DAHI WALA MURGH (CHICKEN IN YOGURT)

This is a classic and gorgeour Punjabi dish, usually served as a main course. A spicy and a super delightful Indian style chicken curry which is very flavourful and luscious. The main ingredient is yogurt, chicken slowly cooked in yogurt gravy. Trust me, it is just fabulous!!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Kg Chicken, Cut In Bones (Cleaned and washed)
4 Medium Tomatoes
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Coriander Leaves (Cilantro)
1 tbsp Garlic Paste
1 tbsp Ginger Paste
1 Cup Thick Yogurt (Curd)
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1&1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder (Or as per taste)
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi)
1 tbsp Coriander Powder
4 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
FOR GARNISHING:
2-3 Green Chillies, Cut Into Slits
1 tsp Ginger Julienne
Few Sprigs of Coriander Leaves (Chopped)

METHOD:

Boil tomatoes for 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Let those cool and remove skin. Make puree from these skinless tomatoes and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a wok, when oil is enough hot, add chicken pieces and fry for 6-8 minutes or till chicken turns into golden brown. Remove pieces from the oil and set those aside.
Add cumin seeds followed by ginger-garlic paste on the same oil and saute for 4 minutes till ginger-garlic turns into light brown in colour.
Now add all the dry spices, i.e. turmeric powder, red chilli powder, faram masala, salt and coriander powder in the same oil.
Saute for a minute and then add tomato puree in it. Keep stirring for 4 minutes on medium flame, you can see oil leaves from the spices.
Pour yogurt on it and cook for a while.
Add fried chicken pieces, mix well. Cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium low heat. Add kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), fold well and switch off the heat now.

Garnish with green chillies, julienned ginger and coriander leaves.
Serve warm with naan, paratha, chapati or any rice dish, it is always delicious!!!

CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN

So many favourite ingredients and flavours - chicken, cream cheese, garlic and parshley; all things are easy to make a fingerlicking good chicken dish. I explore it in my kitchen, a real delicious and quick recipe, your family will absolutely love it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg Chicken, Cut into medium sized pieces
1 Whole Lemon (juice)
2 tbsp Garlic Paste
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp + 1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp (hipped) Minced Garlic
3 Medium Onion (chopped)
1 Cup Chopped Tomato
2 tsp Crushed Black Pepper
1 Cup Cream Cheese (I used Mascarpone Cream Cheese)
2 tbsp Dried Parshley
1 tsp Sugar
2-3 tbsp Finely Chopped Cilantro / Coriander Leaves
1 tbsp Chilli Flakes
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Clean and wash chicken pieces. Drain water completely.

Marinate Chicken with garlic paste, lemon juice and salt. Keep it in refrigerator for atleast 1 hour.

Heat 3tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter in a pan / wok. When butter melts completely, add minced garlic and chopped onions in it, fry lightly for 2 minutes.

Add marinated chicken pieces in it and fry well for 12-15 minutes.

Mix tomato and black pepper. Saute chicken and mix everything lightly for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Add cream cheese and fold well. Mix parshley, salt and sugar with it. (While adding salt, just keep it in mind that cream cheese also contains salt. Stir lightly.

Sprinkle remaining 1 tbsp butter and cilantro on the top and switch off the heat now.

A real toothsome, fingerlicking good cheesy chicken is ready to serve now. Serve warm with toasted bread, or as a side with pasta, rice or any Indian flat bread........it is always yummilicious!!!

CHITTAGONG CHICKEN

Here is a Bangladeshi dish, where chicken cooked in thick Chittagong style gravy. This flavourful chicken curry which is not only appealing to the eyes, but also a toothsome dish. Spicy, rich chicken gravy can be paired with vegetable fried rice, rotis, naan, dosa or appam. But I love to pair it with steamed rice only....trust me, its yummilicious.

INGREDIENTS:

500 gm Chicken with bones (cut into medium sized pieces)
2 Medium Onions (finely sliced)
1 Onion (paste)
6 Cashewnuts (soaked in 2 tbsps warm water and made a paste)
1/2 tsp Whole Coriander Seeds
1/3 Cup Mustard Oil
300 ml warm water
Salt to taste

FOR KADAI MASALA:

2 tsp Coriander Seeds
3-4 Dried Whole Red Chillies

FOR MARINATION:

2 tsp Garlic Paste
5 Medium Pods of Garlic
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Mustard Oil
Kadai Masala

METHOD:

HOW TO MAKE KADAI MASALA:

Dry roast red chillies and coriander seeds. Stir it from time to time until smell fragrant. Then let it semi cool and grind it to a coarse powder.

