Cook Friendly Chili Chicken

One of my most ardent readers is now one of my very good friend and neighbor. One day over tea we were discussing, how hard it is to make chili-chicken when you have food robbers in the house. The moment we are done with frying the chicken it starts disappearing. Finally the chili-chicken results in lot of chili and very little chicken.

Just to handle this situation I have come up with the cook friendly version where the chicken is not fully cooked after frying and that stops the robbers.

Ingredients

For Marination

• 1lb boneless chicken cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 tbsp. dark soya sauce
• 2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
• 2 tbsp. green chili sauce
• Salt to state
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. corn meal or rice flour
• 4 tbsp.. oil

For Gravy

• 1 large onion cut into cubes
• 1 green bell pepper cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp. chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp. chopped green chilies
• 1/.2 cup chopped green onion.
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 2 tbsp. green chili sauce
• 2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
• 2 tbsp. dark soya sauce
• 2 tbsp. corn starch diluted in half cup water
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Marinates chicken pieces with all ingredients listed under margination without the flours and the oil. Marinate for half an hour. Sprinkle all purpose flour and corn meal over the chicken pieces and coat very gently.

Now heat oil in a wide shallow frying pan. Shallow fry the chicken pieces in one layer first on high heat for a minute and then on medium heat till the meat is ninety percent done. You will see the surface of the chicken pieces are crispy because of the application of corn meal. Remove and reserve for later use.

In the rest of the oil add chopped garlic and fry for a minute before you add onion and green chilies to it. Sauté everything together for a minute or two on high heat. Now add fried chicken pieces to it and mix well. Cook it covered on low heat for couple of minutes. This will cook chicken through and through.

Remove the lid and crank up the heat to high. Add bell pepper and toss everything well. Turn off the heat.

In another sauce pan combine vinegar, chili garlic sauce, green chili sauce, dark soya sauce with half

a cup of water. Bring it to a boil. Bring the heat to the lowest and slowly add diluted corn starch to it.

Crank up the heat while stirring it continuously till you see the sauce thickens up. Add the fried chicken mixture to it and turn off the heat.  check the seasoning and adjust. Garnish with green onion.

If you want dry chili chicken then you add all the sauce directly over the fried chicken mixture and fry everything together till the chicken pieces are well coated with the sauces. Add diluted cornstarch over it and mix on high flame till the moisture dries up. Check the seasoning and adjust. Finish it off with chopped green onion.

Dhakai Fish

I have had the good fortune to be always blessed with great neighbors. Our Seattle home is no exception. We meet a few times over the summer vacation to indulge in barbecue and pot-lucks.This summer when one of my neighbors organized a get-together at their place, I asked them what I should get. I got the request of something spicy.

I wanted to ensure I bring something from our homeland and not the fake Indian food like butter chicken. It also needed to be finger food and palatable to the western taste. I settled on Dhakai fish, which is a shallow fried fish garnished with sautéed onion and green chilies. I made it with locally available fresh rock-fish fillet. You can use any fish of your choice both as fillet or cut into steaks. You can even use whole cut fish like pomfret. Just change the frying time depending on the size of the fish.

I have no clue why this is referred to as “Dhakai” or from Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh, it’s just what my mom used to call it.

Ingredients

• 1lb fish fillets cut into medium cubes (2" *2")
• 1tbswp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. rice flour
• 2 tbsp. Besan (Bengal Gram Flour)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for shallow frying

For Serving

• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 2tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 tbsp. chopped green chilies
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. oil

Procedure

Marinate the fish cubes with all ingredients other than the flours and oil for half an hour.

Once the margination is over sprinkle the flours over it and mix it gently so the fish cubes are roughly coated with the flours.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the fish pieces on medium high heat in a single layer so that their surface turns crispy yet the inside stays soft and juicy. It takes about three minutes. Remove them.

Now keep one tbsp. oil in the pan and add chopped ginger, garlic, onion sliced fry on medium high heat for about two to three minutes. Add green chilies to it and fry everything together on low heat.

Add fried fished to it and toss very gently to coat the fishes with the fried spices. Take care not to break the fishes.

Serve on a platter and garnish with chopped cilantro and crushed black pepper.

Enjoy with plain rice or as a finger food.

Mutton Tikia or Balls

The same recipe works for both tikia and balls based on the final shape you choose. If you have ample time, shape them as discs (tikia) and shallow fry them, if you are in a hurry and your guests arrive in the next hour, make them into balls like I have done and deep fry them. The taste and texture remains very similar.
Tikia goes very well both with a glass of scotch that you share with your guests before dinner, or with a steaming cup of coffee.

