Quick and Ezee Chicken Curry In Sauteed N Ground Onion Tomato Masala

We have many names for chicken curry, like chettinad chicken, butter chickn, chicken tikka, chicken masala, kadai chicken etc... I'm not sure what to name this chicken curry, all I know is this is a very simple and easy to make chicken curry that can be made in a jiffy without much pre-planning required. You get a very rich and delicious gravy without any lumps of onion, tomato bites and goes very well with rice, roti, dosas and Appams. Make this home today and relish with your loved ones!!!

Ingredients:-

For Marination

1. Chicken with bones ~ 2.2 lbs(1 Kg)
2. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
3. Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
4. Salt - 1 tsp

To Sautee for gravy:-

1. Onion chopped roughly  - 3(~3 Cups)
2. Tomatoes chopped - 2 (~1½ cups)
3. Ginger chopped or crushed - 1 tbsp
4. Garlic chopped or crushed - 1 tbsp
5. Cinnamon stick - a small piece
6. Curry Leaves few
7. Oil - 2 tbsp
8. Salt - 1 tsp

Additional ingredients to add while you cook chicken :-

1. Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
2. Chilly powder - ½ tsp
3. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
4. Chopped cilantro/coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
5. Curry leaves a sprig
6. Garam masala -1 tsp
7. Water - 1 Cup + more if required

Preparation Method:-

• Add some salt and lemon/lime juice with chicken and apply all over. Wash and rinse the chicken two-three times.
• Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder and set aside for atleast 30 mins.
• Heat up a wide kadai, pour oil. Add cinnamon stick followed by chopped ginger and garlic, saute a minute till raw smell is gone
• Add chopped onion and salt and saute well till golden brown color.
• Add tomatoes and saute well till it break down the pulp and releases the juice. Put off the fire and keep aside till it cool completely.
• Grind the sauteed tomato onion mix.
• Heat up the same pan in which you sauteed the tomato onion mix. Pour the ground mix, add turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder and saute to combine.
• Add the marinated chicken and gently mix with a spatula or spoon and spread the mix evenly with chicken. Pour some water as required.
• Cover with the pan and let it cook in medium heat for ten-fifteen minutes stirring occasionally.
• Check for the salt and seasoning and adjust accordingly. Add garam masala and mix well to combine.
• Add few curry leaves and a tsp of coriander leaves/cilantro, stir to mix. Cover and cook for another two-three minutes
• Open the lid and check if the chicken is well cooked. Add some more coriander leaves and put off the stove. 
• Serve warm with Rice/Roti/Appams/Dosas or anything of your choice. Garnish with more cilantro/coriander leaves before serving.

Butter Chicken/Murgh Makhani

Butter Chicken also known as Murgh Makhani is made with chicken(Murgh in Hindi) pieces marinated in spices and cooked in Butter(Makhan in Hindi) and Tomato gravy and hence the name Murgh Makhani. The chicken is traditionally cooked in Tandoor but can be grilled or pan fried. I have done it by marinating the chicken and broiling in the conventional oven. The other easier option is to pan fry the chicken pieces on both sides till they are half cooked and adding it to the gravy.

The recipe follows, enjoy this delicacy with Roti/Naan/Parotta or Rice.

Ingredients:-

For the marinade:-

1. Chicken breasts - 4 halves(cut into med size cubes)
2. Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
3. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Chilly powder - 2 tsp
5. Coriander powder -1 tsp
6. Salt as needed

For the gravy:-

1. Onion - 2 med or 1 big(chopped roughly)
2. Green chilly - 3 chopped
3. Ginger, garlic crushed - 2 tbsp
4. Tomato paste - 5 tbsp(if using fresh tomato grind tomato with 2 tbsp cashews and add it to the gravy)
5. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
6. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
7. Garam masala - 2 tsp 
8. Fresh corainder leaves chopped - 2tbsp
9. Fenugreek leaves - 2 tsp
10. Sugar - 1tsp(optional)
11. Butter - 3tbsp(i have used oil for sauting, if you prefer to add butter you an do so)
12. Oil - 2 tbsp
13. half and half cream(lowfat cream) - 1/2 cup(u can use heavy whipping cream as well)
14. water as needed

