Bengali style hing aloo

On a rainy evening, the thing you crave most is pure unadulterated carbs, and that's a draw I can never resist. Not wanting to make something very elaborate, I had this really simple Bengali dish for dinner with parathas and dahi phulki, and a more satisfying meal I haven't had in a long time!

200 gms baby potatoes, or 2 large potatoes

1 tbsp mustard oil

A pinch of hing

A pinch of haldi powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

Method:

Boil the potatoes till cooked, peel and keep aside. If using large potatoes, cut into eights. 

Heat the mustard oil, splutter the cumin seeds. Add hing and haldi powder, mix, and immediately add the potatoes. On a low flame, fry for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and mix well. 

Serve hot. 

Fried chicken

It was a rainy Sunday evening, and I wasn't really in a mood to cook anything too elaborate. The hubby said he wanted roast chicken with pasta, and even offered to make the pasta (using a premix) if I would make the chicken. To keep him away from the kitchen, I came up with this fried chicken dish.

1 chicken, curry cut

1 medium onion, sliced fine

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp red chilli powder

1 tsp paprika powder

Salt to taste

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp cornflour

Method:

Wash the chicken well, make slits in the leg pieces

Make a marinade with the sauces, salt and paprika powder, and let the chicken marinate for 30 mins. 

Heat the oil, fry the chicken in batches (about 5 minutes each), and keep aside. 

Fry the onions till caramelised. 

Add back the fried chicken pieces, and extra marinade. Sprinkle the cornflour. Mix well, cove and let it cook on a low flame for 15 minutes. 

Serve with pasta or with veggies on a bed of steamed rice. 

Chicken in peanut sauce

The hubby was home for the weekend after nearly a month, and the only way we know how to celebrate is by cooking something good. So I pulled out a recipe that I had liked a couple of weeks back, and adapted it slightly to suit our taste. I could have tripped on the peanut sauce- it was that good. Going to make it again soon.

1 kg curry cut chicken
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice

For the marinade:

4 tbsp roasted peanuts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 inch ginger
2 green chillies
8  pods garlic
1 tsp haldi powder

2 tbsp jaggery*

2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp coriander stalks
Salt to taste.

Method:

Blend all the ingredients listed under marinade into a fine paste. Add water if required.
Marinate the chicken pcs and keep in the fridge a few hours or overnight.
Heat a little oil in a pan and add the mixture.
Cook on medium heat stirring off and on.
Keep covered for a while.
Sprinkle lemon juice, and serve with rotis.

*- the recipe called for honey, but I substituted with jaggary.

Tambdi Bhaji

Red amaranthus leaves have flooded the market this season, and after moving past the veggies for a couple of weeks, I finally gave in to temptation and bought a big bunch today. A quick search of available recipes gave me the idea for what I could make, and I sort of winged my way after that.
Really loved it, but with mustard oil and garlic, what is not to like?

1 big bunch red amaranth leaves
4 large garlic cloves
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup grated coconut
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp haldi powder
2 tbsp mustard oil
water as required
salt as per taste

Method:
Pluck the amaranth leaves with the tender stems, rinse well, chop finely and keep aside.
Chop the onion, garlic and green chilli.
Heat the oil, add chopped onions, garlic and green chillis and saute till onions become transparent.
Add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and stir.
Add the amaranth leaves, stir, add salt and mix well.
Cover with a lid and let the amaranth leaves cook on a low flame. Keep checking at regular intervals to see if the water has dried up- if it has, add some water, and cover again.
After the amaranth leaves are softened and cooked (about 10 minutes), add ⅓ cup grated coconut, stir well, cover, and simmer on a low flame for 2 minutes
Switch off the flame, and evaporate the water, if any is left.
Add salt to taste and mix well. Serve with rotis or with dal-rice

Lemon Chicken

When it comes to chicken, for one reason or the other, I don't seem to follow recipes ever. This was whipped up on a day when there was not enough time for marination, and I didn't feel like making a "buna hua" chicken either. Since there was a bok choy in the fridge, that went into the dish, and it came out pretty good.

