Ginger Chicken

When we get nostalgic the first thing we think of are all the people you spent your time in the "good old days" and the second thing we think of will be either the food or the beautiful locations where you spent your most relaxing evenings.

Today I am thinking more of the food...the ginger chicken my Big brother would get for me form one of the road side roti stands in the Old City of Hyderabad. When I think of it, all the love the dish used to encompass also come to my mind and I start missing all the people involved...my parents...my Bade Bhaiyya...the house etc etc.

Anyway, I have been trying to recreate that taste for a very long time and this time I got pretty close. And it was very tasty and I hope I am creating the same kind of memories for my children...for which, one day they will become nostalgic.

Ginger Chicken (Chicken cooked in a ginger based curry)

Ginger Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken cut into small pieces
2. 1 medium onion ground to paste
3. 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
4. 2 tablespoons each of fresh squeezed lemon juice, soya sauce, 
5. 3 -4 inches of ginger about an inch thick...ground to paste as little water a possible
6. 1/2 teaspoon or more salt to taste
7. 1 teaspoon chilli powder
8. 3 tablespoons oil
9. 1 teaspoon garam masala 

Wash the chicken well and pat dry it. Mix it with lemon juice and soya sauce and ginger garlic paste and set aside for atleast 1 hr. Then add 1/2 teaspoon salt and chilli powder and set it aside.

Heat the oil in a non stick pan. Ground the onion to fine paste and on low heat fry this ground paste for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, making sure not to burn the paste. Add the ground ginger and fry for 10 more minutes. Raise  the fire to medium and add chicken and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup water and let it boil for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and if the gravy becomes too thick add some more water. Taste test for salt and adjust accordingly. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with Romali roti

Marathi Masala Chicken

This is one of the most delicious dry chicken recipes. And if you love coconut you will love this curry as it has a ton of coconut in it. Serve with with hot rice and dal and mmmm

Marathi Masala Chicken (Pan fried chicken with coconut)

Marathi Masala Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 2 chicken breasts cut into medium small cubes
2. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilli powder (adjust to taste), coriander powder, cumin powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4. 2 tablespoons dried kasuri methi crushed
5. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger garlic paste
6. 1 medium onion sliced
7. few curry leaves
8. 2 tablespoons oil divided
9. 1/2 cup dried coconut flakes

Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients except onions and coconut and set aside for 30-60 minutes

In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the onions till they start turning brown...about 10 minutes on medium high. Add coconut and fry for a minute and cut the heat. Cool and ground to paste with little water.

In the same pan heat the remaining oil and add the curry leaves and fry till they get crispy. Add the chicken and cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the ground onion and coconut paste and reduce the heat to low and fry for 15 more minutes. Stir occasionally. Make sure the curry doesn't burn. Garnish with green onions or cilantro and enjoy

Chicken curry with Zucchini

I have said this multiple times but yet again I will write it again...I have been trying to incorporate more vegetables in my meals, so the chicken curry which is actually an impersonation of chicken karahi dish is with Zucchini's in it and it was super delicious.

Chicken curry with Zucchini (Chicken and zucchini Indian style)

Ingredients:

1. 1lb chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2. 3/4 teaspoon salt
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, chilli powder, cumin seeds
4. 1 medium onion chopped fine
5. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger garlic paste
6. 1 bay leaf
7. 2 large tomatoes chopped fine
8. 1 large or 2 medium zucchini quartered and sliced
9. 1 tablespoon oil

Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin and bay leaf and let the cumin splutter. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the marinated chicken and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cover and cook for 15 minutes on medium low heat. Add zucchini and cook for 7-8 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with brown rice or like me serve with rice and quinoa

Diet coke chicken

The search started for some Chinese chicken recipes and I was also looking to add some vegetables to the chicken. I ended up finding this recipe awesome recipe which called for Pepsi max and diet code. But all I had was the new #cokezerosugar . So I added my own little twist to the recipe and it was great


Coke Zero Chicken (Chicken cooked in coke zero)

Diet Coke Chicken

Ingredients

1. 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2. 1 can coke zero
3. 1 heaped teaspoon corn starch
4. 1 tablespoon each of low sodium soya sauce, rice vine vinegar
5. 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
6. 1 chicken bouillion
7. 1 tablespoon oil
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic and ginger grated, white pepper and black pepper
9. 2 cups your fav vegetables (I used broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, sliced onions)

 Marinate the chicken with half of vinegar and soya sauce and the corn starch for 20 minutes.

