Naan and Chicken Korma

I had a birthday in my home last week. Whats a better way to celebrate than to make some delicious Indian meal. So heres a picture of Chicken Korma and Naan bread from the birthday dinner. 
I am badly pressed for time these days with a few  urgent things at hand. So I am  just posting the picture for now; will detail the recipe soon. 

Khichuri - Bengali khichadi

Reminds me of durga puja feasts! Loved by Bengalis Khichuri is an essential part of any Bengali religious festival. Khichuri can be made in various versions - with or without vegetables, with or without meat or with both.The lentils used can also be of different kinds. You can use Moong daal, masoor daal or chana daal.
Here I am making a very simple version of Khichuri using potatoes and red lentils.

Ingredients: 
Rice - 250 ml
Red split lentils (masoor daal) - 250 ml
Potatoes -2 
Ginger paste - 1tablespoon
Green chili - 1
Oil - 2 tablespoons
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Spices set 1- Whole garam masala
Cinnamon - 1 3 inch stick
Cardamom - 4
Black cardamom - 1
Bay leaf - 1 
Cloves - 4
Spices set 2
Cumin powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 2 tsp
Chili powder - To taste
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp


Step 1: Mix the daal and the rice and soak them in water for an hour. After that drain the water and keep them aside.

                                               

Step 2: Cut the potatoes into small cubes. Chop the green chili.

Step 3: Heat oil in a pan. Add the spices in set 1. Turn the heat to medium. Fry the spices for a minute.

Step 4: Add the potatoes and fry for 4-5 minutes.Then take them out. 

Step 5: Now in a separate bowl , add  the spices in set 2 and two tablespoons of water. Mix well. 

Step 6: Add this mixture to the oil.Also add the chopped chili and the ginger paste. Cook for a few minutes , till the oil separates from the mixture.

Step 7: Now add the daal and rice from step 1. Coat it thoroughly with the mixture. Keep frying for 3-4 minutes. 

Then add the potatoes. 

Step 8: Cook for a further 3 minutes. 


Step 9: Add 600 ml of water. (The water can be added depending on your preferred consistency for khichuri, I like the traditional watery khichuri). Add salt to taste. Add 1 tsp of sugar.

Step 10: Close the lid and cook till the rice and daal are cooked. 


Step 11: Enjoy your "Khicuhri".

Chicken tikka masala

The following recipe serves 4 people.                               
Preparation time : 2.5 hours

Cooking time : 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the Tikkas

Boneless chicken pieces - 600 grams

Plain yogurt - 250 ml

Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Green capsicum chopped - 1/2

Oil - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chili Powder - to taste

Ginger paste - 2 tsp

Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

For the gravy

Oil - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon sticks - 2
Cardamom - 3
Black cardamom - 1
Cloves - 3
Bay leaves - 1 

Tomatoes - 4
Onion - 1 large

Green chili - 1

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Ginger paste - 2 tsp

Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Cashews - 8-10

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Chili powder - to taste

Cumin powder - 2 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

salt - to taste

Part 1: Preparing the chicken tikkas

Step 1: Take the yogurt in a big bowl. Add the lemon juice. 
Step 2: We need the following masalas : Turmeric, Chili, ginger paste, garlic paste and salt.

Mix the masalas with the curd. Add the oil. 

Mix it all well into a paste. 

Step 3: Add the chicken pieces and the capsicum pieces.

Step 4: Keep it aside for at least 2 hours. Preferably 6-8 hours.


Step 5: Put the chicken in skewers for grilling.

Step 6: While grilling, turn the chicken every 5 minutes to grill all sides evenly.
If you don't want to use an oven for grilling, you can use a pan. Keep cooking the chicken on medium heat turning them every few minutes. Cook them till the pieces are thoroughly cooked and a little burnt on the surfaces.


Step 7: After grilling take them out of the skewers and keep them aside.

Part 2: Preparing the gravy


Step 8: Now we need the whole garam masala  which is basically a combination of cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and cardamoms. 

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, bay leaf and the cloves. Add the cumin seeds. Fry for two minutes.

Step 9: Chop the onion and the tomatoes. We will also need cashews at this stage.

Add the chopped onions. Fry them for 5-6 minutes until they turn translucent.

Step 10: Now we need the second set of masalas: coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, turmeric masala, chili powder, ginger paste, garlic paste and green chili.

Add the masalas to the pan and add a tbsp of water and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the cashews.

Step 11: Add the tomatoes and mix well. Add a tablespoon of water. Cover the pan and let it cook on medium low heat for 20 minutes.

Step 12: After 20 minutes it will look like this. 

Step 13: Wait for the mixture to cool and the blend it in a blender. Put the mixture back in the pan on medium heat.Add the salt.

tep 14: Add the chicken tikkas. Wait for the mixture to come to a boil. 

Then cover the pan on low heat for 5 further minutes. 


Step 15: Enjoy your chicken tikka masala.

Jeera Aloo (potato based dish)

One of the most popular vegetarian dishes, Jeera aloo,                    
is an integral part of North Indian cuisine. It is very
easy to make and requires very few ingredients. The name "jeera aloo" literally translates to potatoes with cumin seeds.

The following recipe serves 2 people.
Time required: 25-30 minutes


Ingredients :
Potatoes - 3 medium sized
Oil - 3 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 3/4 tsp
Green chilies - 1 or 2
Onion - 1 medium sized
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Garlic - 1 clove
Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Chili powder - to taste
Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Asafetida - a pinch
Salt - to taste

Step 1: We need four medium sized potatoes. Boil and peel the potatoes. Boil them to a consistency so that are cooked thoroughly but are firm.Chop them into bite size pieces and keep them aside.

Step 2: We need the following spices : (a)  Cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ginger, garlic, chili and onions.  We can either use dried red chilies or green chilies, and if you like it spicy add them both. I am adding two green chilies for this preparation. Keep the heat at medium level. We also need (b) asafetida (hing) and fenugreek (methi) seeds. Chop the onions, garlic, ginger and chilies finely.

(a)

(b)

Step 3: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan.Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to crackle, then add the cumin seeds and asafetida. Fry them for a minute. 

Add the chopped onions, garlic, ginger and chilies. Fry them in medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Then add the fenugreek seeds. Add salt to taste.

Fry for 3-4 more minutes or till the onions turn glossy.

Step 4: Now we need (c) cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric and chili powder. Mix them together and add 2 tablespoons of water to make a paste.

(c)

                                                                                       

Step 5: Add the paste to the onions. Cook in medium heat till the oil separates from the mixture.

Step 6: Now add the potato pieces. Coat them well with the mixture. Keep cooking for 10 more minutes on medium to low heat.

Step 7: Enjoy Jeera aloo!