1 curry cut chicken
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 head buk choy
Salt to taste
1 tbsp chilli flakes

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken. Prick holes in it using a fork, and marinate in a mixture of (half the) olive oil, lemon juice, salt and chilli flakes for about 30 minutes.
Heat a pan, heat the remaining oil, and toss the chicken on medium heat till well browned (about 10 minutes).
Add the reserved marinade and shredded buk choy, cover, reduce to a low flame and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes till the chicken is well done. 

Sweet and Spicy Dry Chicken

Dinner today was a mishmash of everyone's request. I wanted something spicy, but Thing Two insisted he needed sugar to kill the spice. The Hubby and Thing One both wanted chicken- preferably dry. There was also the slight problem of having to work with the ingredients that were available in the kitchen/ kitchen garden, since I didn't want to go out in the cold. And it had to be something easy.

I browsed the internet for recipes, and tried to decide between two recipes that I liked. Unfortunately, I got the two mixed up, and the recipe I finally made was something all my own (with some jaggery thrown in to keep Thing Two happy). The result- Fantastic Chicken, they all said, before finishing it all off!

1 curry cut Chicken

For Marinating:

1 tbsp Chilli powder

2 tbp dhania powder

2 tbsp Garam Masala Powder

1 tsp haldi powder

Salt to taste

For Masala:

Oil - 3 tblspn

1 tsp Saunf

3 large onions, chopped Onion

2 green chilli Green

3 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste

2 tbsp Jaggery

2 tbsp Lemon Juice

1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Marinate chicken and leave it for 30 mins.

Heat oil, add saunf and wait till it finishes spluttering.

Add onions and green chilli, and saute till it turns light golden.

Add ginger garlic paste, and curry leaves and fry till the onion is well browned. Make sure the onion is golden, because that what gives good colour to the curry.

Add the marinated chicken and jaggery and mix well.

Cover with a tight lid and cook on a very low flame for 30 mins to 40 mins stirring in between.

Now open the lid and increase the heat. Dry up the chicken, this will make the masala stick to the chicken and get fried.

Add lemon juice, mix well and serve.

Maharashtrian inspired hot and sweet drumsticks

I've had two drumsticks sitting in my fridge for almost a week. I'm not sure why I bought them, but I know that once it got home, I couldn't think of anything I wanted to make with them, and they languished. I finally invented this recipe to put the drumsticks out of their misery, and it actually turned out pretty good!

2 drumsticks

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp mustard oil

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp Maharashtrian godh masala powder

1 tsp jaggery

Salt to taste

1 tbsp black sesame seeds

Method:
Cut the drumsticks into 2 inch long pieces, and boil in water (with a bit of salt), for 5 minutes.
Heat the oil, saute the onion pieces till it turns transparent, then add ginger-garlic paste, and fry a bit more. Add drumsticks along with some of the water it was cooked in and mix well.
Add chilli powder, godh masala powder, jaggery and salt and mix well.
Cover, and let the curry bubble for 3 minutes or so. Uncover, and boil off the water, if required.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Ginger-lemon chicken

I wanted a no-frills chicken dish to accompany our dinner. Something that didn't take too much more time than frying a packet of kebabs. And something that could be whipped up using the ingredients on hand.
This was something I came up with, and it tasted really amazing!

1 curry cut chicken
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp ginger paste*
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp dry mint, crushed
1 inch piece of ginger for garnish
1 1/2 tbsp ghee

Method:
Clean the chicken, make slits and marinate it in a mixture of lemon juice, ginger paste, salt and pepper for at least 30 minutes.
Heat the ghee, and shallow fry till the chicken pieces are golden brown (about 5 minutes on each side).
Pour in the marinade, sprinkle the dry mint, cover and cook on a low flame till done.
Garnish with thin ginger slices and serve.

*I used ready made paste, but fresh ground will be nicer