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Friday, May 22, 2009

Chicken Masala

Baked Rava Idly’s turned out soft a lil different from what a cooker Idly tastes… This idly wasn’t hard or soggy neither dry they were close to soft muffins, keep checking a couple of times while you bake these Idly’s if you let them go a lil longer they will come out dry or crispy!!! The Carrots gave a nice creamy yellow color to the Idly's...

I can only think of days when I budged into a hostel, where the cafeteria catered only vegetarian food and by and far Eggs were considered vegetarian, and I was a person who loves Chicken and am more inclined towards Seafood... Usually there was one long weekend permissible in a month, so the urge to get back home was always incremental … When I just enter home I will just walk straight to the dinning table to dig on and that was pretty normal, Oh yeah my Grandma always says that “I behave like a food deprived gal”… The saga continued even when I started working (more than 7 yrs in total), only for a very short period did I getta stay in an apartment of my own, so anytime I getta chance I did sprang up with going out for food which I call Good Food, I almost ate everywhere at Hyderabad and at Chennai… But for once hostels were different for me, Tara Manjunatha Hostel in Bangalore, behind Ramaiah College, oh food was heavenly there…

My Mom is a pure vegetarian, and so are her sisters, she was so naïve that she dint know how chicken leg looks like… So after their wedding, the newly wedded couples were invited over to the Grooms sisters place (My aunt) and theirs is a big place with a lotsa friends and relatives and they had a feast with lotsa people from the village and here the so naïve Bride(she was only 18 then) was served Chicken and she started chewing on the legs and bones not know how to eat them… But she learnt cooking from my Aunt and Grandma, I am clueless how she manages to make finger licking non vegetarian food without tasting or not knowing how they taste with different ingredients…

My Grandma always tells us that while making chicken with just lil ingredients the dish can taste heavenly and she always insisted that we used whole spices and no chilli powder went into her dishes only whole red chillies were used and so I learnt this from her and this was the first dish I ever learned to cook…



Ingredients:

For Cleaning:

Turmeric Powder – 1 tbsp
Water

For Cooking:

Chicken – 1 lb
Onion – 1 large
Tomato – 1 large
Ginger – 2 inches
Garlic – 10 pods
Bay Leaves - 2 nos.
Cinnamon Stick - 1 no. small
Cardamom - 2 nos.
Cloves - 2 nos.
Red Chillies – 7-8 nos.
Cooking Oil – 3-4 tbsps
Mustard Seeds – ¼ tsp
Coriander Seeds – 3 tbsps roasted and ground to a fine powder
Curry Leaves from one or two strands
Salt to taste

For Powder:

Cinnamon Stick - 1 no. large
Cloves - 6-7 nos.
Cardamom - 6-7 nos.

For Garnishing:

Coriander Leaves

Method:

Wash the Chicken over few changes of Water and apply Turmeric and let it stand for 15-20 mins. Meanwhile chop and dice the Onions and Toamtoes. Paste Ginger and Garlic without adding Water, do sprinkle some Water if needed. Roast Coriander Seeds and make a fine powder. Roast Cinnamon, Cloves and Cardamom and grind it to a fine powder.

Heat a wide non stick pan/any wide mouthed vessel add Cooking Oil add the Mustard Seeds and let it splutter now drop the Cinnamon, Cardamom, Clove and Bay Leaves. Throw in the finely chopped Onions, Red Chillies and Curry Leaves, when it changes color add the Ginger-Garlic Paste cover and cook for 3-4 mins until the watery consistency disappears and it thickens.

Now add the diced Tomatoes and cover and cook until the Tomatoes are soft. Then goes the Coriander Powder and the Garam Masala Powder. Cover and wait until Masala splutter out then add Turmeric Powder and Chicken. Cover and cook for 10 mins do not open keep the flames on low - medium. No Water is required, after about 10 mins stir in not letting the Chicken to burn off. Now again cover and cook for another 10 mins or until Chicken is soft. Adjust Salt and garnish with Cilantro now keep the lid open and cook for a few more mins until the gravy thicken and coats the Chicken.

Serve with: Rice, Dosa, Idly or Roti Varities

Chicken Masala goes to

Viki's -- The Potluck - Chicken

38 comments:

Vikis Kitchen said...

I can't control laughing loudly on reading the line 'like a food deprived girl'....I too remember the days when I go home for vacation with the very thought of my favorite foods only:) Moreover mom's feast on ur aunt's house made me giggle.
Grandmas are always right on using the whole spices. Chicken masala is a yummy recipe. Nice pics. Thanks for sending it to the event dear.

Pooja said...

Enjoyed reading the write up ramya..mouthwatering chicken...

