Nigella's Mughlai Chicken

Sumitra had just finished her morning chores. Her kids were off to school. The morning sun shined gently on her veranda. She switched on the dusty transistor that sat in one corner of the living room from time eternal ..... it was time for her daily dose of Vividh Bharati. She pulled up the cane chair and sat in the winter sun sipping away her tea and listening to her favorite old Hindi numbers from the eighties.

Her rusted iron gate made a sharp screeching noise, the brown paint on it was already peeling off .... she turned back to see who it was. Her neighbor, Mrs Kumar came hurrying towards her with a packet of sondesh (sweets). The silver foil on the sondesh glittered in the sun and so did Mrs Kumar. She was beaming with joy and pride. Mrs Kumar had smudged some extra talcum powder on her face and her big kohl laden eyes sparkled.

Sumitra and Mrs Kumar had been neighbors from a long time. They had got married around the same time and had moved into the neighborhood just about the same time . Also their husbands worked in the same Sarkari office.

"Meethai kish khusi mein" (What's the good news ), Sumitra asked, picking up a piece of Sondesh from the box. That was exactly what Mrs Kumar was waiting to hear so that she could spill her beans.

"Humare ghar mein aaj subah telephone connection laag gaya, isshi khusi mein" (Got a new telephone connection this morning), said Mrs Kumar in a very dramatic voice."Badhai Ho" (Congratulations),Sumitra said in a feeble voice, her mouth still stuffed with Sondesh.

"Do come home sometime to have a look at our new phone. And don't forget to get Cheeku and his Papa. I will give you my number so that your relatives can call you. Incoming if free she emphasized. This was exactly what Sumitra didn't want to hear. She always wanted to be the first one to get a telephone connection in her colony.

She could hardly wait for Rakesh, her husband to come back from work. Something seemed to bother her the entire day and she was restless. In spite of all this she was making Rakesh's favorite tea time snack. That was something that she would only do on special occasions to bring back the lost charm to her decade old married life.

She waited impatiently walking up and down the verandah ..... her eyes glued on the rusted iron gate and the dusty road. Time stood still for her. As soon as she heard the sound of Rakesh's scooter, she ran towards the gate.

"Mrs Kumar k ghar pe telephone connection laag gaya ji", were the first words she uttered. And to her agony Mrs Kumar's phone rang at that very moment .... the sound loud enough for all her neighbors to hear.

Soon she served the samosa that she had painfully prepared during the afternoon with some tea. They spoke very less between the tea .... Rakesh was busy eating the samosa and nooded his head in affirmation to whatever Sumitra said. He knew no matter what he says, the last word would be of Sumitra's.

Well six months have passed since then. Rakesh had taken a half day off the very next day to put the application for the telephone connection. There are no updates from the telecom department since then. Mrs Kumar drops in once in a while to narrate her 'telephone tales'. And Sumitra still sits on her cane chair waiting for the guy from the telecom office to come with the 'black' equipment and a roll of black wires.

This recipe has been adapted from Nigella's website. I was a bit intimidated by the long list of ingredients. But it turned out to be an easy breezy recipe .... and absolutely finger licking good.

Preparation Time - 60 minutes

Serves - 6

Ingredients

Fresh Ginger Peeled - 2.5cm

Garlic cloves peeled - 4 big

Ground Cumin - 2 tsp

Ground Coriander - 1 tsp

Dried Chilli - 1/2 tsp

Ground Almonds - 4 tbsp

Water - 125 ml

Cardamon Pods - 5 Bruised

Cinnamon Stick - 2 inches

Bay Leaves - 2

Cloves - 4

Vegetable Oil - 4 tablespoon

Chicken Thigh bone in/ boneless - 1.5 kg

Onion - 2 large

Greek Yogurt - 250 ml

Double Cream - 125 ml

Raisins - A handful

Garam Masala - 1tsp

Castor sugar - 1 tsp

Almonds for garnishing

Method of Preparation

1. Put the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and chilli into a food processor, and blend to a paste. Add the ground almonds and water, then blend again, and set aside. Traditionally, this would be done with a pestle and mortar, and there's nothing to stop you using those, or a little spice grinder.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the chicken pieces - in batches so they fry rather than stew - and cook them just long enough to seal on both sides, then remove to a dish.

