Thursday 5 November 2009

Stir Fried Chicken with Vegetables

( Vegetarians & Vegans can use Paneer / Tofu / Cauliflower and continue with the rest of the recipe including the marination).

Too much of anything is bad ... very bad. And right now there's too much of everything in my life ... and I am not liking it one bit.

Too much of cooking ... thanks to man of the house who has to eat homemade food ... my time in the kitchen has increased to ... say ... forever.
And as a consolation prize I sometimes get to order a burger and fries from Makdu ... ok ok ... McD .... if I want to eat out. Sigh. :-(

Too much work ... thanks to the pending stuff from the past two and a half months.

Too many books to finish reading ( my Puja Shonkhya ( annual Bengali literature dose ) collection is waiting patiently.

A knitting that's crawling towards halfway ... with the fervent hope that we will see at least a little cold this winter.

And at times ... too much of everything.



My mind, body, heart and soul have been crying out for a break. The man has been promising a vacation ... for a longish time now.
Knowing him ... and the dedicated procrastinator that he is ... I see no light or no immediate end.

So am back to my blogging. At least the good souls who visit here listen to my woes without complaining.



Coming to my recipe ....

Right now there has been an overdose of chicken in my life .... but it is better than having just vegetables.

And this time, after I've finished all the good portions (with bones ), I was left with the fleshy parts of the chicken breasts and thighs. I do not like the much fleshy and fibrous parts too much ... so had put them into the freezer for emergency times ... like when I have to make do with only vegetables ... I turn to them.

This recipe is real fast ... like my almost all other recipes. And healthy too. You need not even have to keep the chicken marinated for long ... all the time that is needed is to cut and get everything ready. And this dish is done in minutes.

You can use boneless cubes of chicken too. I have just sliced up the biggish pieces.



Need :
For the chicken : Boneless chicken pieces ( around 10 - 12 pieces ), 3 tbsp white vinegar , 4 garlic pods grated, 3 tbsp maida / APF, 2 tbsp cornflour, salt and sugar, a little cooking oil.

For the vegetables : Vegetables cut lengthwise ( I had only carrots and beans ... you can use any veggie you want to ),
onions thickly sliced ( I used chopped ones as I realised I had run out of onions after chopping up last one for another dish),
chopped green chillies, chopped garlic, dried herbs ( I used thyme ), salt to taste, cooking oil.



How to :
For the chicken : Mix everything together ... also add a little cooking oil to it. Keep aside for around half an hour.


Heat a little oil in a pan. Wait till it is hot enough ... and then add the chicken pieces one by one. Keep on high heat and toss well ( you will need a cover to shield yourself ... it splutters real bad).
Here I got a wonderful aroma and knew I was on the right track. :-)


Lower heat and cover and cook for around two minutes. Do not overcook ... the chicken will turn rubbery and hard.
Remove and keep aside.

Of course ... you can stop at this point and start chomping on them ... they are perfect chicken pakodas ... without the deep frying. :-)

In another pan or wok heat a little oil. Add the onions and garlic and green chillies and fry well.

Then add the vegetables on high heat and keep tossing.
Add salt and the herbs and keep tossing. The vegetables should stay crunchy.

Remove to a serving plate. Arrange the chicken pieces with it and serve hot.

You can also mix the two in a pan and toss them together.

This is great as a dish by itself. Or you can have it with fresh bread or warm rice too.

Enjoy folks!! I hope to be more regular here. Till then ... take care all! :-)


Other Stir Fries on Kichu Khon :
Stir Fried Macaroni with Roasted Vegetables & Chicken
Lau Khosa Bhaja / Stir Fried strips of Bottle Gourd Peels

37 comments:

  1. Chicken with vegetables looks really good. Cooking at home is never a bad thing so don't worry about that part. Book reading part I can identify with, I am not sure where the time goes.

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  2. Wow - what drool worthy pix... Simple and easy and no deep frying too - yum!
    Too much of chicken - hmmm not sure about that... Too much of cooking - yep I cant deal with it either....

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  3. Chicken sounds great and colourful.....Nice clicks .

