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

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