Chicken pepper fry

And just like that, the rains are gone. 
We did not get as much rainfall this year as we would have liked to. 
Especially when we are not going out. 
With the whole world and our lives coming to a a standstill, due to the pandemic raging all around us, all we had was the rains outside to look out at. 
Sitting by the window, or standing in the balcony or lounging in the sofa that I drag half way across the room just for the view ..... all we had was the gentle, quiet Pune rains and fog outside. 

The trees have grown a lot over the years and are now almost at our eye level at the seventh floor. 
Their leaves shiny, healthy, glistening in the rain. 
And swaying to the wind. 
The birds go on with their activities. 
And we go on with life. 
Daily, mundane chores. 
The only welcome break was the rains. 
And that too has gone now. Too soon. 

I don't mind  the sun though. 
The mornings are brighter and clearer now. 
And sunnier. 
There is a chill in the air and the feel of autumn is already in the air. 
Ganpati festival is on. 
Listening to the bhajans and aarti songs all around give an air of sanity. 
As if nothing has changed. 
And all is well with the world. 

I made this beautiful, spicy Chicken pepper fry a few days back for lunch. 
It was quick to make and was the perfect finger food for the dark, rainy days. 
The heat of the black pepper warmed the body as well as the cockles of the heart .... just like Ma  has cooked a warm meal and is feeding me  lovingly.

Need : 

Chicken pieces, on the bone (you may use boneless too ) 
Ginger garlic paste

Soy sauce

Vinegar / Lemon juice

Freshly crushed black pepper 
Chopped onions

Chopped garlic 

Chopped green chillies 

Curry leaves 

Salt - to taste

Sugar - to taste

Cooking oil 

How to : 

Marinate the chicken with vinegar, soy sauce, ginger garlic paste , a little oil and  salt. 
I marinated and froze it. You can keep it for 1 hour. 

Heat oil in a flat pan. 

Let in the chicken pieces one by one. 
Sear them on high heat till the sides turn crisp and brown. 

Lower heat and add the onions, garlic , green chillies and the curry leaves. 
Add salt and the crushed pepper, cover and cook till the chicken is done. 

If you want less spicy, then add the black pepper last, just before removing from heat. 

Serve hot . 

The chicken was crisp on the outside and juicy and soft inside. 
The meat  peeled away smoothly .... I guess the marination did the magic. 

I had made some crisp dosa and so paired with them. 
With some beautiful peanut chutney on the side, this was my lunch on a dark, cold rainy day. 
Will go great with laccha parathas too. 


Stay safe folks. Eat well. Eat healthy. 

Samosa / Singara / Spicy, deep fried and sinfully good, savoury pastry

 
Growing up in a huge joint family has taught me, among other things, the ability to accept everyone as they are, without questions. 

We lived together, in Dadu's house. With its orchards, ponds, four main gates and three smaller ones too. And a big open space where stood a magnificent  mango tree that was uprooted by one of the cyclonic storms that was so common during my childhood. 
And a big patch of garden that bore seasonal vegetables, lovingly tended by the gardener.
And, with uncles and aunts and house helps and cousins.
Yes, it was both a picnic as well as mayhem ... our family was.

And naturally, we always had a lot of relatives around. Every Kakima's paternal side of the family was our family too.
I still remember our excitement when any particular relative was to visit.
That Mama, who was popular with us because  he would actually enact out whatever story he was narrating. 
Or that Dida who did not know any language besides Bengali .... and who we loved to grill with new words, asking her the Bengali equivalent. She naturally came up with wrong words and how we would dissolve into peals of laughter.
Or that Didi, who sang like an angel, and we looked forward to learning a few new songs, whenever she visited, especially Adhunik / modern songs. And a few more gems of Tagore. 
Or that Mashi, who we stayed clear of, because of her quizzes on maths and chemistry. 

I can go on and on. 

The best part of these visits was we got to eat food from outside, .... sometimes .... that was otherwise prohibited for us. 