In a pan heat the oil and fry the chicken for 7-8 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add a little bit of oil if needed and cook the vegetables for 6-7 minutes. Add ginger garlic and fry for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and coke and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken back to the pot and simmer till the gravy thickens to your liking (around 10-12 minutes). Garnish with fresh green onions and cilantro and enjoy over a bed of white rice or with Fried rice

Kerala Chicken Curry with Quinoa Wheat Roti

Chicken curry is something of which you would find a million variations of. Here are a few. I can assure you that each and every one of the recipes here have a different taste, The newest recipe I have here is great again and it paired well with Quinoa Wheat Roti I made

Chicken Drumsticks curry with Aubergine
Malai Chicken curry
Basic Chicken Curry
Green Coconut Chicken Dry
Konkani Chicken curry
Kerala Chicken Curry (Chicken in spicy coconut gravy)

Kerala Chicken Curry

Quinoa Wheat Roti

Ingredients for Roasting:

1. 1 Bay leaf
2. 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
3. 6-7 black pepper corn
4. 1 inch cinnamon stick
5. 3 cloves

Ingredients for Tempering:

1. 1 teaspoon oil
2. 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
3. few dried red chillies
4. few curry leaves

Ingredients for the curry:

1. 1 lb chicken breast or your fav cuts of chicken
2.  2 tablespoons oil
3. 1 medium large onion sliced
4. 1 heaped tea spoon ginger garlic paste
5. 1 cup coconut milk
6. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
7. 1 teaspoon or less salt
8. 1 teaspoon chilli powder

Dry roast the ingredients for dry roasting and set aside to cool. Grind into powder

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning brown. Add the chicken pieces and fry them for 5 minutes. Add all the other ingredients and also the dry roasted powder stir well and close the cooker and cook for 3 whistles. 

In another pan heat 1 teaspoon oil and fry the ingredients for tempering. Open the cooker after the steam has escaped and add the tempering to the curry and simmer until you get the desired consistency to the gravy. Enjoy with rice or plain roti or quinoa roti

Ingredients for Quinoa Wheat Roti: 

1. 1/2 cup quinoa soaked in water overnight
2. 4 cups whole wheat flour
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. oil for frying roti

Drain the Quinoa and add it to the flour and salt. Use about 11/2 cup water to get a firm dough. Apply oil to the palm of your hand and roll the dough with it and cover and set aside for 20 minutes. Dive the dough into 8-10 parts. Roll each ball on a floured surface about 6-8 inches in diameter. Heat a griddle and fry the roti 1-2 minutes on each side until dark spots start appearing. Apply some oil and fry for 30 more seconds and enjoy

Chicken Kubera

The name itself is intriguing. "Kuberah" means the king of wealth...in essence a very wealthy king. So this dish loosely translates to "king of Chicken dishes " LOL

Whatever it may be called...its super delicious and mighty spicy...but you can reduce the heat level to your liking

Chicken Kubera (Dry spicy sour-sweet chicken dish)

Chicken Kuberah

Ingredients to Marinate:

1. 1 lb chicken breast cut into small pieces (I bet it will be doubly Delicious with whole chicken cut into 12 pieces)
2. 1 teaspoon each of  salt, chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, sugar, fennel seeds (lightly pounded), turmeric
3. 1 tablespoon kasuri methi
4. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6. 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Ingredients for curry:

