before serving, add the saffron milk and fried onions on top and mix in the cashews.

Yummyliscious Egg biryani is ready :)))

Happy Cooking :)

Chilli Chicken : Pan fried fritters

Chicken, hmmmmppphhhhh ??!!!! : Honestly, that is always my reaction when my husband ( who is a die-hard lover of meat) says he wants to eat chicken!!! I have made Palak Chicken( Recipe uploaded earlier ) and 1-2 gravies with chicken before, but i always get nervous when cooking meat... One, as i can never taste it( Being a vegetarian ) and two, as i don't know the recipes well.
I have learnt the marinating part well now... But i always end up thinking, what different should i make now??

So one such weekday, i decided to surprise my hubby by cooking chicken, as there were already some chicken pieces in the freezer. I was browsing through some food channels earlier , to see if they are showing any easy-to-cook chicken recipe... Didn't find any... Then i searched on the internet and found a terrific recipe by my favourite MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor. This one is dedicated to him. 

I didn't have all the ingredients he mentioned there, so i did a few modifications and it turned out great ( according to hubby dearest )...:)


So, i really love this Mantra " Try and you will always succeed " :).... The fear of not cooking it right gets you nowhere, unless you try, make mistakes, improve on them and try again... And well, it's all worth it to get that contempt look on hubby's face:)))

Ingredients :

( Adjust the quantities according to the chicken pieces you have )

Chicken pieces - 6 small ( Preferred boneless, but i took what i had, so these are with bones )

Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Salt - to taste

Rice - 1 tbsp

Whole dry red chillies - 6 ( or according to taste )

Curry leaves - 5-6

Oil - 2 tbsp

Yogurt - 3 tbsp

Maida or cornflour - to roll the pieces

Corriander leaves - a few chopped finely and pepper ( to garnish)

Recipe :

Wash the Chicken pieces thoroughly and make slits all over in the pieces ( not too deep ).

Apply salt and 1 tbsp of lemon to the pieces and set aside.

Make a smooth paste of ginger, garlic, curry leaves, red chillies, rice and remaining lemon juice in a grinder.

Add this paste to the yogurt and mix very well.

Apply this yogurt mixture to all the chicken pieces , so it's coated properly.

Now, leave this for marination as long as you can in the fridge. I kept it for 3 hours, but you can even keep it for 4-5 hours.

Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before you are about to cook them.

Heat oil in a pan. Take the maida or cornflour in a plate.

Roll the chicken pieces in maida or cornflour ( so it's coated properly on all sides ) and put them in the pan.

Shallow fry for a minute, roll the pieces over and fry for 7-8 minutes, turning them frequently, so they are browned ( cooked ) on both sides.

Now add a tbsp of water ( or just sprinkle a few drops on top), cover with a tight lid, and cook on low flame till chicken is cooked completely ,(Takes about 4-5 minutes, keep sprinkling water if needed )

Garnish with corriander leaves and don't forget to sprinkle some pepper on top!!! Serve with tomato ketchup or green chutney :) Or they taste great just plain too :)

Happy Cooking :)

Palak Chicken : Coming from a true vegetarian

One of the very few things where me and my husband have different interests is he loves non vegetarian food and i am a vegetarian ( rather egg-etarian). Having grown up in a Brahmin family, we never cooked non-veg at our home. Eggs were allowed because we all ( including my Dad) loved to exercise and gym and we used to have our share of natural proteins through eggs. I also remember those special Sunday breakfasts of omlette and toast made by mom :) But having a whole bunch of friends from different cultures and communities and countries, i have never really been a " Non veg? Don't even eat on the same table!!! Or Don't even come near my plate" sort of girl. I was also okay touching it as i used to cook rice and boiled chicken for the dogs i used to pet sit.

The only issue was i had never cooked it in my life!!! As much as hubby dearest loved eating it, he never forced me to make some. But one day, i decided to make it !!! And its not that difficult !!! I had seen a few recipes online, also some on the food channels but i decided to play safe and try to make the chicken in Spinach ( coz i knew how to make the palak gravy when i make palak paneer, though i dont add yogurt to palak paneer ). Just a few additions here and there, it turned out great or as hubby says so !!! Now i regularly cook non veg for him.... ( Must Mention : Without tasting or without eating )

Ingredients :

Chicken - 5 pieces

Lemon juice - 1 tsp ( to marinate )

Ginger garlic paste ( 1 tsp to marinate)

Pepper powder - sprinkle according to taste

Corriander leaves - 1/2 a handful to marinate.

Spinach - a medium bunch

Green chillies - 3 or (according to taste or spiciness of chillies, plus i dont add red chilli powder to this recipe. so u can adjust spice accordingly )

Corriander leaves - 1/2 a handful

Oil - 1 tbsp

Garlic - 3-4 chopped finely

Corriander powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Curd/ yogurt - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Recipe :

Marinate the chicken pieces with lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, pepper powder and corriander leaves. Generally 1-2 hours of marination is good. But what i do is if i have to make the recipe in evening for dinner, i marinate and keep the chicken covered in fridge for 5-6 hours. Ad i remove it from the fridge an hour before i start making it. This way the spices really get mixed well with the chicken.

Cut the stems of the Palak and wash it well. Boil water with little salt and add the palak leaves to it. Boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain and immerse the leaves in cold water or keep under running cold water for a while. This is known as Blanching of Palak.

Once cool, make a paste of these leaves ( remove water from the leaves completely ) with green chillies and remaining corriander in mixer.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add garlic and fry for a minute. Then add the palak paste to it and fry for couple of minutes. Add all the dry spice powders and mix well with the paste. Add about 1/2 cup water. Keep stirring in between. Add 1 tbsp curd. After about 3-4 mins, add the chicken and salt. Cover and let it cook for 8-10 mins. Add more water if required and adjust the gravy consistency according to personal choice.

Happy Cooking :)