Chicken keema matar

Keema pav is a popular street food in Mumbaiand hyderabad.Keema is also a popular dish in North Indian cuisine.Keema Matar is traditionally prepared using Mutton mince.Keema is basically minced meat cooked with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and wonderful whole spices.You can also use chicken,beef,lamb or turkey meat to prepare this dish.I have used chicken mince in my recipe as we don't eat other types of meat.

This is a very easy and delicious recipe and goes well with Pav(dinner roll, Rice,Roti or Naan.Since we’re using ground meat,the cooking process is fairly quick.The peas in this dish gives it a vibrant color and fresh taste.This recipe you can either make it gravy or dry form as you like.You can also use this stuffing to make kheema matar samosa.This dish can become the perfect choice for party or picnic.

          Ingredients (Serves 3-4)

• 400 gms chicken mince
• 1 bay leaf
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 tsp peppercorn(coarsly crushed)
• 1 onions (finely chopped)
• salt as per taste
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 green chilli (chopped)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 3-4 tablespoon brown onion paste
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
• Tomato puree (made from 2 medium size tomato)
• water as required
• 5-6 mint leaves
• 3-4 tablespoons of green peas
• 2 boilled eggs to garnish (optional)

          Method of preparation

• To make brown onion paste take 1 medium size onion cubes and shallow fry them in some oil till it turns light brown in color. Once it cools down make the paste of this and keep aside.
• Add around 3-4 tablespoons of water to chicken mince and mix well to make it moist, to avoid lump formation in the curry.
• Heat oil in a pan and add all dry masala like cumin seeds,cloves,peppercorns,star anise,bayleaf,cinnamon into it.Saute them well.
• Add the chopped onions and saute them for a while till they turn translucent.
• Then add ginger garlic paste and saute again.
• Now at this point add chilli powder,chopped green chilli,turmeric powder,coriander powder,cumin powder,garam masala and mix well.
• Next is add brown onion paste,tomato puree,kasuri methi,green peas to the pan.
• Add salt as per taste and mix well.
• Add little water if required.
• Cover and cook for about 8-10 inutes onlow  medium flame.
• Add roughly torn mint leaves to the pan,mix and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
• Garnish the chicken kheema matar with boiled eggs and serve with Pao or roti.

         Happy cooking !

Chicken tangdi tawa fry

                                                                             

This dish is made using chicken drumsticks.It can be served as chicken starter dish or side dish in a non-veg thali.Normally in chicken starters i prepare chicken tandoori,different types of chicken kabab etc wherein i marinate them using curd along with different spices and then grill them.
This weekend my husband wanted me to prepare simple chicken starter dish hence i innovated this simple yet delicious recipe.Very few ingredients are used in this dish which are easily avilable in the kitchen.Do try this dish and give your feedback.

          Ingredients 

• 4 Chicken drumsticks 
• Salt (as per taste)
• 1 tsp Chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• Oil for frying 
• 2-3 tablespoons semolina/rawa
• Lemon for garnishing (optional)

         (Serves 2)

         Method of preparations

• Take the drumsticks,wash and clean them nicely.
• Make some cuts on the drumsticks using knief.
• Apply salt,turmeric powder and chilli powder thoroughly to the chicken and let it rest for atleast 1 hour.
• After 1 hour take a flat frying pan or tawa then shallow fry this chicken by coating it with semolina.
• Put some oil and let it fry on medium heat.
• Flip it over in between so that all the sides are equally fried.
• After around 10-15 minutes the chicken will become nice and crispy ,you will also get nice aroma from chicken.
• Switch off the flame and serve hot with salad/tomato ketchup.

          
          Note

• If you want this dish to be more spicy you can increase the amount of chilli powder.
• I have not applied lemon for marination but you can do it as per your choice.

         Happy cooking !

Chicken cafreal (Galinha cafreal)

                                                         

Chicken cafreal

Chicken cafreal can also be termed as green tandoori chicken of goa.Chicken Cafreal(Galinha Cafreal)is a rich traditional goan Portuguese chicken preparation consumed widely in the Goa.The preparation originated from the Portuguese colonies in the African continent.It was introduced into the Goan cuisine by the Portuguese and the African soldiers serving under the Portuguese. Goan life is always vibrant with color, cheerful and fun, goan cuisine reflects the true spirit of the land that evolved over time by embracing different people from varied culture.

Chicken Cafreal is a dish where chicken is marinated in a green spice paste overnight and then pan-fried. The result is falling-off-the-bone tender, succulent chicken that is packed full of beautiful flavors of chili, ginger, garlic, cilantro, lime and other spices. What I also like about this dish is that all the prep can be done a couple of days in advance. So it is perfect to serve at parties, when you can spend more time with your guests and less time toiling over a hot stove.

Be a kid or a teenage or an adult or an oldie, chicken lovers trend all over the world at all times! One meat that is a favorite of all beyond belief! My husband is one of the chicken lovers. For this year’s valentine day it was my husband’s demand for this chicken dish.

