Dum ka murgh (slow cooked chicken curry)

Posting a chicken curry after a really really long time. Some of us BB-ians realised it was National Curry Week and decided to do a curry post together. Of course its the last day of the event, but better late than never right? 

I love a good chicken curry. In fact its my favourite past time to keep browsing the internet for new chicken curry recipes and bookmarking every one of them that comes my way. I have a few delicious favourites, which keep making its way through to our tables, but never to the blog because I find photographing any sort of curry incredibly difficult. I keep taking pictures each time I make a nice curry, but then they never look nice. Its mostly the styling, which I'm stuck with.

Which is why, I was pleasantly surprised at how these pictures turned out. I had initially put the curry in a brown bowl and the colour combinations just didn't work. I was all ready to give up, when I thought I'll try it in the beautiful blue bowl which I'd picked up from this gorgeous Polish pottery store called Blue Dot Pottery. The red curry worked well with the blue pottery and it was a pleasure working with that set up. Half of my worries are over if I manage to get the styling right, which brings me to the Bloggers' Buzz Photography Club (#BBPC) which we run every month. We get together in a central London location, do a couple of food photography exercises and learn from each other. If you are not in London, then you can of course join us online where we'd give a theme a month. Email us at bloggersbuzzuk@gmail.com if you want to give it a go. We are all amateurs trying to learn a thing or two about food photography, so please don't feel intimidated. All you need is a camera and some food to shoot :)

I have tasted dum ka murgh at various restaurants and it wasn't really a big hit with me. I am not claiming this is the best curry I've ever had, but surely one of the nicer ones. It pairs well with naans and parathas and the good thing about this recipe (sans the frying of onions) is how you don't need to saute various ingredients at various stages etc, but just add the chicken, close with a tight lid and let it cook in its own juices. 

Recipe adapted from here and here

 

Chicken- 500 gms with bones, cleaned and cut into medium pieces

Oil- enough to fry

Onions- 2 medium, finely chopped

Cinnamon stick- 1 inch

Cardamom pods- 2

Cloves- 2

Whole peppercorn- 4

Green chillies- 2 slit (optional)

To marinate

Yoghurt- 1/4 cup

Almond powder- 3 tbsp (grind with some water to make a paste)

Garam masala- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

Tomato ketchup/ paste- 1 tbsp (I used ketchup)

Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Mint leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions till golden brown and crispy. You need to keep stirring this at intervals, so it fries evenly. Also make sure you don't burn it.

Drain on paper towels and keep aside.

In a large bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients.

Crush the fried onions, reserving about a tbsp of it, and add to the marinade. Mix well.

Add the chicken and thoroughly rub in the marinade. Keep covered in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

When ready to cook, heat the remaining oil (from frying) and throw in the spices and green chilli. Sauté till it gets all fragrant.

Add the marinated chicken and fry in the oil for a couple of minutes.

Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to medium and cook the chicken for about 20 minutes.

Check once or twice in between to give it a quick mix and if you feel that the water is really less, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup, mix well and continue cooking with the lid closed.

Do a taste test and check if salt levels are good and if the chicken is cooked. 

The curry is ready when you see a thin layer of oil that's separated from the gravy.

Garnish with the remaining fried onions and some coriander leaves just before serving.

Notes: I did the mistake of adding the almond powder on its own without grinding it to a paste and so kept getting the grainy texture in the gravy. Not pleasant, so make sure you grind it.

Its not spicy at all, so add more green chilli/ chilli powder if needed.

Add a dash of cream at the end, just before taking it off heat for some extra richness.

Read more »

Potato and chickpea cakes

Are you all enjoying the weather wherever you are? Too hot? Too cold? Too much rain?? or is it just perfect? Too many questions??? :) :)

We have had gorgeous sunny weather for the past few weeks and its been good. Well most of the time that is. I have been out galavanting with friends, attending events and generally being busy which sometimes drains me out in the heat. But I'm not complaining.. Work has taken a back seat for the time being and I'm glad it is so, because I really do need to figure out how to handle the backlog of work that has accumulated over this past few months..yes, you read it right, months. I'm slowly finishing it off and hopefully will learn how to manage time more efficiently. My husband would be very glad I've even declared this in public because he has the biggest issue with me not managing time responsibly and planning well.

Coming to the recipe. No offence to all the vegetarian, but I have the toughest time cooking for them. Its not because there are no recipes available, but because I suck at it. My vegetarian dishes don't really come out nice and paneer, potatoes and spinach are the only options I usually play around with. Its become boring and I've run out of ideas. This combination of potatoes and chickpeas however was a welcome change. The recipe is by Alfred Prasad from Great British Chef's Vegetarian Recipes and a very easy one at that. Few ingredients needed, can be put together in no time and you get a decent vegetarian starter.

