Pepper Chicken Fry

Tonight I made dinner for my parents because now that I am local I have time to actually be a normal human being. I unfortunately forgot to take a picture because i stuffed my face but next time i will take picture :)

Chicken Pepper fry is something my cousin makes. I don't know where he got the recipe but its probably the easiest and fastest chicken curry every.

4 chicken breasts cut into cubes
3 cap fulls vinegar
2-3 tablespoons black pepper
4-5 serrano peppers slices
2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste

After the chicken is cut and washed place it in a bowl. The vinegar is meant to take the nasty weird stench out of the chicken so put that in with the chicken. Mix the ginger and garlic paste and black pepper. Toss the chicken with the vinegar and the mix of pepper and paste together. The longer you let it marinate the better. I probably let it sit for just an hour today but i have frozen the mix with the chicken in my freezer and its so much better when you let it marinate.

In cover the bottom of a non-stick pan with oil and heat on high. Drop the chicken in and let it brown on both sides for about 10 min. Then put in the sliced peppers and about a half a cup of water and let it cook until all the water is evaporated! That's it. Total it takes about 30 minutes to cook. If you have curry leaves you can put those in too.

Chicken Biriyani

My family LOVES biriyani. Special occasion we make it. if we're bored we make it. if its cold we make it. ALL THE TIME. my mom is known for her biriyani recipe and i hope this does her justice. She's changed it so many times in order to make it as good as possible.

3 lbs chicken--Bone in whatever you like i usually mix dark meat and white. The dark is usually the best
Large Onion
3-4 thai chillis
cloves
cardamom
dash of nutmeg
dash of cinnamon or half a cinnamon stick
1 star anise
couple strands dry ginger
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp Shan Sindhi Biriyani masala
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp haldi
3 cups washed basmati rice
4.5 cups water
fresh chopped mint leaves
salt to taste

Heat about 3 tbsp oil put in cloves cardamom nutmeg cinnamon star anise onions chillis. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add ginger garlic cook for about 2 min. add chicken haldi and cook the chicken till its about 3/4 done. Take out the chicken into another bowl. Add the rice and the Garam Masala, chili powder, Shan Sindhi Biriyani Masala. mix everything together add the water. boil the rice till its about 1/4 cooked and add the chicken. turn up to boil. Once the rice is almost cooked put the pot in the oven for about 350 degrees for about 15-20 min. Mix the rice and cook again for another 10 min. Top off with chopped mint and serve!

Lamb Curry

I LOVE my mom's lamb curry. In 1st grade we made a mothers day cook book and we were supposed to pick our favorite dish, and me being Indian choose my mom's lamb curry. She has really perfected cooking lamb and to this day I still can't make it as well as she does but I attempt.

2 lbs lamb cut into 1/2 in cubes (this is really important for it to cook tender)
Large onion diced
1 tomato diced
2 to 3 thai chillis sliced
1 tsp haldi (yellow powder)
1.5 tbsp garam masala
1.5 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp chilli powder
2-3 black cloves
2-3 cardamom

Heat about 3 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker on medium. add cloves and cardamom, onion, and chillis. cook till onions are translucent. add ginger garlic paste and cook for about 5 min. Add the haldi lamb and brown the meat for about 5-10 min. Add the tomatoes and put the pressure cooker top on. Turn to high till it starts to whistle and this is super important. Turn it down to medium and let it whistle for 3 whistles or about 10-15min. Once its done turn it off and let the steam to slowly come out of the pot. Usually takes about 30 min.

After its ready, open the lid CAREFULLY, and add garam masala and chilli powder and let it cook for about 10 more minutes. If you want you can add bell peppers or potato's!. Yumtown

Lamb Burgers

One of my mom's favorite creations is lamb Burgers. She makes it every summer however, I literally crave them all the time and its super easy to make on any day. Ground lamb is super inexpensive also even at Whole Foods.

2 lbs ground lamb
onion finely chopped
2 tbsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp chilli powder
1.5 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Cilantro
Mint
1 tbsp kabob seasoning (optional)
salt to taste

Combine everything in a bowl at least 2 hours prior to cooking and either throw it on a grill or broil in the oven. Split into 3 burgers and pat down because they do cook up smal. Serve with whatever. I usually put mayo mustard onions lettuce and tomatos. Delicious.

Channa Masala and Tandoori Chicken

I made channa masala and Tandoori chicken for a friend's potluck today! It turned out delicious with one minor change. I didnt want to use potatos because they are so starchy so instead i put cauliflower in the Channa so its healthy!