                                                                               

Ingredients for cafreal masala

       
        Ingredients

• Chicken (½ kg) (Drumsticks/ Legs/ Whole chicken cut into large pieces)
• 3-4 Green Chilies (the hot Indian ones, reduce if you like less heat)
• Coriander leaves (handful)
• 2 inch piece of Ginger
• 10-12 Flakes of Garlic
• 1 tsp Khus Khus
• 10-12 Peppercorns
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 medium piece cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Small ball of Tamarind
• 4 – 5 Cloves
• 1-2 Tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• Salt to taste.

        Serves (3-4)

                                                              

Apply salt and lime juice on chicken.

       
                                                     

 Cafreal masala after grinding

       Method of preparation

• Clean the chicken and make a few shallow slits in the chicken pieces.
• Rub the chicken with the salt and lime juice and keep aside.
• Grind the ingredients for the Cafreal Masala to a fine paste using blender.
• Apply the masala all over the chicken pieces, so they are well coated.
• Refrigerate the marinated chicken and keep overnight. The longer you marinate it the better it is.
• Bring your marinated chicken to room temperature. Take chicken out of the refrigerator about 1 hour or so before you're ready to cook. Allowing the meat to slow come to room temperature before introducing it to a hot skillet makes it  cook better and stay tender.
• When ready to cook, heat the oil in a saucepan and add the chicken pieces and cook on a high flame for about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the chicken. Then add any marinade that is leftover.Cover the pan.
• As the chicken begins to cook, add the butter and cook on a medium flame turning over the chicken once in a while for about 15 minutes until all the moisture evaporates.
• The dish is ready when the chicken is cooked properly on both the sides and its color changes to golden brown.You can also check by pressing the toothpick.
• Serve with wedges of lime and salad. Some also like to have this dish with Fresh goan pao (pav).

                                                                

Apply masala to chicken(overnight)

                                                     

Fry marinated chicken pieces 

   

        Note

• In this dish i had taken boneless chicken breasts but selecting boneless or chicken with bones is a individual choice.
• Some like to consume this dish with potato wedges,it's optional.

        Happy Cooking !

Chicken fried rice..

                                                                               

Who doesn’t like chicken fried rice? But normally we have the tendency to have this Chinese dish in the restaurants. As this dish is my husband’s favorite one and easy to make at home. I tried it this time at home as he was craving for it ever since!

I learned a few awesome tricks on how to get the perfect fried rice in my recipe here.  I really couldn’t believe how good it turned out to be. 

I promise that you can prepare chicken fried rice at home better than take out chicken fried rice. You will really be impressed with yourself. Do try this out…

Frying marinated chicken

                                                                                                                                                  

Cooked rice

  

        Ingredients

• Rice 1 cup (soak for 1 hr)
• Oil (3-4 tablespoon)
• Lemon juice (1 tsp)
• Salt (as per need)
• Chicken (1 cup shredded/minced/chunks)
• Pepper powder (1 tsp)
• Corn flour (1 tsp)
• Soya sauce (2 tsp)
• 1 egg (beaten)
• Ginger garlic (1 tablespoon each finely chopped)
• Spring onion white (1 tablespoon)
• Carrot (1 tablespoon)
• Capsicum (1 tablespoon)
• Chili garlic sauce (1 tsp)
• White vinegar (1 tsp)
• Spring onion greens (2 tablespoons) 

       Serves ( 2-3)                                                                                                                                          

Scramble the egg in frying pan

Chicken ,veggies and egg

                                                          

        
        Method of preparation

• Take the chicken and marinate it with salt (around 1 tsp), corn flour, 1 tsp soya sauce and ½ tsp    pepper powder for about 15 minutes.
• Wash and soak long grain rice for an hour. Boil 4 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. Once it starts boiling vigorously, add the rice. Add lemon juice, salt (around 1 tsp) and 1 tablespoons of oil when the rice is cooking. 
• Simmer the rice on a low flame uncovered. Cook till soft yet grains separated. Drain water immediately and spread the rice it in a plate and let it cool down.
• Now take the marinated chicken in a frying pan containing 1 tablespoon of oil. Cover and cook on a low flame. Keep stirring to prevent burning. This is the perfect way to get tender chicken. Once the color of the chicken changes and it’s cooked turn off the flame and keep it aside.
• Beat one egg in a bowl and keep aside.
• In the same pan take 1 tablespoon of oil and saute chopped ginger and garlic for a while the add spring onion whites, carrot, capsicum and saute for some time.
• Now move the veggies in one side and pour the beaten egg. Wait for a while, then scramble the egg in the pan and mix with veggies.
• Now it’s the time to add Soya sauce (1 tsp) and chili garlic sauce (1 tsp), mix properly.
• Then add cooked rice, ½ tsp of pepper powder and vinegar. Saute for some time. Finally add spring onion greens. Adjust salt as per need.
• Fried rice is ready.Serve hot.

      

        Note

• Some people add ajinamoto (MSG) for extra flavor but it’s optional. I avoid using it in my recipes considering health point of view.
• To make chicken fried rice, i have used minced chicken but you can even use cubed boneless fillets or shredded chicken as per choice and availability
• You can add veggies as per your taste and availability.

          

          Happy Cooking !