When you eat delectable food all the time, you don't really understand the value of the cook and his/her culinary skills. Same was the case with me until I went to boarding school. It took me some pain and a lot of whining and cribbing trying to adjust to the food there in school, but I failed. Severely. Never could really eat full stomach. I used to miss my mom's delicacies every single day.
Chicken kosha is supposedly my specialty as per my friends and that is one of the reasons which kept me motivated towards cooking from time to time. I prepared this dish for the first time during my college days and my room mates were astonished at my culinary skills and head over heels in love with the dish. I still remember how during those days we used to plan parties with alcohol and foods and two items were always expected from me. My songs and my chicken. Although the chicken was never even close to my mom's but it always turned up pretty well. Kept my friends happy. Kept my reputation intact.
Whenever I go home now my mom makes sure it is me who cooks chicken always. I think she is planning to pass the legacy onto me and someday will share with me all her cooking secrets. But till then it is my recipe that is going to rule the kitchen.
Many of my friends ask me if there is any Bengali dish where potato is not used, because they do see me putting potato in almost everything. That's hilarious! Well that's our way of cooking and we bongs love potato. Even in chicken or mutton curry potato is added and the perfection of the potato matters. Yes it does! :-)
Ingredients:
- Chicken – 2 lb
- Potato – 1 cut into 4 pieces
- Onion - 3 medium sized grated or paste, 6-8 small sized whole or cut into halves
- Curd - 3 Tbsp
- Green chili - 6-8
- Ginger paste - 2 tsp
- Garlic paste - 2½ tsp
- Coriander powder - 1½ tsp
- Cumin powder - 2 tsp
- Turmeric powder - 2/3 tsp
- Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
- Garam Masala - ½ tsp(this is mixture of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves)
- Mustard Oil - 4 Tbsp
- Salt - to taste
- Tejpata(Bay leaf) - 2
- Black pepper - 8-10
- Whole cinnamon - 2 inch
- Green cardamom - 3-4
- Cloves - 4-5
Method:
1. Wash the chicken properly. Add 2 tbsp oil, salt, onion paste, curd, ginger paste, garlic paste, green chili, cumin power, coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder. Mix well and marinate for an hour.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan till smoking hot.
3. Add bay leaves, black pepper corns, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves. When aroma of whole spice releases add the chicken mix, potato and keep cooking on high flame by stirring intermittently so that it does not stick at the bottom. Cook till water evaporates completely and the chicken is almost cooked.
4. Reduce the flame to medium and add the onion pieces and one cup water. Add garam masala. Cover with a lid and cook until potato is cooked and the onion pieces become translucent.
5. Remove lid and cook til the gravy becomes thick.
6. The toothsome chicken kosha is ready to serve. Serve it with roti or rice. Me being a rice lover I prefer to have it with rice.
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