Channa Masala




2 cans channa (chick peas)--my mom says soak them i just rinsed and dumped.
1 can diced tomatos
1 large onion diced
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tblsp ginger garlic paste
4-5 chillis
1 head of cauliflower
2-3 Bay leacves
4-5 cardimum
2-3 clovez
1/2 teaspoon cinammon
1.5 tblsp Shan Channa Masala
1/2 tsp haldi
1 black tea bag
1/2 tblsp Garam Masala
1/2 tblsp chilli powder
Salt to taste
Cilantro

Heat the oil in a pan and add the bay leaves, caridmum, cloves, and cinammon. Let the oil get hot and then add the onions and chilis and brown till they are translucent. Add the ginger garlic paste and cook it with the onions for about 1 min. Add the chick peas and let it cook for about 2 min. then add the cauliflower and cook for 1 min. Add the haldi and chili powder and a full can of tomatos. let it simmer for about 10-15 min and then either you can drop the tea bad directly into the curry OR you can heat the tea bag in a half mug of water and then pour it into the curry. Add the 1.5 tblsp of Shan Channa Masala and let it cook for like 5 min. add the salt and garam masala and then let it simmer for about a minute. top it off with cliantro!! and you're doing


Tandoori Chicken





yogurt
Pathak Tandoori paste
chicken

in a baking dish mix equal parts of tandoori paste and yogurt. If its too bitter you can add more. I usually taste it a bit and add more yogurt. Also, for about 2 chicken breasts ill do 2 large tblsp of tandoori paste and 4 large tblsps of yogurt. If you like it spicy add a cayenne or chili powder. Cook in the oven at 350 until the chicken is cooked maybe 45 min? depends on your oven. Also because i am taking it to a potluck i sliced peppers and put them with the chicken to bake. Hopefully its good :).

Spices I use regularly

Here are a list of spices i constantly use. If you live in Pittsburgh, Bombay Mart is a great place to buy spices and veges because it’s cheap! if you live in Seattle my mom goes to Mayuri although it's NUTSO on the weekends and evenings:

Garam Masala: Staple in my house. My mom makes it from scratch but I have no idea how to so for now buy it at the Indian grocery store.

Chili Powder: Indian chili powder is HOT but good and I suggest you buy it from an Indian store. If not use Cayenne

Ginger Garlic paste: My mom and I make this together if you have a blender you can its equal parts ginger and garlic and cumin blended together. If you don't want to make it they sell it at the indian store.

Whole Cardamom cloves: whole cardamom I think can be found in the grocery store if not definitely the Indian store

Cloves: the black things I bought them at giant eagle in the spices aisle

Channa Dal: I don’t know what its called in English but it’s a lentil you can find it at the Indian store in the lentil/rice section

Mustard Seeds: If you don’t know what these are don’t cook Indian. Just kidding.

Cumin: same as above

Curry leaves: not a spice but it’s delicious and you can find it at the Indian store in the vege section

Thai chilies: I use Thai because they are hot but use whatever you want

10/19/2010--Traditional Chicken Curry and Beans Fry

I cook this a lot and every time i do my apartment stinks like indian food for like 5 days but whatever i love it. I found literally crates of green beans at Giant Eagle shockingly and decided to indianfy them. Here are both recipes with pictures!

Traditonal Chicken Curry



2 lbs chicken (breast whatever you want)-cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion- chopped
1 medium tomato diced
4-5 thai chillis (you can adjust based on how hot you want them-sliced
3 Caradamum cloves
2-3 black cloves
1tsp Haldi
1 tblsp garam masala
1 tblsp salt
1/2 tblsp chili powder
1 tblsp ginger garlic paste
Cilantro to taste

Heat some oil about 1/3 of a cup or less in a large skillet with the cloves and cardamum. Once the oil is hot/warm add the onions and chillis. COok both until they are translucent and light brown. Add the 1 tblsp ginger garlic paste and let it cook for about 2 min. Once the paste and onions have cooked together add the chicken, haldi, and chili powder and let the chicken cook until the chicken is cooked on the outside which is about 10 min. Add the diced tomatos and and let it simmer until the tomatos are completely broken up and have become a part of the gravy. Add the garam masala and salt and let it simmer for about 10 more minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and serve with rice (i like brown).

Grean beans




some green beans-my mom uses french cut i used wahtever
1/2 onion diced
2-4 chilis sliced
5 tblspish channa (doesnt matter how much you put)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tblsp chili powder
salt to taste
4-5 curry leaves

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the mustard seeds, cumin, channa dal and curry leaves into the pan. BE CAREFUL! as mustard seeds get hot and they start to pop and it can get scary. Add the onions and chilis and cook until they are translucent. Add the Beans let the beans cook to wahtever consistency you like them at. I like beans half cooked because if they are cooked too long they get sorta soggy. This is important: always add the chili powder and salt right before you turn off the stove because if not the salt will burn and the chili powder will make you have a cough attack. So right before you turn off the stove ad the salt and chili powder