On any day, during the evening tea, someone would want some ' gorom gorom tele bhaja' / deep fried street food. And as hosts, one of the Kakus would comply. 
Or we would get one of our favourite Didas to ask for them .... and she would happily oblige.
Knowing very well that she would not eat any, at all. 
And we children would get to eat the small sized, crisp singaras, filled with a dry, spicy potato and peas masala that was so hot it burned our mouths when bitten into. 

Those were different from the regular samosas that we get in North India.
But then, the samosa is such a common street food that its filling varies in texture and taste in almost every state of the country. 
Making it create a different memory for every different person growing up eating their local samosa.  

I still remember the samosas we ate during our trip to Ranthambore, Rajasthan. Standing in the middle of the vast highway, in a small shed, stood a man frying hot samosas on a make shift kitchen with the barest of things. We waited till he got them out of the hot oil ..... smoking hot. 
And standing there on the empty highway side, biting into those crisp, spicy, hot little triangles of pure bliss, sipping on cardamom tea and watching the sun go down slowly in the horizon, I felt that was one of the best moments of my life. 

A few days back, once the rains started in earnest here, I was reminiscing about the monsoons back home and how the ponds overflowed and the fishes came up right to our doorsteps,
how we would sit near the bay windows and look out at the big droplets create beautiful patterns on the pond,
how Dadu or Jethu would ask us, one by one , to sing their favourite Rabindra sangeet on the rains, 
how we hurried to shut the wooden windows when sudden gusts of water laden breeze came in .... but would leave just a little gap to be still able to smell the wet air .
And that  was when I remembered this beautiful singara from my hometown. 

I wanted to make it. B was game.
He enjoys these stories and what better than crisp, hot singaras to go with them. 
To his credit and because he is from the kachori and namkeen city of Rajasthan, B is an expert when it comes to actually handling the singara. So I did the cooking and B did the maneuvering part. 
And we made some really good samosas that evening. 

They were so good and the cover was so perfectly crisp that I thought I will document it and  share here. 

So here is my recipe for the perfect Khasta Shingara / Khasta Samosa . 

Need : 

For the dough : 

Maida / Apf - 2 cups 
Cooking oil - ½ cup or more, if needed 
Baking soda - one small pinch
Kalonji / nigella seeds - ½ tsp 
Chilled water - enough to knead with 
Salt - to taste 

For the filling : 

Potatoes - 2, medium, chopped very small 
Green peas - ½ cup
Turmeric powder 
Red chilli powder 
Amchur / dry mango powder 
Chilli flakes 
Black pepper powder
Salt - to taste 
Cooking oil - 1 tsp 

Cooking oil - enough to deep fry 

 How to : 

To make the dough, knead the maida with the rest of the ingredients, except water for some time. 
When the oil has mixed in well, it should form a lump when held in the fist. 
Now add the chilled water, very little at a time, and knead into a tight dough. 
Do not over knead it.

For the masala, heat oil in a kadahi and let in the chopped potatoes and peas. 
Add the rest of the ingredients and cover and cook till done. 
Remove cover and dry it up completely. 
Remove to an open plate and cool. 

For the samosas, 
cut out medium sized balls of the dough. 
Roll each one out . Do not roll it too thin. 
Cut in half. 
Pick one half, make a twist and seal the edges with water. 
Scoop in a spoonful of the stuffing mix and seal the ends. 
Set aside. 

Take a heavy kadahi or deep pan .... preferably an iron one. 
Fill it with oil. 
Set it on to heat. When the oil turns lukewarm, let in the samosas. 
Never heat the oil too much ... it will cause blisters on the samosa cover and will remain raw too. 
Do not over crowd the kadahi. 

The samosas will slowly float up to the top as they cook. 
Cook them on low heat. 

The perfect khasta samosas are always light in colour and yet perfectly cooked and the cases crisp. 
Dark coloured samosas mean over cooking or ... in the case of shops ... re frying. 

When done, remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel. 