1. 2 tablespoons oil
2. 1 medium onion chopped fine
3. 2 garlic pods sliced
4. 1 inch ginger cut into thin strips
5. 1 teaspoon each of soya sauce, garlic chilli paste, sugar
6. 1/2 cup thick juice from a small lime sized tamarind
7. 1 heaped teaspoon corn starch
8. 1 tablespoon each of tomato ketchup, cashew pieces

Marinate the chicken with salt and chilli powder and turmeric for 20 minutes. Mix all the other ingredients to the chicken and set aside for atleast 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan and on medium high heat fry the chicken for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. In the same pan add some more oil if needed and fry the onions till they start getting dark brown. Add sliced garlic and ginger and cashew and fry for a couple of minutes.

Mean while in the tamarind juice mix the soya sauce, corn starch, tomato ketchup and sugar. Add this to chicken and lower the heat to minimum. Cover ad cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or roti

Chicken Chick Peas and Purple Rice

If you are a Costco member then you know black rice...the Chinese Forbidden Black Rice. I love the black rice and when you cook the regular white rice with the black rice the whole dish gets a purple color. I am assuming the black rice are actually really really dark purple colored rice.

I was looking for recipes with Chicken and Chickpeas together but I did not find any. So I made my own and yum yum yum, the family just gobbled it up.

Chicken with Chick Peas (Chicken with Garbanzo beans and Indian Spices)

Purple rice with Chicken and Chickpeas

Ingredients

1. 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
2. 1/2 can garbanzo beans 
3. 1 cup chopped onions
4. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder
5. 1 teaspoon each of chat masala, ginger-garlic powder
6. 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice, oil

Marinate the chicken pieces with all the powder ingredients and lemon juice and set aside.
In a pressure cookie heat the oil and add the chopped onions and fry till they start becoming brown. Add ginger garlic paste an fry for a minute until the raw smell goes away. Add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and cook for 2-3 whistles. After the steam escapes, open the cooker and add the garbanzo beans and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes and garnish with cilantro and serve with Purple or pulao

Purple Rice (While and black rice cooked with vegetables)

Purple rice with Vegetables

Ingredients:

1. 11/2 cup white rice
2. 1/2 cup each of purple rice, chopped carrots, peas, green beans
3. 1/2 tablespoon oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 4 cups water

In a rice cooker put all the ingredients and do its thing and enjoy.

If you do not own a rice cooker the here is how to cook the above rice dish

In a deep bottomed pan add the oil and add all the vegetables and fry for 5 minutes. Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Add salt and black rice and cover an cook for 10 minutes on medium low flame. Add white rice and cook for 20 minutes on low rice or until rice is tender. Enjoy

Sukha murgh masala

Back in the G-olden days my mom used to make the most amazing dry chicken fry. So I went searching for the recipe as I was feeling nostalgic...but I did not find it .

So, I kept looking and I found another recipes and made it and it was dddddlicious. But fair warning...it takes some time to make this but rest assured, the results are finger locking good

Sukha Murgh Masala (Spicy Dry chicken fry) (SAY THAT 3 TIMES) 

Dry Chicken fry                                             

Ingredients:

1. 2 lbs or so whole chicken cut into 12 or more pieces
2. 1 medium onion crushed (not a smooth paste but a coarse paste)
3. 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
4. 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
5. 1 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala
6. 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
7. few curry leaves
8. 2 tablespoons oil

Marinate the chicken pieces with all the spices except garam masala and salt for 15 minutes. Add yogurt, crushed onions and ginger-garlic paste. Marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes atleast.

Leave it on the counter.

Heat oil in a non stick pan and add the mustard seeds and curry leave to it. Cover and let fry for a couple of minutes or until the mustard seeds start popping.

