Black Pepper Crab

 

Black Pepper Crab - a dish I have not eaten anywhere else but Singapore until now. I always thought it was a very complicated dish to prepare and stayed away for a very long time. Thanks to these lockdowns I was getting these urges and memories of those yummy dishes I garnered strength to try it out. It turns out that it's not super complicated to prepare. They say it can be prepared using any type of crab but to get the real impact it has to be a mud crab. Thankfully the seafood shop nearby had this and they also cut and cleaned it for me as well. Which otherwise is a story by itself. 

Ingredients

1. Mud crab - 1 for 2 people (I got 2) cut in quarters
2. Black Pepper - 50 gms
3. Garlic - 1 whole garlic (minced)
4. Ginger - 1 inch (grated)
5. Red onion - 1 (thinly sliced)
6. Butter - 50 gms
7. Chicken stock - 1 cup
8. Oyster sauce - 3-4 table spoons
9. Kecap Manis (Sweet soya sauce) - 3-4 table spoons
10. Dark Soya sauce - 1-2 table spoons
11. Sugar - 1 tea spoon
12. Corn flour - 2 tea spoons
13. Curry leaves - a handful

Method

1. Crush the black pepper into a coarse powder (not smooth)
2. Dry roast the crushed pepper in a wok for about 10-15 seconds (until you can smell the pepper).  Preferably use the same wok you will use for further steps and keep aside.
3. Deep fry the crab pieces until they turn red using any vegetable oil and set aside.
4. Transfer the oil and whatever remains to a container.
5. Melt the butter and add the minced garlic, ginger and onions and saute them for about a minute.
6. Add the chicken stock, oyster sauce, kecap manis, dark soya sauce, sugar and the crushed pepper.
7. Keep stirring until this mixture comes to a boil.
8. Add the curry leaves and toss it up.
9. Add the corn flour mixed in water and stir for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.
10. Add the deep fried crabs and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot as an entre.

Dragon Chicken

 

Dragon Chicken - an "Indo Chinese" dish that caught my attention very recently. The term dragon could be because of how the chicken would look like or what your mouth could feel like after a few  bites. :) When I did a bit of research I was determined to try this rather sooner than later. This is very similar to Kung Pao chicken that is very popular in the US of A. This is an interesting recipe with a medley textures, flavours and colours. It's juicy, crunchy, spicy and a tinge of sweetness. So here's my take on this dish.

Ingredients

1. Chicken breast - 500 gms
2. Eggs - 2
3. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
4. Dark soya sauce 
5. Black pepper powder - 1 table spoon
6. Corn flour - 2 table spoons
7. Maida / All purpose flour - 1 table spoon
8. Red food colour (optional) - 1 pinch
9. Red onions - 2
10. Red Capsicum - 1
11. Green Capsicum - 1
12. Garlic (minced) - 2 tablespoons
13. Chilli jam (optional - can substitute with Chilli sauce if needed) - 2 table spoons
14. Kashmiri red chillies - 5 or 6
15. Dried red chillies (spicy one) - 5 or 6
16. Cashews
17. Sesame seeds - 2 tea spoons
18. Sugar - 1 tea spoon
19. Tomato ketchup - 2 table spoons
20. Chives (or spring onions)
21. Salt to taste
22. Vegetable oil

Method

1. Slice the chicken breast into very thin strips. It is important you cut it in strips and not diced.
2. Make a batter with eggs, ginger garlic paste, pepper powder,1 table spoon of soya sauce, salt to taste, food colour, corn flour and maida.
3. Marinade the chicken strips in this batter - at least for 30 minutes.
4. Cut the onions and capsicums in strips.
5. Deep fry the chicken strips in small batches.
6. In a large wok heat the oil (I use the same oil used for frying the chicken).
7. Toss the garlic, chillies and cashews for about a minute.
8. Add the onions and capsicums and stir fry them for about a minute.
9. Add 2 table spoons of dark soya sauce, chilli jam, tomato ketchup, sugar and mix well.
10. Add the chicken and toss well to mix the chicken with the sauce.
11. Add a few table spoons of water and toss well.
12. Add  the sesame seeds and chives to garnish and give it a quick toss.

Enjoy!!

C

Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

Here's one of my favourite spicy and tangy Indo-Chinese soups that can warm up your body and mind. As in any soup the broth is what that makes or breaks it. While I've tried a different home made and store bought broths - here's a version which worked out well for me.

Ingredients

Broth

1. Chicken with skin and bones. I used about 6 large chicken drumsticks.
2. Garlic - 1 bulb smashed
3. Ginger - 100 gms - cut and smashed
4. Spring onion twigs - a few bumches
5. Black pepper - 1 table spoon
6. Salt - 2 table spoons

Soup

1. Chicken broth - 4 cups
2. Carrot - diced - 2 table spoons
3. Cabbage - diced 2 table spoons
4. Green chilles - diced - 2 table spoons
5. Vinegar - 1/2 cup
6. Dark soy sauce - 2 table spoons
7. Corn flour slurry - 1/3 cup
8. Eggs - 2  egg yolks and 3 egg whites beaten
9. Seasme oil - 1 table spoon
10. Cooked Shredded chicken - 1/2 cup 
11. Spring onions - diced - 2 table spoons

Method

Broth

1. In a large sauce pan or vessel boil the chicken for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain the chicken and the water.
3. Fill the same sauce pan with water, transfer the chicken, add the garlic, ginger, pepper and salt.
4. Bring it to boil and then simmer it for about 30 minutes.'
5. Take the chicken pieces out, let it cool and then remove the flesh out with hands or fork.
6. Put the bones and skin back in the broth and let it simmer for another hour or so.
7. Drain the broth out into a container.

