Nadan Kozhi Porichathu | Kerala Chicken Fry

With Easter just a day away marking the culmination of the Holy week and season of lent, Christian households would be prepping up a feast to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Our celebrations often overshadow the real reason for the existence of such a day. To put it in a line - Easter Sunday celebrates resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb on the third day after crucifixion, fulfilling the prophecy that the Son of God would die for our sins and rise on the third day signifying eternal life.

With a good share of Indian Christian population in the Southern state of Kerala, Easter Sunday would witness a day of festivity both at church and at homes. Here is a recipe that you can add on to the menu - Nadan Kozhi Porichathu/ Kerala Chicken Fry.

Ingredients

To Marinate –

• Chicken – 1 kg cut into medium or large pieces
• Ginger- garlic paste – 2 tsp
• Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Fennel powder – 1 tsp
• Garam Masala – 1 tsp
• Vinegar – 4 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Water 

For the masala - 

• Coconut – ½ cup grated
• Curry Leaf – 2 sprigs
• Coconut oil – for deep frying
• Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
• Salt

 Method

• Clean the chicken and pat dry them. Create gashes on the chicken for the marinade to seep in.
• Prepare the marinade using the ingredients listed under ‘To Marinate’. Add water only if required to form the paste.
• Marinate the chicken pieces in the marinade and set aside for a minimum of half an hour or maximum of a day in the refrigerator.
• Heat oil in a deep pan, add the chicken pieces and fry on both the sides on medium flame until the chicken is cooked and a golden brown colour is attained.
• Transfer this on to a kitchen towel to drain off excess oil. Transfer this to a serving dish.
• Once all the batches of chicken have been fried, add coconut and curry leaf to the same oil along with chilli powder. Fry until the coconut turns light brown in colour.  It will continue to cook even after you take it off the flame. Spread this onto the chicken in the serving dish. Sprinkle a dash of salt over the dish and serve hot.

Chicken dry fry with grated coconut

I have lived in Karnataka most of my life exempting the last 3 years in Dubai. Back in the days most of Kerala delicacies never crossed the Kerala borders. I lived close to Mangalore and Mangalore is only an arms distance away from Kerala (not literally:P) Despite this, it was a rarity to find any of the Kerala treats in Mangalore region or any neighboring areas. May be if you hunted down, you would find it in some corner of Mangalore unlike today when Kerala food is as popular in these regions. My parents say that after every vacation, when we come back from Kerala we had to lug across cartons filled with fish pickle, mango pickle, ari unda, achappam, ethekka upperi, chakka upperi, aluva, jelebi, puttu podi anything and everything. Now almost all of these are available in Mangalore sparing them the trouble of carrying cartons. My mother even ranted on once about how we managed to put everything into the bus at Mangalore station including me and my dad but before she and my sis who was in her arms would get in, the bus took off from the bus station. She ran behind the bus with a wailing sis in her arms only to find that the bus was simply moving ahead to park in a different area giving space to other buses. The conductor tried shouting out to her in Kannada but yeah we were just learning Kannada back then!

Years on,  you find almost everything in Mangalore. You have caterers serving appam, moru curry at functions, Kerala parotta is a hot favorite at hotels and banana chips is made at every nook and cranny!

I remember a time when Kerala parotta and chilly chicken/ beef topped the menu of must eats in Kerala! That brings me to the dish of the day - Chicken dry fry. The idea was basically conceived from BDF - Beef Dry Fry. I tried out something similar with chicken that goes with parotta and instead of adding coconut pieces, I added grated coconut. I loved the results and there it went off to the photography table right after a few pieces went down my food pipe:)

Ingredients

To marinate -

1. Chicken - 500 gms
2. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
3. Chilli powder - 2 tsp
4. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
6. Salt to taste

The masala - 

1. Onions - 2 finely chopped
2. Coconut - 1/2 cup grated
3. Curry leaves
4. Garam masala
5. Salt to taste
6. Vegetable Oil as needed

