Chicken Rezala

Chicken Rezala is a very popular dish in Bengal and a signature dish for few old restaurants of Kolkata. Chicken Rezala has become a part of Bengali dish though one can’t ignore the Islamic touch in this. As it is said, descendants of Tipu Sultan and Nawabs of Avadh fled to Bengal during British regime. And they brought their cooks who rendered delicious food which mixed best of both Bengal and Awadh. Like Bengal. Awadhi style also liberally uses Kewra water.

When I went to India this summer, I was invited to my very close friend (may I call soul-sister), who is an accomplished cook herself. She had served Chicken Rezala with Basanti Pulao (yellow colored Pulao in Bengali style). It also goes well with Paratha, Naan or Biryani. Same thing can be cooked with mutton also to make Mutton Rezala.  

Ingredients

• Chicken – 1 kg
• Green Chilly – 7 to 8 no’s
• Ginger paste – 1and1/2 tsp
• Garlic paste -1and ½ tsp
• Salt – as per taste
• White pepper powder -2 and ½ tsp
• Oil -2tbsp
• Cashew nut paste -1tbsp
• Poppy seed paste -1tbsp
• Curd -1 cup
• Garam masala powder -1/2 tsp
• Cardamom – 5 no’s
• Cinnamon sticks – 3 no’s
• Cloves -5 no’s
• Bay leaves -2 no’s
• Red chili -5 no’s
• Saffron -1/2 gm
• Kewra -1/2 tsp
• Almond – 4 no’s
• Clarified butter or Ghee -2 tbsp

Method

1. Cover the chicken with salt, white pepper powder, ginger garlic paste, onion paste, curd. Let it marinate for 3 hours.
2. Heat clarified butter in a pan. Add garam masala (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves).Now add onion paste, ginger garlic paste (1/2 of the quantity)and cook till raw flavor is gone and oil starts separating from the mixture. Now add white pepper powder, salt, chopped green chili, cashew nut, poppy seed paste and curd.
3. Add marinated chicken to the above mixture. After sometime, it will start releasing water. When water comes to boil, put the lid on and let it cook for 30 mins in a low flame.
4. Once chicken is done and some water evaporates, add garam masala powder and cook till chicken is tender.
5. In parallel, heat oil in another pan. Now add red chili, onion rings and sprinkle some salt. Cook till onions are brown and pour this on the top of the chicken and cook it for 2 to 3 mins .Now add saffron and kewra water and switch off the flame.
6. Grate Almond in thin slices and garnish the Rezala with that before serving.

Tips:  Do not use any red-chili powder or Kashmiri Mirch in this recipe or else Chicken Rezala will lose its color.

Cheesy Keema Litti with Arrabiata Alu Chokha & Pesto chutney.

ChakumChukum, has quietly completed one year on 15th Aug, with blessings of all its wellwishers. 

Belated Happy Birthday to my baby ChakumChukum. 

While you were growing, I could bring out my first book #Spices of Life#. It took away considerable amount of my time but the time was worth spending. The book has got rave reviews and the first printed  lot has been sold off. What people liked the most was the fusion of my own real life stories with the recipes. It happens almost in every Indian girl's life and my female readers could identify themselves while reading my book.

Today, my recipe is another blend of Indian and European (Italian) taste. Hope you would like it - "Cheesy Keema Litti with Arrabiata Alu Chokha & Pesto chutney."

Ingredients  for Litti dough: 
• Atta -250 gm 
• Besan (Gram Flour)- 100gm 
• Ajwain -5 gm 
• Salt –(According to taste)
• Grated cheese – ½ cup
• Water – as required

Ingredients for keema :
• Chicken mince (keema) – ½ kg
• Onion -2 finely chopped
• Chilli -2
• Ginger paste  - 1 tbsp
• Garlic paste -1 tbsp
• Chilli powder -1 tsp
• Coriander powder -1tsp
• Turmeric- ½ tsp
• Cloves -2
• Cardamom -2
• Salt –as per taste
• Oil -3 tbsp

Method :
How to make Keema filling :
1. Fry the onions in heated oil in a pan till translucent. Add slit green chilli ,cloves cardamom stir for sometime. Add ginger garlic paste and stir till the raw smell disappears.
2. Now add turmeric and chicken mince. Fry till all it dries up and the keema looks golden brown in color. Now add red chilli powder , coriander powder, salt and cook for sometime. After sometime pour a cup of water and cook till the keema is tender and dry.