Hot & Sour Soup

1. In a sauce pan, saute the chillies, carrot and cabbage for about a minute in seasme oil and vinegar.
2. Add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil.
3. Once boiling add the corn flour slurry and bring it to boil.
4. Add the soya sauce and mix well.
5. Add the shredded chicken and mix well.
6. Stir the soup mix well that the broth is rotating around.
7. Add the beaten egg mix and twirl it around with a folk.
8. Serve hot with a dash of spring onions as a garnish.

Enjoy!!

C

Schezwan Chilli Chicken

Schezwan or should I say Sichuan cuisine is known for it's spiciness thanks to extreme climate of the Sichuan province in China. As with many other Indo-chinese adaptations here's my version of Schezwan Chilli Chicken made using home made schezwan sauce. It's a great appetizer / entree that has a slight amount of sauce in it. 

Ingredients

1. Diced chicken - 500 gms - I normally use chicken with bones for this one.
2. Schezwan sauce - 3-4 table spoons. Something you can keep adding later if you want to increase the "heat".
3. Finely diced red onion - 1
4. Dried red chillies - 10-15
5. Egg - 1
6. Corn flour - 2 table spoons
7. Vinegar - 2 table spoons
8. Sugar - 1 teaspoon
9. Tomato sauce - 1 table spoon
10. Spring onions - for garnish

Method

1. Marinade the chicken with egg, a table spoon of schezwan sauce and corn flour. Let it marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a large wok - heat a few table spoons of vegetable oil.
3. Add half of the minced onions and saute for a few minutes.
4. Add the schezwan sauce and the red chillies and saute for a few minutes.
5. Add the vinegar and sugar and mix it up.
6. Add the marinaded chicken and cook for about 15-20 minutes.
7. Add the remaining onions and saute for a few minutes.
8. Finally add the tomato sauce and mix it up well.
9. Garnish with spring onions and serve.

Enjoy!!

C

Chilli Chicken - Indo Chinese Style

Since the time I left India there is always a craving for good Indo Chinese food. Unfortunately there have not been many restaurants that fitted the bill. I ended up re-creating those dishes I was missing. Chilli chicken is definitely one of those. This can be made in a different ways - dry, semi-dry or with a bit of sauce. I like this as a starter and hence made the dry version. This is a great starter to go along with the drink of your choice or as a side dish for noodles or fried rice. So without further ado...

Ingredients

1. Boneless chicken - 500 gms
2. Eggs - 2
3. Corn flour - 1.5 cups (add more as needed to get the required batter consistency)
4. Maida / Plain Flour - 1/2 cup
5. Red chilli powder - 1 tea spoon
6. Onions - 1 - cut in cubes
7. Green chillies - about a dozen depending on your spice appetite
8. Vinegar - 2 table spoons
9. Garlic - minced - 2 table spoons
10. Ginger - grated - 1 tea spoon
11. Sugar - 1/2 tea spoon
12. Dark soy sauce - 1 table spoon
13. Capsicum - 2 diced in cubes
14. Vegetable oil
15. Salt - to taste

Method

1. Dice the chicken breast in small slices. It is important to cut / slice it thin and diagonally. DO NOT chop it in cubes. Idea is to make it cook fairly quickly or a flash fry.
2. In a large bowl mix 2 eggs, corn flour, plain flour, red chilli powder and some salt. 
3. Create a thick paste and add water slowly and create a smooth but thick batter. If too watery add little amounts of corn flour to make it thick.
4. Marinate the cut chicken in the batter until you get done with other chopping / preparation tasks.
5. Chop up the onions in small cubes.
6. Slit the green chillies.
7. Mince the garlic in small pieces.
8. Grate about 2 inches or so of ginger to get about 1 tea spoon of grated ginger.
9. Dice the capsicums.
10. In a large hot wok fill about 1 cup of oil and heat it up. Test the heat by dropping a small piece of batter and it should pop up immediately.
11. Fry the chicken pieces in batches and keep aside.
12. Once done transfer the oil into a separate bowl, wipe it with a towel and heat it again.
13. Pour a few table spoons of the oil.
14. Once hot add the garlic, chillies and onions and saute for about 2 minutes.
15. Add vinegar and sugar (to balance the pungentness of vinegar) and toss it up.
16. Add the deep fried chicken pieces with the soy sauce and toss it up.
17. Add salt to taste.
18. Add the capsicums and toss it well.
19. Make a corn flour slurry with a tea spoon of corn flour and few table spoons of water.
20. Add the slurry and toss well for about a minute.
21. If you want more sauce add about a cup of water and bit more of corn flour slurry and let it boil until a thick sauce is prepared.

Enjoy!!

C

Fish Fry

Fish Fry - a dish I first tried during one of my stays in Yercaud. It was a river fish with so many bones and I had no clue how to eat it. Over the years got to know the difference between a river fish and a sea fish and began to start liking the sea fish - simply because it had less bones to take care of. :) Of course not every fish is suitable for a cutlet for a shallow fry.  Some that I liked are King fish, Cat fish, Barramundi and now Rainbow Trout. So here it comes - a shallow fried Fish Fry.

Ingredients

1. Fish cutlets (we used Rainbow Trout) - 1.5 kg
2. Ginger garlic paste - 1 table spoons
3. Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tea spoon
4. Black pepper powder - 1/2 tea spoon
5. Curry leaves (finely chopped) - 1 table spoon
6. Corn flour - 2 tea spoons
7. Lemon juice -  2 table spoons
8. Salt - to taste
9. Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup

Method

1. Create a paste with all the ingredients with a little bit of water.
2. Marinade the fish in the paste for about 1 hour.
3. In a wide and deep grill / tava pour any vegetable oil for about enough to cover the entire base for up to 1/2 inch height.
4. After the oil is hot shallow fry the marinaded fish pieces in low flame.
5. Turn after 4 to 5 minutes and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Rest it on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Enjoy !!