Method

• Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Use the breast part to get boneless pieces. ( Having pieces with bones is also totally fine.)
• Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes in pepper powder,chilli powder,turmeric powder and ginger- garlic paste.
• Add salt to the marinated chicken. Heat oil in a wide pan. Space out the chicken pieces in the pan and sprinkle some curry leaves.
• Rotate the pieces to ensure that it gets cooked well and a good char.
• Scoop out the chicken pieces and let excess oil drain off on a kitchen towel.
• Into the same oil, add onions and saute until tender. Add garam masala , salt and curry leaves and let the masala get cooked. It takes about a a minute to two.
• Finally add the coconut and stir fry till the coconut begins to brown and crisp.
• Add the fried chicken pieces and let it coat well in the dry masala. Cook for further two minutes to let the masala coat and run dry.
• Although the dish goes well with any sort of roti or even as a standalone, the best pairing would be Kerala Parotta!

You may also note -

• You could add either corriander powder or green chilly to the dish. I chose to keep the ingredients minimal.
• This dish is on lines of Kerala cuisine and hence I have not used corriander leaves which is a rarity in our cuisine. However, if you like corriander leaves in your dish , you may take it up a notch by adding corriander leaves.

You could also check out other chicken recipes on the blog here!

Kozhi Nirachathu / Stuffed Chicken with gravy

We first ordered Kozhi Nirachathu at a popular restaurant in the UAE. We ended up with a butterflied chicken in a spicy masala along with a side of egg roast which absolutely did not complement each other that too at an exorbitant price! After almost a year we got to taste this dish again at another restaurant. This time the egg roast stuffed inside the chicken and the chicken was deep fried - it tasted heavenly.  I was skeptical of getting a whole chicken deep fried until I read up a few recipes and saw a couple of videos. Yes, you can actually cook a whole chicken on stove top without deep frying it! It is not all that time consuming either.

Kozhi Nirachathu or stuffed chicken with gravy is a dish from Kerala that involves cooking a whole chicken with gravy and egg roast stuffed in the cavity.  Egg roast is made separately and stuffed into the marinated whole chicken before cooking the chicken in the gravy. When you want a whole chicken on table and you do not have an oven to rely on this could be your go to recipe! 

Ingredients

1. Whole chicken - 900 gm
2. Egg - 2 no.s
3. Onion  - 4 big ones finely chopped
4. Tomato - 2 finely chopped
5. Green Chilly - 2 finely chopped
6. Ginger garlic paste  - 2 tsp
7. Chilly powder - 1 tbsp + ½ tsp +¼ tsp
8. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
9. Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
10. Fennel powder - 1 tsp
11. Garam Masala - 1 tsp
12. Curry Leaves - 3 sprigs
13. Water - ¼ cup
14. Coconut Oil

To Marinate

1. Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
2. Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
3. Lime juice - 2 tbsp
4. Salt

Method

• Hard boil the eggs, shell and keep aside. Create cuts on the egg and roll it in ¼ tsp of chilly powder until well coated. Fry this for 2 minutes in a teaspoon of oil rotating until done on all sides
• Remove the skin, clean and pat dry whole chicken. Create deep gashes on the chicken. Make a marinade by mixing together the chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt and lime juice.  Rub this well onto the chicken and the cavity too. Let it rest on counter top for about an hour.
• Heat oil in a deep pan ( use extra oil than you would use for normal chicken curry). Add onions into the pan and saute till transparent.
• Add ginger garlic paste, curry leaves and green chilly. Let it cook down.
• At this point,separate 4 tbsp masala into another pan. Add ½ tsp of chilly powder to this and cook well.  Add 2 tbsp of chopped tomato and let it melt.  Add the fried eggs and coat the masala. Let it cook for another minute. Turn off the flame and set aside.
• Meanwhile, add the remaining chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, fennel powder and garam masala into the main pan. Let the masala cook before adding tomato. Mix well and keep it covered until the tomato melts.
• Add salt and water to this bring it to boil and turn off.
• Stuff the egg masala into the cavity and using a twine tie together the legs of the chicken to close the cavity so that the masala stuffed in does not seep out. Tie together the wings as well. 
• Place this in the deep bottomed pan. Spoon masala over the chicken and let it cook on high for 5 minutes. Reduce the flame and let the chicken cook. Flip over the chicken once a while ensuring that the chicken is always well coated in the masala. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour for the chicken to cook completely. Uncover and cook the chicken for the last ten minutes. The masala reduces and begins to change color to brownish red.
• Transfer to a serving dish and serve it with choice of bread or rice.

