The friendly homemade chicken kebab. Probably tandoori

I have a new found confidence in myself. The one that screams out loud that now there is nothing I can't do. Why you ask? Because last night I made kebab from scratch and it turned out absolutely brilliant! No rookie mistakes, no burnt parts, no burnt hearts. They say you should not go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Well. I did. And I got home a lot of extra Real Good. So I also picked up some extra masala thinking one day I will make kebabs and biryani to perfection. And I should not run out of masalas when I decide to do it. So a small carton of pav bhaaji masala here, some tandoori kebab masala there. And even as I was unpacking the grocery, I knew the day was here :P

It is the simplest kebab you can possibly make. Here is how -

Marinate the chicken for a couple of hours in a cup of curd, salt, ginger garlic paste, lots of Everest tandoori and garam masala, a dash of turmeric and some chilli powder. If you are feeling adventurous, add some coriander paste to the marinade.

Place the marinated pieces of chicken on a grilling tray, let the extra marinade drop off, brush some oil on the chicken, and microwave it on chicken cooking combination for about 5 minutes. Then turn over the pieces, brush some oil again, and grill for the next 30-45 minutes, checking once in a while on the colour to make sure the whole thing doesn't get thrown away like the last time. Turn over the pieces and brush some oil every 15 minutes or so. Once done, brush some lemon juice and hog it all with onion rings. Absolute bliss!

The friendly homemade chicken kebab. Probably tandoori.

The grocery store did not have boneless chicken yesterday. Just so you know.

Of books. Movies. Easy Chicken curry. And other such banalities

At long last, I finished reading Madhav Mathur's The Diary of an Unreasonable Man. Actually "at long last" is just for the added effect. This is one book I finished the fastest in the last couple of years. Why I have become a slow reader, is a story for another day. Back to this book, I was extremely skeptical about it, mainly because how far fetched, Rang De Basanti-ish the plot sounded. But I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed it. If you have been working for a couple of years, been wondering why you aren't making the kind of difference to the world that you once, at 21, associated with becoming "independent" and minting (ha!) money, this book is for you. Or not. You also need to be patient, believe in shallow revenge (cow dung on expensive cars is not my idea of a well thought, intense revolution, but it's fun!), and in the mood for "far fetched". Now don't get me wrong. My life revolves around shallowness and "far fetched" and often, revenge, so obviously in my dictionary, these are quintessentially good adjectives. It is a fun read, although I don't see myself quitting "real" work to bring in any kind of revolution. The book doesn't speak of anything that you and I don't speak of everyday, albeit in our cozy living rooms, and with no cow dung around to spoil the party. Consumerism, mall culture, why the cars we drive and the machines we own have become factors that guide whether or not we have arrived in life. Whatever happened to living simple. To the deserving making it big in life. What is "making it big in life" anyway? So yes, the book sure is close to our reality. But this is where the "reality" bit ends. But at least the book is not a documentary on the faults of urban living. Overall a fun read, mainly on flights and loos. What? You want a review? I am not qualified to give you one. Read it to find out! I liked it. At least 10 times more than Eat, Pray, Love. Now on to the next book about corporate rut - Sidin Vadukut's Dork: The Incredible Adventures of Robert Einsein Verghese. At this rate, I am soon going to be on my way to the Himalayas. Away from MY corporate rut. Or so you would think. Sigh!

Anyway I did start watching Heroes after wondering what the fuss was about. In fact I finished a whole season. And no, I still don't know what the fuss was about. Just like I don't know why people love Harry Potter and Twilight so much. Heroes is way beyond imagination. And not in a good way. Too many superheroes, too much fantasy. The men are cute though. And no, I am not going to watch another season. Excuse me while I return to the 5th season of Frasier. It's real. I have always suffered the underdog syndrome, I like Frasier Crane more than any superhero. Krrrish included :P

I am back from a tragic-comic movie outing - I Hate Love Stories (I refuse to spell it incorrectly.) What on earth was it? I liked the movie, I haven't seen a love story I didn't like. But IHLS was extremely amusing, and not always intentionally. What can I say that hasn't been said before. Except don't believe all the reviews you read. The movie was actually fun. Shallow, almost stupid, but fun. But someone tell Sonam Kapoor she is not half as pretty as she thinks. So she can really, really drop the pretty damsel act and start being a little more.. I don't know.. Human? Imran Khan is the show stopper. Someday I want a son like him. Bah! I am getting old!

What's for dinner tonight? The Easy Chicken Curry. I don't think this recipe exists anywhere. It is some random things done to the very normal chicken curry recipe you read in most places, to make sure the cooking time doesn't exceed 15 minutes. And it is.. Err.. Healthier? Not a Bihari recipe by the way. Although it can pass off as Dehati Chicken. What? There actually is a chicken recipe that is called that. I found out only a couple of weeks ago. Coming back to my recipe, here you go..
Curd - 1 cup
Beans - 100 grams
Catch chicken masala
Ginger garlic paste
Chilli powder
Haldi
Onion
Coriander powder
Garam masala
Cumin powder
Dhaniya (to garnish.. Heh!)
And chicken of course. 500 grams. Serves two adults who like to overeat, this dish.

