Pleasant Remembrances
There are days when standing in the kitchen and stirring a ladle in a pan of curry( I do a lot of that these days) brings back memories of my mother from more than a decade ago.
My parents would go to the grocery (bajar) every sunday morning. It was my fathers department to buy the vegetables and my mother would buy fish and meat. There were some sundays when I accompanied them mainly to get my sunday morning treats from a Mithai shop for their bundi, shingara and kochuri. After getting back... my mother would squat on the kitchen floor keeping the veggies in the crisper, and deciding the menu for sunday lunch. My sister and I used to make coffee and wait for my mom to return to the sunny bedroom for a cuppa. She used to be so busy instructing the maid that we incessantly screamed 'mommy' from time to time till she would scream back "ufff ki?". The coffees almost always had pieces of chocolate or bourbon biscuits accompanying them and we'd have nice late morning chats till she drove us mad to take a bath before lunch.
A regular feature of sunday lunches was the very bengali chicken curry.. cooked very quickly in the pressure cooker by my mother.
Ingredient:
1 kilo Chicken cut into pieces
3 tbsp white oil or mustard oil
1 large or 2 medium onions grated
1 heaped teaspoon of ginger garlic paste(preferred fresh in stead of readymade)
1 large tomato diced
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
2 medium potatoes quartered
2 green cardamoms
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves
1 teaspoon shahi garam masala powder(or freshly ground at home)
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
and 2 green chillies left whole
Method:
In a pressure cooker heat one table spoon of oil and fry the potatoes till golden brown then keep aside. In the same oil (you can add some more accordingly) and put the cardamoms,cloves,bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Fry them till they crackle.
Now add the onions and fry till golden. Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder and coriander powder. Fry till the oil starts leaving at the sides. Add the tomatoes and cover on low heat for 5 mins till the tomatoes are well cooked and disappear in the masala leaving a reddish colour, add the salt and sugar now. Now add the chicken and mix with the masala for 10-15 minutes on low heat. Add the potatoes, 2 cups of water and close the lid of the cooker on high heat. After 2 whistles (approx 10 minutes) lower the heat, keep on for 5-10 more minutes and remove. Add the green chillies and coriander leaves(optional) and serve.
My parents would go to the grocery (bajar) every sunday morning. It was my fathers department to buy the vegetables and my mother would buy fish and meat. There were some sundays when I accompanied them mainly to get my sunday morning treats from a Mithai shop for their bundi, shingara and kochuri. After getting back... my mother would squat on the kitchen floor keeping the veggies in the crisper, and deciding the menu for sunday lunch. My sister and I used to make coffee and wait for my mom to return to the sunny bedroom for a cuppa. She used to be so busy instructing the maid that we incessantly screamed 'mommy' from time to time till she would scream back "ufff ki?". The coffees almost always had pieces of chocolate or bourbon biscuits accompanying them and we'd have nice late morning chats till she drove us mad to take a bath before lunch.
A regular feature of sunday lunches was the very bengali chicken curry.. cooked very quickly in the pressure cooker by my mother.
Ingredient:
1 kilo Chicken cut into pieces
3 tbsp white oil or mustard oil
1 large or 2 medium onions grated
1 heaped teaspoon of ginger garlic paste(preferred fresh in stead of readymade)
1 large tomato diced
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
2 medium potatoes quartered
2 green cardamoms
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves
1 teaspoon shahi garam masala powder(or freshly ground at home)
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
and 2 green chillies left whole
Method:
In a pressure cooker heat one table spoon of oil and fry the potatoes till golden brown then keep aside. In the same oil (you can add some more accordingly) and put the cardamoms,cloves,bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Fry them till they crackle.
Now add the onions and fry till golden. Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder and coriander powder. Fry till the oil starts leaving at the sides. Add the tomatoes and cover on low heat for 5 mins till the tomatoes are well cooked and disappear in the masala leaving a reddish colour, add the salt and sugar now. Now add the chicken and mix with the masala for 10-15 minutes on low heat. Add the potatoes, 2 cups of water and close the lid of the cooker on high heat. After 2 whistles (approx 10 minutes) lower the heat, keep on for 5-10 more minutes and remove. Add the green chillies and coriander leaves(optional) and serve.
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