Ingredients

• 1lb. minced mutton
• 1 tbsp. raw papaya (Instead you can use 1/2tsp. meat tenderizer)
• 2 medium onions minced
• 10 large garlic cloves minced
• 5 green chilies minced
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. clarified butter (Ghee)
• 1 tbsp. freshly ground Bengali garam masala
• 2 tbsp. roasted gram flour (Besan)
• 1 tbsp. sugar 
• Salt to taste
• Refined oil for frying

Procedure

Wash the minced meat and drain it on a colander or strainer to drain out most of the water from it.
Now take the meat in a mixing bowl and add chopped, onion, garlic, green chilies, raw papaya paste red chili powder, garam masala powder, salt, sugar along with a tablespoon of ghee to it.
Knead the minced meat well with all the spices and keep the mixture marinated in the refrigerator for half an hour.
After thirty minutes take out the mixture and bring it back to the room temperature.
Add roasted gram flour to it and mix well. This will help in binding the tikias. Take a lemon sized meat mixture and give it a flat round cutlet shape. that is the traditional shape of tikia. I have made them round as I was in a hurry.
Heat oil in a tawa (Skillet) and fry them on medium heat till the meat meat is cooked. Drain them on a paper towel and serve hot with paratha and your favorite chutney..

Bhutwa aka Nepali Mutton

 

I got this recipe from Mr. Atul Sikand over a food network on Facebook. The day I decided to make it I called my husband to know whether he would be in early for dinner. He told me that he was at a Asian grocery store close to his office. So I asked him to look for Szechuan pepper (also known as timur) and fortunately store keeper exactly knew what I was looking for. This chili made the recipe extra special. If you cannot get it, you can always try with dry red chili, but be forewarned it will never be the same.

Ingredients

• 750 gms. mutton cut on bone in 2” pieces
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
• 10 dry red chili
• 1/2 tsp. methi (fenugreek) seeds
• 1 tsp. ajwain (carom) seeds
• 2 tbsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. timur (Szechuan pepper)
• 2-3 black cardamom
• 1’'”cinnamon stick
• 8-10 black pepper corn
• 1 bay leaf
• 150 ml. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat mustard oil in a pan till it smokes. Now reduce the heat and add bay leaf, cinnamon, black cardamom and pepper corn to it. Fry them on low heat for a minute till the oil becomes fragrant.

Add methi seeds and wait till the seeds turn black. Immediately add ajwain seeds and dry red chili.

Next to go in is chopped onion. Fry them on medium heat till they turn dark brown.

Add meat pieces to it and fry them on medium heat along with the fried onions. Fry for about ten to fifteen minutes till the meat changes its raw color and turn brown.

Sprinkle salt and sugar. Add a cup of water to it and mix well. Cook covered on low heat till the meat is 90% done.

By the mean time heat 2 tsp. oil in a small pan and add ginger garlic paste along with the coriander powder. Cook on low heat till the raw smell subsides.

Once the meat is almost done add this spice mixture to the meat. This is the time for the red chili powder to go in. Mix everything together and cook  for another ten to fifteen minutes.

When the meat is tender and the oil is separated add timur paste to it and let it simmer for another minute.

Your Bhutwa or Nepali style mutton is ready to serve.

Adraaki Chicken - Ginger Chicken Indian Style

My daughters only first cousin Sumo loves spicy chicken. He told me to post a recipe which his mom (my sis in law) could make for him. Since today is Bhai-Phonta, this goes out to Sumo from his sister Pori.

Aadraki chicken is the Indian Ginger Chicken (not the more popular indo-chinese dish of the same same). As the name suggests copious quantities of ginger is used to make this spicy yet delicious dry curry.

Ingredients

• 2lbs. boneless chicken cut into small pieces
• 2 medium onions chopped
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 2-3 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 3 tsp. ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder (If your spice level is low use paprika powder or Kashmiri Red chili powder)
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
• 1 lime
• 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• One slice of ginger cut into sticks
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 3-4 tbsp. oil

Procedure

In a bowl take chicken pieces and add ginger paste, turmeric powder, black pepper powder, lime juice and salt.

Heat oil  in a wide pan and temper it with whole cumin seeds. Once they stop sputtering add chopped onions and fry them on medium heat till the edges start becoming brown. Add green chilies and marinated chicken to it.

Add all the dry spices like coriander, cumin and chili powder. Fry the chicken on medium heat along with all the spices for five to seven minutes.

Now add sugar along with chopped tomato and ginger sticks. Keep frying till tomato melts and the chicken is cooked. In this dish we won’t use any water and the chicken will be cooked uncovered so controlling the heat is important.

Garnish with fresh cilantro, green chilies and ginger sticks. Serve with hot chapatis or paranthas.

Murg Masur Pulao

Eid Mubarak to all my friends who are celebrating Eid tomorrow. Hope you are filling to your brim at the Iftar parties.

When I was a college student, one of my friends Shama used to bring Murg Masur Pulao to the class just after Eid. It would come in a huge container and in no time disappear. I have no idea where Shama is today, but I hope she is doing well and still enjoys this great dish. Thanks to the fantastic pulao I am thinking of her from another corner of the world.

