Sunday, July 25, 2010

Doi Chicken


I call this dish doi chicken because I add doi ie curd in Bengali to its marinade. Preparation time is around 40 minutes but is well worth the effort J
Ingredients:
  1. Chicken breasts- I used 3 small chicken breast pieces cut into medium sized pieces
  2. Onions –1 large onion chopped finely
  3. Ginger Garlic paste -3 tbsp(My tablespoon is small :) so if you have a big one kindly use 2 tbsp)
  4. Chicken Masala- 4 tbsp. I use Badshah Chicken Masala. Ok im not out to endorse any brand but I like this chicken masala because it has a wonderful taste. Everest Chicken Masala will also do
  5. Curd- 3 tbsp
  6. Sugar - 1 teaspoon
  7. Tomatoes –half a tomato
  8. Baby potatoes- 6-7 pieces
  9. Oil- 3-4 tbsp
Preparation
  1. Marinade the chicken with curd and chicken masala. Ensure that the chicken pieces are properly coated with the marinade. Let the chicken rest for some time, say about half an hour while you go about the rest of the dish. You can always keep it for more because the longer you keep the longer the chicken soaks in all the lovely marinade.
  2. Next cut the baby potatoes into half. Add some oil into the pan and we shall fry them for some time till they are almost 75% cooked. This is to ensure that the potatoes get cooked because chicken hardly takes much time to cook. Once they are done take them out and set them aside.
  3. Now in the same oil( add in some extra oil ) add the sugar. This is an imp step because it not only gives flavor but also colour to the dish. Ensure that the sugar does not get burnt. The moment the sugar turns little brown in the oil. Add in the onions and ginger garlic paste. Fry them for 2-3 minutes till the onions are soft.
  4. Next add in the remaining chicken masala and fry them for another 2-3 minutes till the "powdery"ness of the masala goes away and you can smell the aroma of the cooked masala engulfing your kitchen
  5. Now, add in the chicken and now begins the process of what is known as "kasoing" which means to keep stirring your chicken. Remember the more you Kaso the morethe flavours assimilate. You will begin to notice that the juices of the chicken begin to come out. Kaso it for a good 7-8 minutes.
  6. Add in the tomatoes and the potatoes and then kaso again for another 5-6 minutes
  7. Add salt to taste
  8. Add chopped coriander as garnish and your doi chicken is ready. You can serve it with pulao or with roti. I hope you enjoy making this. Until the next recipe, Keep cooking and Smiling :)

    Wednesday, July 21, 2010

    Yin And Yang Chicken

    This dish takes about 15-20 minutes to prepare and should be had with slightly sticky rice preferably jasmine rice for best results :)

    Ingredients :
    a)1 chicken breast is enough for 2 meals for me. Cut the chicken into medium to small sized pieces. Vegetarians can also use tofu
    b)3-4 long stalks of celery cut into small 2 inch pieces(Damn you get good celery in Uncle Sam's).
    For this dish, I put celery and chicken in a 1:1.5 ratio .

    (Here's the deal with celery. You do not eat the leaves and you need to ensure that when you cut the celery, you remove some of the string'y fibres running across its length. For that cut a small piece from the back of the celery stick(not fully through and through) and break it across its front length and you will see a fibrous stringy thing coming out.

    c) Sugar- 2 tbsp(either brown or white will do)
    d) Salt - 1teaspoon
    e) Red chillies- I choose red because it offsets the green colour of the celery and my dish is given the necessary heat and looks good as well. Red chillies cut into juliennes
    f) Ginger- 1 small piece cut into juliennes
    g) Onions- half an onion cut into juliennes as well
    h) Soya sauce- I use Kikkoman soya sauce. It is the best soy sauce this side of the world though i think back home we believe Sing Cheung from Kolkata make the best soy sauce.

    Preparation
    1) Put some oil in the pan. I used olive oil so i can be generous with it though next time i am going to try with sesame oil. It will bring a nutty flavour to the dish. Avoid something strong like mustard oil( my personal opinion). Otherwise any oil will do.
    2) Next add the onions, ginger, chillies and saute them for 2-3 minutes till the onions become soft and you can smell the flavours coming through
    3) Next add the chicken in and saute for some 4-5 minutes till the chicken is cooked.
    4) Add in the celery next and then stir fry it for another 2 minutes
    5) Add in the soy sauce-2 swirls of it around the pan. Then add in the sugar and the salt. Bring it to a mini boil after 2-3 mins. This is your sauce and voila we are done :). Until next recipe, Keep cooking and smiling !!