Padma said...

Chicken Masala is looking great Ramya... as usual great presentation and was nice reading the story :)

Padma said...

One thing wanted to mention is about red chillies... don't know if I missed reading or not... when to add them ..

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Ramya chicken masala is looking so delish but what to do i can only admire it dear. Loved reading the write up and interesting.. SO u got ur patti kai manam..

Sakshi said...

me too still act like a food deprived gal the moment I get to see food anywhere other than in my kitchen..
the dish looks finger licking good Ramya nd yeah am a huge chicken fan

Renuka said...

that was a great read...chicken masala looks yumm...whole spices are alwayd the best..have a grt weekend yaar..

Ivy said...

Chicken is one of my favourite meat and all the flavours you've added to it makes it delicious.

Christo Gonzales said...

thank you for the wonderful history and story surrounding you and your dishes - this chicken masala looks great!

Gita Jaishankar said...

The chicken does look finger-looking good Ramya :)

kittymatti said...

no idea about chicken but good picture ramya:)

Unknown said...

That sure sounds too inviting. I was wondering wat sidedish to make for the frozen parottas I have. This is the one!

Priya Suresh said...

Enjoyed reading ur description Ramya...and chicken masala looks very delicious!

ARUNA said...

tht was a nice write-up Ramya.......and gorgeous dish, nice click too!!!!

Nandinis food said...

Nice chicken! Looks delicious! Fabulous dish! Wonderful click!

Vishali said...

thats an awsome chicken recipe and I wish i cld dig in right now...u have a nice weekend dear!

Pooja said...

Food deprived girl :)? Staying away from home sure makes one hog on home food the moment they see! I am amazed on knowing that ur mom cooks non veg dishes without tasting..amazing! How right ur grandma is..cooking with whole spices gives a wonderful taste and aroma to chicken dishes!
And this one looks absolutely divine! Perfect entry!

Pooja said...

And Ramya, thanks a lot for helping me in the technical issue I faced. I solved the problem. The culprit was my customized feed(feedburner) that overflew and stopped indexing! I think I should post on it soon to save other readers from the same situation. What do u say?

Lavanya Siva said...

Really enhoyed reading your post. Yummy recipe too........great.

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Lovely reading your story! I've never stayed in a hostel-have always had the comforts of being pampered at home!!!
The chicken masala sounds great Ramya-I'm always on the look out for spicy chicken recipes coz we don't have a good Indian restaurant here(infact,I started cooking chicken because of the same reason),and the rest of the places have bland stuff :(

Dharani Jagadeesh said...

Hi ramya.. lovely chciken masala..tempting..after reading ur story..i remembered my days even!!

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

Your story was awesome... Remembered my hostel days too...
Lovley recipe... The whole masla does have a richer flavor...
Great dish!

Sujatha said...

I too love chicken dishes and learnt that the whole spices make the chicken more flavorful! Would like to try this recipe very soon...

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

I too love chicken recipes. Looks so delish. Perfect for the event.

Sharmila said...

Chicken is indeed very easy to make ... put in anything and you will always get a lovely dish. I can relate to your food deprived girl. :-)

Chitra said...

nice entry ramya!!

Suparna said...

Hi Ramya,
It was a nice walk down the memory lane with u :) such reads impart mixed feelings always.....

Grandmoms and moms advices must be etched in gold coz they can never go wrong. I love the strong flavour and aroma of whole spices. But sometimes I get lazy and all that and end up using powders ;)

Ur recipe looks easy to put together, am sure the dish would get my taste buds on the dance floor ;)
TC

Malar Gandhi said...

Love chicken in any form, this one is awesome.

ST said...

That was a nice write-up Ramya.....Nice click too...

Vrinda said...

Chicken masala looks really yummy...

Unknown said...

enjoy reading your post dear nice chicken masala looks delicious.

Parita said...

hehehehe...my moms says something similar that i behave as if i havent seen food..:)) the dish looks heavenly dear...

Vani said...

Love the way the chicken curry looks!

Ammu said...

Delicious chicken curry. Love the way u presented.

Jo said...

Your mum is so cute and as the first dish that you learnt to cook, it is truly a delicious one. I love masala chicken and I do believe fresh whole chillies taste much, much better than the powdered ones.

Premyscakes said...

Ha Ha, nice write up, suits for every one who is away from their home. yummy chicken masala.

eshoboshoaahare.blogspot.in said...

TOO LATE BUT YUMMY COMMENT FROM MY SIDE...........REALLY ITS YUMMY...

lubnakarim06 said...

Oh wow looks spicy, yum and flavourful......Love that presentation with cute flowers....

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