How to make Litti 
1. Mix atta and besan thoroughly. Add ajwain, salt and water . Knead into a soft dough and keep aside.
2. Divide dough into medium size balls. 
3. Press with the thumb to make a hole and put a little keema  mixture inside, put some cheese, close the hole and make a round balls .
4. Bake these balls /Litti in Tandoor or Oven at 180 deg C for 10-12 mins. But turn over after every 3 mins to ensure all sides are well-baked.


Ingredients for Alu (Potato)  chokha with Arrabbiata sauce
• Olive oil- 3 tbsp
• Chopped Garlic  -1tbsp
• Chopped Celery -2tbsp
• Chopped  Onions – ¼ cup
• Salt – to taste 
• Chilli flakes – 2tbsp
• Tomato puree -1/2 cup
• Fresh tomato puree – ½ cup
• Potato  – 400 gm

Method 
Pour  olive  oil in a preheated pan and heat it for some time. Add chopped garlic , chopped celery, chopped onions and salt to taste. Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes and add red chili flakes , tomato puree and fresh tomato puree . Cook for a while, check the desired consistency and mix the mashed potato. Alu chokha with  Arrabbiata sauce is ready to be enjoyed.
Ingredients for pesto 
• Basil -1and ½ cup
• Pine nuts – ¼  cup ( very lightly roasted)
• Parmesan Cheese – ½ cup ( grated)
• Salt – as per taste 
• Lemon juice – 2 tsp
• Garlic – 4 cloves

Method
Pour the garlic with a little pinch of salt and the basil leaves in a food processor. Add the pine nuts to the mixture and mix again .Turn out into a bowl and add half parmesan .Stir gently and add olive oil.

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Garlic Cheese Spread

INGREDIENTS : 

• Butter – 2 tbsp
• Garlic Powder  - ¼ cup
• White pepper powder – 1 tsp
• Vegetable oil – 3-4 tbsp
• Grated Cheese – 1 cup
• Chopped Garlic – 2tbsp
• Salt – as per taste

METHOD  : 

Take a blender bowl and put the butter, garlic powder, white pepper, salt, vegetable oil, grated cheese and blend it into a fine paste. Now, add chopped garlic 2 tbsp and mix it well . Your  cheese spread is ready.

IMPORTANT TIPS : 

You can make it without a blender too. Melt the butter before adding anything else. After adding all ingredients to the molten butter,  mix it fast with a spoon. The cheese will also melt in the heat of the butter.

Homemade Butter

INGREDIENTS :

• Heavy whipping cream or home made malai -1cup
• Salt  -1/4 tsp to taste
• Turmeric – a pinch
• Ice cold Water – 3-4 tsp

METHOD  :

Take 1 cup cream or malai and pour entire quantity into a blender. Now start blending for about 45 seconds to 1 minute, check it if it has thickened or else blend it for some more time. Now it will look like icing cream.

Now, blend it for another minute or so. You will notice that the mixture starts to separate. Now you can add salt, a pinch of turmeric (for colour) and 3 tsp of ice-cold water. You have to blend it well again for 15 seconds. You will see that all the liquid has come out. Pour the content into a strainer, drain all liquid by mashing. The drained liquid is butter milk. And  you have got fresh butter in your strainer.

IMPORTANT TIPS :
Important is to have a blender and a strainer to make it real fast. I have not added salt as I wanted unsalted butter. But you can add salt to taste and/or different types of herbs as per preference. Turmeric is used for slightly yellowish colour. But you can make without salt and turmeric to get plain white butter.