C

Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed Mushrooms - Something that the American restaurants blessed me with on many occasions.  Stuffed mushrooms along with corn meal biscuits are an amazing combination. A good part is we can experiment with it in so many different ways for the stuffing. Few years ago I tried masala stuffed mushrooms.  This time it's a bit more traditional but with my own twists. It's a great option for an appetizer / entree and goes very well with a glass of red. :) 

Ingredients (these measurements for about 15-20 mushrooms)

1. Mushrooms – preferably the wide ones that you can stuff after removing the stem
2. Garlic – minced (about 3-4 cloves)
3. Onions – finely chopped (1/2)
4. Cream Cheese (100 gms)
5. Parmesan Cheese – grated (1/2 cup)
6. Mozzarella Cheese - grated (1/2 cup)
7. Sundried tomato - minced (optional) 3-4 tablespoons
8. Italian herbs - 1 tablespoon
9. Butter - 30 gms
10. Coriander leaves – finely chopped - 2 table spoons
11. Bread crumbs - 3-4 table spoons
12. Black Pepper powder - 1 table spoon
13. Olive oil spray

Method

1. Remove the stem of the mushrooms and chop them finely. This is of course going to be the core of your stuffing.
2. Heat a sauce pan and melt a few tablespoons of butter.
3. Saute the onions, garlic, mushroom stems and sun dried tomatoes for a few minutes with Italian herbs, black pepper powder and salt to taste.
4. Keep the mixture aside and bring it close to room temperature.
5. Using a fork, mix the cream cheese, bread crumbs, parmesan.
6. Add the cooled down mushroom mix into the cream cheese and mix well.
7. Use a teaspoon of this mixture and stuff the de-stemmed mushroom cups.
8. Garnish the stuffed mushrooms with a sprinkle of parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
9. Place the mushrooms on a baking tray lined with aluminium paper.
10. Spray them around with olive oil. This is optional.
11. Bake the mushrooms in an oven at 175 degrees Celsius for about 5-7 minutes – just until the parmesan starts turning golden (or you start smelling a burnt smell – whichever comes earlier).
12. Allow the mushrooms to cool for a few minutes before serving.
13. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy!!

C

Chicken Kolhapuri

Chicken Kolhapuri -  a Marathi delicacy was brought to my attention during my multiple visits to Bombay Talkies. This is one of my favourite restaurants here in Sydney (Harris Park). The owner recommended it once and we never looked back. It has such a different and refreshing flavour that was not usually found in the more common Punjabi or Chettinadu chicken curries. There was something different to it that I couldn't put my finger on. After a bit of research I realised the spices made all the difference. It was almost like the mix for Vaangi Baath but with that subtle twist which made all the difference. It is no surprise here since Kolhapur where this dish originated from is not too far from the Karnataka border. You will notice a good kannadiga / coastal influence. So here's my version of it with a few twists that Uma brought in. 

Ingredients

Masala (good enough for up to 2 kg of chicken)

1. White Sesame seeds - 1 table spoon
2. Desicated coconut - 2 table spoons
3. Coriander seeds - 2 table spoons
4. Red Chillies - 2 or 3
5. Kashmiri Red Chillies - 3 or 4
6. Cinnamon stick - a small twig about 1 to 2 inches
7. Cloves - 4 to 5
8. Cardamom (Green) (Elaichi) - 4 or 5 pods
9. Poppy seeds (Khus khus) - 1 table spoon
10. Cumin - 2 tea spoons

Curry

1. Chicken with bones (1.5 kg)
2. Large red onions - 2 (diced)
3. Tomatoes - 3 (diced)
4. Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 table spoons
5. Kolhapuri Masala (from above) - 3 to 4 table spoons
6. Kashmiri red chilli - 4 or 5
7. Ghee - 2 table spoons
8. Turmeric - 1 teaspoon
9. Coconut milk - 220 ml
10. Mint leaves - a handful
11. Coriander leaves - 1 handful (chopped)

Method

1. Dry roast the ingredients of the masala and keep it aside to cool down to room temperature.
2. Grind them to a coarse powder.
3. Chop up the chicken to small pieces, wash and rinse them.
4. Add the powdered masala, turmeric with the ginger and garlic paste on the chicken and mix them up and let it marinade about 30 minutes.
5. While the chicken is marinading heat up a large kadai (sauce pan) with about 3 to 4 tablespoons of any vegetable oil.
6. Once hot, saute the onions until they turn slightly brown.
7. Add the tomatoes and saute until the mixture turns mushy and oil separates.
8. Let this onion-tomato mix cool to room temperature.
9. Once cooled down blend this mixture to a smooth paste.
10. Heat the same kadai with about 1/3 cup of vegetable oil.
11. Once hot add the blended paste and saute until oil separates.
12. Add the marinaded chicken along with the mint leaves and cook well (in medium heat / flame) with a closed lid for about 20 minutes. 
13. Keep mixing it up with a little bit of water ( to the level of consistency preferred) so that the masala mixes well and the chicken doesnt get burnt.
14. Add the coconut milk and let it boil for another 5 minutes.
15. In a separate kadai or a large spoon add the ghee and kashmiri chillies and lightly roast it for a few seconds until the chillies expand in size.
16. Add this chilli and ghee to the curry, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti/naan/chappati or steamed rice.

Enjoy!!