You may also note - 

• Turning over a whole chicken may be difficult, use two spatulas to support while turning it over.
• Keep pouring spoonful of the gravy onto the chicken top and let the flavor seep in.
• There are chances that the chicken may stick to the vessel and burn. So make sure to turn it over frequently!

Cashew Chicken Roast

My very first attempt at making the humble chicken curry was born out frustration of a year long preparation for the 12th standard board exams which was no less than a nightmare. I remember hunting for a recipe from the old cookbooks and landing on one recipe, although I cant remember the name - it was some sort of a Parsi preparation. My sister till today says nothing can beat the first chicken curry that I made - I have till date not been able to replicate it and neither do I know where that recipe book is. Although the outcome of my first attempt was delicious, I remember using copious amount of oil and just because I was not sure if the chicken was cooked - I vaguely recollect taking it out of the curry, frying it and dropping it back in:) One thing the recipe called for was using cashew paste and I have just done that in this recipe using chicken drumsticks.

Some characteristics just don't die with time - one such is my penchant for chicken legs.  Thank God the chicken has two legs, else Shibin and I would have a hard time deciding who gets the leg piece! Shibin has a equal affinity for the legs too.

So let's get moving to the recipe -

Ingredients

1. Chicken - 8 drumsticks
2. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp for marination + 1/4 tsp
3. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
4. Chilli powder - 2 tsp
5. Shallots - 1 cup chopped
6. Tomato - 2 medium size
7. Cashew - 100 gm
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil

Method

• Marinate the chicken drumsticks (skin removed) in turmeric powder, chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and salt. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
• Puree the tomato.
• Soak the cashew in water for 15 minutes. Drain and blend the cashew with just enough water to form a smooth paste.
• Heat oil in a pan and saute the shallots till it wilts. Add the 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, once this is cooked, add the marinated chicken drumsticks. Give this a good mix before adding the tomato puree.
• Let this cook covered until done. Uncover and let the gravy run dry on high flame.
• Add the cashew paste and give it a good mix. Let this cook for 2- 3 minutes on medium flame before turning off.
• Garnish with coarsely pounded cashew.

You may also note - 

• The cashew paste once heated tend to stick on to the vessel. So do not let it cook for long as you may end up scraping out bits and pieces from the vessel.

Kerala Chicken Biriyani || Cooking with Family and Friends - #3 ||

Biriyani is a feast in itself for most Indians but when it came to our PG gang ( running into the pre-wedding days for a while), biriyani was the solution to depression as well. Every emotion we could think of was followed by ordering biriyani from Mughal Empire in AECS Layout. We got a hike - its biriyani, we are tired - its biriyani, we got reprimanded by parents - its biriyani, manager gave us a earful - biriyani again, had a tiff with friends - biriyani all over again. Every emotion had a solution - Mughal Empire Biriyani. The guy taking the order at Mughal Empire need not be reminded of the address and the quantity - the only thing that varied was the type between chicken and fish. We lost count of the times we have ordered it but washed and kept intact all the 'white dabbas' they came in, only to be thrown out during every cleaning session!

