K@D@I ChickeN

yesterday was a super tough day. it was the final fittings of the lead actress and i was running about from one place to another, just to get the skirt fittings right. but guess all is well, that ends well.

life has kind of taken a turn. finding myself amidst a helm of activities.and i am kinda enjoying most of it. and what i am hating is the going about in the sun. leave aside tan, i have also got rashes on my face. but all this has paid up. we were ultimately successful in sourcing what we wanted. i was super tired also.but cooking as always helps me to relax, de-stress.

this recipe is kind a staple with the Dhabas, one finds on the highways & are common with the truckers.i came across this recipe in an old Bengali women's magazine.along with a horde of other mags, i found this old tattered one, which was a treasure house of this kinds recipes made by the Dhabas. this dish in particular, is a bit on the heavier side. and is definitely not for regular consumption. i am giving the original recipe here, and then i will discuss about the modifications.

INGREDI@NTS:

• 1kg chicken
• 150gm ghee (clarified butter)
• 4tbsp garlic paste
• 4tsp red chilli paste
• 3tbsp garlic paste
• 250gm onion paste
• 2 onions (chopped)
• 50gm cashew nut paste
• 4tbsp poppy seed paste
• 2 big capsicums (diced)
• 1tbsp toasted dry coriander seeds
• 50gm yoghurt
• 4-5 dry red chillies
• 3 chopped tomatoes
• 2tbsp tomato sauce
• 2tbsp white vinegar
• salt to taste
• 4 green chilli (pound to paste)
• 15gm garam masala

METHOD

• heat ghee n a kadai and put in onion paste, cashew paste, ginger-garlic paste,cashew paste & poppy seed paste. cook till oil starts leaving the sides of the pan.
• now add in the chicken & yoghurt. mix well.
• cook uncovered on a medium flame till the oil leaves the sides. now you can keep it aside.
• in another pan, heat mustard oil. after it is piping hot add in the dry red chilli, then then as they start changing colour, add the chopped onions & capsicum. fry well.
• add  all the other masala , adjust seasoning, and cook till the oils leave the sides of the pan.
• now transfer in the chicken into this mixture along with the previously made gravy.
• mix well.
• add in some stock if u want a gravy, or cover and cook for 10 mins, till the chicken is perfectly cooled.
• serve it hot with Roti /butter nun. don't forget to put some chopped onion & green chilli on the serving plate to enjoy the dhaba feel.

now comes the modifications, which are so much a part of me. my mom was paranoid with the idea of cooking in ghee because of the hot summer, so in place of ghee, i had used mustard oi, with a hint of ghee in it, so as to get the flavour. i was out of tomatoes, so cud not use that. instead i had used red & green bellpapers, to give the dish  body & to add some colour. i had also put in a bit of kasuri-methi, that's a staple in all the Punjabi dhabas.
now the most interestng and the good part is that i had used peanut butter instead of cashew paste. while i had already strtd cooking, i discovered the absence of cashew paste, so peanut butter is a saviour. in that way, this dish became kind of crossover from Punjabi to Chinese orTthai origin. and since i had powdered green chilli, i had used that only. and for the gravy i had sum hot water mixed with stock cubes.and the cheese greedy me was also excited. so i had put in one grated cheese cube. well, that's completly optional.
try t!!!!