C

Mutton Chops

Mutton - a meat that I had avoided for a very long time for whatever reasons. I was not a big fan of the gamy flavour. However I got to understand recently that if done well you can camouflage the flavour with the right spices. These days we started making it more frequently for it's iron content apparently good for the ladies in the family. So here's a recipe for a semi-gravy type chops which is a huge hit at home.

Ingredients

Mutton Masala

1. Coriander - 2 table spoons
2. Cumin Seeds - 1 tea spoon
3. Fennel Seeds - 1 tea spoon
4. Cinnamon sticks - 2
5. Cloves - 6
6. Bay leaf - 1
7. Red chillies - 4
8. Small star anise - 1
9. Poppy seeds - 1 table spoon

Chops

1. Diced Mutton with bone - 1kg
2. Diced Onions - 2
3. Garlic - 2 cloves
4. Shallots - 3
5. Tomato (small) - 2
6. Ginger/Garlic paste - 2 table spoon
7. Cumin seeds  - 1 tea spoon
8. Fennel seeds - 1 tea spoon
9. Coriander leaves
10. Curry leaves
11. Red Chilli powder - to taste
12. Black pepper powder
13. Lemon juice - 1 table spoon
14. Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
15. Green chillies - 2
16. Mustard seeds
17. Coriander powder - 2 tea spoons

Method

1. Pressure cook the mutton with turmeric, salt and 2 cloves of garlic for about 7 or 8 whistles.
2. While it is being pressure cooked, dry roast the ingredients of the masala and let it to cool down.
3. Saute mustard seeds, fennel and cumin seeds.
4. Saute onions and green chillies until onions turn translucent.
5. Add tomatoes and saute until oil separates.
6. While you wait for the saute to complete grind the roasted masala to a fine powder.
7. Add ginger garlic and saute until oil separates.
8. Add coriander powder and the masala and mix well.
9. Filter the mutton from the pressure cooker and add the pieces.
10. Use the water used from the pressure cooker to the consistency needed. 
11. Add salt to taste.
12. Saute for about 15 minutes.
13. Add lemon juice and pepper powder and mix well.
14. Garnish with coriander leaves and curry leaves and serve hot.

Enjoy

C

Chicken Lollipops

Chicken Lollipop known by many different names - Chicken Drumstick, Drums of Heaven etc., has been huge hit recently at home while we visit an Indian restaurant nearby. My kids call it "the lollipop restaurant". This is an awesome indo-chinese appetiser (entree) that I tried ages ago and almost forgot about it since not many restaurants outside India served this delicacy. So after a few visits was inspired to recreate it at home. It took a few tries and knowing what part of chicken was best to use. This goes best with Schezwan sauce which will be coming up soon at Chetty's Kitchen.

Ingredients

1. Chicken wings - at least 4 per person (unless you want a dog fight at home). I bought 16 for the four of us. Make sure you buy the smallest chicken wings possible and the one without the shoulder piece or the winglet.
2. Corn flour - 1/2 cup
3. Plain Flour (Maida) - 1 cup (the ratio between Cornflour to Maida should be 1:2 whichever measurement you use)
4. Egg - 1
5. Ginger garlic paste - 1 table spoon
6. Salt - to taste
7. Lemon juice - 2 tea spoons
8. Light Soya sauce - 2 table spoons
9. Kashmiri chilli powder - to taste
10. Red food colour - 2 pinches (totally optional)

Method

1. Take a chicken wing and feel out the 2 bones. There will be one thin bone and a thick one. Run a knife around the thin bone, scrape the flesh and remove the bone (by twisting it out).
2. Run the knife around the remaining bigger bone and scrape the flesh down.
3. Push the flesh down towards the other end of the bone and roll it up into a ball (loosely). The lollipops are formed now.
4. In a large bowl mix the ingredients for the marinade - ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, soya sauce, kashmiri chilli and salt.
   
5. Marinade the lollipops in the above mix for at least 30 minutes.
6. While the chicken is being marinated prepare the batter with the egg, corn flour, plain flour, kashmiri chilli powder, salt and food colour. Prepare a fairly thick batter by adding water slowly. 
7. Heat a deep sauce pan / kadai with vegetable oil. Enough oil to have at least 3 to 4 cms depth. Once hot move the heat to medium / low heat.
8. Dip the chicken lollipop in the batter and roll it smoothly to maintain the ball shape and immerse them in the hot oil.
9. Cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes occasionally turning them around.
10. Drain and serve hot with a spicy Schezwan sauce. You can decorate the bone tips with aluminium foil if you would like.

The result is a crunchy on the outside but juicy on the inside Chicken Lollipop!!

Enjoy!!

C

Creamy and Spicy Chicken Pasta

It's a common misconception that pasta is typically bland. There is whole range of pasta dishes that can prepared spicy to suit our taste buds. My introduction to pasta was in the form of a masala version of macaroni and cheese that my mom used to prepare. After a few decades I found a version in one of the Italian restaurants (Johnny Carinos to be specific) in USA. A version was posted a while ago (ignore the images though). Since then we have been trying out different spicy variations of pasta. Here is one such recipe inspired by Tasty. So without further ado...

