Wednesday 20 June 2018

Narkel Kanchalonka Doi diye Chicken / Chicken cooked with coconut, green chillies and curd

 There are days when you make a recipe.
And then there are days when a recipe makes you.

I was running short of time today as I rushed through my daily chores while something kept nagging at the back of my head.
That something was important ... very important to me ... it had been almost a week since I had eaten a proper non vegetarian meal last.
Barring the one quick stir fried chilli chicken and a boiled egg one day with my soft, phyana bhaat ( if you are with me on instragram or facebook, you will know. )
So as I did the laundry and kept away the dishes, visions of a steaming hot mutton curry and some hot rice danced before my eyes.
By the time it was early noon, I could not take it any more.
More so because B's favourite summer combo meal was almost done.
And there was nothing to tempt me to sit down for lunch.
I had to have some mangshor jhol .... urgently.

The day had not started on a good note.
A sad news regarding a childhood friend's loss had already set a morbid spell and I desperately needed something to break it.
So dropped everything and went out to get mutton.
As luck would have it, there was no mutton ... "You will get it by 2:00 o'clock, Ma'am" was what I got.
I had no intention of waiting till two, so grabbed a half kilo pack of chicken and came home.
And then realised that I have run out of my homemade ginger garlic paste ... not a cube in the freezer.
Thankfully I had some already peeled garlic in the fridge.
And found the chutney jar of my mixer in the fridge .... with a good amount of coconut paste in it!!

I knew immediately what to do. No standing and frying and koshaoing for long.
All I would do was mix everything and set it to cook.
And that is how this beautiful recipe came by to brighten up my day .... or whatever was left of it.

 I had curd in the fridge ... it was a few days old as well as store bought ... which made it slightly sour and was perfect to cook meat with.
I decided to cook all the chicken at once and freeze batches ... that will save me a few hours of cooking for the next few days , when I can concentrate on my sewing.
So mixed the chicken with curd and masalas and let it sit for around 15 minutes while I made the Aamras ( pureed the mango ) for B's meal.
And then sat it on the stove to cook while I went back to my chores.
In less than half an hour, it was done ... slow cooked to perfection.
No frying, no stirring, no checking on, no hassles at all.


I am tempted to call this a no oil preparation but that one spoonful of mustard oil in the marination is holding me back.
Whatever oil you see in the picture is from the curd and the chicken's fat (there was not much ... I am just assuming. )

This curry turned out so darned good that I decided to make a post pronto .... almost as if the flavours will die away if I don't.
While clicking the photos, I had to adjust the gravy and wipe the sides and once I licked my fingers, I just could not get over with clicking and start eating.
It was just so, so good ... if I may say so.

Do give it a try ... I am sure you will love it.

Need :

To make the paste -

Grated coconut - around 8 tbsp
Garlic - 12 cloves of medium size
Ginger - half an inch piece
Green chillies - 2 (depending on the heat )

Run everything with a little water , in a grinder, to make a coarse paste.

For the curry -

Chicken - ½ kilo
Curd - 5 tbsp
Roasted jeera/cumin powder - 2 tsp
Dhania / Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp ( I used a little biryani masala as I did not have garam masala )
Mustard oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste


How to :

Mix all the ingredients and the coconut paste and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Pour in a heavy bottomed kadahi / pan and cover tightly.

Set it on low heat and let it cook till chicken is done and desired consistency of the gravy is reached.

Remove cover and check for salt and sweetness.
If needed, add and cover and simmer for a couple of minutes more.

Or else, remove from heat.

Serve hot.

Goes great with rice, rotis or parathas.
And while it looks rich and heavy, it is one of the lightest of dishes that I have ever cooked. 

Enjoy!!







5 comments:

  1. Hello mam

    Long time no comment so here am I. Lots of parts I absolutely need to tell you. I planted some pohi taking your inspiration and now it's almost waist deep...i didn't expect much as we have better gardeners in the family but the pohi grew...yay...now I am dreaming if ways to use it...pohi saag? Pakodas???
    I thought I was the only one who does cooking...reaching the finish line types....though end result is good....I am not passionate about cooking .period.

    The photos are so preety . especially the table cloth below is such a lovely contrast. I will try this with soya chunks....what do you think???

    I need your help with sheem in soupy gravy....any ideas? And barbatti?

    You take care of your self...

    Warmest regards,
    Love,
    Ash

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congrats on your poi Ash! You will find a number of Poi recipes here ... just click on the label pui or do a search.

      As for sheem, I use it in a mix veg like the chorchori ( the recipe is here too ) and also in a Rajasthani way ...
      just temper the oil with hing and jeera and let in potato cubes and sheem and stir fry for a while with turmeric + red chilli powder + salt. Add water and cook till done. Then add dhania powder and tomatoes or amchur powder, adjust water and salt and simmer for a while. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves before serving.

      There is a barbatti stir fry here too ... just do a search.
      Hope this helps.

      Delete
  2. ��surely will do that.

    Take care,
    Warm regards,
    Luv,
    Ash

    ReplyDelete
  3. Eta toh daroon recipe Sharmila. I must try this. Your Puchki will love it! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Rakhee! Puchki r bhalo lagle amar recipe post kora saarthok. :-)

      Delete


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