Whenever you have a few minutes during the day, marinate clean pieces of chicken in curd, ginger garlic paste, haldi, and chilli powder. Refrigerate the marinade. This recipe is pressure cooked, so make sure the pressure cooker is free and clean.

20 minutes before you sit down for the meal, saute jeera and small pieces of onion in mustard oil, add the beans and fry for a few minutes. Then add a little haldi, a teaspoon of chicken masala, some coriander powder, garam masala, and cumin powder. Pretend to fry the masala a little, just in case someone told you you weren't doing it right :P

Add the marinade, mix well. Cook the mixture for 4 seetis - the first one on high flame, the rest on low flame. Do NOT add water if watery chicken curry is not your idea of home cooked food and you liked it only during desperate hostel days. Of course I am speaking from experience!

Garnish the chicken curry with coriander (not the powder, the leaves) because trust me it will not look even half as nice as it will taste. Serve with steamed rice. This is Good food. Also because it hardly involves any effort. I might put a picture here later. Or maybe not!

Khatti Daal

... And no, this is not about daal gone sour! At 11 am on a lot of days during my summer vacations back in school, Ma used to give me daal in a tea cup (yes, I did get a LOT of nutrition, and it shows :P). On some days this daal used to be khatti, and it was really one of my favourite things to drink while I watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai/ Bawarchi/ Golmaal on cable TV for the nth time. The "small happinesses" of childhood!

So the other day I had this strange craving for that daal, I hadn't tasted it in 10 years. It's times like these that I am glad I have Ma's number on speed dial :P Putting down the recipe here for posterity, someday my great grandkids might chance upon it and discover the wonders of Bihari cuisine (which by that way is "cuisine" and way better than the pastas and pizzas of the world!). Great grandkids, if you are reading this, this is the easiest thing you will ever make in the kitchen. You will be proud of the legacy of easy-cooking legacy we are leaving behind for you :P

What you need-
Toor daal
Haldi powder
Salt
A drop of ghee
One raw mango (Kairi, tikola.. Whatever you call it.)

Pressure cook everything. One seeti on high flame and 3 on low flame. And it's done. Beat that!

Try this on a Sunday afternoon.. With rice and bhindi. You'll thank me forever!

I Am My Mom.. Revisited

I had promised myself that "Hell's kitchen" will never make its way here again, but I can't resist today. The first ever full Bihari lunch that I made - and it reminded me of the lunches that my grandfather used to have.. And all those childhood Sundays at home and Mousi's professors' quarter and Mami ka ghar... And then many years later, again in Bombay :-) This is the food I've grown up on. And today after all the cooking, my hands smell like Ma's :D

Of Soo Ra Sang and something between aalu dam and something else

This weekend has been good and bad in terms of food. Last night we went to Soo Ra Sang. I am not qualified to review it because my taste buds aren't evolved enough to really like Korean food. But the place is rather cute. Sit down meals, and korean barbequeue tables, and excellent service. It was the kind of politeness that makes you want to kick yourself for hating their food and not being able to finish it. And the amount of food they serve is a little overwhelming, because most of it comes free. The pic says it all.

And I watched Jail. Yes. Now. At home. Badly made, loved Neil Nitin Mukesh. He's really good! Don't have any strong feelings for the movie, so not even sure if I am fit to comment on/ review the movie here.

Coming to the better part about this weekend, I never thought I would say this about myself but here it is - I LOVE COOKING! It's so exciting to take a bunch of things that one wouldn't even think of eating one at a time, and you mix it all in random amounts, and the concoction turns out something you relish. Because it's also something you never thought you could do, something you never thought was as easy as it seems now. Come to think of it, cooking IS a lot like analytics - random data that all adds up into something that makes so much sense! Only it's a lot less challenging than analytics because the control entirely lies with you. YOU decide what you want, and what you need to get where you want, and how you can improve. And it's a little bit more exciting that the kind of analytics we know, because you can experiment just when you want to. Without worrying too much about the consequences. Because it's only food. LOL!

So today I experimented. I don't have a name for what I made, but it tasted heavenly. At least to R and me it did.  I had started out wanting to make aalu dam, but it clearly turned out something else, because I did my own thing in the kitchen :P Here's what you need-

Baby potatoes
Chopped onion
Jeera
Haldi powder
Garlic
Ginger
Green chillies
Curd
Dry red chillies
Clove
Daalchini
Tej patta
Pepper
Powdered garam masala and red chilli powder

Not mentioning the amounts, because I really don't know. Let's just say I added the amount of masala one normally puts in these curries.

