Chicken Curry Pic: Priya Q

My impression about ‘ bachelors cooking’, let alone cooking complicated stuff was corrected by Q’s cousins …Akki and Arju… While Arju was secretive about his pepper chicken recipe; the flamboyant Akki was more than happy to share his recipe for his signature chicken dish ….. i have to admit it was absolutely finger licking good!

Chicken –  1 kg
Onion  (big) – 4-5 nos – sliced
Tomato – 2 nos – cubed
Ginger – 2 inch piece
Garlic – 1 pod
Green Chili – 5-8 nos
Coriander Powder – 4 tsp
Red Chili powder – 3-5 tsp
Tumeric – 1 tsp
Chicken Masala – 3-5 tsp
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Coconut Oil / Cooking oil
Coriander leaves / cilantro – for garnish
Salt to taste

1. Wash chicken and sprinkle about 1 tsp of salt and keep aside
2. In a wok fry 2 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp turmeric and 3 tsp chicken masala powder in 1 tbsp of coconut oil and remove off fire
3. Marinate chicken with the above fried spices
4. Grind coarsely ginger, garlic and green chilies and keep aside
5. In a wok heat oil and fry onions and saute well
6. Add remaining chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric and chicken masala
7. Now add the ginger-garlic-chili paste and fry well
8. Add tomatoes and saute
9. Add marinated chicken and mix well and cook for about 5 minutes
10. Add ½ cup water, close the lid and cook on low flame and bring to boil
11. Add coconut milk and cook for about 5 minutes
12. Check for seasoning
13. Garnish with coriander leaves / cilantro
14. Serve with rice / bread

Till next time ….happy cooking!

Pepper Chicken pic credit: Priya Q

Feel like eating something exotic on a day you don’t feel much like cooking? Try this simple recipe of pepper chicken. It is simply delicious. Try it and you will know what I mean

Chicken – 1 kg (washed and skinned)
Plain Yogurt – 1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste – 3 tbsp
Onions – 4 large (sliced thin)
Big cardamom – 2-3 nos (powdered)
Butter – 2 tbsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Ground black pepper – 5-6 tbsp
Salt to taste
Cilantro / Coriander leaves – for garnish

1. Marinate the chicken in yogurt and ginger garlic paste. Keep aside for atleast 30 minutes
2. In a thick bottom pan heat butter and oil together
3. Add powdered seeds of the big cardamom to the pan. Wait for few seconds till you get an aroma
4. Add onions and sauté
5. Add marinated chicken, salt and mix well
6. Close the pan and add about ¾ cups water on the lid
7. Cook on low flame. Stir in between
8. Once the chicken is half cooked add pepper and stir
9. Cook till chicken is done
10. Garnish
11. Serve with any Indian bread or plain / flavored rice

*adjust the water content based on the desired consistency of the gravy

till next time….happy cooking!

Chicken Fry

Last recipe in this segment of Kerala non veg specials, chicken fry is yet another traditional preparation. A good snack to go with cocktail sessions and yes goes well as an accompaniment for your lunch and dinner too

Chicken pieces – 250 gms (washed, drained and cut into bigger cubes)
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tbsp
Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
Cloves – 3-4 nos
Shallots (small onions) – 10 nos (finely chopped)
Garlic – 2 cloves (finely chopped)
Ginger – ½ inch piece (finely chopped)
Curry leaves – 1 sprig (finely chopped)
Vinegar – 1 tbsp
Coconut oil or any cooking oil – 1 cup
Salt to taste

1. Mix all ingredients except chicken and oil
2. Rub it over the chicken pieces and marinate for about half an hour
3. Heat oil in the pan and tip in cooked chicken pieces till golden brown
4. Scrape out the remains from the vessel in which you cooked the chicken and fry this as well
5. Place the chicken on the serving plate and garnish with fried scrapings and lemon slices

Till next time…happy cooking!

photo credit: me vs gutenberg

I shared with you earlier recipe for chicken curry sans any coconut…this one is with coconut milk…check it out!

Chicken – 500 gms (washed, drained and cut into pieces)
Onions – 2 nos (sliced)
Potatoes – 2 nos (sliced)
Green chilies – 6 nos (slit length wise)
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
Coconut Milk – 2 cups
Ghee (clarified butter) – 7 tbsp
Salt to taste

For curry masala, grind to a fine paste the following

Shallots (small onion) – 8-10 nos
Garlic – 6-7 cloves
Dry red chilies – 6-8 nos
Cloves – 3 nos
Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
Poppy seeds (Khus Khus) – 2 tsp
Black peppercorn – 15 nos
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 2 pinches
Water (as required to make this thick paste)