HOW TO MAKE THIS CHICKEN CURRY:

Clean and wash the chicken. Marinate chicken with all the spices mentioned on the above marination list. Cover and keep it in refrigerator for atleast 1 or 2 hours.

Heat oil in a kadai, add sliced onion and fry till it turns into golden brown. Add onion paste and fry for 8-10 minutes on low to medium heat.

Now add marinated chicken and fry on medium heat for 15-20 minutes or tilloil comes out from the sides. Add salt and keep stirring for 2 minutes.

Add warm water, stir well and cook it covered on low heat for 30-40 minutes or the gravy thicken and chicken is tender. Open the lid now, add cashew paste and coriander seeds. Fold well. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

SUBZ MURG

I gave an authentic Bengali touch (as I used mustard paste and poppy seeds paste) in regular vegetable chicken. You may use any combo of veggies which are abundantly available in your pantry. This nutritious and delightful dish, featuring chicken, is a great way to incorporated more veggies and less meat into your family's diet. A low fat chicken dish with colourful vegetables, is so simple yet flavourful and sound delicious for ginger, garlic and mustard paste. 

INGREDIENTS:

250 gm Boneless Chicken Breast, Cut into 1" Cubes
2 Carrots (roughly chopped)
1 Green Bell Pepper (cubed)
7-8 Florets of a Cauliflower
10-12 French Beans (1" sliced)
6 Broad Beans, Cut into Halves
1 Large Onion (roughly chopped)
2 tbsp Plain Yogurt / Curd
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 tsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tbsp Mustard Paste
1 tbsp Poppy Seeds Paste
3 tbsp Oil
2 Green Chilies, Cut into Slits
1/2 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Cilantro For Garnishing

METHOD:

Wash chicken very nicely, marinate chicken with yogurt and little salt, mix well. Set it aside for an hour.
Heat oil in a wok. Fry all vegetables (except onion) seperately. Drain and keep those aside.
Heat remaining oil on the same wok. Add bay leaf, followed by garlic and onion. Fry till onion turns golden brown. Mix marinated chicken and ginger paste with it. Fold well. Fry till chicken leaves oil from the side of wok and the chicken is almost tender.
At this time, add fried vegetables, green chilies and 3/4 cup of warm water in it. Cover and cook on low flame for another 10 minutes. Keep stirring occassionally.
Now add mustard paste, poppy seed paste, sugar and salt in it. Cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat now. Sprinkle coriander leaves on the top. Give a nice stir.
Serve hot with any bread, rice, roti or anything you like.

COCO CREAM CHICKEN KABAB

As we plan our holiday menu, we look for new and unique dishes to featur on the table. The dishes we feature must be very rich and flavorsome to keep with the festive theme. Thus, I made this unique coconut creamy chicken kababs, no onion, garlic and ginger is to be used here; a little twist in my regular kababs. A very flavorful dish, delicious appetizer, once you have it, will surely want more.....truely fall love on it. 

INGREDIENTS:

500 gm Boneless Chicken, Cut into 1”X1” cubes (cleaned & washed)

¼ Cup Thick Curd / Plain Yogurt

½ Cup Freshly Grated Coconut

¼ Cup Warm Water

3 Green Chilies

50 gm Cashew Nut Paste

½ tsp Freshly Pounded White Pepper

2 tbsp Sattu (roasted gram flour)

Salt to Taste

2 tsp Melted Butter
1/4 tsp Chaat Masala (optional)

Few Bamboo Skewers (soaked in water for 3-4 hours

METHOD:

Grind curd, grated coconut, warm water and green chillies together. Blend for a minute or two. Now coconut cream is ready. Set it aside.

Combine chicken pieces, cashew nut paste, sattu, coconut cream, white pepper and salt, mix thoroughly. Keep marinated chicken in refrigerator for atleast 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 220 C for 10 minutes. Thread the 2-3 chicken pieces into a skewer. Arrange the skewers on the baking tray. Brush chicken with little butter and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the other side of the kababs, again brush the melted butter and bake for another 8 minutes. Take out the baking tray from the oven.

Sprinkle chaat masala on the top and serve warm with onion rings, any spicy sauce or chutney.