Ingredients

1. Olive oil - 3 to 4 table spoons
2. Boneless chicken breast chunks - 600 gms
3. Mushrooms (I used the brown swiss mushrooms) - 150 gms
4. Diced Onion - 1
5. Minced garlic - 1 whole garlic 
6. Thinly sliced sundried tomatoes - 3 to 4 table spoons
7. Chicken stock 500 ml
8. Plain flour (Maida) - 1 tablespoon
9. Heavy cream 350 ml
10. Pasta (I used Farfalle any variety other than spaghetti (or noodle like) will work) - 300 gms (1 packet)
11. Shredded parmesan cheese - 100 g
12. Cayenne Pepper - to taste as per your spice levels
13. Black pepper - to taste
14. Chopped Parsley for garnish

Method

1. Boil and drain the pasta as per the instructions on the package. Add a pinch of salt.
2. In a large sauce pan heat the olive oil and saute the diced chicken with a bit of salt and pepper       for about 5 minutes until cooked to about 3/4ths - just until you don't see anything pink. 
3. Move the chicken out to a separate bowl.
4. Add some more olive oil and saute the garlic, onions, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.
5. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Note that the chicken stock will come with a bit of salt too.
6. Once the onions are carmelized (brown in colour) add the chicken stock and heavy cream and bring it to boil.
7. Add the plain flour to thicken the sauce and simmer it for about 5 minutes.
8. Add the boiled and drained pasta and stir it well.
9. Add the grated parmesan cheese and stir well.
10. Garnish with chopped parsley and bit of parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Enjoy!!

C

Andhra Style Ginger Chicken

When it comes to chicken curries each state (probably even districts) seems to come up with a variation that's a specialty to that area. While I don't know which district this came from - ginger chicken curry is definitely a favourite of mine while dining at an "Andhra style" restaurant. As the name denotes this is a chicken curry with a slightly stronger tinge of ginger in it which gives a punch to the curry. I am sure this can also be enjoyed in a semi gravy style simply by reducing the amount of water.

Ingredients

1. Red onions - 3
2. Tomatoes - 2
3. Ginger & Garlic paste - 2 table spoons
4. Ginger juliennes - 50 gms
5. Fennel seeds - 1 table spoon
6. Cumin - 1 tea spoon
7. Cardamom seed - 1 tea spoon
8. Coriander seeds - 2 table spoons
9. Poppy seeds - 1 tea spoon
10. Cinnamon sticks - 1 or 2
11. Kashmiri red chillies - 4 or 5
12. Cloves - 3-4
13. Chicken with bones - 1kg (diced)
14. Gingelly oil
15. Curry leaves

Method

1. Dice the onions roughly and saute them in gingelly oil with a pinch of salt.
2. Dry roast the spices (Ingredients #5 - 12) for about a minute until the aroma comes out.
3. Let it cool down to room temperature and then blend it to a nice powder.
4. Once the onions are golden brown add the tomatoes and saute them until they get mushy.
5. Add the ginger garlic paste and half of the ginger juliennes and saute them until oil separates.
6. Add the diced up chicken pieces and mix it well.
7. Add the powdered dry spices and mix it well.
8. Cook in a medium flame with a lid on for about 20 minutes. Add a cup of water to the level of consistency you prefer.
9. Add the remaining ginger juliennes with curry leaves and simmer for a few minutes. 

Enjoy!!

C

Chicken Manchurian - quintessential dish that features in every Indian restaurant that serves "Indo-Chinese" cuisine. I do not remember any visit to a  (Indian) Chinese restaurant that did not have A "manchurian" in the order. It could be Gobi (Cauliflower) or Paneer or most often as the case is - Chicken. It usually comes in 2 variations either as "Dry" which is served as an appetizer (entree/starter) or "Gravy" which is usually served as an accompaniment to fried rice or noodles. So here is the gravy version. If you would like the dry version just follow the notes below (step #7).

Ingredients

1. Chicken breast fillet - 500 gms
2. Minced garlic - 2 table spoons
3. Minced red onions - 1 large onion
4. Corn flour - 3 table spoons for batter and 1.5 table spoons for sauce
5. Plain flour (Maida) - 1/2 cup
6. Red chilli powder - 1 tea spoon
7. Eggs - 2
8. Soya Sauce - 2 table spoons
9. Vinegar - 1 table spoon
10. Sugar - 1 tea spoon
11. Spring onions - 1/2 cup for garnish

Method

1. Thinly slice the chicken breast fillets. Make sure you don't cut them into cubes.
2. In a deep bowl mix the chicken with eggs, corn flour, plain flour, chilli powder and salt (about a tea spoon). Do not add any water. You should just have a thin coating of the batter on top of the chicken.
3. In a large wok heat about 2 cups of vegetable oil (or enough to deep fry).
4. Deep fry the chicken pieces in a few batches. It should take about 30 seconds to a minute for each batch. This is where the thinly sliced chicken pieces come in handy.
5. Transfer the excess oil into a separate bowl and use the same wok with a few table spoons of oil left.
6. Saute the garlic and onion until the onion turns slightly brown.
7.  Add vinegar and soya sauce mix it up well. (If you want the dry version avoid step #8 and add about 1 table spoon of corn flour slurry for the smooth texture).
8. Pour about 2 cups of water (or more if you need more sauce) and bring it to boil.
9. Mix the 1.5 table spoons of corn flour in half a cup of water and bring it to boil until the sauce thickens. (Adjust the water or corn flour slurry to desired thickness of sauce)
10. Mix the deep fried chicken pieces and mix it up for about a minute.
11. Serve hot with diced up spring onions as garnish. As mentioned above a good combination with noodles or fried rice.

Happy Cooking !!

C

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM) - probably the most globally well known Indian curry. I still remember being excited about finding this quintessential curry in a train from London to Edinburgh. This is one curry that I would try first in a new North Indian restaurant to assess the "repeat value" depending on how good they can make it. Some of the key characteristics of a CTM is its tangy, spicy, silky, juicy, orangy and of course yummy. Now I have a lot of vegetarian friends who've been asking for a recipe for Paneer Tikka masala. It's quite simple - just replace - yes literally replace the word Chicken with Paneer in this recipe and there you go. One needs a bit of patience with this recipe since it has a few steps involved and a variety of ingredients.

