Bhuna Chicken

Bhuna Chicken

Last weekend I invited some of my friends at my place. I was thinking what to cook with Pulao. After reviewing many options finally I chose bhuna chicken. It was one of my favorite chicken recipe where the perfect blending of the aroma of whole spices and tenderness of juicy chicken gives an awesome relief to our taste buds. The thick and hot sauce of the preparation is a complement to the rich meat of chicken.

 The name bhuna derived from the cooking process as it cooks in whole spice for long hours. According to the sources; 'The dish "bhuna" is an extension of that process where meat is added to the spices and then cooked in its own juices which results in deep strong flavours but very little sauce.‘  The aroma of whole spices, the juice of onion, tomato and chicken and the gravy of curd make this preparation a household favorite. It goes well with rice dishes like biriyani, polao and with nun, tandoori roti and lachha paratha as well.

Ingredients:

Bhuna Chicken

Chicken: 1 kg

Onion: 5

Tomato: 2/3

Curd: 100 gm

Ginger Paste: 1 tbsp

Garlic: 1 tbsn

Red Chili Powder: 2 tbsn

Coriander Powder: 2 tbsn

Turmeric Powder: 1/2tbsn

Salt: As per taste

Oil: 2 tbsn

Ghee: 1 tbsn

Whole Spice:

Green Cardamom: 6

Black Cardamom: 1

Cinnamon Stick: 1 inch

Cloves: 4

Red Chili: 4 (Broken into two pieces)

Mace: 1/2 blade

Bay leave: 2

Method:

• Clean the chicken pieces and coat with lemon juice all over. Cover the chicken and keep aside for an hour.
• After an hour take two tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces. When the chicken pieces change colour, keep them aside.
• Then add some ghee on the pan. When the ghee is hot enough add the whole spices. Let it splatters for a minute.
• Now add the onion and fry till it changes color in a high flame. When the onions are golden brown, add ginger garlic paste. Cook in a low flame for another minute.
• Add the tomato pieces and cook until the mixture starts to leave oil.
• In a bowl mix all the powdered spices with salt and a little sugar. Add water to make a thick paste.
• Add the chicken to the work. Now add the paste with curd. Mix well in a light hand.
• Now add ½ cup water and simmer the flame.
• Cover the wok and cook for an hour in a low flame.
• After an hour, uncover the mixture and you can see the juicy chickens are smiling from a rich gravy.
• If you want you can add a little cream at the end.
• Now your Bhuna Chicken is ready, Serve it with Polao, biriyani, nun or paratha.  

Paneer Kofta or Cottage Cheese in Rich Gravy

Paneer or cottage cheese is one of the favourite ingredients of our household. Generally, in our house we consume vegetable meal on every Saturday. And it has become a national crisis for us to decide the menu. As like any other Bong family, we need a starter, dal, fry, one veg dish and one special dish with rice. In Saturday, the special dish is either paneer or Mushroom.  Generally we do paneer curry or mixed veg with rice. But sometime our taste buds want something special and spicy for the weekend. Then my choice is Paneer Kofta.

Paneer Kofta is a hot favourite in my house. It perfectly goes with both rice and roti. The rich colour of gravy and the loaded aroma will definitely tickle your taste bud. And the most comforting part of the recipe is that it can be made with common ingredients.

  Ingredients:

  Paneer: 300 grms

  Onion: 3 medium

  Ginger: 1 inch

  Garlic: 6 pods

  Tomato: 2 medium

  Green chilly: 4

  Turmeric powder: 1tspn

  Bay leaf: 2

  Cardamom: 4

  Cinnamon: 1.5 inch

  Mace and nutmeg powder: 1 tspn

  Garam Masala Powder: ½ tspn

  Red chilly powder: 1 tspn

  Cumin seed: 1 tspn

  Coriander powder: 1 tspn

  Chat masala: 1 tspn

  Coriander leaf: 1 bunch

  Salt: according to taste

  Oil

 Method:

First of all, grate the paneer. Now smash the grated paneer with coriander leaves, chat masala, coriander powder, and salt. Make small balls of the paneer mix. Add oil in the wok. When the oil is hot enough, fry the paneer balls. When the balls have become brown, set them aside. Now add some more oil in the wok. Make a paste of onion, garlic, ginger, green chilly and tomatoes. Add some cumin seed, red chilly and a bay leaf in the hot oil. Let them splatter for a minute. Now add the cinnamon and cardamom. When the oil will release a beautiful aroma, add the onion paste. Now sauté it in high flame. Add salt, sugar, turmeric powder along with it. When the mixture will start to release oil add the red chilly powder. Then add sufficient water. After adding water, put a tspn of mace and nutmeg powder. Cover it with a lid and let the curry boil for some minute. When you can see the rich gravy on the wok, add the garam masala powder and turn off the gas. In a bowl, place the paneer balls and pour the gravy from the top. Now your paneer kofta is ready. Serve it with hot rice or roti. 

Dum Aloo or Aloor Dum with Baby Potatoes

You can bring out a Bong out of Bengal, but you can not bring out Luchi and Aloor Dum out of a Bong. The irresistible taste of this two deadly combo works like a black magic for any Bengali especially for a Sunday breakfast or rather for a brunch. All over Bengal, there are many recipes of Aloor Dum or Dum Aloo. Some make it with onion and some make it without onion. It tastes good in either way. According to my taste bud, I like it more with onion.