1. Pat dry the chicken pieces and rub nicely with the ground curry paste. Let it marinate for about 30 minutes
2. Heat 1 and ½ tbsp ghee in a skillet and add onions and potatoes and fry till the potatoes are cooked and onions are translucent
3. Take the vegetables off from the skillet retaining the ghee in the skillet
4. In a fresh pan put in chicken in coconut milk over low heat for about 10 minutes and cook till chicken is half done
5. Add green chilies, curry leaves and coriander leaves and continue cooking till gravy thickens
6. Remove from the heat and take out the chicken pieces from the gravy
7. In the retained ghee (from step 3) add remaining ghee, heat and fry the chicken over high heat till chicken turns brown
8. Add the vegetables and cooked gravy and mix well
9. Serve with rice, chappati, Kerala porotta, aapam or idiaapam

Till next time…happy cooking!

photo credit: TMAB2003

Well, necessarily not all Kerala recipes need to include coconut as one of the ingredients. This chicken curry is sans any coconut…a must try!

Chicken – 500 gms (washed, drained and cut into pieces)
Onions – 2 nos (big sized, finely chopped)
Ginger – 1 tbsp (julienned)
Tomatoes – 4 nos (finely chopped)
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Cooking oil – 4 tbsp
Salt to taste

For curry masala, grind to a fine paste the following

Shallots (small onions) – 10 nos
Ginger – 3 cm piece
Garlic – 6-8 cloves
Dry Red chilies – 8-10 nos
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Cumin seeds (jeera) – 1 tsp
Fennel seeds (saunf) – 1 tsp
Black Peppercorns – 15 nos
Water (as required to make this thick paste)

1. In a pan heat oil and tip in the onions. Fry till translucent
2. Add the ground curry masala and mix well. Fry for 2 minutes.
3. Remove half of this mixture and keep aside
4. To the remaining half in the pan add chicken, ginger and salt and sauté till the chicken is cooked
5. Tip in chopped tomatoes, curry leaves and ¾ cup water and cook over low heat till oil separates
6. Add in the onion and masala paste you had set aside earlier (step 3) and turn off the heat
7. Mix well and garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves and julienned ginger
8. Serve with rice, chappati, Kerala porotta, aapam or idiaapam

Till next time…happy cooking!

photo credit: pelican

This one is called Kozhi (chicken) Mappas and is one of the many traditional chicken preparations. You can serve this with anything pathiri, puttu, chappati, rice or puttu….

Chicken – 500 gms (washed and cut into pieces)
Onions (big) – 2 nos (finely chopped)
Tomato – 2 nos (quartered)
Green Chili – 4-6 nos (slit length wise)
Ginger – ½ inch (sliced)
Garlic – 3 cloves (sliced)
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
Whole black pepper – 1 tsp
Cloves – 4 nos
Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
Turmeric powder – 2 pinches
Red chili powder – ½ tsp
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Coconut oil – 2 tbsp
Ghee (clarified butter) – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

1. Roughly crush black pepper, cloves and cinnamon and keep aside
2. Soak chili, coriander and turmeric powder in just enough water and keep aside
3. In a skillet heat oil and ghee together and sauté in it onions, green chili, ginger and garlic
4. Add the soaked and crushed spices and fry for a minute
5. Add tomatoes and cook
6. Tip in the chicken pieces. Add salt and mix well. Close the vessel and cook on medium heat stirring occasionally
7. Sprinkle in little boiling water if the liquid dries out too quickly
8. Mix well and pour coconut milk. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes in low heat.
9. Serve.

Till next time…. happy cooking!

photo credit: rore

Well, am always impressed with men who can cook and more so when it comes to something as exotic as Honey Walnut Chicken. Rishi who is based out of USA sent me over this recipe for my Walnut week. Check it out…
Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts – 1 kg
Walnut – 1 cup (halved)
Honey – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1 tsp (finely chopped)
Rice Wine – 2 tsp
Cornstarch – 1 tsp
Brown Sugar – 1 tsp
Dark Soy Sauce – 2 tsp
Garlic – 2 tsp  (coarsely chopped)
Green onions – ½ cup (Cut 2” long. Slit in half)
Green bell pepper – ½ cup (Cut 2” long thin.)
Chopped white onions – ½ cup
Chinese 5 spice powder – 1 tsp*
Mix fruit jelly – 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter – ½ tsp
Sesame oil – 1 tsp

• Marinate chicken in ginger, rice wine, salt, cornstarch and Chinese 5 spice powder for atleast1 hr
• Roast walnuts with a bit of butter.  Add honey and mix till dry
• Prepare a mix of dark soy sauce, brown sugar and mix fruit jelly
• In a pan, heat oil. Stir-fry chicken and keep separate
• Add garlic and stir-fry
• Add green onions, green bell pepper and white onions and stir-fry
• Add cooked chicken and mix
• Garnish with roasted sesame
• Serve with fried rice or noodles

*The 5 spices if not available can be prepared at home. Combine schezwan pepper corns (if not available use normal pepper corns), star anise, cloves, cinnamon & fennel seeds and grind them to fine powder.

