Chicken guvac

Love is what makes the world go round, right? But love is so much deeper than just romance. And we understand that once we are made to come face to face with reality while combating the disastrous effect of Amphan that has ruined my city, our city in the worst possible way. How i wish all of these was a nightmare, how I wish we were a bit more calculative with our greed and demand, only to give in the whims and destructive fancies of the Amphan monster. Amidst all of this we realized, the biggest romance or love is life itself. The journey. The bonding. The relationships, through which we breathe, we live & identify our self.

Even though trying times shall pass, but what stays afresh in our minds is how we dealt with it. During moments of anguish, the family that surrounds you always comes to your rescue. The only way silently I can thank them for their love support and constant presence is through food. This Middle Eastern dish is one such one pot meal that not only makes the food loving family happy, but brings a big smile onto your face as well, as you bite into every morsel. One pot meals of this sort are great way to feed a crowd or an unplanned weekday dinner with friends post a hectic day at work.

While the original is a specialty of the region that it belongs to, mine is a simplified version created out of my need of a fridge and pantry raid expedition, only to use up the forgotten ingredients rather than helping them make their way to the bin. Wastage isn't an approved action, when we did absolutely nothing to produce it, right? So here is starts:

1. Measure out dalia 65gm. Wash them under running water (twice at the max), drain & keep aside.
2. 200 gm boneless chicken to be cut in bigger chunks and marinate with salt and pepper. Keep aside for 15 mins.
3. Chop up half a red bellpepper into strips, half if a big size aubergine into cubes, 1 medium size onion into slices, 2 green chilies into fine  shards, 5 garlic cloves into fine mince, 5-6 pitted dates into thin slices. A small handful of parsley finely chopped + 1 fat spiced pork sausage, cut into fat coins. Mis-en-place is an important step for dishes that need quite a few ingredients.

4. Dry roast and roughly pound 1 tsp whole cumin seeds, be careful to not to burn them. Pound 1 tbsp black peppercorn into medium fine-ness.
5. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Once hot, add the marinated chicken to the pan and fry till brown on both sides. Once done, take them out & keep aside.

6. Add the sliced onions+garlic to the pan. Stir. Add in the chopped sausage and aubergines and mix everything well, on medium high flame. Allow the sausage pieces to give out all their fat, the meat will also disintegrate in the process. ( don't forget to stir, or else it might stick to the bottom). Lastly add in the brightness in the form of bellpepper strips and keep cooking.

7. The cumin needs to be added to the pan + 1 tsp dry thyme and mix to incorporate with the contents of the pan. Add in 2 tsp vinegar and mix, scraping the flavors stuck to the base of the pan.

8. Once the aroma permeates your kitchen add the dalia or broken wheat along with 3 tbsp tomato puree ( I went ahead and used store bought, you can use homemade). Stir vigorously to combine all the contents of the pan ( I do sprinkle in some water at this stage, in case the pan gets dry. Remember lubrication is important).

9. Add in about 2 cups of stock or water to the pan + chopped dates + 1 star anise+ 2" cinnamon stick+ seasoning (salt & pepper), clamp on lid and cook for 15 mins on medium low flame.

10. After 5 mins give all the contents a good mix, and place the fried chicken pieces back into the pan. Remember to pour in the oil that comes out of the fried chicken pieces.

11. After 15 mins, once the grain is cooked, crank up the flame to dry up the extra liquid. Once dry, finish with some lime juice, about 1 tbsp or pomegranate molasses and half of the chopped parsley and half tbsp butter. Mix and take off the hob. This one pot meal will not be as fluffy as  couscous, so nothing to be alarmed about.

12. Take it out on a  big serving platter, placing the chicken chunks on top. Finish with showering of the remaining parsley. Let the colors bamboozle your spirit and accentuate your hunger.

They say it's bad manners to keep holiday and warm food waiting. So after you have filled up your taste buds and stomach, you might want to read about some observations for your next try. Nothing major, but a tad bit more info never hurts:
1. The authentic recipe uses beef sausages, so in case you have access to it, please go ahead and use them.
2.  Wine vinegar is what local cooks suggest for their characteristic tartness, but I am happy to use my regular vinegar.
3. Pomegranate molasses is the souring agent preferred for the last stage, or tamarind pulp as substitute. In the absence of both, lime juice works fine, but of course the complexity of flavors cannot be matched.
4. In case you get hold of chicken with bone, that should work fine. Depending on the size of your chicken chunks, you will have to decide on the time of adding them to the pan.

Food they say not only feeds hunger but the soul as well. I say these cross cultural complexities and political differences are easy to overcome, provided one wishes to!! If not, there are flavors still present, and with time they will win over and bring together humans and their conscience or intelligence, dimmed by the showering of religion and divisional thoughts.

The light and the end of tunnel is going to be a brighter one for sure, only if we chose to muster courage and carry on with the journey. What awaits us on the otherside is love warmth and an array of unexplored flavors.