Peel and partially slit the potatoes and keep them in a bowl of salt water. Then marinate the potatoes in a cup of curd, salt, and a just pinch of garam masala and red chilli powder. Refrigerate it for about half an hours. Grind ginger, garlic, one green chilli, and a few pieces of onion.

Once the marinade is ready, heat mustard oil in a kadhai. Heat tej patta, dry red chillies, and jeera till the mixture starts to pop. Then heat onion on medium flame till it turns golden brown. Add clove, daalchini, pepper, and the ground masala till the masala starts to separate from the oil. Put the marinade into this mixture and fry for about 5-7 minutes. Pour some boiling water into the kadhai and mix it all well. Let the potatoes cook completely on low flame. Let me warn you, this will take almost forever, and you really need to obsessing over it or checking it every 2 minutes. Just let it be! So in the meantime catch up with people on the phone, argue with husband over whatever comes to mind, check you emails and facebook, put the clothes into the washing machine. All that. Just when the potatoes were well cooked, add some salt to it. At this point R decided to get a little creative and added a pinch of sugar. Garnish it with coriander. Let it cook for another 5 minutes. And it's done!

Goes really well with rice/ pulao and coriander chutney. I just had it... I am in bliss!

Quick Fix Coriander Chutney

Through my growing up years in Patna, bright, green dhaniya chutney used to be a part of our lunch quite frequently. I used to hate it then. Until a couple of months back when I had a major craving for the chutney. It's a quick fix and goes amazingly with almost everything. Adds the much needed spice in boring, everyday meals. Scribbling down its recipe, it's the easiest way to make it - the only way I know :-P

Here's what you need-

Coriander

Juice of half a lemon

Salt

Ginger

Garlic

Green chilly

Mustard

Grind (right word?) the coriander, salt, just a bit of ginger and garlic, a drop of mustard oil, and 1 green chilly into a reasonably consistent paste. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the paste. And it's done! Goes best with plain chaawal daal.

A modified version of the chutney with which you can make the kind of chutney sandwich that you find ONLY in Marz-o-rin, Pune. Grind coriander, equal amounts of salt and sugar, and a drop of butter in a mixer. Spread the paste between 2 slices of bread and there it is - Marz-o-rin ka chutney sandwich!

Bihari Mutton Curry Recipe... For Posterity

My cousins were coming over for lunch today. Mutton Curry and rice was the only plan I had. I learnt the mutton curry recipe from Ma (it being one of her special, special recipes) over the phone. And even after making it some 4 times, when I got up this morning I totally forgot what to do in the kitchen. I could have called Ma immediately, instead I hunted for an email I had sent to a friend that had the recipe.

I am putting it down here - for the sake of posterity. Here's Ma's quintessential Bihari mutton curry recipe, put down in words my way. Expect it to be random and easy - my mom always comes up with the world's most awesomest food WITHOUT spending too much time or sho-sha over it because there's always been better things to do outside the kitchen. It sort of runs in our blood ;)

Let's say you want to cook half a kg of mutton... Here's what you need-

4 potatoes cut into halves

250 g onions

Garam Masala - 2 tbspoons

Everest Meat Masala (optional)

Crushed ginger and garlic preferably fresh... The readymade ginger garlic paste spoils the taste.

Clove - 4-5 pieces

Pepper - 10-12 pieces

Tej patta

Dry red chilli - 5 pieces

Jeera - 1 teaspoon

Haldi powder

Red chilli powder

Salt

Marinate the mutton in a cup of curd, haldi, red chilli powder, and a bit of salt... For say 30 minutes.

Heat (a lot of) oil in a pressure cooker, add tej patta, ginger, garlic, and jeera. Saute onions a little bit, not so much that it turns golden brown. Add onions, cloves, pepper, red chilli, and some more haldi, some more salt. Bhujo it for about 2 minutes. Add the entire marinate to it, and pressure cook for 5 seetis on high flame and for about 5 mins on medium flame.

In another pan, deep fry the aalu and keep aside. After the mutton is half done, add garam masala and if u want it spicy, some readymade meat masala to the mixture. Add the deep fried aalu to it. Mix well and let the mixture cook on high flame until it starts to stick a little bit to the bottom of the cooker. When that happens, add water according to the amount of gravy you want in the mutton curry. Pressure cook the entire mixture again for about 2 seetis.. One on high flame n one on medium. Dummies' tip.. Open the cooker, check if it's done completely. Both aalu and mutton. If not, pressure cook again for another seeti.

Then taste some, pat yourself on the back, and eat the world's most awesomest bihari mutton curry and chawal with kachumbar salad - onion, tomato, hari mirch, namak and nimbu :D

Disclaimer - Did I tell you I can't write recipes like Tarla Dalal?