Easy Chicken and Baby Potatoes

In summer when the temperature and humidity make life quite difficult, the thought of cooking meals becomes quite unbearable. But we have to eat! And that's when I find myself making one-pot meals or easy dishes that can be had with bread so I don't have to cook rice. Since K loves bread anyway this is never a cause for complaint in our house. Among my many go to recipes in summer is this pan roasted chicken where I follow a few very basic principles and then vary some of the details so there is variety on the table without a whole lot of mental or physical effort. 

This easy chicken with baby potatoes is a dish that requires minimal effort and comes together in around 30 minutes if you have your chicken thawed and ready and a a couple of time saving ingredients like stock cubes in you pantry. 

Easy Chicken with Baby Potatoes

1 chicken, curry cut

20 baby potatoes, washed thoroughly and halved (don't peel)

a few cloves of peeled garlic

1 stock cube - vegetable/chicken/ham/beef

2-3 large onions, sliced thick

a stalk or two of celery (optional)

salt

pepper

olive oil

In a nonstick pan drizzle a little oil and sprinkle some salt and heat the pan. Place the baby potatoes cut side down in a neat layer, cover the pan, and let the potatoes cook on low heat. 

In a cooking pot heat some olive oil and chuck in the sliced onions and the peeled garlic along with some salt. Let it cook on medium heat for a few minutes till the onions change to translucent. Don't let the onions brown, so stir frequently. Add the chicken pieces - the legs and other bony bits first and after five minutes the meaty breast and other fleshy pieces. Legs take longer to cook so put the breast pieces into the pot a little later so they don't get overcooked and chewy. 

Crumble in the stock cube, add a generous amount of pepper powder (use freshly bashed for better flavour always!). Add salt to taste keeping in mind that you've added salt in the onions and that the stock cube will have a decent bit of salt. Add the baby potatoes from the other pan and mix everything nicely. Add celery stalks now if you have them. 

Cover the pot and let it cook for around 20 minutes on low-medium heat. Stir occasionally to cook everything evenly. The chicken and the onions will release enough water for the meat and the potatoes to get cooked. 

Serve hot with fresh pao or sliced bread, whatever you prefer.  

Stock Cubes

Stock cubes are very versatile and I have a few different kinds. You only need one though to make life in the kitchen easier. Keep veg cubes or the chicken ones and you're sorted. Though I'm no advocate of adding cubes to everything or using them daily, occasional use is perfectly fine. They can be a lifesaver when there's not much else by way of ingredients or when you want a quick fix meal without having to put too much thought or effort into it. 

Capsicum Chicken

Moni went to the Dadar Catering College in Mumbai for a short term cooking course that they offered for housewives. My brother and I were obviously delighted as she would come home bearing goodies after every class! I think I was around 10 years old at the time and I thoroughly enjoyed the stuff she brought home as it was all so different from what she cooked regularly - the usual daal, bhaat, torkari, machh'er jhol. I think she learned this capsicum chicken at this course. I can't say for sure but I have very happy memories of tucking into it, something so different in appearance and taste from our everyday Bengali food.

Capsicum chicken, as you've surely guessed, is chicken cooked with green capsicum. I never actually asked Moni for the recipe - I wish I had! But over the last few years I was so busy learning about Bengali food and turning to her for help with that that these dishes just didn't figure. I have tried to approximate the recipe relying on my memories of the dish and the results of my attempt are pretty close to what she used to make. 

Capsicum Chicken

1 chicken, curry cut

2 large green capsicums (green peppers)

2 large onions

2-3 green chillies

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

salt

oil

black pepper

sugar

2 - 3 potatoes

Marinate the chicken with salt and ginger garlic paste.

Make a smooth paste with the onions, capsicums, and green chillies. Remember to discard the seeds and membranes from the capsicums, use only the green fleshy part. 

Peel the potatoes and cut into long large wedges. 

In a cooking pot heat some oil and first fry the potatoes. Let them get a little red and then remove and keep aside. 

In the same oil braise the marinated chicken pieces for around 10 minutes letting the pieces turn colour nicely. 

Once the chicken is nicely braised add the onion-capsicum paste and a teaspoon of sugar. Mix it in well over a high flame, stirring well. Lower the flame and cover the pot and leave the chicken to cook for around five minutes. The chicken will release its own water. 

Add the potatoes, stir them in and cover and leave it all to cook.  Rinse out the mixer jar and the bowl in which you marinated the chicken with a quarter cup of water and add this water to the pot. Make sure the flame is lowered properly and leave it to cook till the potatoes are cooked through and the chicken is also done. 

While this is cooking coarsely bash some fresh pepper. Sprinkle this pepper on the chicken once it's all cooked. Taste and adjust salt if required. 

You can serve this with plain rice like Moni used to or you can have it with bread, pav, or parathas. 

Lonavala Marghi no Ras - Chicken Stew with Coconut Milk

Ras is a thin stew-like gravy that's a big part of the Parsi everyday repertoire. These are fairly simple and light with no heavy spice mixes or ground spice pastes. The main ingredient can be fish, mutton, chicken, or prawns, and the ras is usually paired with rice. This version that I call Lonavala Ras is something my mom in law Katy taught her housekeeper Asha bai. This version has hardly any spices and the broth contains coconut milk making it a little different from the usual ras recipes. It used to be a staple when we would visit the in laws at their home in Lonavala and Katy made sure Asha bai had learned the recipe properly. Now when we go to Lonavala we get Asha bai to make this without fail, and as we gather at the dining table with a big pot of this lovely ras we remember Katy and the good times we have shared with her at the very same table.

Lonavala Marghi no Ras 

500 gms boneless chicken
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 medium potatoes, diced into medium cubes
2 medium carrots, diced to match the potatoes
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large onion, cut into medium dice
10 pepper corns, lightly bashed
2 star anise
5 inch stick of cinnamon or cassia bark, whatever you prefer
4-5 cloves
2 Indian bay leaves
2-3 green chillies
1 tsp chilli powder
oil
salt
1 cup medium thick coconut milk (I made it with Maggi coconut powder)

Wash the chicken, drain, and marinate with salt and ginger garlic paste. Keep aside as you prep the veggies.

In a large pan heat oil and drop in the whole spices and let it sizzle for a minute. Then add the green chillies.

Chuck in the potatoes and carrots next and stir a little and let the veggies cook for a few minutes.

Now add the onions and let them cook till they turn pink. For this dish you don't want the onions browned at all, you want them to be translucent in the gravy so keep an eye on them.

Next you add the chicken and stir till all the pieces have changed coour. Add the tomatoes and the chilli powder and mix well. Lower the heat, cover the pan and let it all cook for a few minutes. Then add around 3/4 cup of water and let it simmer till the potatoes are cooked through. Add salt if required.