Ingredients

Boneless Chicken - either breast or thigh pieces 1/2 kg or 1 pound

Tikka Marinade

• Turmeric - 1 tea spoon
• Green Chillies - 3 or 4
• Yogurt - 2 table spoons
• Lemon juice - 1 table spoon
• Red chilli powder - 1 table spoon
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2 table spoons
• Salt - 1 tea spoon

Masala Dry Ingredients

• Raw cashews - 4 or 5 pieces
• Cumin seeds -  1 table spoon
• Bay leaf - 1
• Cinnamon sticks - 3
• Green Cardamom - 4 or 5
• Cloves - 1 tea spoon
• Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 or 2 tea spoons
• Onions

Masala Wet Ingredients

• Tomato paste - 2 table spoons
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 table spoons
• Full cream milk - 1/2 cup

Other 

• Coriander powder - 2 table spoons
• Garam masala powder - 1 table spoon
• Kasuri methi leaves - 1 table spoon
• Coriander leaves - for garnish - a handful
• Vegetable oil - few table spoons

The Method

1. Blend all the ingredients in the Tikka Marinade ingredient list to a smooth paste.
2. Marinade the chicken either as a whole or in cubes for a few hours - preferably overnight
3. Heat a large sauce pan with vegetable oil and saute the ingredients under the "Masala Dry Ingredients" group for a few minutes until the onions turn brown. Start with the spices first and then the onions.
4. Set this aside to cool to room temperature.
5. Heat a large grill pan or tava and grill the marinaded chicken until they are almost cooked. 
   
   Spray with oil as necessary. This should probably take about 5 - 7 minutes per load. If you are using paneer just grill it for a few minutes until the masalas are browned up.
   
6. Once cooked cut it into bit size chunks in case they were not cubed up already.
7. Blend the sauteed masala into a smooth paste. 
8. Transfer the paste back into the sauce pan through a metal sieve. You may add some water as needed since the paste will not filter through easily.
9. Saute the masala paste along with ginger garlic paste on medium flame/heat for a few minutes.
10. Add the tomato paste, coriander powder, garam masala and crushed up kasuri methi.
11. Saute this mixture until oil separates.
12. Add the milk and few cups of water to required consistency.
13. Bring it to a boil and add the chicken pieces and mix evenly.
14. Let the curry come to a boil for another 5 - 6 minutes.
15. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Chicken Tikka Masala ready!! Serve hot with rotis or steamed basmati rice.

Happy Cooking!!

C

Prawn Malabar

Usually I start researching on a recipe of a dish that I liked before I try it out in the kitchen. However this time it was the other way round. I prepared the dish with whatever ingredients I had and then researched for a good name for it and ended up with Prawn Malabar - thanks to the addition of coconut milk. Prawns or Shrimp as the Yankees would call it is one of the most versatile seafood that can be cooked quickly and in many different ways. Yesterday was a situation when a curry was needed in a short period of time especially when the refrigerator was not stocked up. Good old frozen prawns came to the rescue - once again. 

Ingredients

1. Prawns - devined and cleaned - 500 gms (I used frozen)
2. Red Onions (diced) - 2 medium sized
3. Tomatoes (diced) - 2
4. Green chillies (slit) - 5 or 6
5. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tablespoons
6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Garam Masala powder - 50 gms (I used Sakthi Chicken masala)
8. Coconut Milk - 1/2 cup
9. Vegetable oil
10. Mustard seeds - 2 teaspoons
11. Curry leaves

Method

1. If you are using frozen prawns - thaw and clean them first under running water for a few minutes and let them drain.
2. In a large sauce pan / wok heat the oil and season it with mustard seeds until it splatters.
3. Saute the ginger garlic paste for about 30 seconds
4. Saute the green chillies, onions and tomatoes. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes - the longest process in this recipe until the onions and tomatoes are all mushed up and comes to an almost paste like consistency.
5. Add the garam masala, turmeric powder and salt to taste and saute for a few minutes.
6. Add the coconut milk and let the mixture come to a boil.
7. Add water as much as needed without making the curry too watery.
8. Add the prawns and cook them for a few minutes - until they curl up and turn red. For those who have not cooked prawns before - if you overcook it would become very tough and rubbery.
9. Add the curry leaves and stir the mixture until the curry leaf flavour blends in.
10. Serve hot with steamed white rice.

Happy Cooking!!

C

Chettinadu Kozhi Varutha Curry - Chettinadu Chicken Curry with Roasted Spices

It was during the later part of my 20s when I was introduced to Chettinadu cuisine in restaurants like Anjappar, Karaikudi etc in Chennai. After I moved overseas I had missed it for quite some time until Anjappar started spreading its wings globally. Invariably these restaurants have this dish in their menu - "varutha curry". Recently we had been to a Chettinadu restaurant Grand Chettinad that was newly opened in our area. They had the same dish and it tickled my interest to try it out at home. I had to do a bit of research on this since there were quite a few variations from different chefs. Interestingly there was one North Indian chef who attempted this who pronounced Kozhi as Kozee and of course I ignored the rest of his recipe video. Chettinadu is famous for various chicken curry recipes. I have attempted a few myself - Milagu Kozhi - Pepper Chicken and my very first Chicken Chettinad (after which my nickname of Chicken Chetty came around). The main difference in varutha curry recipe is that you roast all the spices - wet and dry before you add it in the curry. So...long folks - now to the details.