This is how biriyani became part of my life - we tried making biriyani couple of times when in the PG - none too successful. We either had overcooked rice or runny masala gravy - well loads of other things can go wrong too!! That did not stop my attempts at biriyani and  my first success was with my mother-in-law's recipe. So this vacation we made it all over again to celebrate Shibin's birthday - she led from the front and I just followed her cues.

So third in the series of Cooking with family is Kerala Chicken Biriyani with mom-in-law.

Ingredients

( serves - 8)

For the chicken masala

1. Chicken - 1 kg
2. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
3. Yogurt - 3 tbsp
4. Onion - 3 sliced
5. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
6. Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
8. Coriander powder - 2 tsp
9. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Tomato - 1 sliced
11. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
12. Coconut - 1 cup grated
13. Green Chilly - 4 
14. Coriander leaves - 1 cup tightly packed
15. Mint Leaves - 1/4 cup tightly packed
16. Ghee
17. Salt

For the rice

1. Basmati Rice - 4 cups
2. Water - 8 cups
3. Cinnamon - 3
4. Cardamom - 1 inch
5. Cloves - 4
6. Bay Leaves - 2
7. Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
8. Ghee - 3 tbsp
9. Salt

For the Garnish

1. Raisins - 15
2. Cashew - 15
3. Onion - 2 finely sliced
4. Coriander leaves

Method

• Wash and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes in warm water. Heat ghee in a deep vessel and add the spices - cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves. Fry this for a minute on low flame before adding the drained basmati rice. Stir it till the first splutter of rice. Add boiling water to this and squeeze in the lemon juice. Adjust the salt level and cook till done and fragrant.
• Marinate the Biriyani cut chicken pieces in turmeric, yogurt and salt for 30 minutes.
• Heat ghee in a pan and add the onions. Cook till the onions begin to wilt and add the ginger garlic paste. Once the rawness of the paste disappears add in the masala - red chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and pepper powder. Once done, add the marinated chicken along with the sliced tomato, curry leaves and let it cook covered.
• Grind together the coconut, mint leaves, corriander leaves and the green chilly. Add a little water to aid the grinding. When the chicken is almost done, add this paste and let it cook further. Adjust the salt.
• Layering the biriyani - Take a thick bottomed pan and begin layering the rice and the masala alternatively beginning with a thin layer of  rice, followed by the chicken masala and ending with rice. You may create 2 to 3 layers.
• Cover this and place it on low flame until the steam emerges while removing the lid - may take about 5 - 10 minutes.
• Garnish the biriyani with onions, cashew and raisins fried in ghee. Adding of freshly chopped coriander leaves enhances the look and taste.

You may also note - 

• Once the rice is cooked, use a fork only to separate the grains.
• I prefer using ghee while making biriyani - this might as well be replaced by other cooking oil but try to stick to ghee while cooking the basmati rice.

Slow roasted chicken with vegetables

The festive season is incomplete without my favorite dinner - Slow roasted chicken with vegetables.
It's been two years since we moved to Dubai and I have lost count of the number of times of I have made roast chicken. This was one thing that Shibin wanted to have ever since the decision to move to Dubai was made since his Mom made it for him when they were in Al-Ain!

My first attempt at baking a chicken was a total disaster. I marinated the chicken a day in advance and I froze it! I did not thaw it before moving it into the oven. It sat in the oven for 2 hours and never cooked. We had to chop the half cooked chicken and fry it on a pan. Also, I had to throw off the vegetables since it tasted disgusting with the marinade I made. I am talking of our Christmas dinner two years back and we had our dinner finally at 12 am!!

Ever since that episode, I have strived hard to perfect this - Tried different marinades and I stick to my favorite - seasoning of pepper, salt and lime juice.  This recipe would suit the beginners who want to give a shot at roasting whole chicken in the oven just like I began my roasting adventures!