Now pour in the coconut milk and mix gently. Cook on low heat for another five minutes or so and it's done.

This tastes best with plain steamed rice and a simple kachuber of finely sliced onions, tomatoies, cucumber, finely chopped chillies, some fresh coriander, a dash of salt and lemon juice, all tossed together. This ras is also superb with fresh soft 'peti pao' or Bombay pao. 

Oven Roasted Mangalore Chicken Ghee Roast

Roast chicken is something I make really often. It's easy to do and the variations are unlimited so one never gets bored. So once again I had a full chicken waiting to be roasted and I was casting around for inspiration. And I chanced upon Shriya Shetty's Mangalore Chicken Ghee Roast done roast chicken style.

Shriya (@chiashetts on Instagram) runs a restaurant and a bakery in Mangalore and does pop ups wherever she gets a chance. She also makes Mangalore Ghee Roast Masala for sale, in small batches (which gets sold out super fast!). This is just the kind of inspiration I was looking for and much to my delight, I also had packets of her utterly delicious home made ghee roast masala in the fridge.

Oven Roasted Mangalore Chicken Ghee Roast

1 whole chicken, skin on
4 onions
1 packet Mangalore Ghee Roast Masala
Salt
Ghee


Wash the chicken inside and out and pat it dry.

Slice two onions and halve the other two

Make gashes in the fleshy parts of the chicken to allow salt and the masala to penetrate properly. First sprinkle salt all over the bird and inside the cavity too. Now apply the ghee roast masala all over the chicken not forgetting the cavity. Tuck in masala under the skin wherever possible. Work gently so you don't tear the skin.

Refrigerate the chicken covered and let it marinate for a few hours or even overnight.

When you're ready to roast, remove the chicken from the fridge and bring it up to room temperature.
Preheat the oven at 150C.

Place the sliced onions in a layer in a baking dish spread just enough for the chicken to sit on. Tuck in the halved onions into the cavity of the bird and then place the bird in the baking dish. Drizzle ghee all over the chicken. Cover the dish as tightly as possible with aluminium foil.

Put the baking dish on an oven tray and set it to roast for an hour at 150C. Let the bird cook long and slow for juicy and tender results. If the chicken is large, cook for longer.

You can check for doneness in between - just be careful while handling the hot and heavy baking dish. To check, pierce a fleshy portion near the bone like the thigh with a sharp knife. If the juices run clear you chicken is cooked. Baste with melted ghee when you open to check.

Remove the foil and roast the chicken for another 15 to 20 minutes to finish the cooking (sometimes the meat around the cavity stays a little under done) and to crisp the outside. Remove the onions from the cavity at this point and place them in the baking dish to caramelise a little while the chicken cooks.

I served this oven roasted ghee roast with neer dosas I ordered from a local restaurant.

There is a certain joy in sitting at the table with a dish of  roast chicken redolent of ghee and masala and a pile of neer dosas picking out bits of succulent roast and crisp skin while mopping up that incredible ghee, onions, and masala 'gravy' with soft neer dosas. Aaah!

Murgi'r Jhol - Bengali Everyday Chicken Curry

Jhols are thin stews that a big part of the repertoire of any decent Bengali cook. From the rojgere or sadharon (everyday or ordinary) to the Robibar'er (Sunday) jhols there are many versions of this spiced stew. Usually non vegetarian, the jhol will feature seasonal fish, chicken, or goat meat, and often features seasonal vegetables in addition to the meat or fish that is the star of the dish. Jhols are easy to put together and cook quickly too. Given their inherent simplicity they are a part of mundane everyday menus though their variety is wide.

Murgi'r jhol, a thin chicken curry, would appear regularly on Sundays and occasionally in the middle of the week to perk up our bored palates, tired of the monotonous daily machch'er jhols that appeared with stubborn regularity at very lunch. Goat meat was the ultimate treat for us while chicken was compromise, a relief from the relentless bowls of fish curry. A typical meal during the week would comprise rice, daal, a seasonal vegetable, an occasional bhaja or fry to go with the daal, and some form or the other of fish curry or machch'er jhol.  In spite of there being a variety of fish in the jhols, they were all perceived as a boring continuum and the occasional blip in the menu with chicken was warmly welcomed!

After Baba passed away Moni had to go to work daily and there was no time for elaborate meals with multiple courses. Very often she'd just cook a large pot of chicken curry and that would stretch over a couple of meals with plain steamed rice. My brother and I were quite happy to eat just curry and rice without vegetables, etc., cluttering up our plates. Slowly Moni started instructing me to prep for meals and keep things ready for her to cook once she get home from work. Apart from chopping veggies and washing rice, I also started marinating chicken for the jhol.

This is how, like thousands of other girls, I started to learn cooking. Murgi'r jhol is one of the first things I learned and now I too cook it quite often as it is easy and convenient, and makes for a deliciously simple meal.

Murgi'r Jhol

1 chicken, curry cut
2 onions, sliced finely
4 potatoes
3 carrots
fresh corainder

for marinade-
1/2 cup curd
salt
turmeric
kashmiri chilli powder
jeera/cumin powder
garam masala powder
ginger garlic paste
mustard oil

3 inch piece cinnamon
4 cardamom
6 cloves
2 star anise
3 Indian bay leaves
mustard oil
1/2 tsp sugar
water as required

In a large bowl mix the washed chicken pieces with all the ingredients listed under 'for marinade'. Mix well and evenly coat all the pieces of chicken. Leave aside for a couple of hours at least.

Peel and cut potatoes into thick wedges. Peel and cut carrots into thick batons. Slice onions as finely as you can. Pick the fresh coriander leaves and separate leaves and stems.

In a large kadai or wok heat a generous amount of mustard oil. Fry the potato wedges till they start to lightly brown. Remove and keep aside, draining as much oil as possible. You should have a decent amount of oil left behind in the kadai. Heat it again.

Once the oil is nice and hot drop in the whole spices and cook on medium heat for a minute. Add the sliced onions and the sugar and fry till the onions begin to brown. Keep the heat at medium. Add the marinated chicken and braise for 10 to 15 minutes till all the pieces have turned opaque. Keep stirring so all the pieces cook evenly and cook covered for another 10 minutes. 

Add the fried potatoes, carrots and coriander stems and mix well. Cook for a few minutes and then add enough water to make plenty of a watery gravy. Cook this further till the potatoes are done. Once the potatoes are cooked through the jhol is ready. Taste the jhol and adjust salt if required.

Scatter fresh coriander leaves and let it sit covered for five minutes and then serve with plain hot rice.

Masala Day and Sunday Malvani Chicken

Sunday Malvani Chicken

Among the myriad blends of masalas that I got for the Masala Day Spice Swap was a Malvani Sunday Masala sent by Shakti Salgaonkar. This fiery vermillion coloured mix smelled heavenly and I was eager to cook with it. The weekend was on us and I decided to make a Sunday Malvani Chicken using the masala she'd sent. I followed the recipe Shakti shared and the only thing I tweaked was the quantity of onions (I used more). The recipe below is completely Shakti Salgaongar's and like I mentioned, just the quantity of onions is greater.