Ingredients

Dry Masala (Spices) - pretty much your entire spice box

1. Dry Red Chillies (key for any Chettinadu recipe)
2. Star anise
3. Cinnamon sticks
4. Fennel seeds
5. Cumin seeds
6. Coriander seeds
7. Cloves

Wet Masala

1. Shallots or Red Onions 
2. Shredded Coconut
3. Cinnamon sticks
4. Green cardamom seeds
5. Poppy seeds
6. Curry leaves

Marinade

1. Chicken - chopped in 1-2 inch blocks with and without bones (drumsticks go as is)
2. Ginger garlic paste
3. Turmeric powder
4. Red chilli powder

Other

1. Tomatoes (pureed)
2. Curry leaves - for garnish
3. Mustard seeds
4. Gingelly Oil

The Method

1. Marinade the chicken in ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Set it aside for about 30 minutes. Pretty much until you complete the other masala steps.
2. Dry roast the ingredients under "Dry Spices" until you can hear a bit of crackle and smell the aroma of the ingredients. Set this aside to cool down to room temperature.
3. Grind these ingredients into a smooth powder.
4. In a pan heat a few tablespoons of gingelly oil and saute the wet ingredients. 
5. Start with the cinnamon sticks, poppy seeds, green cardamom and curry leaves. 
6. Add the onions and saute until they turn slightly golden. 
7. Add the grated coconuts finally and saute until coconut turns slightly brown. (Takes about 5 minutes in all)
8. Set the wet roasted spices aside to cool down to room temperature.
9. Blend the wet masala into a coarse to smooth paste.
10. Heat a large sauce pan and add a few tablespoons of gingelly oil.
11. Add mustard seeds and saute until they splatter.
12. Add the marinaded chicken and dry masala and saute until the chicken is half cooked. Usually about 10 minutes.
13. Add the wet masala and saute for about 5-10 minutes.
14. Add the tomato puree and salt and saute for about 5 minutes until the puree is blended well.
15. Add as much water as needed to get the amount of curry and consistency you are after. Remember it is not expected to be too thin.
16. Leave it to cook until chicken is cooked well and the oil separates.
17. Garnish with curry leaves and serve hot with rice or parotta.

Enjoy Cooking!!

C

Kadai Chicken a.k.a Chicken Karahi

Kadai Chicken also known as Chicken Karahi is again one of those dishes you would find in most Indian restaurants.  This is usually made almost like a stir fry - but I made it a slightly saucy version. Kadai Chicken comes with a good mix of flavours and textures. A bit of tangyness from the tomatoes, a bit of crunch from the bell peppers (capsicums), sweetness from the onions and of course a bit of kick with the ginger julienne added as a garnish. This is a fairly quick one to prepare. This came up as a last minute dinner plan with an end to end preparation time within 30 minutes. Of course there is also distant cousin Kadai Paneer which is also prepared in a similar way with Paneer. Goes very well with warm rotis (or chappatis).


Ingredients

1. Diced chicken breast 
2. Onions - cut in cubes
3. Capsicums / Bell Peppers (Green) - cut in cubes
4. Tomatoes - roughly cut
5. Tomato paste - 1 tablespoon purely for colour
6. Ginger Garlic paste - freshly ground
7. Cashews - 2/3
8. Salt
9. Red Chilli powder - preferably Kashmiri chilli for colour
10. Cumin powder
11. Coriander powder
12. Garam masala
13. Kasuri Methi - dried fenugreek leaves
14. Milk
15. Ginger julienne - for garnish
16. Coriander leaves - for garnish

Method

1. Saute the cashews, onions (3/4ths of quantity diced) and tomatoes in any vegetable based oil until the tomatoes are mushy and set aside to cool.
2. You can dice the chicken while the onions / tomato cools down.
3. Blend the sauteed cashew, onion and tomato mix into a smooth paste
4. Heat a kadai (sauce pan) with oil and saute the blended paste along with ginger garlic paste and a tomato paste.
5. Saute until the oil separates and the raw flavour is gone.
6. Add salt, garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, kasuri methi (crushed into a powder in your palm), chilli powder and saute for a few minutes until the spices are blended well.
7. Add the chicken pieces and cook with a closed lid for about 10 minutes.
8. Add water as much as needed for the sauce. Ideally prepared without water.
9. Add a dash of milk - whole cream version. You can substitute with cream as well.
10. Add the remaining onions and capsicums and saute for about 5 minutes. Need to stop before the capsicums 
11. Add a tea spoon of garam masala at the end.
12. Garnish with ginger julienne and coriander leaves.

Restaurant / Dhaba style Kadai Chicken ready!!

Happy Cooking

C

Penne Gamberetto Messicano - Prawn Penne Mexicano

When it comes to Italian food or pasta, a common perception is that it would be bland and tasteless. However Americans have adopted pasta to suit the local tastes combined with the "texmex" cuisine to create a fusion. Here's a prawn penne pasta with loads of Mexican inspired vegetables i.e., capsicums and mushrooms. This version is fairly simple and also uses or rather re-uses vessels to strengthen the taste. Without further ado - here it comes.


