Tasty fried chicken in gravy

A new, self-conceived recipe I tried out last weekend....with delightfully yummy results :)

You'll need...

1/2 pound chicken breast

For marination :

2 Tsp. red chilly powder

2 Tsp. turmeric powder

2 Tsp. meat masala

4 Tbsp. lime juice

3 Tbsp. curd

For dipping :

4 eggs

2 Tsp. red chilly powder

Black pepper and salt to taste

For gravy :

2 medium onions - sliced

3 medium tomatoes - chopped

2 Tbsp. crushed garlic

2 Tsp. turmeric

2 Tsp. red chilly powder

Lets make it!

Marination :

1. Wash chicken thoroughly and cut into small pieces.

2. Mix chicken pieces, curd, lime juice, turmeric and red chilly powder in a container and refrigerate for min. 7-8 hours.

Batter :

1. Mix eggs, red chilly powder, black pepper and salt and beat it well.

2. Heat 4 Tbsp. oil in a wok.

3. Dip marinated chicken pieces in the beaten batter and fry in oil until golden brown on both sides.

Gravy : 

1. Heat some olive oil in a dutch oven and add garlic once it's hot.

2. Add onions and haldi and gently fry till light brown.

3. Add tomatoes, chilly powder, turmeric and meat masala and fry till tomatoes shrink and onion turns golden brown. Keep mixing while frying.

4. Add the fried chicken pieces to the masala and mix well.

5. Add remnants of the egg batter and stir well. This gives a nice consistency to the gravy.

6. Cook covered for about 25 mins. on low heat.

7. Serve with hot bread or parathas.

Tasty finger-lickin' goodness of well fried masala chicken is something you shouldnt miss out on! :)

Zanzanit usal \m/

After an oriental treat, lets get back to our desi roots and check out this tasty dish that tastes just as good with rotis, parathas and even rice :)

You'll need...

3 fistful of black eyed peas (chavali)

2 medium onions - sliced

3 medium tomatoes - chopped

2 Tsp. Jeera powder

2 Tbsp. crushed garlic

2 Tsp. Garam masala

3 Tbsp. Misal masala

2 Tbsp. Haldi

2 Tbsp. Red chilly powder

3 green chillies - finely chopped

1/2 lime

Lets make it!

1. Wash the black eyes peas thoroughly in warm water and rinse.

2. Boil covered in a dutch oven for 15 to 20 mins with salt, half of the chopped tomatoes and enough water.

3. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and add jeera powder and garlic once it's hot.

4. Add onions and haldi and gently fry till light brown.

5. Add the remaining half of the tomatoes.

6. Add chillies, chilly powder, misal masala and garam masala and fry till tomatoes shrink and onion turns golden brown. Keep mixing while frying.

7. Keep aside till the black eyed peas are done.

8. Remove some water from the black eyed peas mixture. Its important to keep some water as it will be required to cook the pulses further.

9. Add the masala mixture we made to the pulses and mix well. Add salt to taste.

10. Cook covered for about 10-12 mins. Make sure there is enough water, otherwise the pulses will begin sticking to the bottom of the vessel.

11. The usal should look near-homogeneous and thick when its done.

12. Sprinkle lime juice and mix well. Serve with parathas. :)

Its a fairly simple recipe that doesnt take more than 30-40 mins from start to end. Tasty and brings back memories of home :) This is one of those dishes that you can make for two meals at a time and it tastes even better in the second meal than the first!

Yummy Red Thai Curry

Lemme start with something exotic and something I tried out fairly recently...

You'll need...

CHICKEN & VEGGIES:

10-15 small chicken pieces

1 red bell pepper - chopped

1 Tbsp. lime juice

fresh basil leaves

RED CURRY:

1/3rd can strong coconut milk

1 medium onion - chopped

1 small piece of diced ginger

1 Tbsp. crushed garlic

2 small tomatoes - chopped

3 Tbsp. fish sauce

3 green chillies - finely chopped

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. ground cumin

1 Tbsp. ground coriander

2 Tsp. brown sugar

Lets make it!

1. Heat some olive oil on a big skillet/wok. Add chicken pieces to the hot oil and fry until tender brown. Adding some crushed garlic adds flavor to the chicken. After about 15 mins, add red pepper and mix well. Continue to fry for another 10 minutes.

2. Add all ingredients reqd. for red curry in mixer and blend till almost homogeneous. You might want to let some small pieces remain as that ensures texture in the curry.

3. Heat the curry mixture in a wok for about 10 mins till it simmers and then add the chicken+pepper fry to it. Add basil leaves, lime juice and mix well. Cook on low heat for about 15 mins till the curry turns brownish red.

It is very important to cook the curry well since it contains coconut milk and tomatoes. The flavor wont come out unless its well cooked.

Serve hot with white rice :) Do not have any pictures as of now, will put one up the next time :)

Bon Appetit!

The way to a man/woman's heart....

...is through his/her stomach! So, here I am finally, starting a new blog on one of the very few things extremely dear to me - FOOD! Nope, make that GOOD FOOD!

I dont remember when I started qualifying as a foodie, but I was always considered a scrawny eater as a kid...and nobody would have bet on me finishing a whole chicken in one sitting back then....How things change! Lets just say you would be taking a huge risk to place the same bet now :)

I dont remember the first time I entered the kitchen with the intention of making something on my own, but it definitely wasnt too long ago...And no, it wasnt circumstances that made me do it; as a kid, I remember going through mom's cookbooks (by Tarla Dalal and Sanjeev Kapoor), and recommending dishes like Lasagne Verde and Crepe Suzette to mom (who is a great cook btw!), in fact pestering her till she made one of the exotic dishes listed there ; I guess, somewhere deep down I was always fascinated by the act of cooking delicious food! The earliest non-trivial memories I have are of baking Victoria Sponge cakes at home with mom, some 10 years ago, and helping her out to make chicken/mutton. And then, there was that glorious (and immensely successful) attempt at making Tandoori chicken at a friend's place in final year, followed by a couple of disastrous sponge cakes, until finally we made a good one for another friend's b'day.

But my real tryst with the kitchen began in Bangalore...its been almost 2 years of regular cooking now and its been a fun, tasty 2 years :) I have always wanted to document and share some of my favorite recipes and I am glad I am finally doing that.

So, dig in people! Do try out stuff I post here...most has turned out really well for me and I would love to hear from you :)

Happy cooking and happy eating! Aakhir paapi pet ka sawaal hai! :D