I used to always wonder how kakori kababs in restaurants melt in our mouth. Then when I saw this dish being cooked on Foodistan I was inspired to try it. I searched online and this dish is my adaptation from different recipes.

Method

1. Add 2 tbsp oil. Add 1 tsp shahi jeera, 1 cardamom, 1 inch cinammon, 2-3 cloves and saute for a minute. Add 2 medium finely chopped onion and saute till brown.
2. Add 1 inch  ginger finely chopped and 5-6 pods of garlic finely chopped, ½ cup of mint, 2 green chillies finely chopped,1 tsp turmeric and saute.
3. Now add around 300 gms of boneless chicken cut into smaller cubes (this is actually a mutton dish but I tried with chicken) and cook till the meat is tender and almost cooked.
4. Now add 1 tbsp chilli powder, 1tsp garam masala, ½ cup coriander chopped, and 1 cup Chana Dal (which is soaked and boiled - remove all the water before adding). Saute for around 2 mins and then let this mixture cool a bit.
5. Now grind the above mixture in a mixer grinder to a coarse paste. The strands of chicken should be seen.
6. Adjust the seasoning if needed. Beat 1 egg in a bowl.
7. Make small balls with the batter, flatten it, dip it in the egg and shallow fry on a pan on a slow flame on both sides till cooked.

This will make around 20 medium shaped kababs - serve with mint chutney.

We had ordered Miryalu kodi (Pepper Chicken) at Rayalseema Ruchulu in Hyderabad last week. The taste of this South Indian (mainly Andhra cuisine) starter with  of pepper and curry leaves was too good. I tried looking for the recipe online but could not find it.  I tried my own version of Pepper Chicken and here is how I cooked it..turned out pretty close to the original.. 



Method
1. Marinate 1/2 kg boneless chicken with salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp freshly ground pepper, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder  and leave aside for at least 1 hour.
2. Take 2 tsp oil in a non stick pan. When hot, add 1 sprig of curry leaves. When it splutters add the chicken and let it cook. Stir occasionally. Cover and cook on a low flame else the spices may burn.
3. Remove the lid after 15 mins and cook on low flame till chicken is cooked.
4. Sprinkle lemon juice, freshly ground pepper according to taste and serve.

I had tasted this dish at hubby's friend Lt. Col Kartik's place. His wife Chabi is an awesome cook and I was totally bowled over by this dish. The best part is that it is a complete dish and you don't need to cook anything else. Also looks extremely presentable with a lot of accompaniments. 

I felt like cooking Khow Suey today and searched online for recipes. Surprisingly I found only Indian recipe blogs :) Now  I really wonder whether this is authentic Burmese - need to do some research later. 

The recipes I found contained garam masala, dhaniya etc so I think it must be the Indianised version of the Burmese recipe (if that exists that is). Here  is how I cooked the dish



Method

1. Take 1/2 cup oil in a pan and deep fry 1 onion cut into longish slices,  till caramalised. In the same pan deep fry thin slices of 3-4 pods of garlic. Drain and keep aside for garnish
2. Add 250 gms of boneless chicken slices marinated in salt  and Saute for 10 mins or till 80% done. Drain and keep aside. 

3. Now in the same pan, add 1 finely chopped onion and saute. Add 1 tsp finely chopped ginger, 2 red chillies finely chopped and 1 tsp finely chopped garlic and saute till onions are brown. Add 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp each of red chilli powder, and 2 tsp of coriander powder (alternately you can add Curry masala powder if you have that at home). Add salt and cook for another 5 mins. 


4. Add the chicken and cook. Now add some water  so that the chicken is covered, 2 tsp lemon juice and cook till the chicken is almost cooked.

5. Parallely, keep 1 pack of egg noodles (I used Ching's egg noodles) for cooking according to instructions on the pack. Time it such that it is just cooked before you are ready to serve the dish. You should ideally strain the noodles from hot water and drain it under cold water to stop the cooking process. I added some salt and oil to the noodles while cooking.
6.  Add 200 ml of coconut milk to the chicken. I also added some Maggi chicken cubes mixed in water for additional taste.
7. You can add some basil leaves and lime leaves if you have them readily available. Let the whole dish come to a good boil and the khow suey is ready to be served.
5. Meanwhile chop some coriander leaves and some spring onions for garnishing.


Serve the chicken gravy on the noodles and top it with the caramalised onions, garlic, spring onions, sliced boiled egg and coriander leaves. Try this dish - I am sure you wont be disappointed.

Here is my Indianised version of Chilli Chicken - one can never go wrong with this dish!

