Potala Rasa and a Odiya Wedding ......

'Have you seen the wedding card of the Mishra's my aunt asked me ......I was busy watching Super Hit Mukabla. That was a question irrelevant for a 15 year old like me. I nodded my head as I was too engrossed watching Shahrukh Khan dancing to the tunes of 'Jaati hoon mein ..... jaldi hai kya' . Marriage cards would be the last thing I would be interested ....... Shahrukh and Kajol were much more important.

"It's a beautiful one printed on pure silk. Must be quite expensive na ? Just look at it ...... don't know how much they would have spent on these. And do you know the reception is at The Park Heights ". She went on blabbering. "So what do you think I should wear to the party ...... do you think the pink banaresi would look good as an evening wear".

"Oh ho baba ..... wear something, no one would even notice you. Every one would have their eyes stuck on the newly wed. Now can you please allow me to watch the remaining songs .... huh "

The Mishra's Wedding was a classic example of the 'Big Fat Indian Wedding'.

Marigold garlands were replaced with orchids and daisies. The carpet below was Persian. Waiters wearing uniforms carried trays of cocktails and mock tails around ..... Guests of the Mishra's wore well coordinated mauve outfits. There were food counters reading 'Indian Veg', 'Indian Non-Veg', Chinese, Italian, Mediterranean ..........

I walked up to the Indian Veg counter, I was ignorant about the other cuisines, hence went for a safer bet ...... The waiter served me little of everything, the silver serving spoon was a little bigger than a tea spoon. "Can you put some more of that ...... I asked the guy serving paneer kofta". He stared back at me as if I asked him the world.

I took a little bit of everything, trying to balance my food laden fragile bone china plate. The food no doubt was cooked to perfection. And why not, I was attending a wedding at 'The Park Heights'.

And dining in an Indian wedding would be incomplete without desserts. There were Jalebi and Rabdi Stalls around. A halwai prepared fresh jalebi's and handed over to the crowd around them.

After a stomach full I decided to socialise and least congratulate the bride and the groom. Not to forget I took liberty of getting a 'meetha pan' from the 'Banaras Pan wala Stall' .... which otherwise my mom would have objected.

On our way back my mom and aunt began their post wedding review ..... Everything under the sun ........ How much jewelry the bride wore, how much their IITian son was worth of, the saree Mrs Mishra wore ..... an unending list !

And suddenly she remembered asking me the most important question 'Potala Rasa ta khailu ki nahin ?'. (Did you eat the Parwal Curry). Been in my teen I just stared at her with utter disgust. Could there have not been a better thing to ask ??

Hmmm Potala Rasa is a very Odisha Centric food which is a must in the wedding menu.

Yeah I absolutely love this dish .... and this time I was lucky enough to spot some fresh produce at the Indian Grocery.

Nah ..... there ain't any wedding but I prepared it ...... You need not have a wedding at the Park to eat Potala Rasa. You can still prepare it within the four walls of your kitchen and relish it.

Preparation Time - 40 minutes

Serves - 4

Ingredients

Potala - 1 pound

Chopped Onion - 1/2 cup

Ginger - 1 inch

Cinnamon - 1 inch

Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chili - 3

Tomato - 1

Fresh Shredded Coconut - 1/2 cup

Turmeric - 1 pinch

Garam Masala - 1 pinch

Sugar - 1 pinch

Salt per taste

Mustard Oil for Cooking

Method of Preparation

1 Slit the Potala length wise and shallow fry it. Keep aside.

2 Grind Onions, ginger, green chili, coriander seeds, cinnamon together to make a masala paste.

3 Puree the tomato.

4 Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a kadhai. Add the masala and fry till golden brown.

5 Add the tomato puree, salt and turmeric and fry till the masala gets cooked and there is no raw smell. Add a pinch of sugar

6 Add the shredded coconut and mix with the masala. Add about 1 tbsp of water.

7 Now add the fried potala to it and mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes till the potala gets soft.

8 Add a pinch of garam masala and remove from flame.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with roti/paratha or rice

Notes

Do not over fry the potala.

Variation

You may also add potato to this curry. Adding sugar is optional. To make it more spicy add red chili powder. You may also add coconut milk instead of shredded coconut.

Other Names

Potala Rasa - Parwal Masala.