Add the chicken pieces with all the marinade and cover and fry on medium-medium low flame for 30-40 minutes or until the fry turns brown. Add the garam masala in the last 5 minutes and stir to combine. Serve with white rice and dal

Yakhni Murg

Yakhni Murgh (Chicken in Yogurt sauce)

chicken in yogurt sauce

Ingredients:

1. 1-2 lbs chicken breasts cut into cubes
2. 2 cups plain yogurt beaten well
3. 1 teaspoon each of chilli powder, fennel powder, mustard powder, turmeric, garam masala, grated garlic
4. 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
5. 2 tablespoons oil

 Wash the chicken and drain off excess water. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add all the powders and fry for a minute. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Reduce heat to low and add the yogurt and heat slowly so that it dosn't cuddle. Add the chicken back and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Let it cool a bit before adding salt. Serve with white rice o fried rice

Chinese Chicken with Mushroom

The place we moved to, from Los Angeles has very less choices for Chinese Restaurants and and whatever are there their version of Chinese tastes different from what me and my family are used to. Unbelievable how ethnic food tastes get modified to the tastes of the local population.

Anyway, I wanted to make chicken with chinese flavors and the only vegetable I had on hand was mushrooms. And I made the chicken with mushrooms Chinese flavored and I served with with Black and white rice. What is Black and White rice??? I cup regular white rice and 1 cup black rice (I found them in Costco) cooked together

Chinese Chicken and Mushroom curry

Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Curry

Ingredients for Marinate

1. 1 tablespoon each of oyster sauce, soya sauce, white vinegar, sesame oil
2. 2 tablespoons corn starch
3. 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

Ingredients

1. 2 chicken breasts cut into 1/4 inch thick slices about 1-2 inches long
2. 8-12 oz mushrooms wiped clean and quartered
3. 1 medium onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
4. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger, garlic
5. 2 tablespoons oil
6. Salt and pepper to taste

marinate the chicken pieces in the marinate ingredients for atleast 30 minutes. Heat oil in a wok or pan (don't use non stick) until its very hot. Add the chicken and fry stirring regularly for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add one more tablespoon of oil if needed. Add the onions and fry for 3 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and the mushrooms and stir regularly and fry for 10 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot. Add 1/2 cup water and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper and garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with steamed black and white rice or white rice or brown rice with some siracha on the side

Soya pilaf with Trinidad chicken curry

Today being the weekend it's time for the special lunch. Today's menu is soya chunk pilaf with coconut flavoring served with spicy Trinidad chicken curry. It is from one of the programs on the food network

Spicy Trinidad chicken curry (Chicken curry in a spicy sauce)

Spicy Trinidad Chicken Curry

Ingredients

1 lb chicken breast cut into bite size pieces

For marinade

1. 1 half of a medium chicken
2. 1 medium tomato
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 1 jalapeño or 2 thai chillies
5. 2 big or 3 medium garlic pods
6. Handful cilantro

For cooking

1. 1 tablespoon oil
2. 1/2 of the above chicken chopped
3. 1 heaped teaspoon garam masala
4. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
5. 1/2 teaspoon mustard paste
6. Few methi seeds
7. More salt if needed

Gring the ingredients of the marinade into a smooth paste and marinade the chicken for atleast 2 hrs 

In a pan roast the methi seeds for a minute. Add the oil and add the mustard paste. Mix the garam masala and turmeric in half cup water and add it to the pan. Cook stirring for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add chicken and stir and fry for 5-7 minutes. Add about 1-11/2 cup water bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes until oil separates. Enjoy the spicy Trinidad chicken curry hot with hot white rice or any pilaf

Soya Pilaf with Coconut flavor

Soya pilaf with Coconut

Ingredients

1 cup soya chunks

2 cups rice cooked to about 4 cups

1 teaspoon salt divided

1/2 teaspoon cumin, urad dal , chana dal soaked in water for 10 minutes, coriander. Powder

2-3 green chillies sliced

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup coconut flakes

Soak the soya chunks in 2 cups of hot water with 1/2 teaspoon salt for about 20 minutes. Drain and squeeze the excess water and set aside