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  4. good to hear from you after so long and nice to see you with such a lovely dish. Our life's a case of too much chicken too... i want nice red meat with fat :(

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  5. Sharmila,
    This seems to be like that sizzler thing, only its not sizzling. Loved the combination of veggies and chicken.
    And you are absolutely right, guys don't like eating out, I think this is one of that traits to confine the lady at home :(. But, a little suggestion, hartal karo, mashe ekbar na baire khawate gele, kitchen bandho.:D

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  6. Dear Sharmila
    Great dish...to be very frank I was expecting the same old Indo chinese version..a dash of soya..bit of ginger ..chili garlic sauce..and so on ..I just forgot the dish was coming from Sharmila :-)I am going to try it...and the use of Thyme is well thought of..I can get the flavor right now.
    The photography is excellent specially the one where the tiny pieces are stuck to the fork..great composition..
    As usual I read the preamble twice before proceeding to recipe.
    I am just back from a Foodi-sojourn to Kolkata and let me see what great dishes were cooked during my absence
    Ullash ( cheers)

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  7. Thanks ISG! I do love cooking at home .. it is just that I miss the occassional eating out and rest from the kitchen these days due to my husband's illness. :-)

    Thanks Somoo! Since I have to finish off the chicken all by myself most of the time, it does get 'too much of chicken'. :-)

    Thanks Tina! :-)

    Thanks Kalyan! Good to see you here too. :-)


    Thanks Sudeshna! But it is not even close to a sizzler recipe.
    And I guess you missed out something from my earlier posts ... we don't eat out these days as my husband was very ill recently.
    He definitely does not have 'that trait of confining women at home'.


    Thanks Mr.Ghosh! Apnar comments pore bhalo laglo. Try kore dekhben ... eta shotti khub taratari hoye. :-)

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  8. Oh Chicken with veggies, I have never tried it...looks good..and good to know you are spending more time in the kitchen. Which means you get to share more here..:)

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  9. Sharmila same abostha amaro. MIL aar kichu guest esechen besh kadin. so i have to cook almost twice daily. chele samle kichchu karar samoy pachina.
    the chicken looks very colourful and such a quickie....a real life saver I must say.

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  10. Great recipe Sharmila. But if you fry the chicken for only few minutes, does it get cooked properly? Bhalo kore shidhdho hobe?
    I like your recipes because they are so simple...I do not like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking elaborate meals.
    Great snaps as always.

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  11. Sharmila,
    pics darun..dekhe khete iche hoche:)..library theke ekta boi enechi ..samay hoye na porbaar, mone hoye na pore ferot dite hobe LOL..
    hugs and smiles

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  12. this chicken with those crunchy veggies i can have by itself...nothing else.
    thyme with garlic i love....n the veggies stirfried in those flavors is just tempting...

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  13. Chhobigulo dekhe khidey peye gelo je!!
    Amar stir fry bheeshon bhalo laage!
    I make something similar quite often...with pearl onion & chicken sausages sliced (majhe majhe with boneless chkn also)..with lots of pepper & Fab India'r ekta Chili oregano mix!

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  14. I know what you mean about too much... it's this time of the year I tell you :) the chicken looks fabulous.

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  15. Visited after a long time to a great tasting recipe...as usual! :)
    Hope your long awaited vacation happens soon :)

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  16. Makdu.. hehehe.. I can imagine what it is like to be not getting a break eating out. I am hardly cooking now, but still crave to eat out( I think I am getting lazy in the kitchen, the more i don't cook, that more i want to eat out;-) SHhhhhhh..! )

    I love that cornflour coated chicken, & when i make chili chicken or a stir fry, most of it gets consumed while each batch comes out. amaro boneless bhalo lage na (except dishes lieke this or kababs) fibrous lage, but here due to convenience i am kind of stuck to that. yeah.. thanks for the warning.. i have had burns a few time due to the big "POP" in the oil.

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  17. This would be great for S, she has to have some non-veg to down her veggies.
    Sottiy majhe majhe mone hoy shob chere chure Himalay giye aram kore ashi

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  18. I love stir fried veggies...I too m longing for a break and sincerely hope i get one soon :-)

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  19. Awww....looks like you need a break!
    Take it easy sweetie. Go for quick n easy stuff in the kitchen. Hope your husband recovers completely soon and you get that vacation you need!