Note - This is a fiction and I hope you liked reading it.

Coriander Chicken

We all love 'Free' stuff .... don't we ? So this time when I was in the neighborhood shop buying grocery I was lured by this ' Buy one Get one Free - Chicken Breasts'. And the 'free' bug hit me hard. And I decided to buy this pale frozen tasteless free chicken ! !

But my dear friends nothing comes for free in this world ........ in my excitement getting a tray of free chicken breasts I forgot to check the expiry date. It was too late when I realized ........ I had to consume the free one first ...... yah the expiry date was just a day after I bought it.

So I had no choice but to cook chicken ....... but guys let me tell you a small secret, you can never go wrong cooking chicken. The end result is at least edible if not good. And some people would simply eat it because it's 'Chicken' !!

With this belief I started preparing this chicken curry ..... my own recipe ! Not that I wanted to experiment. On any given day I would love to eat mom's Country Style chicken curry. But sometimes this blogging stuff freaks me out ..... with the desire of showing off my own culinary skills and getting applauded by my co bloggers, I present you my experimental Coriander Chicken.

Not : Try at your own risk. There are chances you get addicted to it ...... equal chances of dumping it too :-)

Preparation Time - 45 minutes

Serves - 4

Ingredients

Chicken Breasts - 1 pound

Onion - 1 big

Tomato - 1

Chopped Cilantro - 2 cups

Curry Leaves - few

Ginger - 1.5 inches

Whole Black Pepper - 10

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon - 2 inches

Whole Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp

Chicken Curry Powder - 1 tbsp

Green Chili - 4

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt per taste

Oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

1 Cut chicken breasts into medium size pieces. Chop onion and tomato finely and keep aside.

2 Grind and make a thick paste of coriander leaves, ginger, curry leaves, green chilies, coriander seeds and whole pepper.

3 In a Kadhai, add enough oil. Add whole cinnamon and cumin seeds. Add the finely chopped onions and fry till golden brown.

4 Add the finely chopped tomatoes along with turmeric, chicken masala and salt. Fry till the tomatoes are soft.

5 Add the chicken pieces and fry till the chicken pieces look opaque/ white.

6 Pour the mixture of coriander mixture and mix well.

7 Keep frying till all the moisture evaporates and the chicken gets cooked. Do not add water. The masala will turn brown in color when cooked completely.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with rice or roti/ chapatti/ paratha.

Notes

Keep stirring the masala else it may stick to the bottom.

Variation

You may add green chilies per taste. Instead of chicken breast pieces you may use any piece. You can use the stem of coriander leaves for making puree.

Other Names

Coriander Chicken - Coriander Chicken Curry, Coriander - Cilantro, Cumin - Jeera.

Muli Paratha

My runny nose is now a stuffy nose. I have been popping in pills the entire day but no relief. Logged into my blog and was pleased to see so many wishes from my loving blog friends ..... that made me feel a little better as I read through them sipping a cup of hot ginger tea. I have lost my appetite because of these pills. But I started getting hungrier after reading through all these yummilicious recipes. But staring at the laptop did no good to me ...... stuffy nose + headache !!

I crawled back into the bed and rubbed some Vicks Vaporub on my nose ....... but no instant relief. That only happens in the Vaporub Ad ........ wished I could sue the company. Tried sleeping for sometime but no luck. Woke up with heavy head and body ache. J made some nice hot ginger tea again ..... he has been very patient with me today. Dunked Parle G into the hot tea and ate away ..... yah it was time again to pop in a pill.

Today's dinner is Maggi ....... can't dump this comfort food that I have been having since ages. No, I am not posting the Maggi recipe ..... it's there on the wrapper.

It's time to post Muli Paratha .... it's been sitting on my draft for ages .....

Preparation Time - 30 minutes

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Wheat Flour - 2 cups

Grated Muli - 2 cups

Grated Garlic - 2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch

Salt per taste

Butter for spreading

Method of Preparation

1 Take the grated muli and squeeze the muli juice out by pressing it in your hands. Keep the muli juice.

2 Knead the flour like you do for roti and plain paratha using the muli juice and water. You may add a little salt and oil to the wheat flour while kneading. Cover with a wet cloth and keep aside.