3. Tip in the bowlful of spices and turn them in the oil. Peel and finely chop the onions, add to the pan of spices, and cook until softened and lightly browned, but keep the heat gentle and stir frequently, to avoid them catching. Pour in the blended paste, and cook everything until it begins to color. Add the yogurt, 125ml at a time, stirring it in to make a sauce; then stir in the cream and sultanas. Add a little water if required.

4. Put the browned chicken back into the pan, along with any juices that have collected under them, and sprinkle over the garam masala, sugar and salt. Cover and cook on a gentle heat for 20 minutes, testing to make sure the chicken meat is cooked through.

5. Garnish with flaked almonds

Serving Tips

Serve warm with any Indian Flat Bread or Rice/ Pilaf

Pulled Chicken Sandwich ....Perfect for the Summer Picnics

Arrrrgghhhh .... These names are driving me crazy ... Apple Citrus, Guava Grapefruit Blast, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Citrus Blueberry Swirl. No I am not reading any menu ..... these are some of the shampoos and of course conditioners available at 'Bath n Body Works' !! I wandered around the shop with an equally clueless husband whom I forced to sniff each of these bottles and give his opinion before I dropped them into my shopping bag. Never thought buying shampoo could be so tedious. Also never in my craziest imagination had I thought that there would be exclusive shops selling toiletries !

I still remember Aai (maternal grandma) rubbing the red horrible looking and equally bad smelling Shikakai soap on my head. Later she decided to go herbal and graduated to Shikakai and Reetha (soap nut), which she would soak overnight in warm water. She would part my hair and rub it with the solution before washing it off. This continued till one day when the Reetha Solution ran into my eyes and caused havoc.

Then came the era of my mom ..... who neither had the time nor the inclination of going through a regime of making herbal soap solutions and rubbing into our hair. She would hand over a shiny one rupee coin and ask me or my sister to run to the Kirana (Grocery) shop to fetch a sachet of shampoo. With fewer names like Sunsilk, Halo and Clinic Plus there was little to get confused about. Radha Shyam the shop owner would snap a sachet from the string while we would stand there staring at the bottles of hard boiled sugar candies.

Maa would not let us use the entire sachet .... she would pour half the packet into my palm and save the remaining for my sister or for the next use. Soon we graduated from shampoo sachets to bottles. But the bottle would still remain in the custody of Maa .... On the days when she decided that I needed a head bath, she would squeeze a little amount from the bottle on my palm. Occasionally I would get into a squabble with her demanding more shampoo .... I would grumble and tell her ' When I grow big and start earning, I will buy my own shampoo and will wash my hair as much as I want'.

Well yes ... I am living that dream but it doesn't give the same kick as that the small amount of shampoo for which I often fought. But sure it brings a smile to my face ...... The small amount of shampoo that Maa poured into my tiny hands taught me a bigger lesson of life ..... to understand the value of even the insignificant things !

Well Maa and Aai have changed much over the years. Aai has moved on to using branded body washes n soaps and Maa no longer takes custody of the shampoo !!

