CHICKEN DO PIAZA

It's been so long since I blogged.  I have been plain lazy and then caught up in a lot of work...

We took a break and went to Mombasa.  It's not my first visit to the lovely coast, but I am always amazed at how inviting the waster are.  It's so awesome to see the waters come in during high tide and then recede during low tide, as if it was just not there at all!!!  Almost a mile of the seabed exposed once the waters go back....  You can walk on the reefs and the seabed searching for lovely seashells and other sea creatures.

We even took a boat ride to the Marine Park and the Satrfish garden.  It was an experience of a lifetime.   God is so creative.  He is such an artist.  The wide variety of colours on the starfishes was breathtaking.  It made me  wonder - did he even need to make them?? But he did, so that we could be reminded of his love and his wonders.....

Another unfathomable reminder of God's might and truth was THE SEA.  When you are sailing on a boat and all you can see is water, wherever you look around, it is just the SKY above you and the SEA below you.  The end of both which you cannot even imagine. 

I took a thrilling ride on the Katarman - a boat on which I and the sailor were the only people - my husband stayed back to take care of our LO and since I was the more interested one.  I was so much more in love, when I asked him to go back to the room with Viha who was sleeping, and he said, no I dont want to leave the shore, I just want to be here waiting for you to come back!!

I was sitting on a thick plastic sheet and he was in control of the boat steering in around.  As the waves came around us and splashed the boat around, I hung onto dear life and a thought occured to me, what if I just slipped and fell into the sea - I didnt know how to swim.  I couldnt imagine to imagine what the depths of the sea would be like....it was really scary.  But the experience was one which brought me much more closer to God and my family, and I thanked God for all the merices he had bestowed on us.........

Small things which sometimes overlook in our lives.

Coming back to food, I made this very delicious Chicken Do Piaza made from simple onions.  I never ever thought that such a delicious curry could be made using only onions as a base for the gravy, but it was delicious.

Ingredients :-

500 grms - Chicken
4 onions (big ) - Onions sliced
1 tbspn - Cumin powde
2 tbspn - Chilli powder
2 tbspn - Garam masala powder
2 tbspn - Ginger garlic paste
1/2 tspn - Haldi / Turmeric
1/2 cup - curd / yoghurt / maziwa lala
1 stick - Cinnamon
2 Cloves
2 pods - Cardamom
Salt to taste
Oil-4tbsp
Corriander to garnish
Method:

Wash chicken & marinate with curd, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, 1tsp ginger garlic paste, little salt, 1tsp chilli powder & turmeric & keep aside.
In a kadai heat 2tsp oil fry 3 onions till brown, cool & grind it to a fine paste.
In the same kadai heat oil, now add the remaining onions & fry then add ginger garlic paste, sauté for 1mt then add cumin powder, chilli powder, salt sauté well.
Now add the marinated chicken mix well, add water if required. Cover & cook till the chicken is tender. Now add the ground onion paste & garam masala powder, mix well & fry with the lid open.
Fry well till the masala clings to the meat.Garnish with corrinader leaves

KEEMA MUTTAR

I often wonder what it would be without trees.  Our natural surroundings are so endowed with trees and that too tall, thick trees.   Even on the hottest of summer days I remember sitting below thick neem or peepal trees with friends and still feeling so soothed under the shade.  It is as if, the sun could never reach through the leaves.

Just lying below the trees with friends and looking up at gently moving leaves would be hypnotic and most often lead you to a slumber without the need of air conditioners.  But would our children experience all this, I wonder.  In this age, when even school buses are air conditioned and both parents and children prefer them, would you want your children to sit by the shade of a tree and enjoy their childhood, playing with mud vessels, and leaves and flowers and imaginery food???

I personally believe, it is the duty of every parent to allow their child to enjoy the natural way of life.  Let your child experience certain hardships that will turn them into stronger human beings, and be prepared for the hottest summers, or the coldest winters.  Let them not always be dependent on the air conditioner or the heaters - or for that matter all other luxuries that money can buy today, but leave them from experiencing the real thing. 