I had heard of charred onions being used in recipes but had never done so myself. This was my first time and I was quite excited to learn a new technique. I have to say the results were worth all the effort.

Sunday Malvani Chicken

3 full chicken legs cut into thighs and drumsticks

Marinade
3 tbsp curd
1 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
salt
turmeric

2-3 tbsp Malvani Sunday masala
3 medium onions sliced
2 onions charred over the gas flame
Ghee
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
A few sprigs fresh coriander

Vaatan
Half a dried coconut (vati)
2 tbsp fried onion

Method

Marinate the chicken in the marinade ingredients for an hour or longer. Make slashes in the fleshy parts of the meat so the marinade goes in nicely.

Grind the charred onions to a paste.

Heat ghee in your cooking vessel and fry the sliced onions till they turn brown. Don't burn the onions. I like to add half a teaspoon of sugar for a richer brown and deeper flavour. Set aside a couple of tablespoons of fried onions for the Vaatan.

To make the vaatan grate the dried coconut and toast on a tava till you get a nice aroma. Cool slightly and then grind to a paste with the reserved fried onions.

In the wok with the fried onions add the Malvani masala powder and the charred onion paste. Fry slowly till the masala is cooked and has no raw smell.

Add the marinated chicken legs and cook further till the masala is nicely coated on the chicken and the meat has turned opaque. Add water and cook till the chicken is half done.

Now add the vaatan and mix it all well. Adjust salt and then cook covered till the chicken is cooked through.

Remove to a serving dish, garnish with fresh coriander and serve with rotis or parathas or even with rice if you like. A simple kachumbar of sliced onions, minced coriander and lemon juice also goes really well with the Sunday Malvani Chicken and parathas.

Chicken Cutlets Parsi Style

Chicken cutlets figure at the top of my brother's list of favourite foods - and not just any cutlets, but those made by us at Katy's Kitchen. These are fairly easy to make and as long as you're generous with the chicken and season the mix well you will get pretty good results.

I often pack these in the hubby's lunch box and I like having a few of these in my fridge for days when I don't feel like eating a full meal. A warm cutlet sandwiched between two slices of bread makes for a lovely light lunch!

Chicken Cutlets 

1 cup shredded chicken
4 slices white bread
1 egg
1 small onion
1 small potato, boiled
green chillies
fresh coriander
turmeric
chilli powder
garam masala
salt
bread crumbs
eggs
oil for frying

Soak the bread in water and squeeze out as hard as you can. Break up the resulting lump into small pieces, as small as you can.

Mince the onion, green chillies and fresh coriander as fine as possible. Mash the potato.

In a large clean bowl mix the shredded chicken with the onions, chillies and coriander. Add the crumbled soaked bread, the egg and the dry spice powders.

Mix everything properly. Add as much mashed potato as required to get a mix that will bind properly when you shape the cutlets. You can make this mix in advance and fry the cutlets when you want to serve. Store in a closed box in the fridge and use when required on the same day.

Take bread crumbs in a flat dinner plate. Beat two eggs in a bowl. Start with two and only add more if you require them as you make the cutlets.

Heat enough oil in a wok/kadhai to deep fry the cutlets.

Make medium sized balls of the chicken mix and flatten to form a cutlet between your palms. Give the cutlet a neat oval shape and then place it on the bread crumbs. Pat gently into the crumbs to make them stick - do this on both sides of the cutlet. Make a few cutlets in this fashion and keep ready in a clean plate.

When the oil is hot pick up a cutlet and dip it into the beaten egg. Turn to coat the cutlet all over with egg and then put it in the hot oil to fry. Fry on a medium flame till the cutlet is a beautiful golden colour. Do these one at a time just to be safe, especially if it's your first time making cutlets.

Keep a bowl of water and a napkin handy to wash your hand and wipe before you pick up the next prepped cutlet for frying. This final process is a little fiddly and can get messy so make sure you have enough space to work in and have everything you need before you start frying.

Serve the cutlets hot with a dollop of plain tomato ketchup.

Posto Murgi - Chicken cooked with Poppy Seeds

I set myself blogging goals nearly every year and even though I don't achieve exactly what I set out to do I like the idea of having goals and direction. In 2017 once again I will try to have an average of a post a week; so what if we're at the end of the 7th week and I have written just one post so far? I will catch up.

Setting a number goal is just one part of it - what am I going to write about every week? This year I feel the urge to cook and therefore there will be many recipe posts on Euphorhea. I will be cooking from recipes on my friends' blogs and from the vast collection of cookbooks that have made themselves at home with us apart from other random things I might be inspired to cook.

Today I set out to start on this cooking and blogging journey with a recipe I had never tried before. As I browsed through blog after blog, trawling through cakes, desserts, savouries, and curries, I kept stumbling as I would be missing one crucial ingredient or other in my pantry. While I admit I invariably tweak a recipe fiddling with quantities or ingredients, I did want to try to cook as close to a recipe as possible. So no, substituting mutton for chicken, chilli powder for fresh green chillies, lemon for tamarind, etc., wasn't an option. I got frustrated and gave up. And made myself a comforting bowl of nonta suji to soothe my irritated mind.

And then after a good Sunday afternoon nap I examined a couple of shortlisted recipes and figured out what  missing ingredients I could buy from the stores in lane. There was no need to give up in a sulk, all I had to do was get off my lazy bum and go get the ingredients. I ended up having a brisk walk around the neighbourhood and all the ingredients for Posto Murgi from Bong Mom's Cook Book. 

Bong Mom's Cook Book is one of my favourite blogs and I have been drooling over her recipes for as long as I can remember. And today I was going to cook from her blog. Finally!

I made a few changes to her recipe. Instead of 5 pounds of chicken I cooked around 2 pounds, and therefore tweaked the quantities to make it work.

Bong Mom's Posto Chicken

3 full chicken legs divided into thighs and drumsticks
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp mustard oil
juice of 1 lemon

4 tbsp poppy seeds
6 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
2-6 green chillies (according to the level of heat you can handle)

3 cardamom pods
2 inch cassia bark
3 cloves
1 scant tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

1 large onion sliced
1 tomato, diced fine
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder (I used Everest)
fresh coriander
salt
mustard oil.

Wash the chicken pieces and marinate with the ginger-garlic paste, salt, turmeric, lemon juice and mustard oil. Let it sit for a couple of hours.

Soak the poppy seeds for 20 minutes or so. Then grind to a paste with the garlic, ginger and green chillies. Add a little water (a tablespoon or two) to get a smooth paste.

