NAADAN KOZHI PIRALEN

I've been busy as a bee for the past couple weeks with all the get togethers that we've been hosting. Now that we are done with all of it, I feel like I have all the time in the World! So naturally,my first thing to do would be to come here and take a sneak peak as to what's going on. I actually had taken these photographs a few week ago to share them here but got the time for it just this morning. Once I am done with this post, I need to start packing for our upcoming vacation that we have been planning for almost a year now. Minneapolis is so cold right now so I am happily looking forward to that warm destination!

This is a life-saver of a curry. I've made this countless number of  times in the past and it turns out perfect each time. This recipe is from a cookbook 'Suriani Pachakam' by Mrs. Bava Lukose. I love this cookbook because whatever I've made from it over the last few years have been delicious! Bava aunty and I have exchanged many emails and even know many common people in between. Amma has met her twice or thrice already...I wonder when I will get to meet her finally!

It's such a quick curry to put together and goes with pretty much with everything that you can think of! I mean, chicken curry is something I like to pair with most things. Whenever a chicken curry is made at ours, it kind of gets over the same day unless I portion out some and keep it aside before it's served. Usually, that happens over a weekend when there's a movie being played on the TV and a glass of wine in hand. We rarely watch TV shows nor movies on a regular basis, it's just a weekend thing for us. I somehow don't get the time to sit in front of it to catch up on all the latest stuff, not even Food Network these days. I am also not willing to compromise on my sleep either! :-)

NAADAN KOZHI PIRALEN
Serves 5-6

Ingredients:
1 kilograms chicken, cut into medium pieces
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup sliced onions
1 tablespoon vinegar
3 sprigs curry leaves
Salt

2 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed powder
8 green cardamoms
4 cloves
1/4 cup sliced pearl onions
2 tablespoons garlic
1 tablespoon ginger

Method: Grind together all the ingredients from coriander through ginger to a smooth paste.
Heat oil in a large pan on medium high heat and sauté the onions until soft. Add the ground paste and sauté well for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken, curry leaves, vinegar and salt. Mix well and add 1 cup water. Cover and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and the gravy is thick. Serve hot!

The last time I made this curry, I served it alongside Chapatis. We enjoy that combination a lot and it reminded me of an incident when I was a 5 year old. I clearly remember Amma had served me something to eat for breakfast, which I now think was Dosa & Chammanthi and I refused to eat it. She tried to convince me but since I didn't budge, she told me that I will not be given anything else to eat for breakfast until I eat a bite of that. I remember crying my eyes out and that's when Mamma came home. I ran to her to complain that Amma didn't give me anything to eat. I was so excited when Mamma asked Amma to feed me something else.

Then Amma served me a plate of Chapati and Beef curry with potatoes in it. I fell in love and I am still in love with Chapathi and any non vegetarian curry! That combination is amazing!