Ingredients

• 500 gm. bone in chicken cut into medium pieces
• 2 and 1/2 cup long grain Basmamti rice washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 1 cup Masoor (Red lentil with skin) washed and soaked for 2 hours
• 2 medium potatoes cut into quarters
• 2 large onions thinly sliced
• 2 large tomatoes cut into round thin slices
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• Whole garam masala ( 2 black cardamom, 4 green cardamom, 1” cinnamon stick, 5 cloves, 1 tp. shahi jeera)
• 1 bunch fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves finely chopped
• 4 tbsp. mint leaves
• 4 tbsp. chopped cilantro or coriander leaves
• Salt to taste                 
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 1/4 cup warm milk
• Few Saffron strands 
• Few drops Kewra water

Procedure

In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add onion slices to it. Fry till golden brown. Remove half of the fried onion on a paper towel and reserve for later use.

In the rest of the onion add ginger garlic paste, and chili powder. Sauté till the raw smell subsides. Now add chopped fenugreek leaves and tomato slices to it. sprinkle coriander and cumin powder. Fry till the moisture dries up.

Add chicken pieces to it and fry well so that the meat pieces are nicely coated with spices. Add salt and cook it covered till the meat is tender.

Now add potato quarter to it and fry along with the meat for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle garam masala powder and keep it covered. Add yogurt to it and cook till chicken and potatoes are tender.

In a separate pan boil the soaked lentil with salt till cooked. Take care so that they retain their shape.

In a large pan boil enough water with salt and whole garam masala and add soaked rice to it. Boil till the rice is 90% done. Drain the water.

Soak saffron strands in warm milk and keep aside.  

For layering in a large pan take half of the rice. Lay evenly the chicken and potato mixture with the lentils on top. Add chopped cilantro, mint and slit green chilies over it. Add  half of the golden brown onions.

For the top layer spread evenly the remaining rice. sprinkle saffron milk over it. Top it up with the rest of the chopped mint, cilantro and green chilies.

Finish it up with the rest of the golden onions and kewra water. 

Place this pan covered on the lowest mark of heat for 30 minutes.

Dish out and serve it with raita.

Chingri Potol er Jhal

Potol or Parwal was rarely available outside Bengal. However, with the whole world shrinking I do see them now even in the US at the local Indian grocery store. It is one of those veggies which kids (at least mine) hate eating. So I add shrimps to make it more enticing.

The masala used has to be freshly roasted and ground spices without which the dish is incomplete.

Ingredients

• 10-12 potol or parwal
• 3 medium sized potato peeled and cut into quarters
• 20 medium sized prawns deveined and cleaned
• 1 small knob ginger
• 2-3 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. whole cumin
• 1 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
• 1 dry red chili
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1” cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp. ghee (Clarified butter)
• Mustard oil

Procedure

Scrape off the skin of parwals and cut them into halves.

Marinate the prawns with 1 tsp. turmeric powder and salt. Keep them aside.

Now dry roast 1 tbsp. cumin seeds, coriander seed, dry red chili, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and 1 bay leaf. Roast till you just starting to get their aroma. Immediately remove them from the hot pan and allow them to cool down.

First dry grind the roasted spices into a powder. Add ginger to it and make a paste with all of these by adding little water.

Heat mustard oil in a pan and fry the marinated prawns on low heat for a minute. Remove and save them for later use.

Temper the same oil with 1 tsp. cumin seeds and 2 bay leaves. Let the sizzle. Add parwal halves and potato quarters to it. Fry on medium heat till the edges of the vegetables take a brownish hue.

Add the spice paste you made and reduce the heat to low. Keep sautéing till the raw smell goes off. You may need to sprinkle some water if the spices tend to burn.

Pour about a cup of water. sprinkle sugar and salt to your taste and mix well.

Cook it covered on medium heat till the veggies are done. Add the fried prawns and let it simmer foe another two minutes.

Add a dollop of ghee along with the green chilies and keep it covered till you serve with plain hot rice.

Mughlai Paratha with Spicy Potato Curry

Updated: With new pictures

Moglai Porota as we actually pronounce it brings back memories of durga pujo, college-street, secret rendezvous with boyfriend and so many other things. It’s not just a food, but rather a ritual. You cannot possibly complete pujo shopping or finish your pandal visits without stopping for one.

Each time we go for a movie, here in US, we have a common crib that we should be getting some roll or moglai porota after that. So this time I made them and then headed for the theatre. The fun of the movie was quadrupled by the thought that we had them waiting for us.

for Spicy Potato CurRy

1. 2 large potatoes cut into cubes
2. 1 small onion finely chopped
3. 1 tsp. grated ginger
4. 1 tsp. minced garlic
5. 2,3 green chilies slit lengthwise
6. 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
7. 1 tsp. coriander powder
8. 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp. red chili powder
10. 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
11. 1tbsp. oil

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and green chilies to it. Fry on medium heat till the edges of the onions turn brown. Add chopped ginger, garlic to it and fry them together till the raw smell goes away. You may need to sprinkle water if the spice tend to burn.

Add potato cubes to it followed by all dry spice powder.Add salt and sugar to season. Mix everything well so that the potato cubes are coated with all spices. Sear them on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.Now add about half cup of water and cook it covered till the potato cubes are tender. By this time the water should be dried up.If not crank up the heat and make it dry.

