CHICKEN IN GREEN CURRY

Ingredients:-

·       Green chilies

·       Coriander

·       Dried coconut

·       Chickpea dal/ pandharpuri dal

·       Kanda lasun masala

·       Garam masala

·       2 large onions

·       3-4 cloves of garlic

·       A quarter inch piece of ginger

·       Salt

·       500gms chicken

·       Oil

Procedure:-

·       Slice the coconut and lightly toss it in a wok with a little oil till the edges turn brown. It should be about a cupful.

·       Blend together 2 onion, a handful of coriander, 5-6 green chilies, fried coconut, a tablespoon of kanda lasun masala, half a spoonful of garam masala, 3-4 cloves of garlic, a quarter inch piece of ginger and a cupful of chickpea dal/pandharpuri dal into a paste. If needed add water to the mixture to get the right consistency.

·       The pandharpuri dal thickens the gravy.

·       Boil the chicken with a pinch of turmeric and salt until it’s cooked.

·       Heat oil in a wok. Add the blended mixture to the oil and sauté.

·       Add the chicken with the water it has been boiled in, into the wok.

·       Add salt to taste and bring it to a boil.

·       Serve hot with roti or chapatti or rice.

CHICKEN BIRYANI

There are so many good places in Pune itself where you can get fabulous biryanis. One of favourites is Blue Nile restaurant. I can hardly match their amazing creations but here’s my version of a chicken biryani. It does need some tweaking around and I’m sure it can be made a lot better but this is not half bad.

Ingredients:-

·       500gms chicken

·       500gms long grained basmati rice

·       2 large onions blended into a paste

·       2 pureed tomatoes

·       Chopped coriander

·       Ginger-garlic paste

·       Bay leaves

·       3-4 cloves

·       Black peppercorns

·       Green cardamom

·       Curd

·       Turmeric powder

·       Biryani masala

·       Red chili powder

·       Salt

·       Oil

·       1 onion thinly sliced

Procedure:-

·       Partially cook the basmati rice and keep it aside.

·       Marinate the chicken pieces in curd, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and some red chilli powder for about 2 hours.

·       Heat oil in a pan and throw in a couple of bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and black peppercorns.

·       Then sauté the onion paste in the oil until it changes colour and darkens slightly.

·       Add the pureed tomatoes and half a tablespoon of turmeric powder. Add the biryani masala and mix it well.

·       At this point add the marinated chicken, salt, chopped coriander and just enough water to cook the chicken.

·       The gravy should remain thick after the chicken is cooked.

·       Now in a deep utensil, add alternate layers of rice and the chicken with the top most layers being that of rice.

·       Keep the lid on and secure it to the untesil with the help of roti dough so that no steam escapes and the rice is cooked properly.

·       Do not keep the pot directly on the stove as the rice at the bottom might burn. Keep a pan or a skillet on the stove and then keep the biryani pot on top of it.

·       Fry the sliced onions until they are brown and crispy.

·       Garnish the biryani with fried onions and serve hot with salad and yogurt.

CHICKEN CURRY WITH FRESH COCONUT

Ingredients:-

·       500gms chicken

·       2 onions

·       Fresh coconut

·       1 tomato

·       Curd

·       Garam masala

·       Ginger-garlic paste

·       Fresh coriander

·       Coriander seed powder

·       Bay leaf

·       Turmeric powder

·       Red chilli powder

·       Salt

·       Oil

For the garam masala,

Ingredients:-

·       Cloves

·       Cardamom

·       Cinnamon

·       Cumin seeds

·       Black / masala cardamom

·       Black pepper

Procedure:-

·       Roast all the spices in a pan for a couple of minutes and let them cool down. Grind them into a fine powder.

·       You can make this garam masala and store it. However, using fresh made garam masala gives better flavor and aroma.

·       Clean the chicken and marinate it for half an hour with two spoons of ginger-garlic paste, about half a cup of curd, half a spoon of turmeric powder and some salt.

·       Then pressure cook the chicken until its almost done

·       Heat oil in a pan and sauté thinly sliced onions in it until they brown. Let the onions cool and then puree them. Also puree the tomatoes.

·       Grate out the coconut and blend it till it is the consistency of bread crumbs.

·       Heat oil in a pan. Throw in a couple of bay leaves. Make sure the oil isn’t too hot or else the leaves will burn. Add 2-3 spoonful of ginger-garlic paste. Sauté for a minute or so then add the pureed onions and tomatoes and sauté till the mix slightly darkens in colour.

·       Add about half a tablespoon of turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, 1 tablespoon of coriander seed powder and 1 tablespoon of red chilli powder. You can add some more of the masala if you favor spicy curries.

·        Add the cooked chicken to this mix and stir it well. Add chopped fresh coriander powder. Add salt to taste.

·       Add enough water to submerge the chicken pieces but the curry shouldn’t be too watery and maintain a think consistency. Add the blended coconut and stir well. Bring it to boil.

·       Serve hot with roti, naan or rice.

PAN-FRIED CHICKEN BREAST WITH CHEESE SAUCE

Ingredients:-

·       1 chicken breast

·       1 lemon

·       1 teaspoon Paprika

·       Salt

·       2-3 spoonful Ginger-garlic paste

·       Mixed herbs

·       Coriander

·       Oil
·       Honey

·       Soy sauce

·       Chilli sauce

Procedure:-

·       Make small cuts on the chicken breast so that it marinates properly. For the marinade, mix together the ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice,soy sauce, chilli sauce, honey, paprika, chopped coriander, mixed herbs and salt to taste. Rub it on the breast and let it marinate for 4-5 hours

·       Heat oil in a pan. When it’s hot enough, fry the chicken breast on both sides until it’s done.

·       Serve hot with salad and cheese sauce.

·       For the salad, thinly slice onions, carrots and tomatoes and toss them with a pinch of salt, paprika and lemon juice.

Now for the cheese sauce,

Cheese in India is always amul cheese!!! So this is a kaam chalau cheese sauce made using amul cheese. It literally takes a minute to make and is just as yummy!

Ingredients:-

·       3-4 cubes of amul cheese cut into small pieces

·       Half a cup of warm milk

·       Black pepper powder

·       Chopped coriander

Procedure:-

·       Melt the cheese in a microwave or a double boiler. Do not try to melt it by keeping the pot directly on the flame or else the cheese will burn.

·       Add the warm milk, a pinch of pepper powder and chopped coriander and whip it together. The milk is necessary as otherwise the cheese will just solidify again upon cooling.

Add a pinch of salt if necessary. The cheese sauce is ready.