Friday, June 13, 2014

EASY CHICKEN MASALA

CHICKEN MASALA
I've lost count of how many times I've made this curry in the past one year. Amma had sent me a cookbook written by our family friend's aunt. It holds a lot of her precious family recipes which, in today's world, nobody has the time or the patience to make. I quite differ at that because I love to go back to my roots, to know and learn the techniques of  what my ancestors made,ate and celebrated. This book holds a special place in my heart, for that particular reason.
CHICKEN MASALA
'Entae Tharavadu Pachakam' by Aswathy Mathan is a book with detailed recipes for Palaharams, Juices, Curries, Pickles,Rice dishes and even fusion recipes. I can go on and on about how much I love that book. If you can find a copy of it,make sure to grab one .I cannot thank Achu & Jaidev uncle enough, for giving us a copy of that brilliant cookbook! Amma made sure she bought a few more to give to my girl cousins,which I think was a smart move!
CHICKEN MASALA
This curry is a very quick one and totally delicious. I don't think this is a typical Kerala style chicken curry. There's nothing coconut about it. It reminded me of a chicken curry our maid ' Vanilla' (yes,that was her name!) made for us in Bangalore. Her method and ingredients were totally different but,somewhere,this curry reminds me of her. Anyone,who knows how to light a stove,can make this curry with perfect results!

CHICKEN MASALA
CHICKEN MASALAServes 6

Ingredients:
750 g whole chicken, cut up into small pieces
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
1/4 cup cilantro,chopped
1 large tomato,sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil

For the wet masala:
2 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 inch piece ginger
8 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup water

Method:
In the smallest jar of your mixie, add all the ingredients for the wet masala and keep aside for 15 minutes. Then grind into a thick paste.Keep aside.
In a large pan with sides, heat the oil on medium high heat and saute the sliced onions till they are soft and almost starting to turn brown.Add the ground wet masala and cook for 3-4 minutes till they roll back and form a thick paste.Add the chicken pieces and salt. Mix well. Cover and cook till the chicken leaves its water. Open the lid, add about 1/2 cup water, half of the cilantro. Cover and cook till the chicken is done. Open the lid, add the tomatoes and cook till they are soft, another 2 minutes.Garnish with the remaining chopped cilantro and serve hot!

This curry is one our family favourites! Ian loves to eat this with rice and Moru Kachiyathu. We both eat this with Chapathi as well as rice. It's such a versatile one, you can serve it with almost anything that you serve chicken curries with.
Enjoy!

18 comments:

  1. Looks delicious and an easy dish to prepare. Thanx for sharing Ria... Simply loved the pics.

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  2. that is really good timing ria. was just scouting around for a chicken recipe to make over the weekend and i stumble upon this :)
    Totally trying it out.

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  3. looks easy to make and not much complicated ingredients

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  4. I don't remember the last time i had any kind of curry this looks so good.

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  5. Hi Ria,

    I have been a silent follower of yours. Your dishes fascinate me (especially the photographs) and i have tried out a few with success. but of late, i am unable to view the pictures you put up on the web-site. What could be the issue?

    Shiny

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  6. Hello Shiny, Thank you for reading my posts! I have no idea why you are unable to view the photographs. Do you think it could be a browser issue?

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  7. Zareena, Nisha,Finla & Parvati : Thank you :) I hope you like it as much as we did!

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  8. Tried it and it was so yum...wish i cud show you how my vessel looked later..my lil one licked it clean....

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  9. I tried this recipe today. Found it simple & the curry tasty. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    -Suman

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  10. I made this curry yesterday.. Came out really well.. :) Thanx Ria for this easy and delicious recipe.. :)

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  11. Hi Ria... I tried this recipe yesterday.. Came out really well. Thank You for such an easy and tasty recipe.. But my all-time favourite recipe is the creamy tomato and coconut fish curry.. I have made many times now.. Definitely our family favourite.. :) Keep going!!

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  12. hi ria...
    i tried many of your recipes and everything was superhit both at home and office.some of which are lamington,chocolate cupcake vanilla cup cake,gulab jamun,chocolate loaf cake and the list goes on...but this curry diasappointed me...there was a slight bitter taste.could you please tell me where i would have gone wrong?and poppy seeds is khas khas in malayalam right?

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  13. Reny,Suman & Linz - Thank you so much for trying it at yours! :)


    From the land of spices - Thank you for trying out my recipes! I am sorry to hear that the curry had a bitter taste to it. Yes,poppy seeds are khus khus. I am not very sure as to what could have gone wrong,since I've never had that experience so far. Was the khus khus fresh?

    I am just trying to think what could have gone wrong

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  14. This curry is going to be the end of me :) I crave for this every single week and have been making it every damn week! Everyone at home loves this and the twins love to lick the masala. Thank you for such an awesome and easy recipe.

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  15. can you his cilantpls tell me what is this cilantro

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  16. Sakshi, thank you so much!
    Parvathy, it's Coriander leaves / Malli ela / Malli cheppu.

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  17. Hi Ria,

    I had some guests yesterday and had no time to prepare an elaborate meal. So I zeroed in this recipe of yours and paired it with pathiri. This dish is a breeze to make... foolsproof. Thanks for this great dish.

    Shiny

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  18. Hi Ria,

    I have made this recipe a few times when I am in a time crunch and its always come through. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Was curious - would you know where I might be able to find a copy of the book 'Entae Tharavadu Pachakam' by Aswathy Mathan.

    Thanks,
    Neetu

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Ria Mathew