"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it."
Says who ?? Well , originally said by Arnold H. Glasgow but practically felt and implemented by none other than my better 1/2 . Remember ,the egg story I told you recently - *What came first eggs or chicken ...not in this world but to my humble jumble home sweet home ?? What ? You don't remember,how amnesia-tic of you? Did you just say ,"All because of your company ?" Not fair !
There can be only one more Ghajini on this planet,and that lady Ghajini is "ME".Ok now go and check out the above *blue link .Will you ? And those who are like ,"What is she speaking "?
- Well,YOU TOO - check that above link and come back .THEN this post will make more sense to you ;Come on enlighten your brain and wake up those idle brain cells ! If you did - Read next ! |
| I love chicken legs ! |
So,dear friends, this is the story of - How I used to chicken out ..err..I mean ...how chicken came to my new ,re-defining ,re-designing phase of my life (after my marriage) and made it completely topsy-turvy .
I remember, how I used to escape or pretend that I didn't see that aisle in the supermarket, haunted with skinless chicken dead bodies but deep in my heart how I wished someone would make a chicken curry for me everyday..one day hubby did try, only to realize later that it has got a potential to become an inevitable habit for his cooking illiterate wife ..so he hesitated .As kind as I am
,I felt deep mercy for him too .So,I didn't bother him either. All those chicken curries from restaurants ,as much as I hated but thinking of the bigger picture ,a part of the order, I always got it packed to go. But you know,they finish VERY quickly!
But as lady luck is my best foe , whenever I tried to make a Chicken curry ,my hubby was like ,"Oh wow honey,is it a Filipino style chicken curry ?
" Next month ,it would be ,"Is it a Thai chicken curry?" and continued ,"Is it North Indian-East Indian-West Indian but not like South Indian ?" What is it Honey ? 
That left me speechless but this saga continued for couple more years till my amma/mother came to US of A .When I was narrating this story to her ,I thought she will be lol-ing but how did I forget - She rolled my ears and my earrings were hanging upside down....poor thing - it was new !
As usual,mom's class started ,"Now you know ,why I used to ask you to help me out in the kitchen ."
I was like ,"A a aaaa oo Ouch ,I know I know." She thought she was successful in giving me another lecture though I was only trying to get rid of her hands from my beautiful ears and my new earrings.
To add fuel to the fire which I was trying hard to extinguish ,my dad would also remind her ,"Teach her everything ,all Kerala curries especially ."
Needless to mention,momma taught me step by step ,how to make a chicken curry Indian style especially Kerala style and I was like an assistant ,who was silently taking down the notes .There on ,chicken curry became one of my specialty .
So,this is how I make Kerala style chicken curry a.k.a naadan kozhi curry ,
Amma's Kerala Chicken curry recipe
Ingredients
Chicken,whole,chopped into bite size pieces - 1 kg
Onion,medium,finely sliced - 3 nos.
Green chillies,chopped - 3-4 nos.
Ginger paste - 2 teaspoons
Garlic paste - 2 teaspoons
Tomato ,medium ,chopped - 2 nos
Coriander powder - 3 tablespoons
Red chilly powder - 2 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Kerala Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
Pepper powder - 1/2 tablespoon
Fennel powder - 1/2 tablespoon
Coconut oil - 4-5 tablespoons
Mustard seeds - 1-2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Water - 1 1/2 cup
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup (optional)
Curry leaves - a few
For marinating : (optional)
Salt 1 teaspoon OR
Yogurt -3/4 cup OR
Lime juice - 2 teaspoon
Method:
- Clean and wash the chicken well and cut them into bite size pieces.
- Marinate the chicken with salt/yogurt/lime juice and keep it aside for about 20-30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a wide pan/Kadai.Add mustard seeds to it and allow it to splutter (on high-low flame).
- Sprinkle little salt to cook brown onion faster.
- Add the onion slices and green chillies,saute until onions turn dark brown on medium flame.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute it on low flame until the raw smell of ginger-garlic is gone.
- Add a few curry leaves to it.
- Add the chopped tomatoes to it and saute.
- Add all spices to it and saute on low flame for a minute or two.
- Cover it until tomatoes turn soft .
- Add the chicken pieces to it.Mix everything well.
- Add water to it and allow it to boil.
- Once it reaches the boiling point,lower the flame,cover it with a lid and let it simmer for a while.
- Once the chicken pieces are well cooked and the curry becomes thick,then add the coconut milk.(Don't allow it to boil )
- Add remaining curry leaves and after a minute or two ,put off the flame.
- Serve hot with boiled rice or chapathi/roti,pulao,paratha,idiappam,appam,naan or as YOU wish.
- Marinating with any of those ingredients makes the chicken tender and juicy.You can avoid it and still make tasty curry.
- The taste of the curry may vary according to the garam masala or any chicken masala used.Try to use any Kerala special masala for sure.
- Coconut oil and coconut milk makes it extra special,Kerala special taste.
- Adjust the spices as per your taste.This is a spicy curry!!
- This curry tastes best when served the next day.
So,that's how my hubby's patience paid off eventually.Not only this curry ,I also made other delicious Indian chicken curries like Mughlai zafrani chicken curry, Puransingh chicken curry , Patiala chicken curry and more coming up .
Eat,love,live DELICIOUSLY,