Keema Muttar has nothing to do with the above, but I was just sharing my thoughts with you.

Cooking Time - 45 minutes to 1 hour
Preparation Time - 10 minutes

Ingredients -
1/2 kg - mutton keema
3 onions - chopped finely
1/2 cup - curd / yoghurt / maziwa lala
4-5 pods - cardamom
2 bay leaves
7-8 cloves garlic - grated
1 pc ginger - grated
1 tspn - garam masala powder
1 tspn - turmeric / haldi powder
2 tspn -  corriander powder
2 tbspn - black pepper powder

Recipe :-

In a wok / kadai take about 2 tbspn of oil, and when its hot add the bay leaves and cardamom pods crushed.
Now add the onions and fry them till they are brown but not burnt.
To this add the grated garlic and ginger
Add the garam masala, corriander powder and turmeric powder
Fry well
Now wash the keema and add. Fry on high till well cooked and brown. 
The taste of the keema is in the bhunoing or roasting. 
Add the curd and fry till it is all absorbed.
Add the black pepper powder
Garnish with corriander leaves.
Remove the bay leaves and serve hot with either chappati or naan

WHAT'S LIFE WITHOUT "CHICKEN"

Yeaahh whats life without this cock-a-doodle-doo bird.  You wouldnt have eggs, you wouldnt have butter chicken, you wouldnt have chicken pakoda, you wouldnt have ............the list is endless.  Isint it?

When I got married to a guy who is a preferred vegetarian, I out of sheer love decided I too would follow suit and discard the "meat" variety from my palate.  Rajeev never asked me to do so, but I volunteered. 

The pain started when I walked into mum's house and saw her making delicious chicken fry!! Hmmmm, "beta kha lo".  "Nahi mummy mein nahi khaoongi".  Translated into English for my friends who dont understand Hindi "daughter, please eat this" "No mom, I wont".  All this while my stomach was rumbling and grumbling.  My hands were jumping up and down to just pick up on peice and pop into my mouth.

I came home that night, sad, but still determined not to give up.  I stood upto my decision for............all for 6 months!!!! Yes, that was all that my will power could stand.  My mom's wonderful chicken dishes, I could not hold myself back!!  If that was funny.

Now I am a mom myself, and I have a 2 year old who digs into chicken like Popeye digs Spinach!!! Mamma chincken want!!! Yes that's what she says, somedays as soon as she opens her little brown eyes in the morning.

Well, so I really cant imagine what life would be without CHINCKEN

I had Methi Chicken lately at Open House and was determined to try it at home, and so I did for a gathering of friends, and it sure was delicious.

Here's my version

Ingredients :-

500 gms - boneless chicken
2 big onions - grated
6-7 pods of garlic
2 big tomatoes - pureed
1 cup - methi / fenugreek leaves
1/2 tspn - garam masala
2 tbspn - thick yoghurt (you could add cream if you dont like the sournes which is actually negligble)
2 tbspn - dhania / coriander seed powder
1 tspn - turmeric powder
2 tspn - chilli powder
2 pods - cardamom
bay leaves

Method :-

Clean, clean, clean the chicken (very important)
In a wok add about 3 tbspn oil
Add the cardamom pods and the bay leaves
After about 1/2 a minute add the grated garlic.
Then add the onions and a big pinch of salt
Fry well, till about reaching golden brown
Add the turmeric powder, mix well till the raw smell is gone
Add the dhania powder and fry well
Now add the tomato puree
Fry till the oil starts showing indicating that the masala is cooked
Now add the yoghurt and the chicken
Fry on high for about 5 minutes
Now cover and cook till the chicken is done
If want a little gravy you could either add some more beaten yoghurt or plain water
Lastly add the cleaned fenugreek leaves and cook on high for about 2-3 minutes.
Finish off with garam masala and green chillies

Enjoy!!

HONEY CHILLY CHICKEN

When you come to a new place, there come a lot of new experiences along with it.........right??