Preparation Time - 2 hours to Overnight

Serves - 3

Ingredients

Chicken Thigh/ Leg Piece - Skinless and bone in - 3 or 4

For the Marinade

Diced red onion - 1/3 Cup
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder (Preferably Kashmiri Laal Mirch) - 2 tsp
Vinegar - 1 Tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/3 tsp

Oil - 2 Tbsp (Canola/ Vegetable/ Olive)
Thick yogurt - 1/3 cup
Salt to taste

For the Sandwich

Baguette - 1 (cut horizontally)

Cucumber Slices

Tomato Slices

Butter at room temperature

Red Onion Slices

Green Chutney (Store Bought)

Method of Preparation

1. Mix all the ingredients required for the marinade. Add the chicken pieces to it and coat the pieces uniformly. Transfer it to a zip lock bag or into a bowl and refrigerate it overnight or for 2- 3 hours

2. Remove the marinated chicken and thaw it to room temperature. Preheat oven at 400 Degrees F. Transfer the chicken to a oven proof dish and bake it for about 40 -45 minutes or till the chicken is cooked. Add the remaining marinade along with onions and bake it separately till the onions get cooked and there is no raw smell.

3. Once the Chicken cools , shred the flesh off the bones.

4. Spread some butter and green chutney on the baguette and layer it into a sandwich by adding shredded chicken, tomatoes, cucumber and red onions.

Curried Shrimp in Coconut Milk ..... And the Give Away Winner !!

No no.....there was no Food World, Reliance Fresh or Spencers.I went with Baba riding on his green Bajaj scooter to the sabzi mandi ..... Once upon a time !

As far as my memory goes only few of the big garment shops or gold shops had a climate controlled environment ..... in simple words A.C.

And it was definitely a big deal and a status symbol to buy things from a shop like that ... Yes you paid a price to sit in the 'thanda' room and for those glittering LED lights .... few extra bucks !!

And who in the world would have imagined that a day would come when big names like Reliance would engage in selling Sabzi in air conditioned shops ..... ok ok Retail Marketing or Food Mall. Hope I am technically correct.

Buying vegetables and grocery is so much easier ... provided you secure a place to park your car. Thanks to the proactive ICICI Car loan agents, there is at least one car in every household !! After all who would want to go to a sabzi mandi in the blaring hot sun.

And there is no such word as 'Bargaining'. Did you say 'cheapo'. Indeed that is why the modern marketing guru's have abolished that word and also it's synonyms. Life is easy ... no more engaging in arguments over an extra bunch of dhaniya patta or few green chilies.

In other words 'India Shining' ... quoted by the NDA government. Before you tag me with being associated with BJP, RSS etc I am also going to write what the current UPA govt says ...'Ho Raha Bharat Nirmaan'

But what about the developed West from where we imitated this culture. Why do they fancy the 'Farmer's Market','Grow your own herb' movement etc ?? Why so much importance on buying food directly from the farmers or even growing your own. Well I am sure we all know the answer ...don't we ??

Are any of the Retail Marketing Gurus' listening ??

Preparation Time - 40 minutes

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Medium size Shrimp/ Prawn - 12

Onion - 1/2 (medium size)

Garlic Cloves - 2

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Cinnamon - 1 inch

Cumin - 1/2 tsp

Coriander - 1/2 tsp

Tomato paste - 1 tsp

Mustard - 1/3 tsp

Chili (Fresh or Green) - 4 (per taste)

Curry Leaves - few

Coconut Milk - 1 cup

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Salt per taste

Method of Preparation

1. Grind onion, ginger,garlic,cumin,coriander,chilies,cinnamon to make a smooth paste.

2. Marinate the shrimp with little turmeric and salt and keep aside for 10 minutes.

3. Heat oil in a pan and fry the shrimp just for few minutes so that they turn opaque. Refrain from over frying else the shrimps would be rubbery.

4. In a wok add some more oil. When the oil is hot temper it with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the groundmasala and salt and fry till the masala is cooked well and there is no raw smell. Add tomato paste.

5. Add the coconut milk and simmer. Add some water if needed to adjust the consistency. Add the shrimps and simmer for 2 minutes before turning off the heat.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with rice.

I would like to thank everyone for their constant encouragement and for the love they show towards me and my blog and for participating in the give away.I wish I could give one book to each.

I promise to come up with another give away very soon .....