Sending to: Holiday Recipes ~ 3rd Blog Anniversary Event

MURGH METHI MALAI IN MICROOVEN

This dish is a part of Mughlai Cuisine from the province of Awadh which is now very famous in UP and Delhi. Murgh Makhani is a dish which is certainly different from this dish, flavoured by Punjabi Cuisine. The Mughlai Cuisine often requires arduous amount of time and labour, which can take days for preparing a particular dish. But I prepared it in very easy way just within 15 to 20 minutes in microoven and it is mouth-watery and one of my favorite chicken recipe, a great dish indeed.

INGREDIENTS:

500 gm Boneless Chicken, Cut into 1” Cubes

100 gm Hung Curd

50 ml Fresh Cream ( I Used Amul Cream)

1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Methi)

1 tbsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasoori Methi)

2 tbsp Garlic Paste

1 tbsp Green Chili Paste

1 tsp Freshly Pounded Garam Masala Powder

1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder

3 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Butter

½  tsp Sugar (for flavor)

2 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves

Salt to Taste

METHOD:

Wash chicken pieces nicely and make those pat dry. Now marinate chicken with curd, green chilli paste, garlic paste, dried fenugreek leaves and salt. Refrigerate the marinated chicken for 4-5 hours (I prefer to keep marination for overnight).

Now take a micro oven safe bowl, pour oil on it and micro for 2 minutes at 100% power. Add fenugreek seeds in it, stir once and micro it for another 2 minutes.

Pour marinated chicken in it. Fold well. Cover and micro for 4 minutes at 100%. Open the lid and add red chili powder, stir nicely.  Again cover and micro for 4 minutes at 100%.

Add coriander leaves and give a nice stir. Cover and micro for another 2 minutes at 100%. Keep it in 5 minutes stand time.

Just before serving, add fresh cream and micro for 2 minutes uncovered at 100%.

Serve warm with hot phulkas or  parathas or naan or any rice dish. It is simply yummy!!!

Sending to: Holiday Recipes ~ 3rd Blog Anniversary Event

CHICKEN SEEKH KABAB

Chicken seekh kabab is the special delight of minced chicken and other Indian spices. Kabab is a traditional dish of sliced or minced meat originating in the Middle East and later adopted by the Central Asia, before spreading worldwide. The traditional meat for kabab is lamb, but depending on local tastes, it may be beef, goat, chicken, pork, fish and seafood or even vegetarian foods like falafel or tofu. In Iran or Middle East, kababs also serve with saffroned rice or Persian rice named 'KAPSA'. Kababs in India are more or less similar to most other kababs preparations along with their distinct taste i.e seekh, chapli, kakori, boti, kalmi, tikka, shammi all can be credited to the spices native to the Indian subcontinent.

INGREDIENTS:

500 gm Mince Chicken
1 Onion (finely chopped)

1 tsp Freshly Pounded Black Pepper Powder

1 tbsp Coriander Seeds (coarsely pounded)

1 tsp Red Chili Flakes (or chili Powder)

½ tsp Roasted & Crushed Fennel Seeds (Saunf)

1 tsp Roasted  Cumin Seeds ( Coarsely Pounded)

1 Egg White (Beaten till peak form)

1 tbsp Soya Sauce

½ Cup Very Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves / Cilantro

1 tbsp Finely Chopped Green Chilies

1 tbsp Rice Flour

1 tbsp Corn Starch

1 tbsp Melted Clarified butter (ghee)

3 tbsp Oil (for shallow frying)

12 Bamboo Skewers (soaked in water for 4 hours)

1 tsp Salt

METHOD:

In a large bowl, combine onion, black pepper powder, pounded coriander-cumin-fennel, coriander leaves, chili flakes, green chili, rice flour and corn starch with minced chicken.

Add salt, soya sauce and clarified butter (ghee) in it. Lastly add egg white and combine everything very well. Cover and refrigerate the chicken mixture for overnight or 7-8 hours.

Heat 1tbsp oil in a non-stick pan or tawa. Grease bamboo skewers with few drops of oil. Make seekh kabab by moulding some minced chicken around a skewer about 4" in length and place immediately on the heated pan, like the same way fry 4-5 kababs at a time. Brush with a little oil and keep turning time to time till each kabab is tender and golden brown from outer. After frying remove from the pan and place immediately on the serving plate.