Keep it aside for later use.

Ingredients for Paratha

For the dough

1. 4 cups all purpose flour ( Maida )
2. 4tbsp. any vegetable oil
3. 1tsp. salt
4. 1 cup warm milk

In a mixing bowl mix flour with salt and oil and rub with your finger tips till it takes the texture of bread crumbs. Add milk little at a time and knead well. If the milk is all used up and you need more you can now add warm water to it. Knead well to make a medium soft dough. Apply oil to the surface of the dough and cover it with a damp cloth. Keep it aside for half an hour. Knead once more before you use it.

For stuffing

1. 4 eggs
2. 4tbsp. minced onion, ginger, green chili
3. Salt
4. Oil for deep frying

In a bowl take egg one at a time and whisk it with a spoon of minced onion, ginger and chili.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and make smooth balls. Now roll them out into a square of 8 by 8 inch. For easy rolling you can grease the rolling pin as well.

Pour the egg mixture in the center of the rolled out paratha and spread a little with a spoon. Now gently fold the sides by overlapping each other so that the egg stuffing in the center gets covered. It will look like a rectangular parcel.

		Folding VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Heat enough oil in a deep wok or kadai and carefully slide the envelope in. Fry on medium heat till you see tiny bubbles appearing on the surface. Flip it over and allow the other side to get cooked. Occasionally press it lightly so that the egg is cooked from inside. Remove with a slotted spoon when both sides take a light brown hue.

Drain it on a paper towel.

Serve it all together as shown below.

Malabar Prawn Biryani

UPDATED: With updated photo and content

Though I used to live in Kolkata, I grew up among Keralian neighbors. Even though the states of Kerala and West Bengal are on the opposite ends of India, they share a common cooking style, thanks to the common local coastal ingredients. They use prawn commonly in their food and since it was my favorite, I made it a point to never miss out on any parties at their home.

On the day after the party I’d drop by to snack on the left overs and figured out that the food tastes better the next day. Since the Biryani involves a lot of spices it tastes better on the next day after the spices settle down.

Ingredients

1. For Marinade
   1. 1lb. medium size prawns de-shelled and deveined
   2. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
   3. 1 tsp. ginger garlic pate
   4. Salt to taste
2. For Prawn Masala
   1. 1 tsp. shah jeera (caraway seeds)
   2. 5,6 cloves
   3. 1" cinnamon stick
   4. 1 tsp. black pepper corn
   5. 2,3 green cardamom pods
   6. 2 bay leaves
   7. 1 medium onion thinly sliced
   8. 1 tsp. ginger garlic paste
   9. 2 green chilies finely chopped ( you can increase or decrease depending on your heat tollerance level )
   10. 2 tbsp. of coconut paste ( I used frozen grated coconut, but fresh is always the best )
   11. 2 tbsp of plain yogurt ( curd )
   12. 2 tbsp. of biriyani masala of any brand you like (I used Banne Nawab's biriyani masala )
   13. 1 tsp. sugar
   14. Salt to taste
3. For Rice
   1. 2 cups of basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 30 mins.
   2. 6 cups of water
   3. 1 tsp. salt
4. For layering
   1. 2 tsp. of oil or ghee
   2. 1/2 tsp. biryani masala
   3. Handful of chopped fresh cilantro (Coriander leaves )

Procedure

Wash prawns and marinate for half an hour with all the spices listed under it.

Heat oil in a pan and add pounded whole garam masala and bay leaves to it (item 2.1-2.6). Fry the marinated prawns on medium high heat till the color changes. Remove and reserve it.

Add chopped onions and green chilies to the same oil and fry till it turns light brown. Next to go in is the coconut paste. Fry on low heat. Add rest of the ginger garlic paste and fry. Once the raw smell goes away turn off the heat and add yogurt to it. Mix it well. Turn on the heat and add the fried prawn along with biriyani masala. Give a taste test and adjust the seasoning. Let everything cook together for a while ( 5 mins ).

In a heavy bottom pan take enough water and salt. Bring it to a boil. Now add pre soaked rice. Cook till its just done. Drain the water and spread rice on a flat plate.

Now its time to arrange in layers, the procedure of which differs slightly based on whether you want to use a conventional oven or a microwave.

In Conventional oven

Take a oven safe bowl and rub it’s inside with oil or ghee. Layer the bottom of the vessel with rice. Now pour prawn masala along with its oil all over it. Add chopped cilantro and sprinkle biriyani masala powder over it. Cover it up with another layer of rice. Wrap it up with aluminium foil and cook in the oven for 30 mins at 375F.

In Microwave

Take a microwave safe bowl and arrange rice and prawn masala as mentioned above. Cover it with a cling wrap or Microwave safe cover.

Cook it on high power for 5 mins. Allow it to stand for another 15 mins before you serve.

Enjoy with fresh salad or raita (beaten thick yogurt with chopped onions, coriander, salt).