Heat mustard oil in your wok or pan and toss in the whole spices - cardamom pods, etc. Once they begin to sizzle add the sliced onion and fry slowly on a medium flame till the onion begins to turn pink. Add the chopped tomato and cook for five minutes till the tomato is mushy and cooked through. you can add a little bit of sugar while frying the onions.

Now add the poppy seed paste and stir as you cook it slowly. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and cook on a low flame till the oil begins to separate. Add the chilli powder and the garam masala powder and mix. Cook for a couple of minutes more.

Add the marinated pieces of chicken and mix everything well so the masala coats the chiken pieces properly. Chop a little bit of the fresh coriander leaves including the stalks and add it to the pot. Don't use too much as you don't want the coriander to overpower the poppy seed flavour.

Braise the chicken in this masala for a few minutes and then add half a cup of water. Add more if you want more gravy. Cook covered till the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with plain hot rice or rotis/parathas. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh coriander.

No Mess Tandoori Chicken with Asahi Kasei Foil

This summer we're facing quite a severe water shortage here in Kharghar with water in the taps for less than an hour in a day. One of the biggest fall outs of this situation is that I can hardly cook or bake and that can become really difficult for me to deal with. In the mad dash to fill up water to last through the day, deal with laundry, dishes, and drinking water, not every chore gets done in time. I'm often left with unwashed dishes and half done laundry that takes a couple of days to deal with. There have been times when all I've managed to wash is one coffee mug and the water has gone...

In this situation it's natural that one looks for solutions because eating takeaways and one pot meals for nearly three months is sure to drive us nuts. Yes, I'm using biodegradable disposable plates already and I'm seriously considering paper glasses for coffee/water. But I need to figure out ways to be able to cook interesting things but keep the washing up easy and minimal.

Then I remembered the Asahi Kasei products that I had used at the APB Cook Studio a few months ago at a pot luck event Rushina had hosted. I'd made this Roast Chicken using the cooking foil to fry the potatoes on. I had some of that foil at home and I realised this could be the answer to my prayers!

I decided to make a simple no fuss Tandoori Chicken using the foil in the oven. If you think about it Tandoori Chicken is one of the simplest things one can make at home and that too, with great results. All you really need to do is marinate the chicken for a few hours and then cook it either in a tandoor if you have one, or an oven like I did.

In normal circumstances I would have placed the marinated chicken directly into my baking dish or tray. This time I lined my baking tray with the Asahi Kasei foil and then placed the chicken pieces on it. Not only did I end up with perfectly cooked tandoori chicken thanks to a good recipe, I also had a spotless baking tray with no scorched bits of marinade or cooking juices stuck on it. I could have actually just put that tray back in the cupboard, it was that clean.


For the Tandoori Chicken -

6 full chicken legs - thigh and drumstick
1 cup thick curd
Salt
1/2 tsp Amchur powder
2 -3 drops orange food colour (optional)

Grind together in a little vinegar -

8 - 10 Kashmiri chillies
1 tsp Peppercorns
1/2 tsp Cloves
2" piece Cassia bark
2 Black cardamoms
8 - 10 cloves Garlic

Cut deep slashes into the chicken legs. Mix the ground paste into the curd with the remaining ingredients and marinate the chicken pieces for at least 6 hours in the fridge. You can put the marinated pieces into a sealed plastic bag and freeze till you need them. Just make sure you thaw the pieces properly before you cook them.

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Line a baking dish or metal cookie sheet with Asahi Kasei cooking foil. Turn up the edges along the sides of the dish/cookie sheet.  Place the chicken pieces on the foil leaving room around the pieces so they cook properly. Bake in the hot oven for around 40 minutes. Turn the pieces over and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes.

You can also cook this in your frying pan lined with the Asahi Kasei cooking foil. Line the pan with foil covering the cooking surface and the sides of the pan. Place chicken pieces on the foil and then cook covered on a slow flame. Turn the pieces to cook evenly on all sides. The advantage of cooking this dish in the oven is the light charring that gives the tandoori that nice smoked flavour but the pan cooked version is not far behind on the yumminess scale.

Serve hot with rotis, naan, or bread, and sliced onions and fresh lime wedges.

The thing about tandoori chicken is that it's quite a low fat preparation as there's no cream in the marinade and no oil is used in the cooking process. With variations in the marinade one can make quite a range of delicious yet low fat versions of this simple recipe. And of course, the Asahi Kasei foil is quite a boon that makes the washing up woes simply go away.

Murg Musallam - A Blast from the Past

Being on food groups on Facebook has one advantage - you never know when you might chance upon a recipe that you simply can't wait to try, or one that brings a flood of long forgotten memories with it. Yesterday I saw a post about Murg Musallam and the first thing I thought was 'this is something the brother loved when we were kids'. I don't have any specific memories of the dish itself but I remember hearing about it from him and I remember his excitement over a chicken cooked whole, his eyes big and round and filled with wonder. It wasn't something that was ever cooked in our house but since we had many Muslim neighbours we were not deprived :)

I waited patiently for the recipe to be shared once I had read it I knew I had to try it out. It sounded pretty straightforward and, with a couple of my own variations, I knew I would enjoy making it and eating it too. This is Imbesat's recipe for Murg Musallam that I used as my guide. I have made very minor changes to her recipe based on my personal taste and preference but on the whole the recipe is quite the same.

Murg Musallam

1 chicken, whole, without skin

Marinade
salt
garlic paste
curd

Stuffing
Raisins
cashews
fried onions
lemon juice
salt
sugar
ghee
3 boiled eggs

Paste
3 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup fried onions
2 handfuls garlic, peeled
2" piece fresh ginger
3-4 strands mace
2" cassia bark
5 cardamom pods
5 cloves
2 tbsp poppy seeds

For the gravy
ghee
Kashmiri chilli powder
freshly powdered pepper
3 Indian bay leaves
curd
water
salt

Rinse the chicken inside and out and then marinate with salt, curd and garlic paste for a couple of hours, or overnight if you have planned ahead.

In the mean time get the stuffing and the curry paste organised.

For the stuffing heat ghee in a small pan and fry the cashews and the raisins lightly. Boil two or three eggs, depending on how large the cavity in the chicken is. Peel and lightly fry the eggs. Slice a large onion finely and deep fry till it is a deep golden brown. Drain well. In a bowl mix the fried onions, cashews and raisins with a little salt, sugar and a generous slug of lemon juice.

To make the curry paste gather all the ingredients and grind them to a paste. I did it in two batches in the chutney grinder attachment of my food processor.

It takes around an hour to cook the chicken so depending on when you want to serve give yourself a little more than an hour before serving time. It's easier if you have someone to help you while stuffing and then trussing the chicken. The marinade makes it slippery and messy and therefore a little hard to handle!

