Makhone Mohito Murgi...the Utterly Butter-ly Chicken :P :P

This one is somewhat a modified Butter Chicken dish...but pampered with loads and loads of butter to give the chicken a silky touch as it melts in your mouth...so here we go :) :)

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 1 kg

2. Cashew - 50 gm

3. Milk - 1n 1/2 cup

4. Butter - 75 gm...more if you like :)

5. Onion - 4 medium to large (1 chopped and 3 made into a paste)

6. Tomato - 1 large chopped

7. Ginger paste - 1 tsp

8. Garlic paste - 2 tsp

9. Red Chili powder - 2 tsp

10.Cinnamon - 2" stick

11.Green Cardamom - 3 pods

12.Clove - 3 to 4

13.Black pepper corn - 4 to 5

14.Coriander leaves chopped

15.Salt to taste 

16.Sugar to taste

17.Oil

 

Method:

1. Mix milk, cashew, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper corns and cloves in a blender with a little butter to make   a frothy smooth batter.

2. Heat oil and butter in a pan and add the dried red chilies and wait till they crackle.

3. Now add chopped onion slices and stir fry till they become transparent.

4. Add onion, ginger and garlic paste and saute till the colour turns golden.

5. Add chopped tomato pieces and stir till oil separates.

6. Add the chicken pieces and fry till they show a golden tinge.

7. Add the previously made milk batter and chili powder and stir well so that all ingredients get mixed well.

8.Add salt and sugar to taste and a little water and mix well.

9.Bring the entire thing to boil.

10.Sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves and more butter on top and serve hot with roti or paratha. 

PS: To have a creamier, thicker gravy, you can add fresh cream to the milk batter and blend well.

Chicken Rezala- the simple way!!

My version of chicken rezala is a simple-to-cook time-saving dish...i didn't use the entire array of ingredients those are typically listed in the traditional rezala recipe...mine is a shortcut way to treat the taste buds as well as the soul :P

 Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 1 kg, pieces slightly slitted for spice absorption
2. Curd - 3/4th of a cup
3. Onion - 2 medium sized
4. Black pepper corns - 2 tsp
5. Cardamom- 5 to 6
6. Cinnamon - 3 to 4 1-inch sticks
7. Cloves - 3 to 4
8. Dried Red Chilies - 2
9. Bay leaves - 2
10.Salt to taste
11.Red chili powder - 1 to 2 tsp
12.Rose water - 1 tsp
13.Keora water- 1 tsp optional

 Method:

1. Grind onion and pepper corns and mix with curd, chili powder and salt in a blender to make a smooth marinade.
2. Marinate the chicken pieces with the marinade for two hours.
3. Crush ingredients 5 to 7 into a coarse powder.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add dried red chilies, bay leaves and the crushed spices. Stir till the spices crackle.
5. Add the marinated chicken along with the marinade and stir fry till oil oozes out.
6. Now cover and cook in low flame till the chicken becomes tender.
7. Check for seasoning and add a little hot water to make the gravy a bit thinner.
8. Finally, when the dish is done, sprinkle rose water and keora water and serve hot with roti or rice.

My impromptu Lemon-Ginger Chicken!!

Last weekend I made some fried rice with veggies. As for the side dish, I was unsure what to make out of the chicken pieces in the fridge!! Just took them out and started cooking by mixing ingredients randomly as they came to mind!! And finally, the outcome was fabulous which I christened the 'impromptu' lemon-ginger chicken as it contained lots and lots of lemon juice and shredded ginger :) :)...Just give it a try and I assure you, you would be a happier soul once it goes inside you ;P :D

Ingredients:

1. Chicken – 1 kg

2. Onion – 3 medium sized made into a paste, 1 large finely chopped

3. Garlic – 6 to 7 cloves

4. Ginger – 1 inch piece made into a paste, 1 inch paste shredded

5. Tomato – 1 chopped

6. Soya Sauce – 3 tbsp

7. Vinegar – 2 tbsp

8. Tomato Sauce or Puree – 2 tsp

9. Salt

10. Red chili flakes

11. Lemon – 1 large (I used Gandharaj Lebu, you can also use ordinary lemon if you can’t get hold of    one)

12. Oil (any white oil, mustard oil a No-No for this dish)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and fry till the colour turns brownish.

2. Add onion-garlic-ginger paste and stir till oil separates.

3. Add chopped tomato and sauté till the water evaporates.

4. Add well-cleaned chicken pieces and mix well with the spices. Keep on stirring till the pieces release oil and take a brownish tinge. Don’t add water add this stage as the water released from the chicken itself is sufficient for tendering the meat.

5. Add vinegar, soya sauce, tomato sauce or puree and salt and mix well all the ingredients. Keep on stirring till the spicy reddish oil separates…in other words, more the maangsho koshano,  better the outcome!!  ;)

6. Once your hand starts paining of continuous stirring :P, add a little warm water and stir a little. Quantity of water depends on your gravy needs. Ideally, a thicker gravy would suit this dish, I feel.

7. Check for seasoning if more salt is needed. 

8. Add most of the shredded ginger and lemon juice and stir a little. Be sure to turn the heat on a low flame once you reach this step.

9. Also add red chili flakes to heat up the dish!!

10. Remove from heat and garnish with the remaining ginger shreds and lemon pieces.

Chicken Vindaloo - Bong Style

Chicken vindaloo is a traditional Goan recipe. However I modified the recipe a bit to give it a Bengali feel by introducing some typical Bong ingredients and omitting some ingredients from the original vindaloo. Kept my fingers crossed as i was wondering about the outcome of this Goan-Bong fusion!! However, the result was mouthwatering (as complimented by my hubby :P :P...and hope you would like it too :):)

Ingredients:

1. chicken - 1 kg cleaned and slightly slitted 

2. onions- 4 medium sized

3. garlic - 2 whole heads

4. ginger - 1 inch piece

5.green chilies - 7 to 10 as per your heat tolerance :P

6. vinegar- 3 tablespoons

7. curd - 4 to 5 tablespoons

8. mustard seeds - 2 teaspoons soaked in water for about 10 mins

9.poppy seeds (posto) - 3 tablespoons soaked in water for about 10 mins

10. cumin seeds - 1 tablespoon

11.turmeric powder - 1/4 th teaspoon optional

12. chili powder - 1 to 2 teaspoons

13. bay leaves - 2 

14. cinnamon - 1 inch

15.green cardamom - 3 to 4

16.dried red chilies - 3 to 4

17. fresh curry leaves

18. oil or/ and ghee as per requirement

19. salt to taste

Method:

1. Take 3 onions and mix them well with ingredients no. 3 to 12 in a blender and make a smoooth marinade.Also add salt to this paste.

2. Mix this paste with the chicken pieces and marinate overnight/ for 8 hours. You can keep it in the fridge.

3. Heat oil/ ghee in a kadhai till smoking. Crush ingredients 13 to 16 coarsely and add them to the heated oil. Saute till they crackle.

4. Now take the 4th onion finely chopped and add to the oil and saute till they are transparent.Also add some curry leaves and saute along with the onion till you feel the smell of curry leaves.

5. Add the marinated chicken and the marinade and keep on stirring till oil separates and the water evaporates.

6. Once you see oil oozing out, add warm water as per your gravy requirement, cover and cook in low flame till the chicken is tender.

 7. Check the seasoning in case you need more salt. Garnish with curry leaves and serve with steaming hot rice or rotis.