New people, new surroundings, new foods, new markets, new weather........new, new, new!!!

I am surrounded by "new" right now, and honestly I am thoroughly enjoying it.

I am experimenting with food mostly, and loving going around the markets, exploring new ingredients.

I dont know how many of you enjoy a certain sweetness in your food.  Sweetness as not in desserts, but sweetness in your main course, your curries??  I certainly love that tinge of sweet in my curries.  I almost always add a little sugar to most of my cooking, especially gravies!!  Yes thats a secret.

I had Honey Chilly Chicken at a nearbly Chinese Restaurant the other day, and honestly since then I have been craving to have my own version of the same.   So here it was, and it tasted great, appropriately flavoured to my own liking....

Ingredients:

1st step -

1/2 kg boneless chicken - diced into small cubes
1/2 cup - cornflour
1 tbspn soya sauce
1 egg
1 tbspn - chilli sauce
salt to taste


2nd step -

1 big onion - chopped into big chunks
1 big capsicum - chopped into big chunks
1 tbspn - soya sauce
1 tbpn - honey
green chillies - as many as you like
1 tsp - tabasco sauce
1 tsp - vinegar
salt to taste

Recipe :

1st step

Make a paste (as you would for pakoda) with the ingredients above except for the chicken
Dip the chicken pcs into this paste and fry crisp
keep aside

2nd step

Add some oil into the pan. 
Add the capsicum, green chillies and the onions and saute them on slow flame stirring in between
Cook till the onions are tender and pink and the capsicum has cooked
Add the soya sauce, tabasco and salt
Mix well
Add about 1/4 cup of water and let it come to a boil
Add the chicken pcs. Mix well
Add the honey and mix well
Add the vinegar and mix well

You have a really delicious dish to enjoy either alone or with boiled rice. 

It is a completely satisfying meal, you sure wont crave for a dessert, even though the sweetness is not too much

CHILLI PRAWNS

I know its been ages since I vanished from the blog scene. I owe it to a humungous amount of work pressure & a wee bit of lethargy. I honestly havent blog hopped too. My list of "To Post" keeps growing bigger.

Good Friday paased, Holi passed & then Easter paased without much ado. There were three holidays, n we could have gone on a mini-vacation but for my hubby's Exams approaching soon. I didnt wanna make him any guilty too, but then he was good n did spend quite a good amount of time with me, taking me out for "JODHA AKBAR" which we've wanted to watch since its release. I had other preferences, but chose to give into something mutually acceptable. That's how adjusting I am....

I dont regret watching the movie, except for all the bloodshed depicted. Hritik Roshan was a treat to the eyes. Looking as majestic as ever. I dont feel anybody else could have done justice to the role of Akbar in the movie. Aishwarya wasnt bad either, with minimal makeup, the mindblowing jewellery & gorgeous costumes she did look beautiful. The sets were superb. It is surely worth a watch on the big screen. The small one wont do justice to the entire effect.

Now not wanting you all to wander away, I am going to post something very close to my heart......this is absolutely my version, n I love every bit of it.















Ing -
250 gms - prawns
2 big onions - sliced finely
1/2 inch pc - ginger
4 flakes - garlic
1 big tomato - finely chopped
1 tsp - red chilli powder
1/2 tspn - turmeric / haldi powder
1/4 tspn - garam masala powder
2 stems of curry leaves
2 tbspn - maggie hot and sweet sauce
1 green chilli - chopped fine
salt as per taste

Method -
In a non-stick pan heat some oil.
Add the grated ginger & garlic
Fry well
Add the onions, n fry till pinkish brown
Add the tomatoes & fry till oil separates
Now add the curry leaves, turmeric, chillies & garam masala
Mix well to blend
Add the washed prawns, put in some salt
Cover & cook till prawns are tender & well cooked.
Add the sauce, the chopped green chilies & more salt
Cook till all moisture is dried up.

I generally eat mine with some bread, but they will go well with plain white rice...The sauce gives a wonderful tang to it which I soo love very much.