Serve hot with onion rings, salad and chutney of your choice n enjoy!!!

TIPS: Chicken should be very fresh. Soya sauce gives a nice smokey flavor to kababs. Seekh kababs are not supposed to an uniform shape, while making  people are usually using their hands and shape accordingly. So shape can be varied. You may bake, fry, grill or BBQ the kababs.
Sending to:  Cook with Comfort ~Blog Anniversary Event, Holiday Recipes ~ 3rd Blog Anniversary Event

PARMESAN CHICKEN

This heavenly & mouthwatering Italian chicken dish is so simple and easy to cook. I used to make this appetizing Parmesan Chicken was so delectable, we would fight for drippings, every last crumb. This chicken would cook in much faster way, buttery and crispy coated meat is really a fabulous one.

INGREDIENTS:
20 OZ / 600 gm Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
2 pods of Garlic (minced)
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh Parsley
4 OZ or 1/2 cup melted Unsalted Butter
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup dried Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 tsp Garlic Pepper
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp freshly grounded Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning (herb mix)

METHOD:
Cut chicken in 2" X 1" pieces. Wash nicely. Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towel.

Combine unsalted butter with minced garlic in a bowl. In a seperate bowl, mix Italian bread crumbs, fresh parsley, garlic pepper, grounded black pepper, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and salt together.

Dip chicken pieces in garlic butter.

Then coat with bread crumbs-parmesan cheese mixture.

Now place chicken piece in 9" X 9" greased baking tray.

Keep little room in between the two pieces of chicken. Follow the same process for all chicken pieces. Sprinkle remaining garlic butter on the top.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Switch off the oven. Keep as it is for another 5 minutes.

After baking chicken will look golden brown colour and crispy.

Serve hot with 'hot and sweet' tomato ketchup.
Linking to:  Chandrani's Holiday Recipes

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

This is a classic Italian recipe that get most twisted around. 'Bolognese sauce' is a meat-based sauce, used for pasta, spaghetti, lasagne or ragu, originating from Bologna, Italy. The all-time favourite recipe, loved by all. This is not true bolognese sauce, you may say a variation which widely used in northern part of Italy. It is actually rich meat with spicy tomato sauce. If any leftover will be there, that will taste even better on next day.

INGREDIENTS:
4 OZ / 100 gm Spaghetti
1/2 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh
2 tbsps Tomato Puree
1 tbsp Ginger paste
4 cloves of Garlic paste
1/2 medium Red Onion paste
1/2 medium Red Onion (chopped)
2 tbsps grated/shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 tbsp Dried Italian Herb Mix
1/4 tsp Black Pepper powder
1/3 tsp Paprika
2 tbsps finely chopped Parsley Leaves
2 tbsps + 2 tsps Olive Oil
1 tsp Butter
1 tsp Honey
salt to taste

METHOD:
Wash and cut chicken thigh in thin slices.

Boil chicken with 1/2 cup water for 10 minutes. Sieve water. Set aside.

Break each spaghetti in three pieces.

In a sauce pan, bring 1 cup water and 1/2 cup chicken stock to a boil. Add 2 tsps olive oil and little salt in it, then spagetti. Keep it boiling for 10 minutes till it gets tender. Drain and rinse the spaghetti under cold water. Put it in colander. Now heat butter in the same saucepan. Toss the spaghetti in it. Continuously keep turning for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Arrange spaghetti on a plate according to its circumference and make a round whole/gap  in the centre.

Heat remaining olive oil in a frying pan. Add chopped onions in it. When onions get translucent, add onion paste, ginger paste and garlic paste. Fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add tomato puree in it. Saute for another 2 minutes and add cooked chicken in it. Add paprika, black pepper powder, 3/4 tbsp Italian herb mix, chopped parsley leaves, honey and salt. Fold well. Fry for 3 minutes.

Now add 1/3 cup warm water in it. Keep on low heat for another 2-3 minutes. Add parmesan cheese. Fold nicely for another 2 minutes. Cheese mix up with bolognese sauce nicely. Remove from heat. Pour in the middle of spaghetti plate. Sprinkle remaining Italian herb mix with little salt on the spagetti layer.

Serve immediately.

TIPS: For a nice mix up, adding cheese with bolognese sauce is better. But you may
          sprinkle it at the top of bolognese also.
          May cook pasta, lasagne or ragu in the same way.
 
Linking to:  Chandrani's Holiday Recipes