Preparation method:-

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree Farenhite
• Marinate the chicken with Ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder. Set aside for 30 mins.
• Spread the chicken pieces in a silver foil tray and broil it for 15-20 mins by taking it out and turning the sides in between(easiest alternative is to pan fry it in 2 tbsp of oil for 10-12 mins just to half cook it)
• Now heat a pan, pour oil. Add onions, crushed ginger-garlic, green chillies and saute till onion is translucent.
• Add chilly powder, coriander powder, salt and 1 tbsp of fenugreek leaves. Add 1 cup of water and let it cook for 5 mins.Switch off the stove and set aside to let it cool
• Once the sauted onion mix is cool grind it to a smooth paste.
• Now heat up a pan, add butter, add the grinded paste and stir well in med flame.
• Now add the tomato paste and mix gently so that tomato paste cooks evenly with onion.
•  Add some water to the gravy if it is very thick to adjust the consistency and get the gravy to boil in med flame(since we're gonna add cream at the end the gray will thicken again, so add water to make it little thin)
• Add the chicken pieces and cream. Give it a gentle stir to mix and cook it covered for 3-5 mins till chicken absorbs some sourness of the gravy.
• Sprinkle some more fenugreek leaves and garam masala on top and mix gently.
• Add a tsp of sugar as well to reduce the sourness of the gravy if any.
• Let it cook for another 2 mins and switch off the flame.
• Move to a serving dish and serve warm with roti/Naan/Parotta/Rice..

Chicken Tikka masala

Ingredients:-

For marinade:

1) Turmeric pdr - 1/4 tsp

2) Chilly powder - 1tsp (cayenne pepper or kashmir chilly pdr gives red color to the gravy)
3) coriander pdr - 1 tsp
4) cumin pdr - 1 tsp
5) dry fenugreek powder - 1 tbsp
6) ginger gralic paste - 1tbsp 
7) Yogurt - 1 cup
8) salt to taste
9) lime juice -2 tbsp
10) Bonless chickn breast :-  4 halves cut into med cubes

For making the gravy:

1) Oil- 2 tbsp

2) cumin seeds - 1 tsp

3) Onion - 1 very finely chopped

4) ginger garlic paste

5) Chilly powder - 2 tsp

6) Coriander powder- 1 tsp

7) Cumin powder - 1 tsp

8) Dry Fenugreek powder - 1 tsp

9) Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

10) Tomato - 2 big chopped roughly(i've made tikka masala once with 1 small tin of canned tomato paste as well, it gave me a nice red colored gravy)

11) Cashews - 1/4 cup(if using canned tomato u do not need cashews, bcse the gravy becomes thick bcse of the tomato paste)

12) Capsicum -  1 cut into med cubes(optional)

13) Onion - 1  big cut into cubes

14) cream - 2 tbsp(optional, i didnt use)

15) Finely chopped cilantro)

16) Bamboo skewers soaked in water for 15 mins

Preparation Method:-

1) In a bowl add ingredients of marinade from 1 to 9 and mix well gently with a whisk or clean hand to make the marinade. Divide this marinade into two bowl, marinate chicken in one bowl and capsicum and onion in another. Set aside for atleast 1 hr.

2) Make a puree from tomato and cashews and set aside.
3) Skew the chicken, onion and capsicum one after the another

4) Grill both sides for 5 mins or till chicken is cooked(if you do not have skewer cook it on grill top. Pan cook the chicken if you do not have a grill). Your chicken tikka is ready. Set this aside

5) Now for making the masala, add oil in a pan and crackle the cumin seeds.

6) Add ginger-garlic paste and stir for a min. Add the onion and stir till light brown color.

7) Add salt, turmeric pdr, cumin pdr, coriander pdr chilly powder and stir well. Add 1/4 cup of water and cook till the masala absorbs the water.