Method

1. Marinate 500 gms of boneless chicken pieces with salt, ginger garlic paste, soya sauce according to taste.

2. The usual method is to deep fry the chicken pieces. However I like it sauteed in 2-3 tsp of oil. I saute it till the color changes to brown and the chicken looks 70-80% cooked.

3. Remove the chicken aside on a plate.

4. Heat 2 tsp oil and saute 1 finely chopped onion (you can use the whites of spring onion), 2 inches of Ginger finely chopped, 10 pods of garlic finely chopped and 4-5 green chillies.When sauteed, add 1 capsicum chopped into long thin slices. Saute on high flame and dont overcook the vegetables as they taste better if they are crisp.

5. Add the chicken pieces, 1 tsp soya sauce(soya sauce is salty so be careful with salt), 1 tsp green chilli sauce, 1 pinch sugar, salt to taste, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp corn flour mixed in water and cook again on high flame for 10 mins stirring continuously.

6. Add a cup of spring onion greens cut into 1 inch pieces. Stir them into the dish and serve with fried rice.

Chicken Cafreal is a Goan chicken dish. I find it very easy to cook and has almost always turned out good. Here is the recipe I follow

Method
1. Dry roast 1 tsp coriander seeds,  1 tsp cumin seeds,5-6 cloves,2  green cardamoms, 5-6 black peppercorns and 1 inch cinnamon till the spices are slightly brown. 



2. Add 1 inch ginger, 4-5 cloves of garlic, 2 green chillies, ,and half onion roughly chopped. I also added 5-6 stalks of coriander leaves and sauteed all these till they are slightly cooked. 

3. Now grind all this  to a fine paste using a little water and salt. Make deep incisions in the 500 gm chicken and add all this fine paste and refrigerate for two to three hours (no need to freeze).

4. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the marinated chicken and cook covered on medium heat stirring occasionally. Add a little warm water if required to avoid scorching. 
5. Cook for 15 mins. When almost done add vinegar/lime juice according to taste and cook for two to three minutes. Serve hot as a side dish.

I like chicken cooked in south Indian flavours with mustard seeds and curry leaves flavoring the gravy. Tried my hand at Chettinad Chicken today and it turned out good.

Method

1. Marinate 1 kg of chicken with salt, turmeric and chilli powder for at least an hour
2. Take 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add 7-8 dry red chillies, 1 cup grated coconut, 1 tsp poppy seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 cardamom, 3-4 cloves, 1 inch piece cinnamon, 1 tsp fennel seeds(saunf) 1 inch piece of ginger and 7-8 cloves of garlic, 1 twig (around 10-12) curry leaves and roast them till the masala is cooked. Grind this into a fine paste in grinder
3.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a vessel and when the oil is hot add 1 Bay leaf , 1tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start popping,  fry 1 large sized onion till brown. Add 1 twig of curry leaves and the ground paste. Add 3 finely chopped  tomatoes, 1 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste.
4. Add chicken and mix and cook for 5 mins.
5. Add two cups of water, juice of 1 small lemon and cover and cook till the chicken is done (This can take upto 20-30 mins). Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapatis or rice.

We like Italian cuisine. Being prolific rice eaters, we have  developed taste for Risottos. Tried Chicken Mushroom risotto yesterday for the first time and it turned out good.

This is how I cooked this dish.


Method

1. Heat  1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Add 1 thinly sliced onion and saute till translucent. Add  2 garlic pods  finely chopped and saute. Add 1 cup of Rice and saute till the rice is well coated with oil. Do not wash the rice before adding it to the pan. I used 1 cup of Riso Arborio. 


2. Boil 500 ml chicken stock on another stove as the onions are sauteed. I used Maggi stock cubes but I am sure home made stock will taste even better. Add chicken stock to the mixture to just cover the rice and stir the mixture until the stock is absorbed. Add more of the stock and keep continuing this till the rice is just cooked right. Dont overcook the rice. This can take upto 20 mins. By the time the rice is cooked your hand surely should start to hurt :)  If you fall short of stock you can add some water.