Laal Maas – Rajasthani Red Meat Curry

Rajasthan is not a place people associate with Meat. My husband is always eager to narrate the horror story of how he had to stay without non-vegetarian food for a whole long week in Rajasthan. But Laal Maas or Red Meat is a famous Rajasthani dish. The story I have heard is that the Rajputs feasted on this after their hunting expeditions. They carried the simple spices required for this and cooked laal maas in the jungle. Even though I do not really hunt, I love my share of laal maas. This is one of the dishes where you’d need to get rid of your inhibitions and go full throttle on red-chilies and oil.

Ingredients

• 500 gm. mutton (lamb or goat meat) on bone
• 2 medium onions finely chopped
• 2 tbs. finely chopped ginger
• 10 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. Kashmiri Red chili powder
• 1 cup yogurt whisked
• 3 whole green cardamom
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 black cardamom
• 1/2 leaf mace
• 4-5 black peppercorn
• dry roast and grind the following to a fine powder
  • 10-12 whole dry red chili
  • 2 tsp. coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• 8 tbsp. mustard oil (mustard oil helps get a better color)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (Coriander leaves) for garnishing
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat mustard oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cardamoms, mace and black peppercorn. Allow them to crackle. Add chopped garlic, ginger and green chilies to it. Fry on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Now add chopped onion to it and fry everything together till the edges of onions start changing color.

Add mutton pieces and fry them on high heat for about 3-4 minutes. It will help in sealing the juices inside the meat pieces.

Now add ground dry spice, Kashmiri red chili powder to it and fry along with the spices.

Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down completely. Add whisked yogurt and mix well. Turn on the heat and season it with salt. Mix once again and cook it covered on low heat for 45 minutes. Keep a cup of warm water ready and so that you can add it to the gravy whenever needed.

Remove from heat when meat is well done. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Note:

Traditionally in Rajasthan KACHRI powder is added to tenderize the meat and also to add a tanginess. I didn’t have the same so I added yogurt instead. If you have Kachri powder add 1/4 cup while frying the spices. 

 

Chicken Manchurian (Hyderabad Style)

Old Hyderabad is littered with small bakeries that along with cakes and biscuits serve this mind blowingly spicy, yet yummy Chicken and Gobi “manchuri” (as they call it). I am sure they have nothing to do with real manchurian or the similar named region in China.

One of the places we used to visit was in Ameerpet close to Jayadurga furnishing which was one of my favorite hang outs. They were served in small plastic cups and a toothpick to pick them up. I have tried to recreate them to help combat the freezing weather here. The only difference is I have refrained from using food colors (which unfortunately is copiously used in Hyderabad).

Ingredients

• 1lb. boneless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. rice flour
• Salt
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 green bell pepper thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 3 tbsp. green chilies finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Few curry leaves
• 1 tsp. corn starch
• Oil

Procedure

In a mixing bowl mix chicken pieces with ginger garlic paste, chili powder, lemon juice and salt. Marinade the mixture for half an hour. Now sprinkle all purpose flour and rice flour on it and mix well.

Heat oil for deep frying in a pan and add chicken pieces into it. Fry till they turn crispy. Remove and drain them on a paper towel.

In a frying pan take two tbsp. oil and heat it up. Add minced garlic. fry on low heat for a minute and then add onion and bell pepper slices to it. Fry them on high heat  for a minute or two. Don’t over cook them as we want their crispy texture.

Now to this add fried chicken pieces and toss them well with fried onion and bell pepper. if required sprinkle salt now. Mix once again.

Dissolve corn starch into 2tbsp. water and sprinkle over the chicken mixture. Immediately remove the pan from heat. Add chopped green chilies, cilantro and curry leaves over it and toss them really well.

Serve them in small cups and enjoy. 

Tandoori Stuffed Gobi

My mashi (aunt) loves cauliflower and so my cousin Puja went out and bought some with the intention of making Tandoori Gobi for mashi’s birthday. Puja was not that successful in finding a recipe online which she could successfully execute. She requested me to make some and post here.

I mixed mashed paneer (cottage cheese) with tandoori spices. Then stuffed the cauliflower with it and also smeared it on top. Finally baked it in an oven.

Ingredients

For Stuffing

• 1 medium sized cauliflower
• 250 gms. of grated paneer (Cottage cheese)
• 4 tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp. raisin paste
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 2 tbsp. chicken tandoori masala
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp. butter
• Salt

For Infusion

• 2” cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves black cardamoms
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt

Procedure

Take a deep wide vessel and pour enough water to cover the cauliflower. Add all spices along with salt to the water and bring it to a boil. Keep boiling on medium heat for about 20 minutes till the water is fragrant.

Place the cauliflower in the water and boil on high heat for 10 minutes. Do not cover the pan while boiling. By this time the cauliflower would be 80% done. Gently remove cauliflower from the water with a slotted spoon and allow it to cool so that you can handle it comfortably.

In a mixing bowl take mashed paneer and one by one add yogurt, butter, lemon juice, chili powder, tandoori masala, chopped ginger, raisin paste, honey and salt. Whisk it thoroughly to make a paste.

