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

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

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

Achari Murgh

Its been pretty busy lately and I haven't been blogging anything recipes. Forget about blogging them, I am not even taking photos of them for later use. It's been crazy busy

Anyway, long time ago I made a dish with lamb called "Achari gosht". And the vegetarian version of the dish with eggplant called "Achari baingan" which was soooooo delicious. So today I had a whole chicken cut into 12 pieces and I made "Achari murgh"

So...what is "Achari" ? Achar is nothing bu pickle in Hindi/Urdu. And the spices which are used in making the pickles are the ones which are used in these dishes. Hence the name. So here goes

Achari Murgh (chicken cooked in pickling spices)

Achari Murgh

Ingredients for roasting

1. 1 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, onion seeds (kalonji)
2. 1/2 teaspoon methi or fenugreek seeds
3. 3 dried red chillies

Ingredients

1. 1 chicken cut into 12-16 pieces
2. 1 big onion sliced thin (about 11/2-2 cups)
3. 2 medium onions sliced
4. 1-2 green chillies
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1 tablespoon oil
7. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger- garlic paste
8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
9. 1/2 cup plain yogurt beaten
10. 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Roast all the ingredients under " ingredients for roasting". Let them cool and grind to powder

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they starting turning brown. Add the ginger -garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook till pulpy. Add the chicken and salt and turmeric and stir to combine. Add the yogurt and stir again. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the ground spices mixed with lemon juice, add a cup of water and simmer till chicken gets cooked. About 15 minutes.  Wait 30 minutes or more before serving. That will help all the spices mix together.
This curry is even better the next day

Serve it with white rice and Rasam

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

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