An Easy Recipe

What’s Cooking ???

Answer is dhaniya chicken or coriander chicken.

It’s easy to cook and the ingredients are the usual ones found mostly in Indian kitchens.

Disclaimer: I seldom cook non-vegetarian dishes. As I tend to lose patience preparing them I try to make them as less time consuming as possible.

Ingredients

Chicken – 600 – 700 grams

Mustard Oil – 4 – 6 tablespoons

Onion – 2 medium size sliced

Garlic – 6 – 7 pieces

Ginger – 2 inches

Coriander Leaves – 100- 200 grams

Green Chilli (Optional) – 2

Curd – 2 tablespoons

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Degi Mirch Powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander Powder – 2 teaspoons

Salt – To taste

Garam Masala Powder – 1 teaspoon

Cardamom – 1 inch

Green Cinnamon – 2

Bay Leaf – 1

For garnishing :

Flaxseed – 1/2 teaspoon

Sesame seed (white) – 1/2 teaspoon

Fennel seed – 1/2 teaspoon

Wash and clean the chicken well.

Marinate it with turmeric and degi Mirch (it’s less hot and only for colour) powders and salt. I did it in the morning and cooked in the evening.

Heat four tablespoon full of oil in a pan. Put the cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf and let them change colour. Put in the sliced onions and fry well. Add the chicken when onion turns light brown. Toss and turn till the chicken is evenly mixed with the fried onions.

Wash the coriander leaves well and make a paste with ginger, garlic and chilli. Put the paste and mix well with the chicken.

Make a paste of all the powdered masalas with the curd. Take care that there is no lump in it. Add it to the chicken. Cover it.

Note : No need to put water because the paste will bring out the water in which the chicken will simmer and get cooked. Put the flame to low and let the chicken soften slowly till the water dries up and the gravy turns to a medium consistency.

Warm two tablespoons of oil separately put the seeds for garnishing and fry them well in low heat till the flavours fill the kitchen.

Add the garnish to the juicy chicken.

The colour of the dish will be a combination of dark green and brown.

You can have it with rice, pulao, roti or paranthas.

Cooking time is 45 minutes to one hour if you have all the ingredients washed, sliced, diced and blended before it may take lesser.

This is a typically Bengali way of cooking chicken with a little bit of fusion garnish. The USP of the dish is the flavour of mustard oil while cooking and garnishing. Do not burn the oil at any stage. The smokiness of the oil should be retained.

Try it out and let me know how you like it.

The oil quotient in the dish was slightly on the higher side given the crippling cold of the Capital. In summer the oil used is much less letting the flavour of the coriander leaves doing the trick.

Now I guess I should clamp up and let you cook.

Just one secret : The veggies can substitute the chicken with deep fried potatoes. It tastes so yum. And don’t forget to add a bunch of Pudina paste to it.

Bye Bye…

Have a Great Evening!!