When the cauliflower is ready to handle, over turn it and stuff the paneer mixture through the gap between the florets. Use your finger to reach almost every corner of it.

When the bottom portion is done, gently slather the stuffing on top of the cauliflower.

Allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat oven at 350 F. Place the stuffed cauliflower on a baking dish and drizzle one spoon butter over it. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. After 10 minutes drizzle another one spoon of butter over it.

Remove the baking dish carefully and sprinkle chopped coriander before serving.

Note: If you have a microwave with convection,  bake it for 15 – 20 minutes at 180C. For microwave with grill you can cook it at micro-grill combination mode for 10-15 minutes, but you need to brush oil at every 5 minutes.

RaniDi-r Rosun Aloor Dum

In our school, it was a very common to see that a bunch of folks remained hungry with a box full of alur dum or ghugni at the end of the lunch hour. No, they didn’t pack those for their lunch. It was bought from Rani-Di. Rani-Di was distinctly different from her fellow colleagues. The crisp cotton sari, the curly long hair, the big red dot just in the middle of her forehead and a smile which was really a rare sight in our school made her stand out in the crowd, she was our Rani-Di.

Each day she used bring aloor dum, aloo kabli, ghugni and tetul or kuler acchar. Sometimes we had to wait in queue for the whole 30 minutes of our lunch time and didn’t even get time to eat it.

I used to urge my mom to make the same Aloo-r Dum. Based on my descriptions she tried multiple times but it never tasted the same. One day I asked Rani-Di and she told me to ask my mom to use garlic instead of ginger. Hence came the name.

Ingredients

• 250 gms. baby potatoes
• 6-7 fat cloves of garlic
• 1 large tomato
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tbsp. thick tamarind pulp
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil
• 2-3 green chilies finely chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tsp. black salt
• 1 tbsp. bhaaja masala ( Dry roast and coarsely grind 1 tsp. cumin, 1tsp. coriander and 2 dry red chilies)

Procedure

Peel baby potatoes and boil them in salt water for 2-3 minutes. Drain water and smear potatoes with a pinch of turmeric.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry potatoes till they turn golden yellow. Drain on a paper towel and keep aside.

Peel the skin of tomato and make a paste of it with garlic cloves.

Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a pan and add tomato garlic paste to it. Sauté on low heat till the raw smell goes off. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and chili powder to it. Fry on low heat till you see oil seeps from the edge.

Add fried potato along with tamarind pulp and fry them along with the spices. Season with salt and sugar. Add 1/4 cup of water to it. Mix well and let it simmer on low heat till potatoes are done. Keep an eye so that you don’t over cook them.

If required turn the heat on high and let the excess moisture dry out. This is a dry dish and at the end the potatoes will be just coated with the spice mixture.

Turn off the heat and garnish with chopped cilantro and green chilies. Sprinkle generous amount of bhaaja masala, little black salt and add a dash of tamarind juice just before serving.

Chittagong Chicken

The people of Chittagong (in Bangladesh) uses a lot of chillies or atleast that’s what my grand-mom used to tell me. So don’t get shocked with the heavy use of them in this recipe. The cashews and the onions do mild them out a bit.

Chittagong chicken is generally made dry but since I was serving it with rice I made it with a bit more gravy. You can optionally cook it a bit more and dry it out.

Ingredients

• 750 gms. chicken on bone 
• 10-12 dry red chilies
• 4 tbsp. + 1tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. dry red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste 
• 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 3 medium onions cut into thin slices 
• 2 tbsp. cashew nuts paste (10 whole cashews) 
• Salt to taste
• Mustard Oil for cooking

Procedure

In a wok dry roast 4 tbsp. coriander seeds along with whole dry red chilies till you get a warm smell of the spices. Transfer the content in a dry grinder jar and make a powder of these.

Wash and pat dry chicken. Marinate with half of the ground powder, garlic paste, chili powder and 2 tbsp. of mustard oil. Let it sit for 2-3 hours.

Heat 2tbsp. oil in a wok and temper it with whole coriander seeds. Let them sizzle before you add onion slices. Fry on medium heat till they turn soft and translucent.

Add marinated chicken and fry them on medium heat for few minutes. Sprinkle salt, and mix well. Cook it covered till the meat is done.

Add cashew paste and cook for another one minute and then turn off the heat. Sprinkle the rest of the roasted ground spice powder and give a nice mix. Keep it covered till you serve.

Enjoy with a plateful of white rice.

Kashmiri Rogan Josh ( Authentic )

The Rogan Josh is commonly served in restaurants of Kolkata is very different from the actual Kashmiri Rogan josh. I have previously published it’s recipe here.

I was once invited to a Kashmiri home and the Rogan Josh my friends wife made was different in that it did not use onions, tomatoes or garlic. Instead it was flavored with dry ginger, fennel powder and asafetida (hing). I am not sure which one I liked more, I leave it to you to make both the versions and decide for yourself.