3 Drizzle a little oil in a pan. Add grated garlic and fry for a minute.

4 Then add the grated muli to it and fry for 5 minutes. Add salt, cumin, coriander and red chili powder and fry for another 3 minutes till there is no moisture left. Add lemon juice and mix well.

5 Remove to another dish and let it cool.

6 Pinch out balls from the kneaded dough. Make a small cup and stuff the muli into it. Close from all sides.

7 Dust these filled balls with some flour and roll out to make parathas.

8 Heat a tawa and cook the paratha equally on both sides. Spread a little butter or ghee on the partha.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with yogurt or with raita.

Notes

Make sure the dough is not very watery or soft, else it will be difficult to roll the paratha.

Other Names

Muli Paratha - Stuffed Radish flat bread, Muli - Radish, Cumin - Jeera, Coriander - Dhaniya, Wheat Flour - Atta.

Methi Daal ......

I am not feeling so great today. I am unable to deal with weather changes so well. With a runny nose, sore throat, body ache and continuous sneezing things don't look better for me. My taste buds are crying out for something nice. The store bought tomato soup is not going to help for sure ........ not for the poor taste buds atleast. J suggested ordering Pizza but that too was a 'NO' from my side. I wanted to have something hot and spicy ......... I pulled myself out and decided to make this hot and spicy daal. Yah it got some relief to my sore throat but the sneezing continues ....... Aaaaa .....Choooo

Preparation Time - 30 minutes

Serves - 4

Ingredients

Toor Daal -1/2 cup

Chana Daal - 1/2 cup

Chopped Methi Leaves - 2 cups

Grated Garlic - 1 tbsp

Grated Ginger - 1/2 tbsp

Chopped Onions - 1 tbsp

Chopped Green Chili - 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch

Sambar Masala - 1 tsp

Ghee - 1 tsp Salt per taste Oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

1 Mix and soak the daal for about 15 minutes before cooking.

2 Add salt per taste and turmeric powder to the daal and pressure cook it.

3 In a separate kadhai, pour a little oil. Add cumin seeds when the oil is warm.

4 Add chopped green chilies, grated ginger and garlic. Saute for 2 -3 minutes. Next add the chopped onion and fry till golden brown.

5 Add the methi leaves now. Saute for couple more minutes.

6 Add the cooked daal to it. Mix well. Add the sambar masala and let it simmer for couple of minutes.

7 Add a spoon of ghee and remove from heat.

Serving Tips

Serve hot with rice/ chappati or paratha

Variation

You may choose to increase or decrease the amount of green chilies per taste. This daal can be prepared just with chana daal or toor daal. Add a tomato while pressure cooking the daal.

Other Names

Methi Daal - Methi Stew, Methi - Fenugreek, Cumin - Jeera, Ghee - Clarified butter, Toor Daal - Pigeon Pea, Chana Daal - Split chick peas.

Bhapa Illish

The one thing that I and my bengali friends discuss often is food. It doesn't take much time for the discussion to take the avatar of an argument. Well don't take me wrong, I am also picky about my friends with whom I argue. They are my childhood friends .... hence always taken for granted. Let me clarify that it happens both ways .... not that I am a nasty girl and that they are saints. (Just in case they are reading and smiling about my confession).

The comparison is always there as both the states share similar food habits. And both are big time fisheaterians !! Illishi Macha (in Odiya) or Illish Mach (Bengali) being the most sort after one. My Bengali friends leave no stone unturned when they go gaga about Bhapa Illish. But they have never been generous to serve me with this Bengali Delicacy. Yah I am complaining about all you guys ..... so at least feel sorry for this and stop grinning for heaven's sake.

So I decided to prepare it all my myself and stop relying on these guys. But let me admit that I called up Soumik - a Bong and an awesome cook ( it sometimes takes gutts when you praise people you fight with :-) ) for the recipe.

Well the conversation was not so pleasant as we fought over food again ...... But I got the recipe for Bhapa Illish (Microwave version) from him.

I hate hate hate to admit that his recipe indeed turned out to be finger licking good.