I found that I couldn't stuff even two eggs into the chicken without them popping out at every chance making it impossible to truss. I was alone while cooking this. I took a chance and chopped one egg into large chunks and mixed it with the remaining stuffing. Then I pushed in as much of the stuffing, barring the other boiled eggs, into the cavity of the bird. Ideally I should have been able to plug the hole with a full egg but the hole was too big. I trussed the chicken as tightly as I could and pushed in a boiled egg later. Try to close the cavity as best as you can so the stuffing doesn't fall out while frying the chicken.

Heat a generous amount of ghee in a thick bottomed vessel. Place the trussed chicken in the hot ghee gently and let it brown on all sides. This should take around 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate. In the same ghee that's in the pot put in the curry paste. Add some more ghee if required. Fry the paste well for a few minutes. At this stage add the chilli powder, bay leaves, pepper and salt. Stir around and cook the paste well. Add a cup or so of fresh curd and mix it in well. Cook for another couple of minutes.

Put the chicken back in the pot and pour in a cup of water. Blend the paste into the water. Add more water if you need to. Bring to a gentle boil, spoon some of the spice paste over the chicken, and then cover and let it cook on a low flame till done.

Succulent chicken blanketed in a thick luscious gravy, serve your Murg Musallam with hot parathas.

This is a relatively easy dish that would be a hit at parties and potlucks. Make extra stuffing and serve it on the side with extra boiled eggs too.

Marathon Bloggers 

Jamie Oliver's Roast Chicken in Milk with Orange Zest

You know how it is sometimes - you see that much recommended recipe, it's hailed by everyone who's ever tried it, it looks simple, the photos look smashing, the ingredients are easily procured, all seems perfect and there's no reason not to just plunge in and do it. And you do.

With me the problem is I don't. I prevaricate, I hesitate, I make excuses, I avoid it for reasons even I don't understand. All this is mainly because deep inside somewhere I just don't believe. Now I can't really decide if it's the recipe I lack confidence in or in me and my abilities in the kitchen. It's silly after all these years of turning out a pretty successful string of meals, some quite ordinary and everyday, some special, and some actually spectacular. And yet there is that kernel of doubt that stays stubbornly lodged right there and I give in, and procrastinate again.

This time it was Jamie Oliver's recipe for Chicken in Milk. A recipe so simple even someone not very experienced in the kitchen can execute it with success. But I hesitated. It has milk. The milk WILL curdle. There's only sage to flavour it. Oh and a stick of cinnamon. How can it possibly be good? As you can see, the excuses piled up as usual.

I think it is my love for roast chicken that finally made me take this particular plunge. Roasting chicken has to be one of the easiest ways to put together a fabulous meal with minimal effort. And this recipe was even easier than my usual minimalist recipes that involve seasoning the bird, stuffing butter under the skin, stuffing the cavity with garlic and fresh herbs, putting the bird on a bed of chopped veggies and potatoes, and letting the magic happen in the oven thereafter. There were no veggies to chop. No need to peel the garlic even. This was hard to resist!

So here's chicken in milk with some adjustments as usual.

Roast Chicken in Milk with Orange Zest

1 whole chicken with the skin
a handful of fresh sage leaves
a handful of garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 tsp orange zest
1 cup milk
1 stick cinnamon
salt
pepper
olive oil or butter

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and fresh ground pepper.
In a pan heat the olive oil or butter. Sear the chicken nicely till it's a lovely dark gold all over. Do this a little patiently.
Now transfer the chicken to a deep baking dish. Pour in the milk. Scatter the sage leaves, drop in the cinnamon stick, and then sprinkle the orange zest all over the chicken and around it.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in a hot 180C oven for around 40 minutes.
Remove the foil carefully. There will be some steam inside so be really careful. Steam burns hurt like hell and are deep burns. Cut the foil open if you prefer to let the steam escape first.
Cook the chicken for another 30 minutes in the oven. Reduce the heat to 150C. Slide in a sharp knife near the thigh joint to see if the bird is cooked through. If the juices run clear it's done.

We had this with toasted sliced bread. We needed nothing else!

Jamie's original recipe asks for lemon zest. I realised I didn't have any lemons at home but we did have oranges so I used the zest of one full orange. I also used cinnamon and not cassia bark. I don't think they are interchangeable and I wouldn't substitute one for the other.

Judging from the hubby's response to this version of roast chicken I can safely say this one's going to feature on my dinner menu quite often!

Marathon Bloggers

Roast Chicken with Za'atar, Ghee and Pomegranate Molasses with Lebanese Stir fried Potatoes

I signed up with a bunch of enthusiastic young bloggers who are exploring a new cuisine every month, called Chefs Across Boundaries. Here one of us selects a cuisine of the month and members pick a recipe that fits the theme and present it once they have cooked it in their own kitchens. Sometimes the dishes stick to the original and sometimes there are interpretations and tweaks; either way, it's an adventure with something unknown or deeply familiar.

For a variety of reasons I haven't been able to participate in the last few months but I was determined to complete the challenge this month no matter what cuisine was chosen. Luckily Lebanese was the flavour of the month chosen by Garima of Cafe Garima and I was quite confident that I would be able to come up with something.

As I browsed through the Internet looking at various cookery websites and blogs I was finding it difficult to settle on a recipe that was doable yet interesting, and involved at least one or two ingredients I'd never used before. I had sumac and pomegranate molasses in stock and had eagerly ordered a pack of za'atar. Most other ingredients like garlic, onions, and the commonly used whole spices are available in Indian pantries anyway - like cinnamon, black pepper, Indian bay leaves, lemons, etc.

After a few days of Googling and wandering around on Pinterest I settled on two dishes that I thought would go well together. The first involved chicken and had pomegranate molasses and za'atar among its main ingredients. The second was a simple stir fried potato with plenty of fresh coriander and lemon, not too far off from the quick aloo subzis made in households across India.

I loosely followed the chicken recipe from here and the potato stir fry recipe from this site.

It was the inclusion of ghee among the main flavours that attracted me to the Roast Chicken with Za'atar, Ghee and Pomegranate Molasses recipe. Though I didn't follow the recipe to the T I did use it as my main guideline with a couple of variations. This recipe is a keeper and I know I will make this again for sure.

Roast Chicken with Za'atar, Ghee and Pomegranate Molasses

4 full chicken legs or a whole chicken, jointed
4 Indian bay leaves (tej patta)
2 allspice leaves
5 cardamom pods
1/2 tbsp freshly crushed pepper
water
salt to taste
pomegranate molasses
ghee
za'atar powder

Marinate the chicken pieces in salt for 10 to 15 minutes.

In a large vessel bring the water to a boil with the spices and the chicken pieces added. Remove any scum that rises while boiling the chicken pieces. Once the chicken is cooked, in around 20 minutes, remove the chicken pieces to a baking dish draining out all the water and leaving out the whole spices too. Reserve the stock for soup or other gravies.