Thanks Rishi for sharing this fab recipe with us.

Meet Rishi…

Rishi Menon is a software consultant. He dabbles in cooking and photography in his spare time. You can check out his portfolio here

image: Priya Q

During my spinster days I either liked to cook exotic stuff and not cook at all at times! This is a non spicy chicken recipe which I used to make it quite often then. This dish will not only suit the taste palettes of my European friends but also my Indian friends who am sure are going to love it! So this weekend why not try out this recipe? …don’t forget to give me a feedback though!

Chicken – 1/2 kg (cleaned and cut into pieces)

Cloves – 4 nos

Cinnamon – 2 tsp

Green cardamom – 4 nos

Bay leaf – 2 nos

Star anise – 1/2 number (3 petals)

Dry red chili – 2-3 nos

Carrot – 1 no. big (cubed)

Beans – 50 gms (chopped)

Cauliflower – 3/4 cup (florets)

Bean Sprouts – 1 cup

Coconut milk – 100 ml

Cornflour – 1/2 tbsp

• Grind to a fine powder – cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom, bay leaf and star anise
• Cook chicken along with 2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp salt and red chillies and ground spices. If cooking in a pressure cooker wait for 2 whistles and turn off the gas. Keep it aside to cool
• Except Cauliflower, add all the vegetables including sprouts to the chicken and cook on low flame
• Cauliflower takes less time to cook so add when the other vegetables are half done
• Add coconut milk and cornflour. Stir
• Add salt to taste
• Serve hot with rice

Till next time….happy cooking!

photo credit: irrational_cat

Garlic’s health benefits and medicinal properties have been long known. Its considered to be a natural antibiotic. However, it also said that most of its properties are killed while cooking. Since, I am not a big fan of consuming raw garlic and since I simply love cooking with garlic, I will stick to the latter option

Here’s another chicken variety for you..and cooked with yes…Garlic!!

Boneless and skinless chicken breast – 4 breast halves
Egg white – 1 No
Corn flour – 1 Tbsp
White wine – 1 Tbsp
Onions – 4 Nos (sliced thin)
Ginger – 1 tsp (minced or finely chopped)
Garlic – 2-3 tsp (minced)
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Spring onions – 1 No (finely chopped)
Dash of pepper

For sauce
2 Tbsp soya sauce
2 Tbsp white wine
1 tsp red chilli paste
1 tsp corn flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp vinegar
1 Tbsp water

1. Wash and clean chicken breasts and place them in the freezer for about 1-2 hrs or until very firm. Should not let it freeze
2. Cut them into thin stripes
3. Beat egg white along with the corn flour abd wine till corn flour completely dissolves
4. Add chicken to this and coat all pieces and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes
5. Heat oil in a wok and fry the chicken until it’s somewhat cooked.
6. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and in the same wok add onions, ginger and garlic and sauté well. They should not turn brown.
7. Tip in the chicken back into the wok.
8. Combine all sauce ingredients, mix well and add to the wok.
9. Keep stirring and cooking till gravy thickens.
10. Sprinkle a pinch of freshly ground pepper and spring onions.
11. Serve hot with rice or noodles.

Till next time….happy cooking!

p.s>> waiting for your feedback!

photo credit: stu_spivack

I love Chinese food. Though I have heard that if the Chinese have Chinese food in India…they will run for their lives We Indians like everything so spicy!! Nevertheless, when I cook, I rather try to keep it as authentic as possible. Try this recipe out. I am sure you will like it!

Boneless chicken cut into strips – ½ kg
Ginger – 1 tsp (finely chopped)
Garlic – 1 tsp (finely chopped)
Onions – 4 Nos medium sized
Capsicum – 1 small (diced)
Carrots – 2 -3 Nos (sliced)
Celery stalk – 2 Nos
Spring onions – 3 tbsp (finely chopped)
Orange juice – ¾ cup
Soya sauce – ¼ cup
Honey – ¼ cup
Cornflour – 1 Tbsp
Pepper – ½ tsp
Roasted cashew – 1 cup
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

1. To get your sauce ready, combine orange juice, Soya sauce, honey, cornflour, salt and pepper.
2. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a skillet and stir fry all vegetables until onions turn transparent and fragrant. Remove from the skillet
3. Now, in 1 tbsp of oil cook the strips of chicken until brown and tender.
4. Add cooked vegetables and sauce and continue cooking till the sauce thickens.
5. Sprinkle over roasted cashed and continue cooking for few more minutes.
6. Garnish with spring onions.
7. Serve hot with rice.

Till next time…happy cooking!

p.s>> feedback plz!!

Learn How To Cook Low Fat & Low Carb Chinese Food From Master Chef W/ 40 Years Of Cooking Experience!!