Soumik, just in case you are reading , don't be in the false notion that I am going to agree with you ever when it comes to food ! This is probably your lucky day and the last time I am agreeing with you :-)

Preparation Time - 15 minutes

Serves - 3
Ingredients
Hilsa Fish - 6 pieces
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 cup
Poppy Seeds - 1/3 cup
Plain Yogurt - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Green Chili - 4
Mustard Oil - 4 tsp
Salt per taste
Method of Preparation
1 Wash and clean the hilsa pieces. Pat them dry with a paper towel and keep aside.
2 Soak mustard seeds and poppy seeds for couple of minutes.
3 Add green chilies to the mustard and poppy seeds and wet grind it to a thick paste.
4 Now remove this paste into a microwavable dish.Add turmeric powder and plain yogurt to it.Also add 4 tsp of mustard oil to it.
5 Add the hilsa pieces to it and coat well with the mixture.
6 Cover the dish with a plastic wrap and microwave it for 12 - 15 minutes.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with plain rice.

Dalma

Dalma is synonymous with Odiya Cooking and a comfort food of Odiyas. This is a highly nutritious dish which combines lentils (daal) and vegetables. There are many versions of Dalma but this one is the most common one. This traditional dish is prepared in earthen vessels in many temples across Odisha and offered as a Prasad.
Preparation Time - 45 minutes
Serves - 4
Ingredients
Toor Daal - 1 Cup
Pumpkin - 1 Cup cut into large pieces
Raw Banana - 1 Cup cut into large pieces
Bringjal - 1 Cup cut into large pieces
Drum Sticks - few pieces
Ginger - 1 inch
Dry Red Chilli - 5
Cumin Seeds - 3 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 3 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation
1 Wash and cut all the vegetables into large pieces. Soak the Toor daal for 20 minutes.
2 Add a little salt and turmeric Powder to the daal and pressure cook so that the daal gets 3/4th cooked.
3 Once the daal is partially cooked, open the cooker and add coarsely grated ginger and all the vegetables.
4 Pressure cook again on medium heat (1 whistle) so that the daal gets completely cooked along with the vegetables.
5. In a separate pan heat the Ghee. Add 1tsp of Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds and 2 dry chillis to crackle. When the tempered Ghee is still hot add it to the cooked daal and vegetables. Add sugar now.
6. Simmer for a minute or two.
7 Dry Roast the remaining Cumin Seeds and Dry Red Chillis. Grind them to prepare a powder.
Season the Dalma with this powder. This brings out the real flavor of this dish.
Serving Tips
Serve hot with a extra ghee on top with Rice or Paratha
Notes
Make sure the daal is not watery and cooked to a thicker consistency.The vegetables should be cut in large cubes,else they may get mashed while cooking.
Variation
You can add your choice of vegetables. Freshly grated coconut gives this dish extra flavor. In case you don't like ghee,use refine oil instead. You may also avoid sugar in this dish.
Other Names
Toor Daal - Arhar Daal, Raw Banana - Green Plantain, Bringjal - Egg Plant, Ghee - Clarified Butter

Palak Daal

'What is that green thing floating in the daal', this smart lil devil .... ahhem Angel, asked making a face. That is no thing .... it's dhaniya patta, mommy tried explaining with a little patience. But this smart ass refused to have the daal with any bit of that green in it .... so mommy had no option but to chuck out those 'green things'.

Next this little devil opens up the rolled chapati ....'What are these orange and green things in there ? Mommy can you remove these 'things'.

Mommy tried explaining that 'those things' are called vegetables ..... that they were rich in vitamins and minerals. It is necessary to eat them to reach the top shelf of the pantry where mommy stores goodies. Well not really !! All you need to do is pull a chair and climb on it. At that moment she just needed this devil to finish that vegetable stuffed chapati to make her life a little bit easy ...... that was all she was truly concerned about. Guess this smart one sensed it.

Then there were story telling about Popaye and his spinach. But all in vain.

After all those effort, mommy threw some mixed fruit jam into the chappati and rolled it back in disgust. The little devil happily roamed around the house for more than an hour nibbling on this jam filled chappati.

Well ..... that little devil was none other than me :-) How happy I was making mom's life so miserable every day.

The irony is .... today I grab every bit of green and add it in all kind of curries. Nutritious eating you see ....