Dum aloo can be made of any kind of potato but the baby potato is the best ingredient for it. I don’t get the supply of baby potato all over the year, so I follow the same recipe for any other kind of potatoes to make the Dum Aloo.

Ingredients:

Baby Potatoes: 500 gm

Onion: 2 medium (sliced)
Garlic: 5 Pods

Ginger: 1 inch

Green Chilly: 2

Tomato: 1

Cumin: 1 tspn

Dry Red Chilly: 1

Grounded garam Masala: 1 tbsn

Salt: according to taste
Oil: 2 Tspn

Method:

First, boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker until 1 whistle. Peel the boiled potatoes and sauté in a pan. Keep aside the fried potatoes. Now make a paste of ginger, garlic, tomato and chilly. Add oil in a wok. When the oil is hot enough, add the cumin seeds and red chilly and let it splatter for a minute. Now add the sliced onion. You can add ½ tspn of sugar to caramelize the onion. It also gives a rich colour to the dum. Fry the onion till it turns golden brown. Now add the ginger garlic paste and cook it well for few minutes. You can add bay leaf to this. When the mixture starts to leave oil, add the potatoes. Cover the potatoes with the mixture. Now add adequate water and cover it with a lid. Let it boil for few minutes. After the dum is done add the garam masala powder and switch off the gas. Serve it with hot Luchi or poori.

Shami Kabab

Ingredients:

• 500 gms lamb mince
• 75 gms chana daal (large split yellow lentil)
• 2 tbsps garam masala
• 3-4 dry red chillies
• 2 tbsps garlic paste
• 1 tbsps ginger paste
• 2 tsps coriander powder

  

  Shami Kebab

• 1 tsp cumin powder
• Salt to taste
• Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil or ghee to shallow fry

Preparation:

• Boil all the ingredients together in 2 cups of water (approximately). Boil until the lentils are completely mashed and the mince is cooked. If the water dries up before the daal and mince are cooked as required, add some more water. If after the daal and mince are cooked, you have water left over, cook further till all the water is dried up.
• Grind the resulting mix into a thick paste in your food processor.
• Shape into patties.
• Heat the cooking oil/ghee on a heavy-bottomed skillet and shallow fry the kababs till golden on both sides.
• Cool on paper towels. Serve hot with Mint-Coriander Chutney.

Hydrabadi Chicken Biriyani

Hydrabadi Chicken Biriyani

Ingredients:
1 kg chicken, washed and drained completely
2 large onions, finely sliced
2 tbsps chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp saffron
1/2 cup luke warm milk
salt to taste
2 tbsps ghee + 5 tbsps oil

For marination:
3/4 cup thick curd/yogurt
8-10 green chillis, make a small slit in them
1 1/2 tbsps ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp red chilli pwd (adjust)
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
3/4 tbsp coriander pwd
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
3/4 cup pudina leaves
juice of 1 lemon
1 3/4 tsps salt

Biryani masala, make pwd:
8 cloves
1″ cinnamon stick
4 elaichi/cardamom
3/4 tsp shah jeera
12 pepper corns
Ingredients to cook rice:
4 cups Basmati rice
6 cloves
3 cardamoms
1″ cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
1 marathi mogga
1 star anise
10 mint leaves
1 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tbsps salt

water as required
1 Marinate chicken with the ingredients called for ‘marination’ along with biryani masala pwd. Keep aside for 4 hrs or a min of 1 1/2 hrs. While the chicken is marinating, work on the rest of the preparation.
2 Cook basmati rice in lots of water along with bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, marathi mogga, elaichi, oil, salt till its half cooked. Strain the water and spread the rice on a large wide plate. Allow to cool.
3 Heat 1 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp ghee in a vessel, add sliced onions, saute for 8-10 mts till caramelized. Remove and keep aside.
4 Add the saffron to the luke warm milk and combine well. Keep aside.
5 Take a wide deep vessel to prepare the biryani. Add 3 tbsps oil, add the marinated chicken and spread out over the vessel. Cook on high for 2 mts. Add a tbsp of oil over the chicken pieces. Reduce flame.
6 Spread half of the rice over the chicken layer, pour half a tbsp of ghee all over the rice, add half of the caramalized onions and spread over the rice. Next sprinkle a tbsp of coriander leaves and pour about one fourth cup of saffron milk over the rice. Over this layer, spread the remaining rice. Again pour half a tbsp of ghee all over, add remaining caramelized onions and spread over the rice. Finally sprinkle a tbsp of coriander leaves and pour remaining saffron milk over the rice.
7 Place lid and over the lid place a heavy weight and seal the edges with wheat dough. Cook on high flame for 2 mts. Remove the vessel from the stove and place a iron tawa. Allow to heat. Reduce to low flame and place back the biryani vessel on the iron tawa and cook biryani for 20-25 mts. Turn off heat and do not remove lid for 10 mts.
8 After 10 mts, remove lid, combine gently and serve hot with raita and curry of your choice.