I had a bit of trouble with cooking the patties, since there was nothing to really hold them together like egg white or bread crumbs. So after two failed attempts at getting perfect shaped cakes, I decided to try the method mentioned in the recipe (I know, I should have just stuck to it the first time) and then it worked. I happily ate the first two that didn't turn out well without any complaint though. The recipe is apt for kids, but I don't have kids and so chucked in a green chilli which was such a fab idea. Serve it with just ketchup and you have a perfect snack to please your guests

Recipe halved from Great British Chefs

Potatoes- 2 large

Cooked chickpeas- 100 gms (I used canned)

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tbsp

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Green chilli- 1, finely chopped

Coriander leaves- 1/2 cup, finely chopped

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp

Slice the potatoes into quarters and steam in a dumpling steamer for about 15 minutes or so. I find steaming much easier than boiling. But feel free to boil till tender and a fork goes through easily.

Cool for a while and then peel. Break the potatoes with a fork, but don't mash it completely.

Into a big bowl add all the remaining ingredients except oil and mix well using a masher or even better, your hands.

Again, they need not be completely smooth, a few chunks here and there is fine,

Heat the oil in a frying pan.

While that's heating, shape the potato mix into small discs.

Cook each cake in the pan, making sure you press it down so it gets cooked evenly.

Drain on paper towels and serve hot with ketchup.

Notes: Don't add a lot of oil, the cakes will only fall apart and make life difficult. The 1 tbsp oil was enough for all the potato cakes, but if you feel you need more oil, add bit by bit and fry.

The recipe calls for refrigerating the cakes after shaping them, which i didn't. I'm thinking this would sort the falling-apart issue.

Read more »

Kale- two ways

 

I was introduced to kale a while back at this PR event where they served it crispy, and I loved it. From then on Ive wanted to try it at home but never actually got around to doing it. This time too I picked up a pack of curly kale leaves to make crispy kale, but obviously my mind (and tummy) had other plans. I decided to make a thoran and then half way through I suddenly changed my mind and decide to also make dal with half of it. Yes that's how my mind works, no planning, nothing :)

I have also started freezing anything and everything possible, and did the same with this as well. Both dal and thoran were put into freezer bags and stashed away for a day I would be absolutely lazy to cook. Replace the kale with spinach for spinach dal and spinach (cheera) thoran (shall be attempting this soon).

Kale dal

 

Moong dal- 1/2 cup

Green chilli- 1, slit

Garlic- 4 pods, roughly chopped

Water- 2 cups

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies- 2

English shallots- 3, finely chopped (or 1 small onion)

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida- 1 generous pinch

Fenugreek powder- 1/5 tsp (optional)

Tomato- 1, finely chopped

Kale- 3 cups, washed and roughly chopped

Oil- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

 

Cook the dal with the green chilli, garlic 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder, salt and water in a pressure cooking till done (around 2 to 3 whistles on medium heat).

Remove from fire, open the life once the pressure releases on its own and lightly mas the dal with the back of a spoon. 

If you feel its too thick, add more water, put it back on flame and bring to a boil. Keep aside.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the cumin seeds and red chillies.

Once they slightly sizzle, add the shallots and cook on medium fire till they turn a golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes.

Add the powders- turmeric, chilli, asafoetida and fenugreek- and continue sauteeing till the oil starts to surface slightly.

In goes the tomato. Cook till they get mashed and you get a thick masala.

At this point add the kale and mix it all in. 

Add salt and cover and cook till the kale gets wilted a bit (it doesn't get wilted like spinach though).

Pour in the cooked dal and give one good stir to mix it all in. Check for salt and add more if necessary.

Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer for about 5 minutes after which you can transfer to a serving bowl and have it hot with rice, pappad and pickle.

Kale thoran (kale with coconut and spices)

Kale- 3 cups

Dessicated coconut- 1/2 cup (I use frozen)

Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

Garlic- 3 pods, peeled

Shallots- 7 to 8, peeled

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Green chilli- 1

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Dry red chillies- 2

 

Grind together coarsely the coconut, cumin seeds, garlic, shallots, turmeric powder and green chilli and salt in a spice grinder or using a pestle and mortar. It need not be paste like. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed deep pan and splutter mustard seeds with curry leaves and dry red chilli.

Into this add the ground mix and saute for a couple of minutes, just to get rid of the rawness. Don't brown the coconut.

Add the kale and mix well. Pour in a tbsp of water and cover and cook for about 10 minutes on medium flame, stirring occasionally.

Check for salt, add more if needed, give a final stir and transfer to a serving bowl.

Read more »

No-yeast naan and keema {quick dinner idea}

Trying to figure out what to make for dinner these days has become a major chore. I mean sometimes I know what exactly I want to have and then I get all enthusiastic to source ingredients and make it happen. But on most other days I'm just lost. I'm bored with chapati and usual curries, bored with macaroni bakes, bored with dosa/ idli and bored with soup and bread. I ask Ro what he wants for dinner and he says two words all the time, Chinese or Mediterranean. Unfortunately I'm rubbish at both these and so the only option is to eat out. Which is what Ro means by Chinese and Mediterranean, but that's not an option always isn't it?

