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

Tuna Rosti with Baked Yellow Squash

Its been ages that I had any time to blog. Especially with the kids at home in Summer, my days were super busy being a Chauffeur for them to all their activities. And now that school is open again I have a bit of a time to think of things others that which have to do something with the kids
                Anyway, today was a special Sunday night dinner. Something very different than what we are used to. Like my father used to say "if we don't eat rice, then it seems as if we did not eat dinner (even though we would have our bellies bursting with anything other than rice)"
               So I made "Rosti"... it is a dish mainly consisting of potatoes. And to go with it I made the most awesome baked Yellow Squash.

Tuna Rosti (Canned Tuna with Potatoes and eggs)

Ingredients:

1. Two 5-oz canned Tuna packed in water
2. 3 cups grated potatoes (squeezed to get as much water out as possible)
3. 1 cup bread crumbs
4. 1 tablespoon grated onion
5. 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
6. 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
7. 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
8. 1 teaspoon finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
9. 2 eggs beaten
10. salt to taste
11. Oil for frying

Drain the Tuna well. Squeeze the grated potatoes to get as much water out as possible. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with a light hand. Add the beaten eggs and incorporate. Chill for 30 minutes. Divide in 8 parts. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and fry on medium high for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve warm

Baked Yellow Squash 

Ingredients:

1. 2 yellow squash ends trimmed and cut into 1/2 cm thick circles
2. 1/2-3/4 cup bread crumbs
3. 2 tablespoons butter melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray non-stick cooking spray on a cookie sheet and lay the squash circles in one layer. Brush the top with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn midway