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| Chicken Curry from the Indian State of Kerala |
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Ingredients:
Chicken- 2 Lbs. (wash & cut into pieces)
Fresh green peas or green and red bellpepper- 1/4 cup
Carrot- 1 (cut into thin strips)
Small baby potatoes- 7 boiled and peeled
Onions- 2 (chopped)
Grated ginger- 1.5 inch piece
Garlic- 6 cloves (chopped)
Green chilies- 3
Coconut milk- 1 1/2 cups
- Spices
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Cinnamon- 1 piece
Bay leaves- 2
Cloves- 2
Black peppercorns- 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp.
Garam masala powder- 1/4 tsp.
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp.
Ghee- 2 tablespoons
Oil- 2 tablespoons
A bunch of curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste |
Method:
1. Grind the ginger, peppercorns, turmeric powder, onions and green chilies to make
a coarse paste.
2. Heat oil and ghee in a large pan and add mustard seeds. When it pops add
cinnamon, bay leaves & cloves. When it turns brown add garlic and curry leaves.
3. After a few seconds add the onion, ginger and chili paste. Fry for a couple
of minutes. Then add the chicken pieces and fry. Add potatoes, carrots, garam masala
and salt.
4. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Then pour the coconut milk and add the green peas. Cover and cook until the
chicken is fully cooked. |
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| Murgh Xaguti Masala or Goan Chicken Curry |
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2 tablespoon(s) oil
2 onions finely chopped
12 medium pieces (about 800 grams) of chicken
½
teaspoon(s) turmeric powder
2 cup(s) water
salt to taste
1 tablespoon(s) tamarind pulp
½ teaspoon(s) equal mix of mace and nutmeg powders For the Paste
1
cup(s) grated coconut
10 whole dry red Kashmiri chillies
4 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks of 1" each
2 tablespoon(s) each coriander and poppy seeds (khus khus)
1 teaspoon(s) each of blackpeppercorns, carom and cumin seeds
2 star anise (phoolpatri)
1 tsp garlic paste |
- Dry roast the grated coconut in a non-stick pan on low heat stirring every now and then
for about 3 minutes or till it is reddish-brown and aromatic. Remove onto a plate.
In the same pan dry roast all other ingredients for the paste except the garlic briefly
till they turn a shade darker and give off an aroma. Grind to a paste with the coconut,
garlic and water as required to make a thick fine paste.
- Heat the oil in a thick-bottomed pan and add the onions. Saute on medium level for about
4 minutes or till they are browned.
- Add the chicken pieces and fry on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or till
golden on all sides.
- Add the ground paste and turmeric powder. Fry on medium-low heat for about 5
minutes ot till oil separates
- Add water, salt and mix well. Bring to a boil. Add the tamarind pulp and the mace-nutmeg
powders. Cover and simmer low heat for about 12 minutes or till the chicken is fully
cooked and tender.
TIP:
- Traditionally, chicken is cut into comparitively smaller pieces for this recipe.
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| Badami Murgh - Chicken Curry with One Hundred Almonds (North India) |
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Ingredients -
3 lb. roasting chicken
5 medium onions
2 tablespoons oil
- Spices
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2 tablespoons ghee
3 teaspoons finely chopped garlic _
3 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
I tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
1 teaspoon chili powder, optional
3 teaspoons salt
3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander or mint leaves
100 blanched almonds
oil for frying
1 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon garam masala |
Method:
Cut chicken into curry pieces. Peel onions, chop 3 onions finely and slice the
remaining 2 very fine. Heat ghee and oil in a large heavy saucepan and fry the 2 sliced
onions, stirring, until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the chopped
onion, garlic and ginger to the oil left in pan and fry on low heat, stirring
occasionally, until very soft and turning golden. Long, slow cooking at this stage is
essential if the curry is to have good flavor.Add
the coriander, cumin, turmeric, fennel and chili powder and fry, stirring, for 1-2
minutes. Add salt, tomatoes and half the fresh herbs, stir well and cook until tomatoes
are pulpy. Cover pan to hasten this process, but uncover and stir now and then to ensure
mixture does not stick to base of pan.