8) Add the tomato-cashew puree, some more water and stir well. Close the lid and get it to boil.

9) Add the leftover fenugreek powder, chicken tikka, simmer the flame with lid on and cook it for 4-5 mins so that chicken absorbs the nice aroma of the gravy and gets cooked nicely.

10) Add the cream if necessary( i didnt add it bcse the gravy was very nice without the cream and i felt the spiceness will be reduced if i add it).

11) Move into a serving dish, garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Roti/Naan/Rice..

Note:- I have kept aside some skewed chicken tikka without adding them in the gravy. This ended up being another side dish on our dining table.

Delicious Chicken Biriyani

Here comes my favorite recipe for chicken biriyani. Yet again Malabar is very famous for different types of Biriyanis. In Kerala, Biriyani is made with a very nice aromatic small rice known as Jeera Rice(jeerakashala rice) also known as biriyani rice. I could not find it in any Indian store here in US, so I have been using Basmathi rice which also gives great aroma and taste. This recipe I am adding here was made for a friends get-together, so the quantity may be high. Please reduce the amount of ingredients according to your requirement.

Ingredients:-

Chicken – 2lbs
Basmati Rice – 4 cups (wash and soak rice for about 15 mins)
Onion thinly sliced- 4(fry few onions and set aside)
Tomato- 2

Green Chillies- 6 slit into halves

Ginger, Garlic crushed - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves few

Coriander leaves few(chopped)
Mint leaves-few(chopped)
Turmeric powder- 1tsp
Chilly powder – 2tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Black Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder- 2 tsp
Yogurt- 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Water - 7 1/2 cup

Whole spices (Cinnamon sticks, Cardamom, cloves, Bay leaves, pepper corns)

Vegetable oil
Ghee -3tsp
Cashews and raisins(fry in some ghee and set aside).

Preparation Method:-

Cooking the Rice:

1) Heat up a vessel , add some ghee, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, bay leaves, pepper corns and fry for a minute.

2) Add water and salt to taste, when water comes to boil add rice, stir it with a spoon till the bottom of the vessel and close it with a tight lid.

3) Simmer the heat to med until rice is cooked(soft). Switch off the flame and let it stand for 30 mins(this will  help rice not to break when you try to take it out when it is very hot)

4) Spread the rice to two or three platters to cool down. Set aside.

Chicken Masala:-

                        

• Wash and clean the chicken and Marinate it with Turmeric powder, chilly powder, pepper powder and salt. Set this aside for at-least 30 mins.
• Heat a wide frying pan or non-stick vessel, pour some oil, add sliced onion, green chilly, ginger-garlic, curry leaves, salt and fry until onions are light brown in color.
• Add tomato and saute until soft. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves and stir till everything get mixed well.
• Add coriander powder and garam masala powder and sauté well.
• Add yogurt and stir until it mix well with masala. Add the chicken pieces and stir well so that chicken gets coated with all the masala. Close this with a lid and let it cook in medium heat for 15-20 mins.
• Open and check for the thickness of the chicken masala, if you feel to lessen the gravy cook it lid open for some more time so that water is evaporated faster and the gravy thicken. 
• Check for the taste and adjust the spices and salt as required. Add few more coriander leaves on top and remove from the flame.

Layering the biriyani:-

1) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F. Grease a baking tray with butter/ghee and set aside.

2) Start layering the biriyani with rice and chicken, start with half the rice, followed by chicken masala, fried onions, cashews and raisins.

2) Repeat layering by the rest of the rice and chicken masala topped by rice again until done. 

3) Garnish on top by adding few fried onions, cashews, raisins and chopped coriander leaves.

4) Bake it covered for 20-30 mins. Delicious chicken biriyani is ready to be served with raita, papad and lemon or mango pickle…

Note:- you can use the stove top method instead of a baking to get the dum effect. Add some ghee in a thick bottom vessel and do the same process as mentioned in layering. Cover the vessel with a proper air tight lid and top a heavy vessel(filled with water or something). Keep the flame on low-med and dum it for 15 - 20 mins..