In a pan heat the oil and add the cumin, urad dal and chana dal and green chillies and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add coriander and stir well. Add coconut milk and flakes and add rice and mix well. Reduce the heat to low and cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Mix well once again and add cilantro and enjoy

Caribbean Turkey with Eggplant

Well...this recipe is basically Chicken and Eggplant from the Caribbean Pot site. But I used my left over turkey and made a delicious curry. It is very yummy and finished off my left over turkey from Thankgiving dinner

Caribbean Turkey and Eggplant Curry (Turkey and Eggplant in a creamy coconut gravy)

Turkey with Eggplant

Ingredients:

1. 6 chicken thighs bone in and skinned or about 3 cups cooked turkey chopped
2. 1 medium American Eggplant chopped into 1 inch cubes
3. 1 medium potato cubed
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
6. 3 garlic pods sliced thin
7. 1 heaped teaspoon curry powder
8. 1 teaspoon salt
9. 1 can coconut milk
10. 1 jalapeno

For Green paste:

Fried rice with Turkey Eggplant Curry

1. 3-4 shallots
2. 1 celery chopped and strings removed
3. handful of cilantro
4. 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
5. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Grind the ingredients for the green paste and marinate the chicken (if using chicken) along with salt and set aside for 2 hrs. If using Turkey skip this step

In a pan heat the oil and reduce the heat to medium low and saute the shallots and garlic slices for 3-4 minutes. Add the curry powder and fry on medium low for 2 minutes. Add marinated chicken or cooked turkey along with green paste, increase the heat and fry for 5 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and 1/2 cup water and slit jalapeno and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover and cook for 20 minutes. Check the consistency of the gravy and simmer further if it is too watery for your taste. Enjoy with hot steamed rice or fried rice

 

Konkani chicken with mirchi ka salan

I was thinking of a friend of mine who is Konkani. Once when I went to lunch at her home she made the most unique dishes I ever ate. It was a curry made of fruits. She gave me the recipe but I never made it.
              But thinking of her made me think of Konkani chicken curry and I found it at the vah  re vah website. I made it and it was fantastic. It turned out even better in the evening. I served it with white rice and a very different kind of a mirchi ka Salan . If you want the authentic Hyderabadi mirchi ka Salan Click Here

Konkani chicken curry (chicken in coconut based gravy)

Konkani Chicken Curry

Ingredients

1. 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2. 1 inch cinnamon broken
3. 2 cloves
4. Few curry leaves
5. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger garlic paste
6. 1 medium large onion chopped
7. 3 tablespoons oil
8. 1 teaspoon or more salt divided
9. 2 green chillies chopped
10. 1/2 cur desiccated coconut dry roasted
11. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
12. 2 tablespoons Konkani masala
13. 1 tableSpoon tomato paste (optional)

Konkani masala

Ingredients

1. Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
   Bengal Gram - 2 tbslp
   Rice - 2 teaspoon
   Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
   Aniseed or fennel seeds (saunf) -1 teaspoon 
   6 dried red chillies
   
   
   
   For Konkani masala:
   1. Dry Roast each ingredients, individually
   2. Cool and grind.
   3. Store in an airtight jar and use as required.
   
   In a flat pan heat the oil and fry the cinnamon, cloves and curry leaves for a minute. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt and fry till they become crispy. Add green chillies and ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add tomato paste if using and fry for a couple of minutes. Add turmeric and 

For the Konkani Curry

In a non stick pan heat the oil and add the cinnamon, cloves and curry leaves and fry for a minute. 

Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt and fry till it becomes crispy. Add the green chillies and ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the Konkani masala and turmeric and stir to combine and fry for a minute. Add tomato paste if using and fry for a couple of minutes. Add chicken and stir to combine and cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the salt and 1/2 cup of water and simmer 10 more minutes. Add the roasted coconut and stir and simmer for Couple more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy

Mirchi Ka Salan (Bell pepper in a creamy coconut gravy)

Shimla Mirchi ka Sallan

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 of each of 2 or 3 different colored bellpepper cut at an angle
2. 2 tablespoons groundnuts/peanuts dry roasted
3. 1 teaspoon melon or sun flower seeds or almonds dry roasted
4. 1 tablespoon thick juice of tamarind
5. 1/2 cup thick coconut milk, plain yogurt beaten
6. few curry leaves
7. 2 bay leaves
8. 1/2 teaspoon cumin, mustard seeds
9. 1 tablespoon oil
10. 1 inch cinnamon
11. 1 teaspoon garam masala
12. 3 dried red chillies
13. 1/2 teaspoon chilly powder, turmeric
14. 1 teaspoon salt

In a deep bottomed pan heat the oil and fry the curry leaves and bay leaves for a minute. Add the cinnamon, cumin, dried red chillies  and mustard seeds and fry till they splutter. Add garam masala, chilly powder and turmeric and ground peanuts and the other seeds (almonds or sun flower or melon). Add bell pepper and fry for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Mix the yogurt and coconut milk and add to the pot and simmer for 5-7 more minutes. Serve it with white rice

Chana Dal Murgh

Chana Dal or Bengal Gram goes very well with meat but I never used to like it when I was a kid. But I have grown over it and now I really really like it. I wanted to see if it goes well with Chicken as well and let me tell you, this is one of the most delicious currys' I served with roti. Try it to believe it.

The creamier you want your dal to be the more you cook it. And my dal got totally mashed up and super creamy-the way I like it. And I used Chicken thighs but you can use any part of chicken you like. Enjoy

Chana Dal Murgh (Chicken with Split Bengal Gram)

Chicken with Chana Dal Gravy

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup chana dal soaked in water for 30 minutes
2. 1-1/2 chicken 
3. 1 cup chopped onions
4. 2 medium tomatoes chopped
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, chilly powder, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala
7. 1 tablespoon oil
8. 1 inch cinnamon stick broken
9. 2 cloves

Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric, chilly powder and garam masala for30-60 minutes. In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute along with the cinnamon and cloves. Add tomatoes and fry for a couple of minutes. Add dal with a cup of water and cook for 2 whistles. Let all the steam escape, open the cooker and add the chicken and cook further for 2 more minutes. Simmer till the gravy thickens to your liking. garnish with a handful of cilantro and serve with your favorite Roti

Other chana dal recipes 

Purple Cabbage with Chana Dal

Chana Dal Mango

Murgh Mirch Masala

For some reason its been quite some time ago that I made chicken.  I guess I just got bored with it. For some reason you can get bored with boneless, skinless chicken breast soooo easily. There is really not enough flavor in it. Its great if you are feeding little kids but I guess for adults drumsticks or bone-in chicken thighs would be great.
         Anyway, my opinion aside, I made this chicken with capsicum or bell pepper gravy which turned out to be super delicious. This is a very yummy curry which goes very well with any kind of Indian roti or even with any kind of rice.

Murgh Mirch Masala (Chicken breast with bell pepper in a spicy tomato gravy)

Chicken Capsicum Gravy

Ingredients:

1. 2 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin, turmeric
3. 2 inches ginger peeled
4. 1 medium red onion
5. 1 green chilly
6. 1 bell pepper (whatever color you have at hand...yellow or red would be great)
7. 2 tablespoons oil
8. 1/4 cup milk
9. 1 8oz can tomato sauce
10. 1 bay leaf, 2 cloves

Marinate the chicken with salt, chilly powder, turmeric and coriander powder for atleast 30 minutes.
Grind the onion along with ginger and cumin into a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan and add the ground onion paste and fry till it turns light brown. Add the chicken and fry for 10 minutes until it starts getting brown. Add bay leaf and cloves and tomato sauce and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup water and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add milk and capsicum and simmer further for 5-7 minutes till oil separates. Garnish with cilantro and serve