Lay out the chicken pieces in a single layer in your baking dish. Pour the pomegranate molasses over the chicken and mix well, but gently. Coat all sides of the pieces and then let the molasses get into the pieces leaving it to rest for around 10 minutes. Cover the dish so the chicken doesn't dry out.

Set your oven to preheat.

Baste the chicken pieces in a reasonable amount of ghee. You don't have to go overboard but be generous. The ghee lends a superb flavour to the final product. Sprinkle za'atar powder generously onto the chicken pieces and arrange again so they are all in a single layer.

Cover the dish with foil and seal. Now bake the chicken for around 15 minutes at 180C. Remove the dish carefully and take off the foil. Bake for another five to seven minutes after having turned the pieces once. Sprinkle more za'atar before you pop it in to bake again.

If you can get chicken with the skin on you will get a fabulous crackly skin and super moist flesh inside. However, covering the baking dish for the initial bake also gives great results.

I served the chicken with these very simple

Lebanese Spiced Potatoes

3 to 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, minced
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt
pepper
1 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice
olive oil

Heat olive oil in a skillet and fry the potatoes till they are nearly cooked and have turned a beautiful golden brown. Remove to a plate. Add more olive oil to the skillet if required and heat it up. Fry the mined onion and garlic for a minute or two. Add salt, chilli powder, coriander powder and half the fresh coriander that you have chopped. Give it all a good stir and then add the potatoes. Mix well. Crack in fresh pepper generously. Let it all cook for a couple of minutes. Add a good splash of lemon juice but don't let the lemon overpower the dish. Toss well and remove to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining fresh coriander and serve hot with the roast chicken

The next time I make these potatoes I'm going to sprinkle a hefty pinch of sumac instead of using lemon juice. I think I will prefer that.

Chefs Across Boundaries

Marathon Bloggers

Spiced Chicken Legs - A Quick and Easy Dinner

The hubby dislikes chicken, even more so if it's in the mundane basic curry avatar. But chicken is conveniently available and cooks fast so I like it. As a compromise, though I cook it often, I try to make it as interesting and appealing as possible and what comes to my rescue are the variations of the simple pan grilled chicken. All I do is marinate in select spices or condiments for about half an hour and then slowly pan fry till it's done. On the side I make mashed potatoes or fries, grilled vegetables or even a salad, depending on what I have at hand. I do make elaborate curries which take time and effort to make and those are always a hit but they're time consuming and need some planning and gathering of ingredients. The pan grilled chicken is my friend when I'm in a hurry or just not in the mood for a lengthy session in the kitchen.

Spiced Chicken Legs

4 to 6 chicken legs
salt
pepper
Cajun spice mix or any other spice mix that you like, or mixed dried herbs
bacon fat (optional)
olive oil

Make deep cuts in the flesh of the chicken legs. You can also use thighs for this recipe. Rub salt, pepper and a generous teaspoon of your preferred spice mix into the chicken pieces. If you're using dried mixed herbs add some minced garlic to the marinade.  Leave the chicken to marinate for at least half an hour.

Heat the bacon fat in a non stick pan. Add a splash of olive oil to it and let it warm up properly. Place the marinated chicken pieces in the hot oil and sear properly on all sides. Lower the heat and let it cook covered for around 10 minutes. Turn the pieces over and cook evenly on all sides till the chicken is cooked right through. You can add a very small amount of water (a couple of tablespoons at the most) to the pan if required but be sure to dry off the water completely as the chicken cooks.

Serve the chicken hot with fries, potato mash, grilled vegetables, garlic bread, whatever you have at hand :)

If you like, fry a few slices of bread in the pan juices after you have taken out the chicken. The bread tastes divine!

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

Chicken Casserole with Pork Sausages

There are some days when nothing seems appealing from what's on the dinner menu and cooking seems tedious. Today was one such day that was spent largely catching up with sundry chores and dealing with a few things from the larger picture that is life. I was tired. I needed comfort. I wanted it easy for a little while. And I wanted to eat something nice. I press ganged the hubby and the mother into helping and cooked a simple casserole that was warm and comforting, just what I needed.

I had rooted through the freezer and removed the remaining fat and juicy pork sausages that a friend brought for us all the way from Bangalore. (Another friend has since brought us more, and that is waiting to be collected) These sausages are great in a stew or casserole and that's what I planned to make. However there were just 5 sausages left and on their own they wouldn't be enough. The hubby went out and bought chicken, and some lovely fresh ladi pav from the local bakery.

I also rooted around in my pantry cupboard and fished out a packet of casserole seasoning that my friend had sent from London. The hubby and the mother peeled and chopped potatoes, sliced onions, peeled garlic, and chopped celery. Once the prep was done it was super easy.

Chicken Casserole with Pork Sausages 

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
5 or 6 fat spiced pork sausages, like English breakfast sausages
2 large onions, thickly sliced
2 -3 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
8-10 cloves of garlic
2 tablesoons chopped fresh celery, stem and leaves
1 sachet Colman's Season and Shake Pork Casserole spice mix
olive oil
salt

Heat a stove top casserole dish and pour in a slug of olive oil. Place the sausages and cook for a few minutes till they turn brown. Don't worry if the sausages split. Remove to a dish leaving the oil and juices in the pan. Now in the same pan put in the chicken pieces. Drop in the leg pieces and the bony bits first. Braise for a bit till the chicken starts to brown.

Add in the onions, celery and the garlic. Stir for a few minutes and then add the remaining chicken pieces (mainly the meaty breast pieces). Braise further till the chicken turns opaque. Open the seasoning sachet and sprinkle it all over the chicken and onions. Stir and mix well. Now add the potatoes and cook for a further few minutes.

Pour in enough water to cover the chicken pieces completely. Add the sausages and bring to a boil. Simmer and cook covered till the potatoes are cooked through. The spice mix will also thicken the resulting gravy. Add a little salt only if required.

The casserole is ready once the chicken and the potatoes are cooked. Serve hot with fresh bread.

If you don't have the spice sachet you can still make a very good casserole. Use a tablespoon or so of mixed dried herbs instead, along with a stock cube. Add pepper too. Thicken the gravy with some flour.

Use more veggies if you like. Root vegetables will work very well here, as will mushrooms. Make a pot full and enjoy it with fresh dinner rolls, ladi pav, or even regular sliced white bread.

We sat at the table, all three of us, and ate a family dinner - a rarity in my house! 

Chicken Sandwiches with Homemade Mayonnaise

A simple sandwich can occasionally become a religious experience, it can be so good! This chicken sandwich was just that and I am so eager to write about it, I haven't finished eating it as yet! I have spent the morning running from the kitchen to the dining table and from there to my little 'studio window' where I now take most of the photos for this blog, just so I could capture everything in glorious detail. Of course the hubby contributed to the circus with his creative inputs and also cut the sandwiches for me so I could take that droolworthy photo you see above :)

The hubby made a fresh batch of mayonnaise, and there were leftovers of a wonderful Lebanese style roast chicken that he'd brought home yesterday as a treat for me.

