The Labaabdaar

I love me some dried-up tangy masala! My mom made this yesterday and it needed to go up. Here's "Murgh Labaabdaar" from the mommy.

Cut a kilo of boneless chicken into bite-sized pieces. Marinate with the following: Salt, a spoon of oil, a spoon each of ginger and garlic, chopped or paste form, a big dollop of Greek yogurt and a spoon of garlic chilli sauce. Set aside. Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a pan and put a spoon of kalaunji/kala jeera/nigella seeds with two chopped green chillies, one finely sliced onion, and maybe half a sliced capsicum. Sauté for a little bit before adding the marinated chicken. Stir intermittently. Once the chicken is tender and no longer pink, add half a spoon of turmeric powder, a spoon of cumin powder and a spoon of garam masala. Once the chicken is almost cooked, dice a tomato and add that (so the tomato does not have the time to soften too much). If you want it creamy, add a little cream and let the masala dry up till it sticks to the chicken like sauce. In mother's own words, "cook till it is cooked" (profound).

Garnish with diced tomato and julienne capsicum, and maybe a little cream! Best with fresh parathas.

The Dakgangjeong

I'm the murderer of recipes. Last Friday I got some boneless chicken and covered it with spices and cornflour to deep-fry and douse in buffalo sauce for a Friday night-in. I had some marinated uncooked chicken left over, and figured now is as good a time as any to give Korean fried chicken, or dakgangjeong, a try. Except it was Sunday and I was lazy and man did I put whatever I wanted in the saucepan, and surprisingly still came up with relatively authentic-tasting (and looking) Korean fried chicken! So have at it.

Mix about 500g boneless chicken pieces (or chicken wings, ideally) with garlic salt, a little pepper, cornflour and just a little water to help coat the chicken well. Deep-fry till golden, and set aside.

For the sauce, in a very lightly greased saucepan, add a spoon of grated onion, a spoon of garlic paste, half a spoon of grated ginger, a small spoon of soy sauce, a proper spoon of rice wine, a spoon of chilli sauce, a spoon of sugar, a spoon of red chilli paste, a spoon of honey, and a pinch of Dijon mustard. 

Now here's the funny part - I didn't feel like leaving home to go get fresh groceries, so here's what I really put in the experimental sauce: a spoon of grated onion, a spoon of garlic paste, half a spoon of grated ginger, a few drops of soy sauce, a proper spoon of sushi seasoning (which is rice vinegar + salt + sugar), a tiny dash of Sriracha, no additional sugar, a spoon of honey, a spoon of red chilli paste, and a few drops of kasundi, which is basically Bengali-style Dijon mustard. I'm amazed at how well it imitated an authentic dakgangjeong sauce!

Anyway; simmer the sauce until thickened; then throw in the fried chicken in the saucepan and stir well till all the chicken pieces are well-coated in the yummy sticky red sauce! Garnish with sesame seeds. So crunchy!

The Mean Meen Curry

Everyone should have a Malayali friend who can cook up a storm and then have you over for lunch! Yesterday I was treated to a giant Sunday feast at my friends Jeena and Joseph's house, and one of the many, MANY dishes that they made was this lovely rustic fish curry that I thought needed to be shared. Here's the recipe in their own words.

 Meen Curry ( Kerala style fish curry)

Ingredients :
Fish - 1 kilo ( Spanish mackerel is what I've used here)
Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 teaspoons
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek powder - 3/4 th of a teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - as required
Crushed Ginger - as required
Crushed Garlic - as required
Curry leaves - as required
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Cambodge - 4 to 5 nos

Preparation :
In a bowl add some hot water  to soak the cambodge  and keep it aside.

Similarly mix kashmiri chilli powder, chilli powder , turmeric powder, fenugreek powder and salt with hot water. The paste should be in a semiliquid state.

In a vessel heat oil and crackle mustard.Then sauté  crushed ginger, garlic and curry leaves.
Add the masala mix and Wait till the oil separates from the masala.Then add cambodge along with the water and allow it to boil.Add required water so that  the fish is just immersed in the gravy.Once it boils add the fish pieces.
Once the fish cooks it's ready to be served !

To note :
A clay pot would be ideal to prepare Meen curry.

The Zucchini Fries

Zucchini fries for a healthy spin on fish and chips, except with these, it's the fish that's "on the side".

Julienne two medium zucchini. In a bowl, mix a cup of grated Parmesan, some sea salt, a spoon of paprika and a spoon of oregano to a cup of panko breadcrumbs. I actually also added two spoons of crushed dried curry leaves. Toss the zucchini in flour, then dip in egg, and then toss in this breadcrumb mixture before baking on a cookie sheet in the oven at 200C for about 12 minutes. No oil!

Serve with pan-grilled basa seasoned with Cajun seasoning with maybe some spinach and Sriracha for a kick. Hearty!