Anyways, on one of those days I was breaking my head over what to make, I did my usual scouting of blogs to get some inspiration and landed on this beautiful blog that had pretty pictures and some interesting recipes. The yohurt naan caught my eye and the fact that it didn't need any yeast and rising time and such made it even more attractive. I have always wanted to make naan at home, and have bookmarked quite a few recipes from experts out there. But that, I kept for another time and decided to try this no yeast naan the very day I found the recipe. It was so so easy to make and came out really well. In fact, I think I like this option better than the real deal, not just because it tastes fab, more so because it was all done in under half an hour. 

The first time I made it, I paired it with some Andhra egg curry, which was good, but not great. Yesterday I paired it with some kheema and it was fab. I'm not a big fan of minced beef/lamb, so I very rarely use them at home. This preparation was a pleasant change from the usual and so I enjoyed it. I am gonna use the left over mince meat in a stuffed bun, following this recipe. Both the recipes- naan and keema- are from the same blog and I'm so glad I chanced upon it on my frantic search for inspiration. 

On a completely different note, if you haven't entered my giveaway, do so soon, you only have 2 more weeks. And as I had mentioned before, we are having a bloggers meet in London on the 23rd of feb. Its a whole day event with lots of fun master classes, food and great company. We have been lucky enough to get some fabulous sponsors and it would be really great if you can make it to the event. Check out our event blog for details on how to register, sponsor updates and competitions.

No-yeast naan (recipe adapted from here, makes 10)

Plain flour- 300 gms (3 cups)

Baking powder- 2 tsp

Baking soda- 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1 tsp

Sugar- 1 /2 tsp

Yoghurt- 60ml (approx. 2 tbsp)

Water- 140 ml

Oil- 2 tbsp

Butter- to brush on the naan

 

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar together in a mixing bowl.

Make a well in the centre and add the yoghurt and water.

Knead well, either using the dough hook of your mixer or using your hands, till the dough comes together.

Add the oil and continue kneading until you get a pliable dough. Don't over work it though.

Divide the dough equally into 10 and roll each into a ball.

Meanwhile, put a tawa on high heat and dust your counter with flour.

Roll out each of the dough balls into a round or oval- naan shape. My rolling skills are pathetic, which I'm sure you can see. But roll it out in whichever shape and size you prefer. 

Place the rolled out dough on to the tawa and wait till it puff up or you see bubbles appearing on top.

At this point flip it and cook for about a minute or so, and the naan is slightly charred.

Transfer to a plate and generously brush with butter.

Sprinkle some coriander leaves on top and serve warm.

Notes: Feel free to halve the recipe. have done it and it works fine.

I am sure you can improvise using garlic, cumin, herbs and spices etc etc. Incorporate it into the dough or sprinkle on top on you brush with butter.

To keep the naan warm, wrap in aluminium foil till ready to serve.

Beef keema with peas and potatoes (recipe adapted from here)

 

Beef mince- 500 gms

Cardamom- 3

Cinnamon stick- 1, 2 inch piece

Bay leaves- 2

Onions- 2 small, finely sliced

Ginger-garlic paste- 2 tsp

Meat masala- 3 tbsp

Chilli powder- 1 tsp

Yoghurt- 1/4 cup

Potatoes- 2 small, peeled and diced into small cubes

Water- 1 cup

Salt- to taste

Green peas- 1 cup (I used frozen green peas)

Kasoori methi- 1 heaped tsp

Garam masala- 1 tsp

Coriander leaves- to garnish

 

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and once hot, throw in cardamom, Cinnamon and bay leaves and wait for it to sizzle.

Throw in the onions and sauté till they turn a golden brown in colour.

Add the ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes till the raw smell disappears.

Turn the heat to high and add the minced beef.

Break the meat using the spoon and cook, stirring well, until all the meat is browned.

Reduce heat to medium and add the meat masala and chilli powder, making sure you mix it well into the beef.

Add the yoghurt and wait for it to get absorbed after which you add the potatoes

Pour the water followed by salt, give one good mix and bring to a gentle boil.

At this point close the cooker and once you see the steam, put the weight and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes.

Once the time is up, take the cooker off heat and wait for the pressure to die on its own.

Open lid and put the cooker back on heat.

Add more water if its too dry or if there is loads of water, evaporate it on high heat.

Mix in the green peas followed by kasoori methi, and also check for salt. Add if required.

Sprinkle the garam masala, give one fine mix and transfer to a serving bowl.

Just before serving, garnish with coriander leaves.

 

Notes: Freeze the remaining in an air tight container and use to stuff buns, Sloppy Joe's, and keema dosa.

Feel free to use the same recipe with lamb.

You can also double the recipe.

If not using the pressure cooker, then cooking the mince would increase to about 20-25 minutes. Have tried it both ways. Works fine.

Read more »