Over to the recipe -


Ingredients

1. Whole Chicken - 1 kg cleaned
2. Potato - 2 large chopped in chunks
3. Carrot - 2 chopped in chunks
4. Red Onion - 2 chopped in chunks
5. Olive oil - 3 tbsp
6. Pepper powder  - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp coarsely ground 
7. Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
8. Garlic crushed - 5 to 6 cloves
9. Salt to taste
10. Mint leaves (optional)

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 220 degree centigrade.
• Clean the whole chicken well inside and out. Remove the giblets and keep the skin of the chicken on. Set it aside to drain off excess water and creates gashes on the chicken with your knife.
• Sprinkle 1 tsp of pepper and salt on the chopped vegetables and give it a good mix. Layer the bottom of baking tray with the vegetables and drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil.
• Rub the chicken with olive oil and season with pepper powder, salt and lemon juice. Stuff the chicken cavities with crushed garlic and mint leaves.
• Place this on the baking tray layered with the veggies.
• Move it into the oven and retain the 220 degree centigrade for the first 20 minutes.
• Reduce the temperature to 180 degrees and bake for 90 minutes, increasing the temperature again for the last 5 minutes to 220 degrees.
• The juice from the chicken seeps onto the layered vegetables which gives it a distinct flavor.
• Remove from the oven and let it rest covered for 15 minutes.

You may also note

• Baste the chicken and vegetables with a brush every 20 minutes while baking to ensure that the moisture stays and does not dry out.
• The baking time varies depending on the oven size and the chicken size. Mine is a larger sized oven and hence takes considerably more time.  
• You may marinate the chicken and refrigerate overnight.
• Ensure that the chicken is completely defrosted before you begin cooking else may take a considerably longer time to cook.  
• I prefer slow roasting the chicken because it gets juicy and the meat just falls apart. That is my idea of a baked chicken:)
• You could tie together the legs of the chicken and another twine holding the wings together. It hold together the shape of the chicken and is believed to make it juicier.

Coriander pepper chicken

On our recent trip to Archies library here in Dubai, I came across a cook book written by Madhur Jaffrey. A flip of the pages and I am her instant fan. The simple style of writing and her way of bringing in a personal touch to each of these left a strong impression on me.  It wasn't just her recipes but the intricacies of cooking she detailed in her book that mesmerized me.  From how to perfect your sauces to the tempering of the spices - it is all in there. True Indian cooking still original to her roots - that is Madhur Jaffrey's cooking to you.

Having said this, it is my sincere endeavor to give my recipes a personal touch and keep it simple. Here is my latest venture in the kitchen - a retake on the pepper chicken by bringing in flavors of corriander and spiciness of green chilly.

Ingredients

1. Chicken - 1 kg ( cleaned and cut)
2. Onion - 2 medium
3. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
4. Salt to taste
5. Oil

For marinade:

1. Pepper  - 2 tbsp coarsely ground
2. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
3. Cardamom - 6
4. Green Chilly - 7 (adjust as per your spice level)
5. Ginger - 1 tbsp
6. Garlic - 1 tbsp
7. Lemon juice - 3 tbsp

Method

• Grind together the coriander leaves, cardamom, green chilly, ginger and garlic to a coarse paste.
• In a bowl, mix together the ground paste, 2 tbsp of pepper powder, lemon juice and salt. Marinate the chicken pieces in this for about 20 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a skillet and toss in the chopped onions along with curry leaves. 
• Saute it for around 2 minutes on medium flame. 
• Add 2 tbsp of pepper powder and combine it well. Finally add the marinated chicken pieces. Keep it covered and cook on low flame until done.
• Garnish with fried green chilly for the zing and a dash of lemon juice.

You may also note - 

1. The onions should not be cooked to the extend that it becomes translucent.
2. A final squeeze of lime juice adds to the richness of the flavor.