We also had fresh crunchy celery in the veggie basket. Sandwiches were on the menu, no question!

The chicken was duly shredded and the celery washed thoroughly and then cut into tiny pieces, but large enough to give crunch and texture to the filling. A fresh loaf of regular white bread was bought and the mayonnaise made.

All you do is slather on the mayo onto a slice of bread, sprinkle a good pinch of that fresh crunchy celery, arrange your shredded chicken and slap on the top slice, duly slathered with mayo of course.

Here's how you can make mayonnaise at home

2 eggs
2 tbsp white wine or apple cider vinegar
2 heaped tsp sugar
neutral oil as required, in an oil can or jug so you can pour it easily.
a pinch of salt

In your blender jar crack the two eggs. Add all the other ingredients apart from the oil. Give it a whizz.  Now slowly pour in the oil in a steady thin stream, keeping the blender running,  till the emulsion comes together and you get the thick wobbly consistency of  mayonnaise.

You can also make this in a stand mixer with the whisking blade. Mayonnaise is traditionally whisked by hand, but why that when there are beautiful machines to do the hard work for you?

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

The Second Archaeologists' Dinner Soiree - An East Indian Feast

Over the years K has collected many students. He started teaching at the K.C. College at Churchgate and, after a few stints here and there as visiting faculty, has been teaching various aspects of Archaeology at the CEMS, Mumbai University. He's an excellent teacher and is not your usual sombre fuddy duddy teacher - quite the opposite actually! One of the best things that have resulted from his teaching career is the Archaeologists' Dinner Soiree that one of his ex-students, Andre, organises every year.

Andre's beautiful home in Khotachi Wadi is the venue and this year we opted for an East Indian feast complete with meat, pork and chicken with nary a vegetable in sight!

As usual there was a beautifully set table - this time with rustic leaf plates and a centrepiece of a grinding stone, spices and a stone tool - an ode to the archaeologists gathered at the table!

We started off with Kimad - a warm potion of country liquor and tea, spiced up and served hot in little glasses called chavnis.

Once we'd all warmed up with a shot or two of Kimad it was time for the food to arrive.

First up was the pork - there was Vindaloo and there was Sorpotel. The vindaloo was classic bright red, spicy and sour and downright delicious.

Andre's family makes a fabulous sorpotel. I'm not much of a fan of sorpotel but this version totally won me over. Lightly spiced and not the usual fiery red in colour, it was the dish of the day for me. They make this toned down version so you don't get tortured by acid reflux after indulging in more sorpotel than you should!

Along with them came fugias - little balls of fermented spongy bread that are deep fried.

The chicken made its grand entrance I had to stop myself from taking just a little more sorpotel again. A seemingly simple roast chicken with potatoes, this was another fabulous dish. Oh those potatoes...!

Somewhere in the middle of all this a colourful salad was passed around. I don't know if anyone actually ate any of it. No, I didn't take a photograph.

Then the mutton made its appearance accompanied by the rice. Glasses of solkadhi were passed around along with some of the sweet home made East Indian currant wine.

Here's the green mutton curry followed by the wedding rice garnished with boiled eggs and caramelised onions.

There was no way I could eat any more... but we still had dessert to look forward to.

Dessert was our contribution to the evening. A classic caramel custard that the Parsis and East Indians have adopted as their own quite happily.

Andre and his family went all out to give us a fabulous dinner. His mom, Maria Baptista, and his aunts, Ms. Teresa Viegas and Ms. M. Saldanha helped Andre to put this fabulous feast together along with Ms Fatima D'souza.

You will have noticed the earthenware vessels and the wooden spoons that were used. These are all traditional vessels and utensils and have been in Andre's family for a couple of generations at least. What a treat it was to see them all still in use.

What can be better than an evening filled with fun, laughter, good food and good friends? I can think of nothing right now :-)

Disclaimer: Some of the photographs have a golden hue because I forgot to change some settings on the camera. With so much good food around you can easily understand how that must have happened!


15 December
Marathon Bloggers 

Chicken with Mint, Coriander and Whole Spices

There was a big fat bag of mint glaring at me from the veg basket in the fridge. I don't know what possessed me to buy it when I did but now it was there, staring at me balefully, already ignored for three or four days.

And then Saturday arrived and I wanted to make something nice for lunch. I was in the mood for chicken, especially because it cooks fast and doesn't need a lot of pampering and prep. But that mint wouldn't leave me alone. It refused to wilt away quietly so I could chuck it a few days later with a twinge of regret. So it was going to be mint and chicken. I had no recipe and I wasn't in the mood to drag out the books and hunt. I did what most of us do these days... I shouted for help on Facebook.

Many suggestions and ideas came forth and I went with a recipe a friend sent me in private. A nice low-fuss recipe and I also had everything required for the recipe. I did tweak the recipe and this is what I did though I  mostly followed the original.

Chicken with Mint, Coriander and Whole Spices

1 chicken, cut into pieces, skin removed and discarded
1 -2 tbsp fresh curd
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil

2 large onions, sliced fine
a handful of garlic cloves - use as much garlic as you can handle
1 cup of fresh mint, picked and washed well
1 1/2 cup fresh coriander, picked and washed well
4 -5 green chillies - less or more depending on your heat tolerance
1 inch ginger
1/2 tsp whole cumin/jeera
2 green cardamoms
1 inch cassia bark

oil
2 bay leaves
1 tsp pepper corns
1 inch cassia bark
1 black cardamom
1 mace/javitri
salt

Wash and drain the chicken pieces and then marinate in curd, turmeric and oil. I also added salt.

Make a paste with the mint, coriander, garlic, ginger, green chillies, jeera, cardamom and cassia. I also added about 15 peppercorns here. I reduced the peppercorns used later. Chop the ginger so it doesn't jam the blades of your mixer. Lesson learned today!

In a wok or kadai heat oil and add the whole spices. I just loved the aroma of the javatri as it released its goodness! Once the peppercorns start sizzling and popping add the finely sliced onions. Keep the heat on medium and fry slowly letting the onions turns pink and then ultimately brown. I added a little sugar at this stage.

Once the onions have browned add the ground mint paste. You can grind it as fine as you like - I left it a little coarse because I like that texture. Fry the masala well till the oil separates. Add a little water and let it cook further. Once the oils are released again add the marinated chicken pieces. Coat all the pieces well with the masala and then cover the wok and let the chicken cook. Keep the flame lowered and just be patient, leave it to cook. Give it a stir after 5 minutes or so and add a little salt if you think it's needed.