Our samosas turned out to be perfect. 
When I tapped the cover, it was perfectly crisp and tough. 
And when I broke it open, it showed the layers of the casing too! 
Just have a look. 😊

We munched on them, right there in the kitchen, while still frying. 
The rain sang on outside and it was cold and dark. 
But our kitchen was warm.  
And fragrant. 
With memories; and the hot samosas. 

Stay home everyone! 
And stay safe! 


Ps: photos clicked in the dark and low light. 

Mourala maach bhaja / Crispy fried small fish with spicy masalas

After a long, torturous start to summer and the never ending days of unbearable hot days and nights, it rained last evening. And this evening too.
In fact, it rained a lot more this evening. And how!
It poured and poured and poured.
There were flashes of lightening ever since the clouds had started to gather by late afternoon. All went still and not a leaf moved. The heat was suffocating and we could hardly breathe in the thick, humid air.
Then started the wind.
Whole trees swayed from side to side and we could see leaves and fresh cotton balls, from the trees, flying hither and thither.
Thunder rolled in the heavens along with every crack of lightening.
And then came the first drops .... big, fat and heavy, falling with little thuds. Gradually the tempo increased and soon we could not see anything through the screen of rain.
And there was a power failure promptly.

The road below was a sight to see, though.
As the heavy rain splattered on it, we could see the steam rising and create a haze that was so beautiful that we stood at the window and watched mersmerised ... every time a car passed, its headlights lit up the scene.
Later, we ignored the inverter and did not switch on the lights either.
Rather, soaked in the dark and quiet all around.
I am not much of a crowd person and the recent trip to the desert land and the extended family has exhausted me completely.
So I am very much at peace right now in my cosy little 1500 sq. ft. flat. It might not be a haveli, but it is my nest. This is where I play house, dress it up, make its curtains, play around in the kitchen and sit back in my favourite chair or my swing and happily watch the world go by.
Here, I am the queen.

We had dinner in the dark; the old fashioned way.
And sat out in the balcony later, taking turns on the swing, soaking in the beautiful cold. The rain had stopped finally but the thunder still growled in the distant hills.
We chomped on cold watermelon pieces, spitting out the seeds carelessly. It was very quiet all around. And dark; still.
Crickets sang in the small patch of forest beyond our balcony. And the dry leaves that covered the ground below the huge trees, all soaked in the rain, let out a beautiful, earthy, soggy fragrance that hung heavy in the air.
We sat quietly; not speaking lest the spell gets broken; lest the street lights come back to their sharp life, searing the eyes and the beautiful all around.

I felt relaxed, in a long while.
And at peace.
"Time to get back to my favourite space, my Kichu Khonn", I told myself.

After a long bout of vegetarian food, I am back to my non vegetarian diet. No fish in the fridge yet ... gotta buy some tomorrow ... but egg and chicken, yes.
Coming here, I saw this post in the draft and so, my friends, I have this beautiful, spicy, crunchy fish fry for you.
Quick to make, quick to finish off too, you can pair this with the simple dal bhaat or the panto bhaat or much on it as an appetizer.
Small fish are high in protein, omega 3 as well as calcium. So try to make them a part of your meal at least two or three times a week.

I had got a batch of absolutely fresh Mourala the last time I got my fish. My fishmonger cleans them for me, which I am grateful for, since I have no idea how to handle them. And it would take me ages, of course.
All I did was to wash it clean ... you have to scrub real clean ... mix with the spices, fry and much on them.

Need :

Mourala fish - 250 gms
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp ( I use mustard oil )

How to :


Marinate the fish with salt + haldi + lemon juice + red chilli powder + rice flour.

Heat the oil in an open pan.

When smoking hot, add the fish .
Spread out the fish ... they should not stick to each other and form a clump.
A few sticking together is ok but there should not be too many.

Fry till they turn brown on one side.

Flip and fry the other side too.

Serve hot with sliced onions and green chillies and of course, kasundi on the side.
You can sprinkle a little rock salt or chaat masala on it before serving too.

Enjoy!!