Ingredients

• 1kg lamb
• 6-8 cloves
• 3-4 black cardamom
• 4-5 green cardamom
• 1” cinnamon stick
• 10-12 black peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp. hing (Asafetida)
• 2 tbsp. fennel powder
• 1 tbsp. dry ginger powder
• 1/2 tbsp. black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp. oil
• Salt to taste
• Dry roast and coarsely grind
  • 3-4 green cardamom
  • 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds

Procedure

Heat oil and temper it with lightly crushed cloves, cinnamon, black and green cardamom and asafetida. Let them sizzle for a minute.

Add meat pieces to it and sear them on high heat till all sides turn brown and no moisture is left.

Add salt and Kashmiri red chili powder. Sauté on medium heat till oil turns red. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down a bit before you add yogurt.

Add yogurt and fry for few more minutes on low heat till oil gets separated. Add dry ginger powder and fennel powder along with little turmeric powder. This turmeric powder will help to retain the red color of the dish.

Mix everything together so that meat pieces are well coated with spices. Add salt and give it a nice mix. Add half a cup of water and pressure cook it on high heat till one whistle comes. Turn off the heat and wait till the pressure drops.

Open the lid and mix once more. Now do the rest of the cooking covered on low heat for another 15-20 minutes or till the meat becomes tender.

Sprinkle roasted and ground spice powder on top of it and serve. This goes well with saffron rice.

Kashmiri Stuffed Dum Aloo

When we were in school most wedding banquets started serving what they called Kashmiri Stuffed Dum Aloo. They varied considerably in taste and I am sure that the Kashmiris have never heard about this dish being passed in their name. Nevertheless it tasted pretty good. Suddenly my husband started having a craving for this and I got multiple requests to make it. I do not really remember how it exactly tasted so many years ago, so I created a recipe that I believe should pass as a “authentic” Kashmiri Dum Aloo :)

Ingredients for Stuffing

• 6 medium potatoes
• 2 cups keema (Minced meat)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure For Stuffing

Peel the potatoes and cut them into halves. Now scoop out the flesh from each halves with the back of the spoon. Reserve the potato fleshes for later use.The potatoes will now look like cups. Dunk these potato cups in salted water for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes drain the water and smear the potato cups with turmeric and salt. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the potato cups on medium heat till they turn golden yellow (about 3-4 minutes). Remove and drain them on a paper towel. Let them cool completely.

Heat 2 tsp. oil and fry chopped onion and garlic till they turn soft Now add minced meat followed by dry spice powders (Turmeric + Chili). Sauté for few minutes and then add scooped out potato fleshes to it. Season with salt and sugar. Mix well and cook it covered till meat is done and there is no excess moisture left. Let it cool.

Stuff each potato cups with keema mixture and keep them ready till you make the gravy.

Ingredients For Gravy

• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
• 2 tsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. dry ginger powder
• 2 tsp. fennel powder
• 1 tsp. powder of 2 green cardamoms + 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 4-5 tbsp. oil
• For Tempering
  • 1 tsp. asafetida (Hing)
  • 2 black cardamom
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 3 cloves
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 5-6 black peppercorn

Procedure For Gravy

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with all the ingredients listed under tempering. Don’t forget to bruise them a little before you add them to oil. Sauté for a while and then add chopped onion to it. Fry till they turn translucent.

Add red chili powder and fry for a minute till the oil turns red. Now throw the tomatoes in and fry till they turn mushy. Add turmeric powder, fennel and dry ginger powder. Mix everything well on very low temperature.

Add yogurt and give the spices a nice mix. Pour about half a cup of water and season with salt and sugar. Stir well and then bring it to a boil.

Add stuffed potatoes to it keeping the open side up. Cook it covered on low heat for another minute and then turn the heat off. Sprinkle cumin and cardamom powder on top of it and serve.

Goalondo steamer Curry

I see a lot of stories online around the origin of this famous Bangladeshi dish. I do not know which is the real story but I heard the same first hand version from both my mother and father who lived in Bangladesh.

Apparently a common route to come to India (Kolkata) from Bangladesh  at that time was to take a train from Goalondo. To reach Goalondo most folks relied on steamers and other modes of river travel. This chicken curry used to be made by the boatmen on these river routes. Since obviously there are limited resources on a boat/streamer this chicken curry is made with fresh basic un-ground spices. If you make it, you will see the amazing difference that comes with just the fact that the spices are used whole.

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized whole chicken cut on bones
• 4 big onions coarsely chopped
• 6-7 fat cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
• 1” ginger coarsely chopped
• 2 – 3 dry red chilies coarsely pound
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 5 – 6 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. sugar (Optional)
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Mix the chicken with all above ingredients and keep it for an hour.

Transfer it into a heavy bottom pan and sauté over medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes. Cook it covered till the chicken is tender. The moisture of all the ingredients will be sufficient for cooking, so you really don’t have to add any.

Serve with fresh hot rice.