Preparation Time - 30 minutes

Serves - 3

Ingredients

Split Bengal Gram - 1 cup

Chopped Spinach - 2 cups

Minced Garlic - 1 tbsp

Minced Ginger - 1/2 tbsp

Finely Chopped Onion - 1/2 cup

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Chopped Green chili - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Clarified Butter - 1 tsp

Salt per taste

Oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

1 Soak the split bengal gram for 15 minutes. Pressure cook and remove from heat before the first whistle. Keep aside.

2 In a pan drizzle a little bit of oil. When the oil is warm add the cumin seeds and chopped green chilies.

3 Next add the minced ginger and garlic. Fry for about 2 - 3 minutes, till you smell the aroma of garlic. Add the chopped onion and fry till golden brown. Add the turmeric powder and salt and fry for some more time.

4 Add the chopped spinach and fry for 3 to 4 minutes.

5 Add the cooked daal and give it a stir.

6 Finish off by adding garam masala. Simmer and remove from flame.

7 Top it off with a dollop of clarified butter.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with roti/ paratha

Notes

Do not over cook the daal.

Variation

You may mix and cook a variety of daal (split bengal gram + tuar daal).

Other Names

Palak Daal - Spinach Daal, Split Bengal Gram - Chana Daal, Cumin - Jeera, Clarified Butter - Ghee

Paneer Bhurji .....

Can you guess what happened yesterday night ? I was overwhelmed watching 'Food Network' for almost the entire day. So when it was time to prepare dinner I played a 'pretend and guess game' in my kitchen with J. Not that he was interested or amused by what I was doing .

I would pretend and talk like Rachel Ray, Aarti Paarti, Paula ...... and J had to guess it. He didn't even have a clue who those guys are ! But I felt like I was a forth coming 'Food Network Star'.

Well well ..... I know I was crazy and I am no star ! And can you stop smiling please .....

May I suggest you something ..... try doing this in your kitchen for once. It is so much fun.

Yah I know I am a little juvenile ..... whatever !!

But for now try this Paneer Bhurji .... trust me it's a treat in no time.

Preparation Time - 15 minutes

Serves - 3

Ingredients

Fresh Cottage Cheese - 1 cup

Chopped Onion - 1/3 cup

Chopped Garlic - 1 tsp

Chopped Ginger - 1 tsp

Chopped Tomato - 1/2 cup

Chopped Green Chili - 1 tsp

Green Peas - 1/3 cup

Turmeric - 1 pinch

Red Chili powder - 1 pinch

Garam Masala - 1 pinch

Chopped Cilantro - 1 tsp

Salt per taste

Oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

1 Drizzle a little bit of oil on a pan. Add the chopped green chilies, chopped garlic and ginger. Fry for two minutes.

2 Add the chopped onions. Sprinkle a little salt. Saute till the onions are translucent. Now add the chopped tomatoes and green peas. Add a pinch of turmeric. Fry till the tomatoes get tender.

3 Mix the cottage cheese to this and mix well. Add little more salt now.

4 Add a pinch of garam masala just before removing from the flame.

5 Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with phulka or paratha.

Notes

Do not over fry the cottage cheese.

Variation

Add green peas is optional.

Other Names

Cilantro - Coriander

Happy to share this recipe with Letz Relishh Paneer event.

Spicy Coconut Rice

I am always in the look out for opportunity to venture into my friends' house .... especially their kitchens. I leave all inhibition and hesitation at home when I am at their place. I absolutely feel free to ransack their pantry and refrigerator .... in a nut shell I make myself at home :). Thankfully I have a lovely group of friends who handle me and my tantrums with a smile.
Well this doesn't stop here .... I am demanding at times (read as most times). Sometime back when I was at Ritu's place for some girl to girl talk (Reminder - we refuse to call ourselves women ..... I am sure you have read this for the n'th time now), I told her to share her spicy coconut rice recipe with me.
Since she delayed sharing the recipe, she ended up preparing it for me. Later I got the recipe from her. At the moment I am content eating what she prepared. But will definitely try this soon.
Ritu you are a sweet heart ..... do let me know when you try something new, I will be there ;-)
Before I forget, this spicy rice recipe is a great one pot meal.
Preparation Time 30 mins
Serves - 4
Ingredients

Rice - 6 cups

Urad Daal - 1/2 cup

Grated Coconut - 2 cups

Cashewnuts - 1/2 cup

Chopped Giinger - 2 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 1tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tbsp

Curry Leaves - few

Dry Red Chili - 2

Green Chili - 4

Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup

Salt per taste

Oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

1 Rinse and drain rice in cold water. Cook the rice and drain of the excess water. Keep aside.
2 Heat oil in a saucepan,when hot add Cumin seeds,Mustard seeds,green chillies,Red chilli,Chopped Ginger,and Curry leaf.
3 Once Cumin seeds and mustard seeds start cracking add Cashewnuts and fry on a medium flame till they are light-golden brown in colour.
4 Add Urad dal and fry untill they turn brown in colour.
5 Now add the grated coconut.
6 Add Rice into this mixture. Add salt per taste and mix well.

