Chicken Chettinad

Chicken Chettinad

Spicy and aromatic, this superb ‘Chettinad’ recipe hits all the right spots. The original Chettinad recipe does not have cashews or cream in its list of ingredients. I wanted to give the recipe a twist of my own, hence have used cashews and cream to enhance the texture of the gravy. With the amount of spice involved you may feel it will be unbearably spicy but it’s not. The spice level is absolutely perfect! The flavors blend beautifully. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 chicken (about 800 grams), cut into 10 pieces

7 tablespoons oil

2 onions, chopped fine

15 curry leaves

4 large tomatoes, pureed

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

¾ teaspoon red chili powder

3” piece ginger

10 large flakes garlic

1 tablespoon poppy seeds / khus-khus

35 grams cashew nuts, broken into pieces

1 cup cream, gently smoothen with a whisk or fork

Salt, to taste

Coriander leaves, chopped, to garnish

Chettinad Masala:

½ cup freshly grated coconut

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

2½ teaspoons peppercorns

9 whole red Kashmiri chilies

3 green cardamoms (use only seeds)

3 cloves

1” cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon oil

Method:

1. Soak poppy seeds and cashew nuts in a little warm water for 15 minutes.
   
   
   
   
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add coconut, coriander, cumin, fennel, red chilies, cloves, cinnamon and seeds of cardamoms to the oil. Stir fry till fragrant and remove from fire.
   
   
   
   
3. Drain poppy seeds and cashew nuts.
4. Grind the roasted masala with the drained poppy seeds, cashew nuts, ginger and garlic to a smooth, thick paste with ½ cup water.
   
   
   
   
5. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok or a heavy bottomed vessel, add the chopped onions. Fry till light brown.
   
   
   
   
6. Add salt, turmeric, red chili powder and sauté for a few seconds. Add the pureed tomatoes. Sauté tomatoes till they are cooked and oil separates.
   
   
   
   
7. Add the ground paste, sauté for two minutes.
   
   
   
   
8. Add chicken pieces and curry leaves and cook, stirring intermittently, for 2 minutes.
9. Add 3 cups water, cover and cook. Keep stirring carefully, once every 5 minutes, while the chicken is cooking. Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy thickens. Keep aside till serving time.
   
   
   
   
10. At serving time reheat the chicken; lower heat, add 1 cup smoothened cream. Keep on low heat, stirring continuously till it simmers gently.
11. Garnished with coriander leaves. Serve with onions rings and lime wedges.
    
    

Chef Notes:

1. If you reside in a country that has strict laws in regard to using poppy seeds, you may substitute it with extra cashew nuts.
2. Whenever a recipe asks for cream, always opt for Amul low-fat cream. Using cream helps retain the texture of the gravy. That way you get to use cream, retain the texture of the dish and you save up on added calories that you just can't avoid if using heavy cream. If you are extremely health-conscious, use half the quantity of cream.
3. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

Vegetable-Lentil Low Cal Soup

Vegetable-Lentil Low Cal Soup

To a foodie like me the word ‘low-cal’ brings to mind the words tasteless, insipid and ‘NO’. When I tried this soup I was proved totally wrong. Here’s a low cal soup recipe that’s truly yummy but don’t take my word for it. Give it a shot and check it out for yourself. It’s healthy and it fills you up when you’re on a diet. A soup-stick or two with it turns it into a full meal. I kid you not!!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons split red lentil/orange masoor dal, wash and soak for 20 minutes

1 small 2” aubergine/egg plant/baingan, chopped into 4 pieces

2 inch piece bottle gourd/dodhi, chopped into 6 pieces

½ - 1 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 spinach leaves, washed and roughly torn into 2-3 pieces

½ -1 green chili, chop into two pieces

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 tomato, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/8^th teaspoon mustard seeds

1/8^th teaspoon cumin seeds

3 curry leaves

Salt, to taste

Pepper powder, to taste

Few sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped

Lime juice, to taste (optional)

Method:

1. Heat a pan and lightly dry roast the mustard, cumin and curry leaves for a minute till a nice aroma rises. Do not burn it.
2. In a pressure cooked add the dal, aubergine, bottle gourd, carrot, spinach leaves, green chili, onion, tomato, garlic, roasted seed mixture and salt.
3. Add 2 to 2½ cups of water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Lower flame and cook for 2 more minutes and shut off the stove.
4. Open cooker when all the pressure releases and when mixture is lukewarm, grind the soup in a grinder.
5. Add pepper powder to taste and adjust salt if needed. Reheat and add finely chopped coriander and lime juice (optional) just before serving.
6. Serve with baked croutons or soup sticks. 

Chef Notes: 

1. You can add a piece of chicken to enhance the flavor of the soup. I’m a hard-core non-vegetarian and yet I don’t feel the need to add chicken because the soup by itself is so flavorsome and delicious. If you do use chicken, please remember to remove the piece of chicken before you grind the soup. Re-add it after you puree the soup.
2. Instead of split red lentil/orange masoor dal you can also make this with split red gram/tur dal. 
3. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism. 

Kharu Bheju (Brains in Onions Masala)

Kharu Bheju (Brains in Onion Masala)

A Parsee delicacy made from goat brain. There are always jovial-disagreements in most Parsee families when our mom or grandma/s brings these babies home from the market. A few people in the family prefer cutlets while the other few want them cooked in the style mentioned below. To ensure that no dispute ensues at home I usually bring 12-14 brains at a time so that I can cook half of them as cutlets and the rest of them in this delicious masala. It's not easy cleaning so many brains all at one time but the smiles i get from each family member is so worth the trouble.

Ingredients:

7 brains, cleaned and kept whole

8 large onions, chopped fine

7 tomatoes, grated

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground garlic

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon red Kashmiri chili powder

¼ teaspoon garam masala powder

1 teaspoon coriander-cumin powder powder

Salt, to taste

7-9 tablespoons oil

A big handful of coriander leaves, chopped fine

Method:

1. Fry the onions in oil till light brown (still a wee bit translucent) in a large flat non-stick pan.
2. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till you smell a nice aroma.
3. Add the turmeric powder, red Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander-cumin powder, salt and fry till oil separates (do not let the masala burn).
4. Add the grated tomatoes and fry till the raw smell evaporates and oil separates.
5. Add the coriander leaves (leaving a wee bit for garnishing) and give it a stir.
6. Carefully lay out the brains one at a time in the vessel. Give a careful but good shake to the pan so as to cover the brains with the masala. (I prefer not to use a spoon here)
7. Cover and cook for 5 minutes till brains are cooked.
8. Garnish with the rest of the chopped coriander and serve with rotis, naan or parathas.
   
   

Chef Notes:

1. Brain is not everyone’s plate of food (read: cuppa tea) but those who relish it will love this recipe.
2. Instead of gently shaking the vessel, if you do plan to use a spoon to mix the masala with the brains, please do so very carefully and gently so as not to bruise or mush up the brains.
3. This can also be made with the brain from a larger animal (eg: cow or buffalo) but the taste will be slightly sharper and because the brain is larger in size, do not leave it whole. Cut it into 4 to 6 pieces.
4. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.