Crunchy Oats Chicken with Sweet and Sour dip

I happened to leaf through the pages of my diary and came across this recipe taking me back to my PG days in Bangalore. With a lot of time in hand, nothing better to do and whenever I managed to overcome my lazy mode, I stepped into the kitchen for my adventures. Crunchy Oats Chicken was the result of one of these adventures.My friends and I spent quite a time debating on what the name of the dish should be. Chinese Oats Chicken we named it, is what the diary entry says! And one day we said, we will all look into this recipe journal and cook for our husbands'.

Well my Mr. Husband did not find the name catchy enough and we renamed it to Crunchy Oats Chicken.

So here we have the Crunchy Oats Chicken and a dip that goes along. A quick recipe -even your kids will enjoy, it is only mildly spiced with a sweet and sour dip.

Ingredients for the sweet and sour dip

1. Tomato sauce - 3 tbsp
2. Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
3. Honey - 2 tbsp
4. Garlic - 1 tbsp chopped
5. Ginger - 1 tbsp chopped
6. Onions - 3 tbsp chopped
7. Green chilly - 1 chopped and crushed
8. Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
9. Spring onions - 1 tbsp
10. Water - 1/4 cup

Method

Heat olive oil in a skillet and fry the onions, garlic, ginger and  green chilly until cooked.

Mix the soya sauce, tomato sauce and honey in 1/4 cup water. Add this to the skillet and switch off the flame. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with spring onions

Ingredients for Crunchy Oats Chicken

1. Chicken - 400 gms
2. Egg - 1 no.
3. Pepper powder - 1 tsp
4. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
5. Soya Sauce - 1 tsp
6. Kashmiri Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Salt - as required
8. Oats - 1 cup
9. Oil

Method

Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. I used the pieces with less bones for this recipe.

Marinate the chicken pepper powder, chilly powder, ginger garlic paste , soya sauce, salt and 1 beaten egg. Leave it covered for half an hour to 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Roll the chicken in oats and coat it completely. 

Heat oil in a skillet and fry the chicken. You may choose to shallow fry or deep fry it. I, generally prefer shallow frying to reduce the oil usage.

Transfer the fried chicken to a plate and serve along with the dip. Don't let it go cold, eat it hot and juicy!

Chicken Sukka

I am back from my vacation !
3 beautiful weeks and so many memories - just the perfect start. A new year and a lot more resolutions. A growing vigor and enthusiasm to do a lot more this year. While I ponder on where my resolutions and vigor takes me why don't you guys go ahead and catch my latest recipe.

Chicken Sukka - a Mangalorean style chicken preparation that uses plenty of coconut and quite a bit of spices - name it and you have it. The dish goes along well with dosa, neeru dosa, sanna, chapatti to name a few.

So here is the recipe - straight out of my akka's kitchen.

Ingredients

For the masala - (you can choose to make the masala and refrigerate it. Lasts for 4-5 months.

1. Kashmiri Chilly - 50 gms
2. Pepper Corns - 2 to 3 tbsp
3. Coriander seeds - 2 to 3 tbsp
4. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
6. Fenugreek Seeds - a pinch
7. Ajwain - a pinch
8. Turmeric Powder - a pinch
9. Garlic - 2 pods

For the dish

• Chicken - 1 kg cut into small pieces
• Coconut grated - 1 whole coconut
• Curry Leaf - 2 sprigs
• Onion - 2 medium chopped
• Tomato - 1 small chopped
• Tamarind - 1 lemon sized
• Oil
• Coriander leaves - a handful

Preparation

Dry fry each of the ingredients from 1 to 3 separately and fry the ingredients from 4 to 7 together.

In a grinder, powder all the ingredients mentioned above together and keep aside.

Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup of water for about 5 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind and sieve the tamarind water. Set it aside. Pour little oil into a skillet and saute the onion and tomato. Once the onion is translucent, add the curry leaves along with the chicken. Sprinkle salt, mix it well and let the chicken cook till it is half done. Now add the grated coconut and the tamarind water. Mix on high flame and add the ground masala. Mix it well and finally add the ground masala. 