Kasundi or Mango-Mustard Sauce

INGREDIENTS : 

• Yellow mustard -1cup
• Black mustard -1 cup
• Finely chopped raw mango – 1 cup
• Finely chopped ginger-1tbsp
• Finely chopped green chilli – 1 tbsp
• Powdered sugar – 3 tbsp
• Oil – 3tbsp
• Cumin seeds  - 2tsp
• Asafoetida- 2tsp 
• Salt – as per taste 
• Coriander powder – 2tbsp
• Red chilli powder -1tbsp
• Turmeric  powder – 1tbsp

METHOD  : 

In a blender, add yellow mustard, black mustard, coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, finely chopped raw mango, ginger and green chilli. Now add powder sugar. Add water as required. Now make a paste and keep it aside.

Now pour oil in pan and put it on an oven to heat. Once the oil is heated, add cumin seeds.When cumin seeds start to crackle,add asafoetida and the paste kept aside earlier. Add water as required, mix well and let it cool in a bowl. Your kasundi mustard sauce is ready to serve.

IMPORTANT TIPS : 

Sugar is used in this recipe for fermentation. Salt used for taste. But do not add salt while you are making the paste. Let the kasundi mature for 10 days and then only add salt according to taste and mix well. If you add salt before that, the salt will not let the sugar to do fermentation activity. 
I have used mustard oil as it goes well with Kasundi. But, if you want less pungent smell, can use any other edible oil.

Mayonnaise

Ingredients

• Eggs – 2 yolks
• Lemon Juice  - 1.5 tbsp
• Dijon Mustard – 1 tsp
• Whole grain mustard paste – 1 tsp 
• Vegetable oil – 300ml
• Salt  - as per taste 
• Pepper –as per taste 
• Powder sugar – Half tsp 

Method 

1. Put the egg yolks in to the bowl; add lemon juice, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard paste, salt, sugar, pepper. 
2. Then whisk vigorously to fully combine in to creamy consistency.
3. The most important part starts now.  Add oil slowly, little by little and keep whisking the mixture. Please ensure that the ingredients mixes with oil well before fresh oil is added
4. Once all the oil has been poured and whisked, the mixture will thicken and will resist further beating / whisking.  Then you know your mayonnaise is ready to be served.

Note:  You can refrigerate this mayonnaise and it must be consumed within 3 days.

Malpua

Any Festival is incomplete without great food. As Holi, the festival of colors draws near sharing an Indian dessert recipe Malpua. 

Ingredients:

• Flour/Maida – 1 cup

• Suji – ½ cup

• Sugar  - ¼ cup 

• Cardamoms powder – ½ tsp

• Baking soda – ½ tsp

• Mil powder or khoya – 3 tbsp or 50 grams 

• Curd – 4 tbsp

• Oil or ghee – for frying 

• Almonds or pistachios – 1 tbsp 

For sugar syrup

• Sugar – ½ cup

• Water – ¼ cup

• Kesar – 1 pinch 

Methods 

1. In a mixing bowl take all purpose flour, cardamom powder, Suji, baking powder, sugar and milk powder or khoya. (In this recipe I used milk powder). You can also use khoya instead of milk powder .Mix all the dry ingredients well.

2. Now add curd and water and begin to stir to a thick flowing batter without lumps. Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes.

Method (Sugar syrup)

1. Take ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Now boil this mixture on low flame. To melt the sugar, stir well.

1. You need to have a ½ inch (1 string) consistency in sugar syrup. If you are unable to get this consistency, then just make sticky syrup. Keep it aside.

2. Take a pan and pour some ghee or white oil. Heat in low flame .Take 2 to 3 tsp of the batter and gently pour it on the hot ghee /oil. 

3. Now deep fry on a low to medium heat till crisp and golden.

4. Drain oil on paper towels and immediately place them in the warm sugar syrup. Gently coat the Malpua with the sugar syrup with a spoon.

5. Once soaked in sugar syrup, remove them and place on a serving plate. Follow the procedure for all Malpua this way. 

6. Garnish with chopped almonds or pistachios. Serve the Malpua with hot rabdi. You can also just serve the Malpua coated with the sugar syrup, garnished with the nuts.

Wish you a very happy holi