Ingredients:

1. Penne Pasta (or any other type that you may prefer)
2. Prawns
3. Garlic - finely chopped or minced
4. Capsicums (Red and Green for colour)
5. Sun Dried tomatoes
6. Mushrooms
7. Flour (Maida) - 2 table spoons
8. Cream
9. Milk
10. Parmesan cheese (for garnish)
11. Parsley (for garnish)
12. Butter
13. Olive Oil
14. Cayenne pepper powder

The Method

1. Boil a large pot with water and salt. 
2. Cook the pasta for about 6 - 8 minutes until it is not too hard (and not too soft either)
3. While the pasta is boiling you can chop the vegetables and keep it ready.
4. In a large work melt about 100 gms of butter and add garlic and saute for a few minutes.
5. Add the prawns and saute until they are half cooked.
6. Add the vegetables and saute for few minutes.
7. Remove the contents and keep aside.
8. In the same pan melt about 50 gms of butter along with olive oil.
9. Add a cup of milk, 2 table spoons of cream and let it boil.
10. Add the flour and stir it well without letting it lump up.
11. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste
12. Add some water to get to a saucy consistency - should be able to pour with a spatula but should not be too thin either.
13. Add the pasta and mix it well
14. Add the sauteed prawns and vegetables and mix it well.
15. Serve hot with a garnish of grated parmesan cheese and finely chopped parsley leaves.

Chicken Jalfrezi - Bengali Hot Chicken Curry

Chicken Jalfrezi - one of those dishes almost always found in many Indian restaurants that serves North Indian dishes. Little did I know earlier that the roots for this dish is actually from Bengal. "Jhal" meaning "Hot" in Bengali (apparently). Some websites claim that Jalfrezi has taken over Chicken Tikka as the No.1 dish for UK. This is again a dish I got introduced during my Bangalore Days. A spicy, tangy, thick, chicken curry suitable for roti or rice. There are multiple recipes available on the web, here's my version with a slight twist here and there. 

Ingredients

Ingredients for curry paste

1. Chicken
2. Onions
3. Tomatoes
4. Tomato Paste
5. Green Chillies
6. Dried Red Chillies
7. Ginger Julienne
8. Cashew
9. Poppy seeds
10. Garam Masala
11. Cumin Seeds
12. Cumin Powder
13. Ginger and Garlic paste
14. Cumin Powder
15. Red Chilli Powder (If possible both regular and Kashmiri Chilli for the colour)
16. Amchur Powder
17. Turmeric Powder
18. Vinegar
19. Tomato Ketchup
20. Ghee

Method

1) Take about half of the onions, few tomatoes, green chillies, poppy seeds, and cashews and grind it into a smooth paste.

2) Heat a large kadai and add a few tablespoons of vegetable / canola oil.

3) When oil is hot add cumin seeds and dried red chillies and saute until you get the cumin and chilli "fragrance" out.

4) Add the paste done in step #1, ginger garlic paste and saute well until oil separates.

5) Add chicken, few tablespoons of vineger, about a tea spoon of tomato paste, pinch of turmeric powder, tea spoon of cumin powder, red chilli powder, half a teaspoon of Amchur powder, garam masala and salt to taste.

6) After the chicken is say about 1/3rd cooked, add a tablespoon of tomato ketchup (or sauce depending on which part of the globe you are from), add the remaining onions, ginger julienne saute for a few minutes.

7) Add water and let the curry boil to thicken as needed. Watch out not to add too much water as this is meant to be a thick curry. Do also note that the cashew paste will assist in thickening this up later. By now you should be able to smell the tangyness in the curry.

8) Once the curry has reached the required consistency (by when the chicken must have been cooked as well), add a good dollop of ghee to give the curry a rich and creamy texture. Let it simmer for a few minutes.

9) The curry is done once you can see the oil separated and has reached the consistency you need.

10) Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti/chappati or rice.

Happy Cooking!!

C

Chettinadu Nandu Rasam a.k.a. Chettinadu Crab Soup

Nandu (Crab) Rasam (Soup), a delicacy we picked up from Anjappar the Chettinad restaurant during one of the many visits. It was a favourite for the 3 of us. Nandha is yet to get there yet, but it would be just a matter of time. With the onset of Autumn in Sydney and a coughing orchestra going on at home, decided to try this out as the Sunday special. There are enough blog posts that talk about the "medicinal" properties of crab soup so I will not bother to talk much about it. Just enough to say that it had a good effect on my cold even while preparing the soup. One of the interesting things I found about this recipe was that most of the ingredients had to be used both "as is" and also in a ground form. Whatever the reason behind, but the impact was awesome.

Ingredients
1) Crab - cut and cleaned. This time we used Blue Swimmer Crab - the male version. Apparently males are more meaty. ;-)
2) Cinnamon sticks
3) Poppy seeds (Khus khus)
4) Fennel Seeds
5) Cumin Seeds
6) Cloves
7) Cardamom

8) Black pepper seeds (I cheated with powder here)
9) Green chilies
10) Diced Onion - Shallots if you can get hold of them
11) Ginger
12) Curry leaves
13) Garlic
14) Diced Tomato
15) Dried Red chillies
16) Turmeric powder
17) Cashews
18) Coconut milk

Yes, it does seem like quite an handful of ingredients but am sure each one of them had a clear part to play. The easy way out would be to use garam masala powder just by itself.

The Method
1) Cut and clean the crab into reasonable sizes. Cleaning of course is a technique - not the most enjoyable one. You can look here for further cleaning tips.
2) Create a paste with half of the garlic, all of ginger, half of green chillies, poppy seeds, curry leaves and cashews.
3) In a large sauce pan saute all the dry ingredients in Gingelly Oil
4) Add the curry leave/green chilly paste and saute for a few minutes.
5) Add the remaining garlic (mashed up), green chillies, onions and tomatoes and saute until oil separates.
6) Add coconut milk and saute until the masala boils.
7) Add the crab and cook until the shell turns red - an indicator that the meat would be cooked. Normally takes about 10 minutes.
8) Add garam masala and black pepper powder to the level of "heat" required.
9) Add enough water to the level of consistency needed and let it boil.

Voila - Nandu Rasam Ready !!

This can be served directly as a soup or with steamed rice as you would normally eat rasam sadam (rice).

Enjoy Cooking !!

C