Veda's recipe calls for two juicy tomatoes cut into chunks to be added to the pot now. I completely forgot! But you can add them. Once the chicken pieces are cooked through take off the lid and let the excess water dry off. Leave a thickish gravy if you prefer or dry it out further.

Serve with hot parathas.

This took barely half an hour to put together and it was really yum.

7 December
Marathon Bloggers 

Easy Baked Veggies with Chicken and Cheese

My brother bought me a beautiful amber colour ceramic Pyrex dish a couple of years ago. Till then I'd always assumed that Pyrex only made the classic transparent glass dishes. I was thrilled to have this rustic looking beauty and imagined a series of comforting bakes and puddings that this would be perfect for.

I love having beautiful things in my kitchen - dishes, serve-ware, bake-ware, spoons, anything! I also like to use my stuff. What's the point of having tons of stuff if you never use them? If something breaks I do feel terrible but I know I used it and enjoyed it to the fullest. This heavy pottery Pyrex dish had been sitting in the cupboard barely used but now I'm making up for the months of neglect!

The hubby is just recovering from a nasty bout of malaria and I've been trying to feed him up a little without piling on too many of the calories, trying to keep things yummy but not heavy. Loads of vegetables, a smattering of chicken, some cheese and a light and creamy white sauce baked to a mild brown crust has become one of his favourite dinners these days. In less than a month I think I have already made this three times. It's easy, packed with goodness and is as delicious as ever.

Baked Veggies with Chicken and Cheese

1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cubed potatoes
1/2 cup cubed coloured peppers
1 cup mushrooms, chopped into quarters
1/4 cup american corn
1/4 cup courgettes, cubed
250 gms boneless chicken from the leg, cubed
A generous pinch of dried mixed herbs Or 1 tsp mixed spice Or 1 Maggi flavour cube
1/2 cup cheese, cubed. Gouda works very well.
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

1 tbsp butter
1 cup milk
1 tbsp flour

Heat up a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a non-stick wok. Sauté the chicken cubes lightly till they look opaque. They don't need to be completely cooked, just let them loose the raw look. Remove to a baking dish.

In the same oil put in the potatoes and let them fry nicely for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and stir around for another minute or two. Put in the corn and the courgettes, stir for another minute and then tip in the mushrooms. Let the veggies cook till most of the mushroom water has evaporated. Remember to season with salt and a generous bit of fresh pepper.

I have a selection spice blends that I use often in such dishes. Mince spice, Cajun spice, steak seasoning, Barbecue rubs, etc., that are not sauces but are dry spice mixes. I like to sprinkle a generous teaspoon of any of these into the veggies. If I'm using these then I reduce the salt that I add separately as these mixes usually have added salt too.  A generous pinch of mixed dried herbs also works very well or you can crumble in a flavour cube if you like. Just salt and a lot of fresh cracked pepper also works very well. Add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic if you like. I add the coloured peppers last and cook them just for a minute at the most.

Pile the veggies onto the sautéed chicken pieces in the baking dish.  Scatter the cheese cubes all over.

Switch on the oven and set it at around 180C.

Make a thin white sauce using the butter flour and milk. You can grate a little cheese into the sauce or even posh it up with some cream. Don't forget to add a little salt and good shake of pepper too.  Pour the white sauce over the veggies and try to cover the entire surface.

Put in the dish to bake for roughly 20 minutes in the hot oven. I don't let the surface become a very dark brown, just a few dark bits here and there are enough. Since the sauce is thin there won't be a lot of browning anyway.

Serve hot with a crusty baguette and a little butter, or just plain toast.

3 December 2013
Marathon Bloggers

Kori Gassi - Chicken curry from Mangalore

I'm a fundamentally lazy cook. The very thought of a long laborious process to getting food on the table is enough to dissuade me from cooking the more complicated or just elaborate or time consuming sort of dishes. However, there are those rare moments when a recipe simply calls out to me and my inherent laziness evaporates and I am filled with enthusiasm and energy.

I saw this recipe for Kori Gassi on Ruchik Randhap, one of the first blogs that made me literally drool all over my keyboard - the gorgeous photos, the beautifully documented recipes and the little vignettes about Mangalore, the food, the customs, and the author herself, all had me hooked. Though I have always planned to try out a recipe from here somehow my laziness always won. However today I felt energised enough to make the effort and cook something a little more involved.

I stationed the hubby at the dining table with the laptop and the browser open to the correct page. He read out the ingredients and I put them together on a large platter as I checked to see that I had everything I would need. Luck was on my side and I had everything. Well, nearly. With a few adjustments and replacements I was on my way to making Kori Gassi as described by Shireen on her wonderful blog.

Kori Gassi 

For the masala

2 medium onions sliced
12 dried kashmiri chillies (I used only these)
2 cups grated fresh coconut
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp cumin
12-14 pepper corns
1/2 tsp fenugreek
5 -6 cloves garlic
1 tbsp coriander powder (in place of whole coriander)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp agal (in place of tamarind)
1 inch cassia bark
3-4 cloves
1 tbsp ghee

Heat the ghee in a thick kadai and fry the onions, cassia, cloves and poppy seeds. Let the onions turn a nice golden colour and throw in the grated coconut. I used a tray of grated fresh coconut that I bought from the supermarket. Roast the mixture well and once it gets nice and fragrant add the turmeric and continue to roast for another 5 to 8 minutes. The coconut needs to be nicely toasted.

Now add the remaining ingredients for the masala and let the entire mixture roast well. Keep an eye on the heat and don't let anything burn. Just stir around for a couple of minutes and then switch off. Remove to a large platter and spread it out so it cools faster.

Once cooled grind the masala to as smooth a paste as you can. Use water as required, of course.

Now that the masala is done, the rest of the procedure is fairly simple.

Cooking the Gassi

1 large onion, chopped fine
2 medium tomatoes, chopped fine
ghee
1 chicken, cut into pieces
2 cups coconut milk
salt
1 onion, sliced

Heat more ghee in a thick bottomed vessel and fry the chopped onion. Once the onion has turned golden add the tomatoes. Fry well and mash the tomatoes in. Let it cook for a few minutes till it all smells good and you see the ghee emerging again. Add the chicken pieces now. Stir well to coat and add a quarter of the masala paste too. Add salt. Stir well and cover the pan. Let the chicken cook for around 10 to 15 minutes till it's nearly done.

Now add the coconut milk and the rest of the masala paste. Mix it well and add half a cup of water too. Add more if you feel the gassi is too thick. Add salt if required. Bring it to a boil and then simmer till the chicken is cooked through.

On the side in a small pan or vessel heat a tablespoon of ghee. Fry the sliced onion till it is pale golden and then add it to the gassi. Mix it in and the gassi is ready.

I served the Kori Gassi with plain boiled rice. It was wonderful!