Tag: main course
Keralan Chicken Curry
Keralan Chicken Curry
This chicken curry hails from the Indian state of Kerala; known for its use of black pepper in curries. This recipe might be in my top 5 favorite foods I’ve ever made. It also has more steps in preparation than any other recipe on this site. Honestly, it’s kind of a pain in the ass to make. It is all worth it once you have the finished product. What is unique about this curry is the tempered oil that is poured over it. Simply heat up coconut oil in a small skillet. Once it is hot, turn the heat off. Toss in the curry leaves, green chilies, and grated coconut. Let them infuse the oil for just 30 seconds. Pour the oil directly over the curry. It adds another dimension of flavor to this already complex curry.
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Spice Paste
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 4 tbsp water
Keralan Chicken Curry
- 2 lbs bone in chicken thighs cut into 4
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 cups shallots chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 small tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt to taste
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp fennel powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
Tempering Oil
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 5 curry leaves
- 2 green bird’s eye chilies split in half lengthwise
- 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with the marinade ingredients for 8 hours, preferably overnight.
- Mix all of the spice paste ingredients together. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and curry leaves. Sizzle in the oil for 30 seconds.
- Add in the shallots. Cook down for 20 minutes until brown.
- Add in the ginger garlic paste and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the spice paste to the pan and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the chopped tomatoes. Fry for 5 minutes. Mash with the back of a spoon.
- Stir in the marinated chicken. Fry for 8 minutes, making sure th chicken is evenly coated. Season with the white wine vinegar, sugar, and salt. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Pour in the water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Season with the fennel powder and black pepper. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest.
- Heat up 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a small sauté pan over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, turn off the heat and add in the curry leaves, birds eye chilies, and grated coconut. Let the ingredients infuse in the oil for 30 seconds.
- Pour the tempering oil over the curry.
Goat Rogan Josh
Goat Rogan Josh
This here is some serious cooking. Rogan Josh is a Kashmiri dish of goat or lamb that’s seared then braised in its own ginger/garlic/yogurt based marinade. A spice powder of cinnamon, cloves, mace, peppercorns, and cardamom seeds, and saffron are added the last 20 minutes of cooking. The goat meat falls right off the bone. I purchase my goat meat already cubed in 2lb bags found in the frozen section of my local Asian market. If you don’t like goat, bone in cubed lamb shoulder will work just fine. If you want to be a punk about it, you can use boneless lamb shoulder. There are a couple of ingredients that might be new to you. Asafoetida, aka hing, is made from the sap of the root plant, ferula. A tiny bit gives a strong oniony taste. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. It is the stigmas of the saffron crocus flower. They can only be picked by hand. 250,000 stigmas weighs half a kilo, hence the price. A small amount added to curries brings out a sweet flavor. Mace is the shell around a nutmeg kernel and has a similar taste. All of these ingredients can be found at most Asian markets.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone in goat cubed
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- large pinch saffron soaked in warm water
- salt to taste
Spice Powder
- 1 small cinnamon stick about 2”
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 whole mace blade
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 5 green cardamom seeds
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Whisk together the ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri chili powder, and the Greek yogurt.
- Add in the cubed goat, making sure that it is evenly coated. Marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Grind all of the spice powder ingredients together. Set aside.
- Soak the saffron in a 1/4 cup of warm water. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Toss in the asafoetida, little game it sizzle for 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Add in all of the goat and it’s marinade. Brown on all sides for 10 minutes.
- Cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Add in the saffron and its water and the spice powder. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Add a little bit of water if it gets too dry. Garnish with cilantro.
Goan Chicken Cafreal
Goan Chicken Cafreal
Cafreal is a spicy marinade for chicken consisting of cilantro, green chilies, and spices that is widely consumed in the Indian state of Goa. Cafreal was introduced to Indian cuisine from Portuguese colonists settling in Africa. Preparation is fairly simple. The chicken needs to marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, to achieve maximum flavor. It is then sautéed, then let to stew for 25 minutes. The marinade will start to cling to the chicken. It is then finished off with a little bit of vinegar, bringing out more flavor to the chicken. You can even marinate a whole chicken in the marinade and roast in the oven.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 cup cilantro
- 2 green chilies
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 5 whole cloves
- 5 green cardamom seeds
Goan Chicken Cafreal
- 2 lbs bone in chicken thighs skinned; cut into 3-4 pieces
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken pieces in the ginger garlic paste for 30 minutes.
- Purée the marinade ingredients in a food processor or immersion blender. Add the marinade to the chicken. Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the chicken pieces along with all og the marinade. Sear on all sides for 8-10 minutes.
- Add a 1/4 cup of water. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 25 minutes. The marinade will reduce down and salt to cling to the chicken.
- Season with salt. Add in the vinegar and cook uncovered for 8 more minutes.