So J helped me with picking up a random winner. And the winner of this give away is

6 Bittersweets - Big falafel-lover here and yours look perfect!

Congratulations !! Please email me your name and address @ satrupa.dash@gmail.com to mail you the cook book.I would surely recommend all of you to visit her blog for her flawless clicks and awesome cupcakes.

Women in Power ... Letz celebrate with Matar Paneer

It's the victory of Woman Power and the entire nation is celebrating it in grandeur. And I too included myself in the celebration uninvited and am basking in the glory of these successful women across the globe. No I am not into politics or anything but I am a woman and I don't need any bigger reason than this.

Women are in the limelight everywhere .... be it S.Divyadarshini or Sweta Mohanty who topped the Civil Services Exam or even Mamta Banerjee who created history in West Bengal. The entire media is watching these women like a hawk. And so am I listening to their interviews ....

And do I have the right to judge these women ? Yes I do !! Not that I always judge people but definitely them. They are no ordinary woman like you and me. They will be the ones who would be deciding where my tax money would go and would be responsible for taking my country on the path of progress.Hence answerable to everyone.

Mamta Di is definitely not a new face to the media. I have had heard Mamta Banerjee several times before as she had been in the media for reasons right and wrong. And neither am I a big admirer of her Trinumul Congress or for that matter any political party. So I just over heard the interview of Mamta Di. Didi spoke confidently in her funny Bengali English accent during her interview with Barkha Dutt ( Another woman in power). I heard it and it faded from my memory within hours .... after all she is a politician and it is her profession to make a 'Speech' for her living if I may say so.

Well irrespective of her wrong English and her funny accent she spoke confidently. And that is one thing that I must admire in this woman who is ready to make changes to the crippled West Bengal.

BUT I sat down to listen to Divyadarshini the new face of Indian youth who has been basking in the glory of being the topper of the most prestigious and powerful position of India, the Civil Services. She was on Vinod Dua live on NDTV and I was all ears to her.

I am still unable to ignore the amateurish answers that this 24 year old topper gave. And it is not pardonable as she is no ordinary woman ! When asked 'What does the position of being an IAS officer mean to her .... is it just power and fame or something beyond that', Divyadarshini didn't give any definitive answer and it clearly reflected of her low confidence level .... which is unacceptable !!

She is the role model of thousands now and more importantly she would be taking the reigns of reforming the country and making decisions that's not confined to her.

Is she just another high grade brainless pawn that our politicians would be using for their own benefit.

Not to forget the fact that she doesn't know 'Hindi', which is the official language of India. I hope she is aware that she may have to read documents that will be only available in Hindi !! And there is no excuse to this ...... no matter what one argues. Tamil Nadu in not outside India and if you are in the Indian Civil Services, girl you better start taking Hindi tuition's !!

However I thought of still going ahead and celebrating the victory of these women in my own style, in my kitchen !! And on the menu was Roti and Matar Paneer. Nothing Fancy !!

My best wishes to these ladies, especially Divyadarshini.

May the hand which rocks the cradle rule the world. Amen !

Serves - 2

Preparation Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Onion - 1/2 cup

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Garlic - 2 cloves

Whole Coriander seeds - 2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp

Tomato - 2 (small)

Paneer - 1 cup (cubed)

Green Peas - 1/2 cup

Garam Masala Powder - 1/3 tsp

Milk -1/2 cup

Turmeric - 1/3 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Method of Preparation

1. Grind onion, garlic, ginger, cumin and coriander seeds into a paste.

2. Drizzle a pan with little oil and fry the panner till golden brown and keep aside.

3. Heat about 3tbsp of oil in a wok. Add the masala paste and stir fry. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt and saute till it leaves oil from the side and there is no raw masala smell.

4 Add milk to the masala and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

5 Mix the paneer and the green peas and mix well. Add little water to adjust the consistency if required.

6 Add the garam masala on top and let it simmer for a minute before removing from heat.

Serving Tips

Serve warm with any flat bread, pulao, rice.