7 Cook for three more minutes so that all the ingredients are mixed properly.
8 Garnish with coriander leaves

Serving Tips
Serve it hot with any kind of Raita or Gravy.
Notes

Do not over cook the rice. Else it will get mushy while mixing the ingredients.

Other Names

Spicy Coconut Rice - Coconut fried rice, Cumin - Jeera, Mustard - Rai, Coriander - Cilantro

Tip

Left over rice can be used to prepare this dish.

Country style Chicken Curry

Hissshhhhh ..... I heard the pressure cooker whistle. I quickly ran to the kitchen. I had seen dad come home with a black plastic bag from the market ....It was Sunday morning and I knew it was chicken. Since morning, I had made a hundred trips to the kitchen to check on it. Other days I won't even buzz by the kitchen. I moved around my mom asking her a thousand questions about how and when the chicken curry would be ready.

I hanged around her till I irritated her .... she shooed me away like a little kitten and asked me to come only when I heard the pressure cooker whistle. So there I was ....

I got myself a small plate and a spoon and waited till I got a small piece of it. Mom opened the cooker .... hot steam gushed out it spreading the aroma of spices and chicken, the curry still boiling. I peeped into the cooker as mom moved the ladle trying to mix the gravy well. 'Can I get that piece to taste', I asked mom pointing at the leg piece. 'No, you will get it with rice during lunch, not now', mom said while she carefully put a small piece with a little gravy on my plate.

I was happy with whatever I got. I carried the plate carefully to my favorite spot. I sat their licking the gravy and waiting for the tiny piece of chicken to cool down.

This chicken curry is my mom's recipe. A simple country style chicken curry without any frills.

Preparation Time - 45 minutes

Serves - 3

Ingredients

Chicken Legs - 6

Chopped Onions - 5 cups (loosely packed)

Garlic Cloves - 5

Ginger - 1 inch

Chopped Tomatoes - 2 cups

Whole Cinnamon - 2 inches

Whole Cardamom - 4

Whole black pepper - 10

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp

Chicken Masala - 1 tbsp

Salt per taste

Mustard oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

1 Wash the chicken pieces and keep aside. I have used leg pieces but you can use chicken thigh or breasts with bones

2 Finely chop onions. Crush the garlic cloves and ginger using a mortar and pestle. Chop tomatoes

3 Pour about 2 tbsp of mustard oil into the pressure cooker. When warm add all the whole garam masalas (cinnamon + cardamom + black pepper) along with cumin seeds.

4 Now add the chopped onions to it and mix well. Fry the onions till they look translucent. Add the crushed garlic and ginger and mix well.

5 Add a little salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder to it. Mix well and keep stirring till the masala starts getting pulpy.

6 Add the tomatoes now. Mix well and fry till the tomatoes are soft and the masala gets 3/4 th cooked.

7 Now add the chicken legs and stirr to coat them with the masala. Keep stirring else the masala will stick to the bottom of the cooker. Continue to do this till the masala is completely cooked.

8 Mix the Chicken Masala with a little water to make a paste. Pour it on the chicken and mix well. Stir for some more time.

9 Add about 4 cups of water to the masala. Add salt again per taste.

10 Close the lid of the cooker and cook till one whistle.

11 Open the cooker after it cools down. If you want the gravy to be thicker cook for some more time to let the excess water evaporate.

12 Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with Rice or any Indian flat bread.

Variation

You can use vegetable oil or Canola oil instead of Mustard oil for cooking. Use your choice of chicken pieces. You can use any store bought chicken masala powder.

Other Names

Cinnamon - Dalchini, Cardamom - Elaichi, Cummin - Jeera,

Sending this to Divya's 'Show me the Curry'