Chicken in Coconut Gravy

Recently I discovered this program on my local channel called "Simply Ming" and he cooks real simple Chinese flavor dishes. I really like him because his way of cooking is like my brother's cooking. As I mentioned already my brother is an amazing cook and he makes it look really effortless
            Anyway, the dish I made today is from one of his shows and I made some minor changes to it, and even though it doesn't look that great it tastes amazing and it takes a bit of a time to get cooked but the time is well spent. So enjoy

Chicken in Coconut Gravy (Chicken thighs in a simply coconut gravy)

Chicken in Coconut Gravy

Ingredients:

1. 6-8 chicken thighs bone in (with skin or without skin)
2. 1 tablespoon oil (optional)
3. 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
4. 1 jalapeno or 2 serrano chillies finely chopped
5. 1 can coconut milk
6. 1 large or two medium sweet potatoes chopped
7. 1 large red onion sliced
8. 1 cup chicken broth
9. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper

Heat a non-stick pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on the skin side and place it on the hot pan. Let it get fried for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on the other side and flip and fry for 5 more minutes. If there is not enough fat in the pan add the oil and if there is too much remove some. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add garlic and green chillies and fry for a minute. Add the chicken back to the pan and add everything else and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30-45 minutes, until chicken gets fully cooked. Serve with hot steamy rice

Green Goddess rice with Pearl Onion Chicken Stew

This Green Goddess rice recipe is from one of the food network programs "Five Ingredient fix". I really like some of the recipes she makes. And the first time I saw this recipe that day itself I made it and it became my favourite instantly. Its soooo creamy. The people you serve it to, will wonder what the source of the cream is :)
             To go with it, I made this curry or stew with pearl or baby onions and chicken. And together the combination is awesome. Do try

Green Goddess Rice (Rice with herbs and Avocado)

Green Goddess Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups rice cooked (Total 4 cups after cooking)
2. 2 Avocados pitted and flesh taken out
3. 1/4 cup each of fresh cilantro, mint, freshly squeezed lemon juice
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1 green chilly (optional)

Cook the rice along with salt and set aside. Grind the rest of the ingredients into a smooth paste. Mix it into the rice and  serve hot


Pearl Onion Chicken Stew (Whole chicken cooked in spices along with baby onions)

Pearl Onion Chicken Stew/ Curry

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 chicken cut into 6-8 pieces
2. 12-14 baby or pearl onions peeled
3. 1 medium onion ground to paste
4. 1 large onion chopped fine
5. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, ginger-garlic paste
6. 2 teaspoons coriander powder
7. 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder, garam masala powder
8. 3 tablespoons oil

Boil 2 cups of water and boil the baby onion for 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside. In a pan heat the oil and fry the onion paste till it starts changing color. Add the spices and tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup water cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add baby onions and 1/2 cup more water and cook till chicken is totally cooked 10-15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with green goddess rice

Pulao with Chicken Curry

Sunday is a day for special dishes. And usually meat dishes. In those olden days, before kids, I used to make some special breakfast as well as something special for lunch. But with kids now I only have time to make one special thing either for breakfast or for lunch. This time it was lunch and I went back to my basics.
         I made the very basic pulao and Chicken curry. Yet again this chicken curry has a million variations and this is my version. Hope you will make it and like it too

Pulao
Chicken Curry (Chicken curry with Indian spices)

Bone-in Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry Azeema Style

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole chicken cut into 12 pieces
2. 1 large onion sliced fine
3. 2-3 green chillies sliced
4. 1 cup plain yogurt
5. 3 tablespoons oil
6. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste
7. 3 cloves and an inch of cinnamon pounded a bit
8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
9. Cilantro for garnish

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till golden brown. Add green chillies, cloves and cinnamon and ginger garlic paste and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and fry for 3-4 minutes and flip. Add the rest of the ingredients into yogurt and beat well. Add this to chicken and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup water, cover and cook for 20 minutes or till chicken gets cooked. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Use leftover to make Lima Beans and Chicken Pulao