3. Add salt and pepper to the rice according to taste.
4. In the meantime also add 1 tbsp oil to a  pan. When the oil is hot, add 1/2 cup of boneless chicken cut into cubes and 1 tbsp chopped garlic and saute for 5 mins. Add 1/2 cup mushrooms and chopped basil and saute for 2 mins or until the mushrooms and the chicken are cooked.
5. Now add this to the rice. Top it with butter and grated parmesan cheese and serve hot

This is originally a Pakistani recipe. I like the tomato flavor in this dish which makes it different from other chicken dishes. In restaurants, they usually also add capsicum, but  I gave it a miss as I am not a big fan of capsicums :)

Method

1. Marinate 500 gms of boneless chicken with turmeric, chilli powder and salt.
2. Heat 2 tbsp  oil pan. Add 1 large sized grated onion and saute for a minute. Add 5 cloves of garlic, and saute till onion is brown in colour. 
3. Add the chicken and saute well for at least 5 mins.
4. Now pour 3 medium sized grated tomatoes and saute well. Now cover and cook for 20 mins.
5. Remove the lid  and Add 1 tbsp cumin powder, 1 tbsp coriander powder and saute.
6. Now cook for another 10 mins till all the excess liquid evaporates. 
7. Sprinkle 1tbsp ginger juliennes and finely chopped coriander and serve

Murgh Kofta is an elaborate recipe if you cook it the traditional way. But time is a big constraint these days and that makes me invent quicker recipes. 

Here is my 30 min chicken kofta recipe (I bought ready to cook koftas from the supermarket). I especially liked the texture of the gravy and the richness from the cashews that go into this recipe.



Method

1. Deep fry the chicken koftas and keep aside.
2. Take 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker. Add 2 roughly cut onions and saute till translucent. Add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 inch piece of cinamon, 1 -2 cardamom seeds, 2-3 cloves and saute for a minute. 
3. Add 2 roughly chopped tomatoes, around 10 cashew nuts, 2 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder, 3 tbsp curd,  salt, water according to taste and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
4. Now let out the steam of the pressure cooker and open the cooker. Blend the above mixture in a blender to get a smooth paste. '
5. Add the koftas and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add 1 tsp garam masala powder and salt if needed.
6. Serve with Chapatis/roti.

Here is a more detailed recipe from Show me the curry - you can also check this link to know how to make the koftas at home

This is a recipe shared by a cousin of mine. I like the fresh taste of mint and lemon in this dish.This dish does not require a lot of oil as the chicken is cooked in steam and hence is healthier than other deep fried starters.




Method
1. Marinate 500 gms of chicken with 1 lemon juice, salt, pinch of turmeric, 2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp Cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder for at least an hour. The more you marinate the better. I also add 2 tbsp of curd to the marination.
2. Take 2 tsp oil in a non stick pan. Add 2 chopped green chillies, 10 cloves of garlic chopped finely and 1 inch of ginger chopped finely and saute.


3. Add 2 medium size onions cut into cubes and saute for a minute
4. Add the marinated chicken and saute. Sprinkle some water. Cover it and let it cook in the steam on a low flame till almost done. 
5. Grind 1/2 cup mint with 1/2 cup of coriander leaves to a coarse paste


6. Add it to the chicken once chicken is 80-90% cooked. Add 2 tsp garam masala powder and saute for 5 mins. Sprinkle some crushed  Kasoori Methi
7. Adjust the salt, squeeze 1 lemon juice and serve hot as a starter or a side dish with the main course.

Method

1.     Make a mixture of 2 tsp soya sauce, 1 tsp corn flour, 1 tsp green chilli paste, 2 tsp water or chicken stock and keep aside

2.     Heat a non stick pan till it is very hot. Put 2 tbsp olive oil and swirl the oil so that it coats the pan.

3.     Add around 250 gms of boneless chicken cubes and sauté on a high flame for 4 mins or till almost cooked and remove from pan and keep aside

4.     Add 5-6 cloves of garlic finely chopped and 1 inch of ginger finely chopped in the pan and stir for 30 secs.

5.     Add ½ cup each of broccoli, bell pepper and zucchini diced into cubes and stir for 1 min

6.     Add ½ cup of spring onions cut lengthwise and stir for 30 secs

7.     Pour ½ cup of water or chicken stock and steam the vegetables for 1 min

8.     Add the chicken that was kept aside and stir on high flame so that the water evaporates.

9.     Now add the soya sauce mixture and stir fry for 2 mins. The soya sauce is salty and hence you may not need to add salt to this dish. Adjust the salt only if needed.

This dish takes only 10 mins of cooking as it is cooked on high flame. Dont overcook else the vegetables lose their crunchiness.

Thai red curry comes very close to Konkani curries with predominant coconut flavour and hence both hubby and me end up ordering it a lot when we eat out. One day I came across Thai red curry paste and thought I will try this. The gravy tasted so good that I make it very regularly and have also planted lemon grass and basil at home so that I can use freshly cut lemon grass and basil leaves in the curry. Here is how I cook it.