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  20. Thanks Valli! That's exactly the reason why I don't get to share more here ... no time. ;-)


    Thanks Sayantani! Haan ... erokom chotpot ranna e amar bhalo lage. :-)


    Thanks Aparna! Yes, it will get cooked as the pieces will be very small and the salt in the marination helps.
    But if you are still in doubt, just increase the marination time to half an hour and the cooking time too ( cook on low heat and keep it covered ). Don't worry ... it will come out fine. :-)


    Thanks Jaya! LOL ... boi firiyo na ... reissue korte thako. :-)


    Thanks Sangeeta! :-)


    Thanks Sharmistha! Ami chicken sausage e kintu soya sauce ektu diye thaki. :-)


    Thanks Mandira! Yeah ... that time of the year .. lol. :-)


    Thanks J! Ar bolo na ... vacation na hole bari chere paliye jabo. :-)


    Thanks Soma! Arey ... the prob is we get spoilt rotten with all those eating and vagabonding out ... and then when times like these come ... we feel claustrophobic. ;-)
    Amar deep fried chicken er cornflour coating ta chariye khete darun lage. :p


    Thanks Sandeepa! Try kore dekho ... ar baccharder jonne veggie gulo kuchi kuchi kore dile oder khete easy hoye ... onekta vegetables mone hoyena.
    Himalay keno ... ami pasher chotto dingi pahar tate palate parlei benche jai. :-)


    Thanks Parita! :-)


    Thanks Bharti! Am taking heart from these nice words. :-)

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  21. Am hungry now..droolworthy dish..

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  22. Looks very appetizing with the crunchy veggies :)

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  23. chicken ekdum bhalo che...my bangla is horrible but ur chicken is definitely superlicious!!

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  24. sorry that was me Rush...anil had logged into gmail..and so the comment was published in his name....sorry :(

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  25. Thanks Priya! :-)

    Thanks Yasmeen! :-)

    Thanks Anil & Rush! At least I can say now that I got a comment from Anil too. :-)
    Glad to see u here again Rush. :-)

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  26. Just like u i am going through the same phase,..and i blog to take break form my hectic schedule,..chicken looks yum,..;-)

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  27. Superb recipe...will definitely try!

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  28. A very simple and tasty recipe. I tried it out yesterday with paneer instead of chicken and it came out really well. the idea of marinating with vinegar, cornflour is really good.

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  29. Thanks Priyanka! :-)

    Thanks Rakhee! :-) Try kore dekho ... khub quick. :-)


    Thanks Madhu! Am glad you liked it. :-) Yes, it works very well with paneer too.

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  30. Sharmila, I have pointed your blog to a blogger called 'spice and more' who is coming to Pune from Australia with her family. I hope to connect with them at Mumbai. Cheers, Kalyan

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  31. Thats really a wonderful meal..chicken and vggies, complete planned. Like the part its stir-fried. Picture look too good, as usual.

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  32. Totally agree..though you like it, it does get a bit too much when you spend the entire day in the kitchen ! I used to read a lot, till my little one was born and now i only pick up books which i can finish in a couple of hours...Got '2 states' by chetan bhagat yesterday, spent the entire day reading it, kneading atta with one hand, chopping with one hand, but the book was good fun..lovely chicken, have a few peices at home, may try this soon...am making youe shukto today...

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  33. Thanks for that Kalyan! :-)

    Thanks Malar! :-)

    Thanks Arch! Wow ... working with one hand and reading too! I'll check out that book of Bhagat's ... his earlier ones haven't impressed me much. :-)
    Do lemme know how the shukto turns out. :-)

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  34. A real good recipe, SHarmila as usual..mrination sounds too good..very healthy and wholesome combo..jarer pare appetite back karte perfect recipe..very kids friendly too..just awesome awesome...

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  35. Some days it feels like you are drowning? I think we all feel that way. Some people are just better at hiding it I think. Your chickene looks delicious and your photography is beautiful.

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  36. Thanks Indrani! :-)

    Thanks Coleen! You are so right ... I guess everybody feels this way one time or the other. :-)

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  37. Your pictures are making me hungry! Sounds like a delicious recipe.

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