Keep it covered on medium flame till the chicken is cooked and the masala has set in well. Garnish with coriander leaf and serve hot.

Kundapura Chicken Curry/ Kundapura Koli Saaru

Kundapura Chicken Curry is a traditional chicken preparation popular along the coastal belt of Mangalore - Udupi - Kundapura region. It is an excellent accompaniment for kori rotti, sanna , neeru dosa and rice as well.

So that is another jog down the memory lane.
Takes me back to Brahmavar and the tastes of Brahmavar which I grew up to love. It's not just the food but also the special people in my life who cooked this for me. My two akkas Geetha akka and Sabitha akka who took care of me and my sister just like their kids. I am sure Geetha akka is still waiting for me to get home to prepare her special dishes.

Here I have the recipe of Kundapura Chicken for you -

Ingredients

1. Onions - 2 chopped
2. Tomato - 1 chopped
3. Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
4. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
5. Coconut milk - 1 cup
6. Chicken - 1/2 kg
7. Oil
8. salt to taste

For the paste -

1. Ginger - 1 tsp chopped
2. Garlic - 1 tsp chopped
3. Cinnamon sticks - 1 inch stick
4. Cloves - 5 to 6
5. Whole pepper - 1 tsp
6. Coriander seeds -  2 tsp
7. Red Chilly - 4 to 5
8. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Preparation 

Dry roast the ingredients 1 to 7 under for the paste for 2 minutes. Add the grated coconut and dry roast till the coconut becomes dry. Let this cool for a while and wet grind this to a paste.

In a separate pan, heat oil, Toss in cumin seeds, curry leaves and fry for a minute. Add the chopped onions and tomato. Saute till the onions turn slightly brown. Now add the chicken and the paste. Pour sufficient water, bring it to a boil and reduce the flame. Keep it covered and let it cook.  Once the chicken is cooked, add coconut milk bring it boil and switch off the flame.

Whats special about Kundapura koli saaru is that it goes along well with almost anything. Be it rice , dosa, idli or even chapati.

You may also note - 

• Do not over roast the dry ingredients. 
• Add coconut milk, only if you need more gravy.

Onion Chicken

Did I not tel you that every dish has a story to tell.  This one connects my mother and my husband:)

It's my mothers quick recipe that she packs when either me or my sister travel. She happened to cook this once, when my husband was home. He just loved it  and could not believe it was so simple to make.  He named the dish " Onion Chicken" and I retained the name in this blog. Time and again he has asked me to replicate the recipe and I have failed time and again. He " claims" - Ria your dish is good but definitely not like your mother's. Well, today I had my mother send me the recipe and tried it out in my kitchen. Yet I could not match her dish. After all your mothers recipe is always special. Nevertheless we loved the chicken and had a hearty meal.

This is a very easy recipe ideal for working women who want to put together something for dinner after a long day at work. So, here goes - 

Ingredients

Chicken - 800 gms
Onion - 3 big - cubed
Kashmiri Chilly powder - 6 tsp ( gives more color and not as spicy)
Soya Sauce - 5 tsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves
Spring Onion (optional)
Salt
Oil

Preparation

1. Marinate the cut and cleaned chicken in 4 tsp chilly powder, 3 tsp soya sauce, salt and lime juice for about an hour.
2. Transfer the marinated chicken into a pan and cook it covered on low flame until tender. No water or oil needs to be added as water from the chicken oozes out and the chicken gets cooked.
3.  In another pan heat the oil and toss in the onions. Saute it for around 3 minutes and add in salt, remaining chilly powder and soya sauce.
4. Add the cooked chicken and coat it well with the sauce and cook it uncovered for another 4 minutes.
5. Garnish it with coriander leaves, spring onions and may be rings of onion too. Serve it hot with rotis.

Onion Chicken as I prefer to call it -  is ready. A really simple dish with minimum ingredients and quite fast too. 

PS: you can ignore the marination for an hour part if you are in a hurry, still retains the flavors.