I love cooking with whatever is available in the pantry. The challenge lies in making something out of nothing..well not really nothing but whatever is handy! I had a packet of ready to fry chicken reshmi tikka and I ended up making a jhalfrazie out of it. As Wiki pedia states - Jhalfrazie is a type of curry that involves frying marinated pieces of meat, fish ,veggies in oil and spices to produce a dry thick sauce. It also essentially includes bell pepper,onion and tomato - seemed perfect for what I had in mind. Can be made in a jiffy, perfect for week night dinners, low fat with goodness of veggies and great on taste.Well what else do you need. Few hot rotis and you are in food heaven!
Ingredients:
Ready to eat - Chicken tikka - 1 packet
Onion - 1 large - diced
Tomato - 1 large - diced
Bell pepper/capsicum - 1 medium - diced
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
Roasted cumin powder - 1 tbsp.
Roasted coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1tsp
Tomato puree - 1 tbsp.
Fresh cream - 1 tbsp. - I used low fat Amul cream
Sugar - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Refined oil - 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Dry red chillies - a few
Fresh Coriander - a handful chopped for garnish.
Method:
In a pan heat 1 tsp oil, tip the ready to fry tikkas and fry till lightly brown in colour. Or follow the instruction on the packet. You could even microwave a few varities. Drain and keep aside.
In the same pan , add another tsp of oil. Tip in the ginger - garlic paste and the dried red chillies. Fry till slightly brown in colour and it doesn't smell raw. Add the diced onions, tomatoes and bell pepper and quickly sauté on high heat.
Next add the red chilli powder , roasted cumin and coriander powder , sugar, salt and the tomato puree. Mix well and fry for 2-5 mins. Add a little warm water to prevent the masalas from burning. Now add the cooked chicken tikkas. Give everything a good mix, turn down the heat and add the fresh cream. Garnish with fresh coriander.
Remove from heat and serve hot with a bread of your choice.
Notes:
- The chicken can be prepared at home too. Just take some boneless chicken and marinate with a little yogurt , ginger - garlic paste, salt, white pepper powder and some lime juice. Follow the rest of the process.
- Since Jhalfrazie is essentially a medley of ingredients - you could make a vegetarian version by adding carrots,green beans,baby corn etc.
- This dish also uses a lot of green chillies that I have not used. So feel free to adjust the spice levels according to taste.
I know. I know. I have been missing in action. Don't ask me why because even I don't know the whys and the hows! Lets just say that my mojo went for a hike! This particular recipe I made long ago but wasn't getting the enthusiasm to write the post. And I just couldn't have posted the recipe because this belongs to my Thama - my paternal gradmom - a great cook with zamindars lineage from Dhaka. So you can well imagine the kind of food she made. Everything was royal about her! This Chicken Roast recipe belonged to her Baaper bari - fathers home and she made sure that she made the family cook learn it well and also pass on the recipe to her daughter in laws. I have grown up eating this royal dish on every special occasion and also made sure that I learn how to make it while growing up. The most important ingredient is the use of country chicken - small sized deshi murgi stuffed with a mash of potato and boiled eggs and served on a bed of rich onion gravy,made all the difference. So while I decided to recreate this legendary dish in my kitchen - my biggest set back was the unavailability of small sized country chicken and had to make do with the farm ones we get here. Thus I have kind of deconstructed the dish but it tasted awesome nevertheless. Heres presenting my version of my family's favourite recipe - Chicken Roast.
Ingredients:
Chicken - 1 medium sized - cut into 4 pieces - cleaned and washed
Onion - 1 large - finely chopped
Tomato - 1 large - finely chopped
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tbsp.
Turmeric/Haldi powder - 1tsp + 1tsp
Red chilli powder/laal mirch powder - 1 tsp
Roasted cumin powder / bhuna jeera powder - 1 tbsp.
Boiled potato - 1 large - roughly mashed
Tomato puree - 1 tbsp.
Sugar - 1 tsp
White pepper powder - 1 tsp
Cashewnuts - 8-10 - lightly roasted
Raisins /kishmish - half of a handful
Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp. - make a powder of green cardamom,cloves and cinnamon
Boiled eggs - 2 nos - for garnish
Ghee - 1 tbsp.
Refined oil - 1 tbsp. + 1 tbsp.
Salt - taste
Fresh coriander leaves - finely chopped - for garnish
Method:
Preparing the chicken:
Make a few slits in the chicken pieces and par boil it till a little soft. Drain and keep the water for later use.
Now marinate the chicken with salt and 1 tsp turmeric, keep aside. Heat a tbsp. of refined oil in a flat pan and sauté the chicken pieces till golden brown in colour.
Drain and keep aside.
Preparing the gravy:
In a kadahi - deep bottomed pan - heat 1 tbsp. ghee along with a tbsp. of refined oil. Add the ginger- garlic paste and sauté lightly. Add the chopped onion and fry till golden brown in colour. Make sure not to burn the onions.
Now add the chopped tomato, tomato puree, turmeric powder,roasted cumin powder,red chili powder,white pepper powder and the mashed potato. Mix everything well together and roast the masala well.Keep adding a little warm water to help the mixture from not burning.
Next add the cashewnuts, rasins and the garam masala powder. Add the sautéed chicken pieces and a cup of the water kept aside from boiling the chicken.let everything simmer for 5-7 mins. This dish has a gravy of thick consistency so check accordingly.
Garnish with chopped coriander and sliced boiled eggs and serve with naan/roti /paratha.
Or mop it up with toasted slices of bread just like me!
Notes:
- Keep a constant watch while making the gravy so as not to burn the masalas.
- This dish has a gravy of thick consistency so add water accordingly.
- Originally this dish is made with whole country chicken - stuffed with potato mash , fried till light brown in colour and then added to the gravy.
- Instead of frying the chicken pieces ..one could also grill it in the oven.
