Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Kasoori Chicken Curry

My life these days can be summed up in two words. Sleep. Dream.

In between that sleeping and dreaming, I also buy vegetables. Lots of vegetables. And fruits. Which means P’s gastronomical needs are being ignored. His cliché of “I feel weak if I don’t eat meat”, doesn’t crack me up anymore. Instead, I take him seriously. Very seriously.

After all, I do not know of many husbands who run 10 klicks, five times a week to get back in shape for his upcoming soccer season.

IMG_0005 This Kasoori Chicken Curry is another of my impromptu recipes, given the fact that I did have a Cornish hen in the freezer. The other ingredients just played ball.

Unlike my other posts, this recipe does not have step-by-step detailing, because honestly I wasn’t too sure of the outcome and the camera did not seem too appealing to handle when I was in the midst of an impending nausea.

Ingredients for Kasoori Chicken Curry are:

1 Cornish hen, about 400-500 grams
1 medium red onion finely slivered
2 ripe medium size tomatoes
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon green chili paste
Quarter cup Balkan-style / plain yogurt
Quarter teaspoon black cumin seeds/ shahi jeera
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
3 heaped teaspoons of Kasoori Methi (I use the MDH brand)
Pinch of mace
2 bay leaves
1+1 tablespoon Canola oil
Salt

I began by cutting curry pieces of the Cornish hen. You can also use regular chicken pieces for this recipe.
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Marinade the chicken pieces in yogurt, ginger-garlic-chili paste, black cumin seeds, no more than a pinch of mace, turmeric, red chili, coriander, and garam masala powders. Add to the marinade one tablespoon oil. The chicken is good to be cooked after about 30 minutes of marinating.

bay leaves Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan. Add a couple of bay leaves and add the onions. Fry the slivered onions till they are light brown in color. Turn the heat to the lowest point. This is important as yogurt has high chancing of curdling on high heat.

Now add the marinating chicken. Cover and cook on medium-high heat till all the natural juices are coming out of the chicken.

Add salt to taste and crush the kasoori methi (dry fenugreek) leaves on the chicken. Mix well.
kasoori methiTo crank up the tang in the chicken, I added one plump, ripe tomato, roughly chopped. Cook the tomato with the chicken till its done.

IMG_0002 Finish off the dish with slices of tomato and few hot peppers, slit lengthwise. 
IMG_0012IMG_0010 The Kasoori Chicken Curry is best served with hot rotis/chapatis and a bowlful of salad.

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10 comments:

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

Very delicious chicken curry...interesting recipe with nice pics.

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Satya said...

kasoori chicken curry looks delicious ...i love kasoori methi ..this curry must be very tasty ...love the ingredients of the gravy ...

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

kasoori chicken ta darun dekhte hoeche Pree. ami meat khaina bole barite khub kam ranna hay tabe kasoori methi anek roeche...try korbo.
nausea'r jonyo tentul er achaar ba imli churan jatio kichu try korte paro. besh kaje day.

Suman Singh said...

WOW...chicken curry looks irresistable..never tried kasoori spice in my cooking..sounds very interesting and delish!

GB said...

Sounds wonderful...hope you're doing fine tho'. Hubby belongs to the same school of thought (regarding non-veg. food!) :) I have to sneak vegetables into his diet;)
Love kasoori methi..IMO, it can turn any dish from ho-hum to spectacular!!!

Abz said...

looks delicious! thanks for stoppin by!!

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear pree
Thank you so much for your comments at my sweet pulao blog...try it...
I like this recipe...I dont use Kasauri methi as it is a flavor spoiler in general ..but you have done a great job....no garam masala .ANd your spice combo with methi is great...will try soon..even if I havent develop taste for chicken so far...
Bhalo theko
Kaku

Jaya M said...

Pree,
I generally dont use kasoori methi in any of the veg or non-veg preparation..However, your recipe sounds so so delicious..I have made chicken saag with fresh methi leaves..hope you are feeling better..
Take care
hugs and smiles

Bong Mom said...

I love the Kasoori Methi fragrance. I have a Punju colleague whose wife uses it quite liberally and I love their chicken dishes.
This one is sure a winner.

Very dumb of me, klick ki ?

PreeOccupied said...

@Sandeepa, klicks = kilometer (US Army lingo)

I absolutely agree with all of you, Kasoori Methi transforms any dish. Especially these North Indian curries. I have eaten a plain alu sabji with kasoori methi thrown in, and it has tasted like heaven!

@Ushnish Kaku, I have added garam masala in this recipe.