Method

1.     Marinate 250 gms of boneless chicken cubes with salt and pepper powder and keep aside some time.

2.     In a saucepan, add 1 packet red thai curry paste (I use Real Thai Red Curry paste) and sauté on low flame

3.     Add 2 cups of thick coconut milk to the paste and let it reach a boil. You can extract fresh coconut milk but since it is cumbersome I use store bought coconut milk powder and mix it with water. Simmer the mixture for 5 mins

4.     Add 1tbsp soya sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, a pinch of sugar (brown sugar is preferable) and some lemon grass roughly chopped. Stir and simmer for 5 mins

5.     Add around 10 basil leaves and remove from heat and keep aside.

6.     In another non stick pan, add 2 tsp olive oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken cubes and sauté. Saute for 4-5 mins till the chicken cubes are no longer pink.

7.     Add 1 cup of bell pepper diced into cubes, ½ cup of carrot diced into cubes, 1 cup of zucchini  and 1 cup of broccoli cut into florets and sauté until the vegetables are done

8.     Add the sauce that we kept aside earlier to the pan and simmer for 5 mins.

9.     Add some coriander stalks roughly chopped at the end and remove from heat.

I had seen chicken being cooked this way in a cookery show but did not have the recipe written down. I tried making it using ingredients in my own way. It may not be the authentic recipe for Malwani chicken but tasty nevertheless.

Method

1. Marinate 1 kg chicken with 2 tbsp red chilli powder, 1tsp turmeric and salt for at least an hour before cooking.

2. Cut 2 medium onions roughly, 1/2 cup coriander leaves, 2 green chillies, 10 flakes of garlic and 1 inch of ginger, handful of mint leaves and fry them till the onions turn slightly brown in texture on a pan without oil. Blend them in a mixer to get a coarse paste.

3. Dry roast 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 inch cinnamon, 2-3 cardamoms, 4-5 cloves, 3-4 peppercorns. Blend them in a mixer to get a coarse powder.

4. Take oil in a vessel and saute the onion paste for 2-3 mins . Add the chicken and mix thoroughly. Add around 1 cup of water and let this cook for 20 mins or till the chicken is almost cooked. 

5. Now add the dry masala powder and stir well. 

6. Add 1 cup of dahi to give a rich texture to the chicken and cook for 5 mins.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves. 

I made this slightly dry so that it tastes good with rice roti and chapatis. You can try adding more water if you want a gravy to go with rice.

This dish was always on the menu at restaurants, but I somehow had never tasted it before moving to Hyderabad. But once I tasted this dish here it has become one of my favourite starters. I always wondered why is it called 65 and not any other number. One explanation was that it required 65 ingredients and hence I set out to find the recipe to see if it is actually that complex. I found the best recipe on vahrevah.com and also the simple explanation. Chef Thumma says that this was the 65th dish on the menu card of a restaurant in Chennai and hence the name. Tried this recipe out for starters and found out that its not a difficult dish at all to prepare. It actually tastes very good and comes very close to what we get in restaurants.

Here is the recipe that I followed

1. Marinate boneless chicken for an hour with salt, 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste and 1 tbsp pepper. I always make fresh ginger garlic paste when I have time instead of store bought one – adds a fresh flavour to the food.
2. After an hour add 2tbsp cornflour, one egg and mix. Deep fry the chicken pieces in oil. See to it that the pieces don’t stick to each other. Drain and keep aside. The chicken pieces taste so good that we almost always devour half of it while deep frying itself.
3. For the sauce, take 2tbsp oil in a pan. Add 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 10 flakes of chopped garlic (you can add more garlic if it suits your taste), 2 twigs of curry leaves, 1tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1tbsp each of pepper powder, cumin powder and chilli powder. Saute till the raw taste of masalas is gone.
4. Add red chilli garlic paste. You can either buy it at a store or make it at home. For this boil water and add around 5 Kashmiri red chillies and around 10 flakes of garlic and then grind them to a thick paste in a mixer.
5. Saute the paste. Drop a few drops of water. Toss the chicken and cook for around 5 mins.
6. I also add 2-3 onions cut into 1 inch cubes and separating the layers along with the chicken. This gives some volume to the dish and the onions taste good with the sauce.

This dish has a south Indian taste to it and its main flavours are from pepper, garlic and curry leaves. Hence use fresh ingredients and in generous quantities. The dish at restaurants has a characteristic red colour which comes from the red chilli garlic paste. You may add food colour but I avoid it.