Tag: South Asian
Chettinad Chicken
Chettinad Chicken
Chettinad chicken is a heavily spiced curry that can be eaten in multiple ways. Typically, cut up bone in skinless chicken thighs are marinated in a strong spice powder of fennel, cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, and Kashmiri chili powder. They are then cooked with onions, ginger, garlic, and curry leaves and simmered until fall off the bone tender. The chicken is served with steamed rice.In this preparation, I’m using boneless skinless chicken thighs. The chicken will be served in paratha with red onions marinated in a mint chutney with a dollop of plain yogurt. It’s more or less a Chettinad Indian version of a gyro.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cubed
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp fennel seeds crushed
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 12 curry leaves
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp ginger grated
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup water
Spice Powder
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp kashmiri chili powder
Instructions
- Grind the cumin, coriander, fennel, and black peppercorns in a spice grinder. Mix in the Kashmiri chili powder.
- Marinate the chicken thighs with the spice powder for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the fennel seeds and cinnamon stick for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions. Fry for 15 minutes, occasionally stirring so they brown evenly.
- Once the onions have cooked down, add in the garlic, ginger, and curry leaves. Fry for 1 minute.
- Turn up the heat to high. Sear the marinated chicken pieces for 4 minutes.
- Season with salt. Pour in a 1/4 cup of water to produce a light gravy. Cover. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
Chicken Pulao
Chicken Pulao
Chicken Pulao is a great one pot meal. The basmati rice is very aromatic from the whole spices used in it, while the chicken is fall off the bone tender. It is fairly simple to prepare. There looks like there is too many onions once they’re chopped, but they will cook down to half the amount and be the main flavor component of this dish. Once I ate this, it reminded me of the Indian version of chicken and rice.
Ingredients
- 2-2 1/2 lbs chicken drumsticks skinned
- 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 6 whole cloves
- 2” cinnamon stick
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 medium white onions thinly sliced
- 2 2 green bird’s eye chilies slit length wise
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
- 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
Garnish
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Toss in the whole spices and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions and fry on medium low heat for 30 minutes until golden brown.
- Turn the heat up to medium. Add in the ginger garlic paste and the green chilies. Fry for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the coriander powder. Add in the chicken, searing on all sides for 10 minutes. Make sure that the chicken is coated in the onions and seasoning. Season with salt.
- Pour in 1 cup of chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Cover. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Pour in the rest of the chicken stock, rice, and cilantro. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Put on a cover. Let rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Goan Pork Vindaloo
Goan Pork Vindaloo
Pork Vindaloo is a popular dish from the Indian state of Goa with a Portuguese influence. Portuguese sailors would preserve raw ingredients in wooden barrels with wine and garlic. The dish was “Indianized” by substituting vinegar for the wine with an addition of dried chilies. The British Indian version of this dish uses malt vinegar. This is a fairly simple dish to make. The pork vindaloo gets it’s heat not from the chilies, but the black peppercorns.
Equipment
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork sirloin cubed
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick 2”
- 1 green bird’s eye chili slit
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- salt to taste
- 1 cup water
Spice Paste
- 6 dried Kashmiri chilies
- 8 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 5 tbsp malt vinegar
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Purée all of the spice paste ingredients together in a food processor or immersion blender.
- Marinate the cubed pork sirloin for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat up the cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Toss in the cinnamon stick, black peppercorns, and green chilies. Fry for a minute.
- Add in the pork with all of it’s marinade. Sear on all sides for 10 minutes.
- Mix in the tamarind paste, brown sugar, and salt. Pour in 1 cup of water.
- Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