Put in the chicken pieces and stir well so that each piece
is coated with the mixture. Cover pan and cook on very low heat for 40 minutes or until
chicken is tender. Meanwhile heat oil and fry half the almonds until golden. Grind
remaining almonds. Beat the yogurt with a fork until it is quite smooth and stir into the
curry together with the fried almonds. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered. Stir in the garam
masala, reserved fried onions, ground almonds and remaining chopped herbs. Heat through
and serve. |
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| Moglai Murgh -Whole Chicken with Rice, Moghul Style |
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Ingredients
4 lb. roasting chicken
2 tablespoons almonds
1 tablespoon chironji seeds or pistachios
- Spices
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2 tablespoons white poppy seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chili powder, optional
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon saffron strands
2 tablespoons boiling water 1 cup yogurt
Salt to taste
3 hard boiled eggs
2 tablespoons ghee or oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
2 or 3 fresh green chilies, seeded and chopped
1 cup hot water
2 cups basmati or other long grain rice
1/2 cup sultanas or raisins
1/2 cup shelled peas
Garnish:
silver leaf, optional
1/2 cup almonds or cashews, fried |
Method:
Wash and dry the chicken well and with a very sharp knife make slits in the flesh
of the breast, thighs and drumsticks to allow spices to penetrate.In electric blender grind almonds, chironji or pistachios, poppy
seeds, caraway and cumin. Combine these with the chili powder, if used, and the ground
coriander and turmeric. Pound saffron strands in mortar and pestle and dissolve in the
boiling water, mix into yogurt together with ground spices. Add lei teaspoons salt. Rub
this marinade well into the chicken, inside and out, and let it marinate for at least l
hour in the refrigerator. Put the hard boiled eggs into the cavity of the chicken and
truss the bird, tucking its wing tips under and tying the drumsticks together.
In a large, heavy saucepan, with a tight cover, heat the
ghee or oil and fry onion until golden brown. Remove onion from pan and reserve. Scrape
excess marinade from outside of chicken, put chicken in pan and.fry on all
sides by turning it, taking care not to let it burn. Add the marinade, coriander, mint and
chilies, the fried onion and hot water. Allow to come to simmering point, cover and simmer
for 40 minutes. While chicken is cooking, wash rice well and soak in cold water for 30
minutes, then drain in colander.
Carefully lift chicken from pan. Measure stock in pan and
add water to make up to 4 cups if necessary. Return to pan, add remaining 2 teaspoons salt
and the drained rice and bring to the boil, stirring to scrape any spice from base of pan.
Put chicken on top of rice, sprinkle sultanas and peas around it, cover tightly and
continue cooking for a further 30 minutes without lifting lid. Serve chicken surrounded by
rice and garnished with silver leaf and fried nuts. |
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| Chicken in a Clay Pot (Recipe
conceived in The Royal Kitchens of India)) |
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Ingredients:
3 lb. roasting chicken
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
- Spices
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1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon saffron strands
I tablespoon boiling water
3 tablespoons ghee or butter
1/3 cup strong chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Stuffing:
1 tablespoon, ghee of oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
3 teaspoons ground coriander
I teaspoon ground cumin
250 g (8 oz) minced lamb
1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves, optional
1 bay leaf
11/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon each ground cardamom, cinnamon and cloves
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups hot water |
Method
Remove skin of chicken.
Make small slashes in the flesh of the breast, thighs and drumsticks. Combine garlic,
ginger, onion, cardamom, turmeric, mace and salt. Dissolve saffron in boiling water and
add. Rub the mixture well into the chicken, cover and marinate overnight in refrigerator
or for at least 2 hours at room temperature.
Fill the chicken with cooked and cooled stuffing, truss the bird and place in clay
casserole breast downwards. The chicken breast must be at the bottom or downwards when
cooking so that the breast is immersed in stock and remains moist. Melt the ghee or butter
and pour over the chicken. Pour stock into the casserole and add the bay leaf. Cover with
lid so that none of the fragrant steam is lost.
Bake in a moderately slow oven 160 °C (325°F) for 2 hours or a slow oven 150C
(300°F) for 4 flours if this is more convenient. Take the dish to table and uncover it
there so that the guests have the experience of enjoying the aroma as it first escapes the
clay casserole.
Stuffing: Heat ghee or oil and fry onion and garlic until soft and
starting to turn golden. Add ground coriander and cumin and fry 1 minute, then add lamb
and fry, stirring, until lamb is browned. Add all remaining ingredients except rice and
water. Cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice and hot
water, bring to a boil, stirring. Then turn heat very low, cover tightly and cook for
20-25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed by rice. Cool before using.Serve with rice or breads, salads and sweet mango chutneys |
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