A similar recipe you might like is Dakbungalow Chicken

Chicken Lollipop

Long time back when I went to Goa on our honeymoon we went to a small restaurant by the beach called Why Knot. We befriended the waiter there who would serve us these amazing chicken lollipops with endless supply of port wine on the house. The waiter was very interesting. He used to work in a hotel in Leh (Kashmir) in the summers and in Goa in the winters. He even showed us the pictures of his Ladakhi girlfriend. It was a wonderful carefree time in our life. Even though the yearning to go back to those simpler times will not be satisfied, I can always satisfy the palate with some yummy chicken lollipop.

Ingredients For Marination

• 16 pieces chicken drummettes
• 1tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. soya sauce
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt

Procedure For Marination

Take the drummettes and trim the skin off from one end of the bone and give them a shape of lollipops. Wash and pat them really dry.

Marinate chicken with all ingredients listed above and keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. By the mean time prepare the batter.

Ingredients For Frying

• 2 tbsp. corn starch
• 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2tsp. salt
• Enough oil for deep frying

Procedure

In a dry bowl take all the ingredients other than oil and whisk it with a fork to make a smooth batter. Ensure that the batter is lump free.

In a pan heat enough oil for deep frying. Dip each marinated drummette in the batter and gently slide it into the medium hot oil. Fry till the chicken is cooked and then turn the heat  high to give it a brownish crispy exterior.

Remove and keep them on an absorbent paper.

Ingredients For sauce

• 2 fat cloves of garlic chopped
• 2-3 tsp. chili garlic sauce
• 1/4 cup spring onion finely chopped
• 2 tsp. oil
• Salt if needed

Procedure

In a pan heat oil and add chopped garlic. Sauté for a few minutes and then add chili garlic sauce. Mix well and check whether to add salt or not. Add chopped spring onion and fried lollipops to this sauce and stir over high flame to coat each wings with sauce. Remove and wrap the bony end with aluminum foil and arrange them on a tray to serve.

Lebu–Lonka Murgi (Chicken with Lime and Green Chili)

This is a light preparation of chicken which is perfectly suitable for a very hot day. This deviates considerably from traditional Indian cooking and I learnt the recipe from a TV show by the chef of the famous http://bhojohorimanna.com/ restaurant in Kolkata where this used to be served. The combination of lime and fresh green chilies gives it a very refreshing taste.

Ingredients

• 500 gms chicken on bone
• 2 tbsp. onion juice (Make a paste of onion and squeeze out the juice)
• 2 tsp. ginger juice
• 2 tsp. garlic juice
• 2 tsp. green chili paste
• 1 pinch coriander powder
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (Curd)
• 1 big lime (preferably Gondhoraj lebu + 1 pati lebu)
• 1 tbsp. refined oil (Canola or Sunflower oil)
• 5 cardamom pods
• 2-3 lime leaf
• 2-3 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 4 tbsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a bowl take half of the yogurt and add onion juice, ginger garlic juice, green chili paste, coriander powder, refined oil and lime juice. Mix it really well to make the marinade. Check to adjust the sourness, if you want you can add some more lime juice.

Add chicken pieces to it and keep it marinated for about an hour.

Heat ghee in a pan. Temper it with cardamom pods. Allow them to crackle. Shake off the excess marinade from the chicken pieces and add them to ghee. Fry the chicken pieces on medium high heat till all sides turn light brown.

Add the marinade along with salt, sugar and the rest of the yogurt. Mix well.Through  lime leaves and green chilies in and cook it covered on medium heat till meat is done.

If you want your gravy to be thick, crank up the heat to high and let the excess water dry up.

Serve with plain paratha.

Kechki Maacher Jhuri

Kechki fish generally floats on the top of rivers and make the water shimmer with it’s silver color. I have heard stories from my aunts about how they used to catch them with theirs cotton towels after a dip in the river in their childhood.

In Bangladesh spicy dry fish curry is common. These are called jhuri which indicates that the curry is dry. Kechki was easily available in Kolkata before. However, it slowly turned into a rarity. Thanks to our local Bangladeshi store, we get it pretty easily here.

Ingredients

• Kechki fish
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 1 large tomato finely chopped
• 3-4 green chilies lengthwise slit
• 8-10 cloves of garlic roughly pound
• A fistful of chopped coriander leaves (Cilantro)
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 4-5 tbsp. mustard oil

Procedure

Wash the fish and drain the water. Add turmeric powder and salt to it and marinate for 15 minutes.

Heat mustard oil in a pan till it smokes. Now reduce the heat and add chopped onions and green chilies to it. Fry on medium heat till the edges get a nice caramel color.

Add garlic cloves to it and fry for few more minutes till you get a nice aroma of fried garlic. Now add tomatoes, followed by chili powder. Sauté on medium heat till tomato becomes mushy. Now add the cleaned fish to it. Discard any excess water released by the fish.

Keep frying the fish on medium heat till they are nicely coated with spices. This is the time you adjust salt and add sugar to balance. Keep on frying on medium heat till the moisture is all dried up and oil is separated. It takes about 5-10 minutes on medium heat.

Add chopped coriander leaves and mix once again before you serve.