I am sharing my lunch plates on my page on FaceBook .
Join me there to get light, nutritious lunch ideas for the summer.

Masala Pomfret - two different recipes, one post

It has been a whole month now since I made a post last.
 One fact is I was away, visiting home. One week was spent on preparation for the travel, read shopping, planning and packing ... yes, I am an organiser and need to be packed and ready at least two days before the actual journey date. Else I get all flustered and the heebie  jeebies.
The other fact is, ever since I have returned, I cannot muster up enough energy or the enthusiasm to actually sit down and type something ... anything ... that can be passed off as a decent post.
I have been cooking ... yes.
My camera is full of pictures, waiting to be uploaded and edited.
But I am stuck. With a god knows what block.
All I do now is keep calling up home ... Bapi was not well when I left ... and hang on to the sounds of familiar voices and noises from home. 

Or spend unending time on FB ... which of course results in wonderful culinary experiences.
Every time I give a shout out, expert friends jump in with helpful tips and recipes. Like this particular time, when I had brought home two good sized pomfrets.

I had seen them beautifully scored in one of Kalyan's posts and wanted to try my hand at that. While Kalyan's fish was expertly scored att he fish market, I think I did a pretty good job of doing so by myself.
I did end up with a cut finger but the way the fish looked, especially after cooking ,was worth all.

I asked for a suggestion as to what masala should I use to cook it with. I had already marinated it with some ginger paste, garlic paste and lots of lemon juice.
Kalyan suggested plain jeera and red chilli powder . This sounded perfect as I did not want too much of masalas or a gravy.
I have had tandoori pomfret earlier and have always loved the pomfret dryish and crispy fried.

Then Rhea of Euphorhea suggested that a malvani or a koli masala would be great too.
Now I was really tempted to try that too ... but unfortunately did not have any malvani masala. But I did have the Goda masala in my kitchen.
So it was decided .... one fish will have the jeera+chilli coating and the other will have the Goda masala and a dash of agal.
The discussion is here.


The fish is pan fried in minimum oil in both recipes. And I have the rice flour to give the coating an extra crispiness.  Both turned out to be the most wonderful pomfret recipes I have ever tried!
And I have already made them twice after this.

And these are phone photographs .... remember you guys had encouraged me saying it is the recipe that matters ... so there. :-) 

Need :

Pomfret fish - 2, cleaned and scored as shown
Ginger paste - 2 tbsp
Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 6 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Goda masala - 2 tbsp
Roasted jeera powder - 1 tbsp
Agal / Kokum juice - 2 tbsp
( If you don;t have Agal, then you can use a teaspoonful of tamarind pulp too )
Oil - 2 tbsp, for two fishes
Rice flour - 4 tbsp 

How to :

Marinate both fishes with a spoonful of ginger + garlic paste, 3 tbsp of lemon juice, the rice flour  and a sprinkle of salt, each.


Add the roasted jeera powder + red chilli powder + r2 tbsp of rice flour to one fish.
Add the Goda masala + the Agal + 2 tbsp rice flour to the other fish.

Keep aside for at least 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a flat pan.

Add one fish and cover. Cook till one side is brownish and crisp.
Flip and cook the other side too.

The pomfret is a very delicate fish and cooks very fast. Make sure you do not over cook it.

Remove and serve hot.

I had some marinade left, so tossed some onion rings in it and stir fried them in the same pan with the minimum residual oil.
Loved the sizzle and the slightly charred rings.
Were perfect with the fish.

The photograph on top is the one with the Goda masala marinade.

The one below is the one with the jeera powder.

Both tasted awesome! Super awesome!
I have made these for guests too.
You can use the tandoori masala and make Tandoori Pomfret in exactly this same way. Just add a little sour curd and a pinch of besan to the marinade.

Make sure to serve hot.
Enjoy!!

I have a few other recipes that have resulted from discussing food with my friends on FB.
One is a wonderfully simple yet flavourful dish made from prawns / shrimps.
Coming up soon.

Stay tuned.