Chicken Korma

Curries do not necessarily have to be garishly red, or yellow. Nor is it always spicy. Chances are if you have only tried curries in restaurants you have not experienced the full depth and breadth of flavor that mild, creamy curries like this can bring.

The Chicken Korma is the regal version of curries. Brought to the Indian subcontinent by the Mughal empire, it is subtle, even understated but brimming with flavor. The complexity of this dish comes from the use of nutmeg, mace and poppy seed paste as well the typical spices like coriander and cumin. Although I use milk instead of cream to make it a little healthier, this recipe has deep roots. It comes from my aunt who has been lovingly cooking this dish for us for as long as I can remember.

Chicken Korma (Other than the chicken, ingredients are listed in the order that they are added)

2 lb chicken
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup onion thinly sliced or minced
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
2 tablespoon ginger paste
2 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika/ chili powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1/4-1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon powdered mace
1 tablespoon poppy seed paste
4 green chilies
1/3 cup water
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon rose water
1/2 tablespoon kewra water

First off, heat up oil in a 3 qt pan that has a tight lid. Fry the onions till you begin to see caramelization around the edges. The key is to stir the onion from time to time so that the edges turn a rich golden brown. This will take some time, close to 10 minutes but the flavor they provide is essential to good curries. Make sure to add salt at this stage so that the water is steeped out of the onions helping them brown evenly.

Starting to get caramelized. Needs to be cooked for a few more minutes

Now add all the spices up to the black pepper powder all the while cooking over a slow medium heat. You do not want to add water at this stage unless your spices start to stick. The "masala" mixture should be lightly sauteed adding tablespoons of water only if it's absolutely necessary.

A light brown color after all the spices have been added 

Now add the chicken pieces and cook on low medium heat for 10-15 more minutes.

You want the pieces to be evenly coated with the spice mixture.

Evenly coated bone-in pieces of chicken  

Now add 1/4 cup water and continue cooking. The chicken will release its own juices and stew in it. If you want you can definitely use boneless, skinless chicken but chicken pieces, bones and all produces a stock that enriches the sauce. Plus cooking the meat on the bone makes it very succulent.

Not much longer now. We are nearing the end,After 15-20 minutes this is what the dish looks like. When spice mixture becomes thick add nutmeg, mace and poppy seed paste. The poppy seed paste is something that you have to make at home from whole poppy seeds. You have to dry roast the poppy seed and blend with water to make a smooth paste. I can not stress how essential it is for the paste to be smooth. If you feel that the paste is grainy, strain the paste before adding it. You can also choose to leave it out if it is too hard to find but it does add a new dimension to the meal.  

Now add 1/3 cup more water, milk and whole green chilies and cook covered for 10 more minutes.

5 minutes before you take it off the heat add in sugar, salt (do a taste test and only add salt if you think it needs it), rosewater and kewra water.

Serve with a side of naan or polau (rice fried and cooked with whole spices). It doesn't get more authentic than this. :)

Aloor Dom

I've been sitting on this for weeks, trying to come up with a translation that would truly explain what "Aloor dom" is to someone who isn't Bengali. Aloo is the Bengali for potatoes, so the easiest name would be "potato curry" but it really wouldn't be right. Curry is just too generic a word to explain this dish which was a quintessential part of growing up in Bangladesh. Served with a side of  Luchi ( a deep fried flat bread very popular in my part of the world), aloor dum was breakfast on weekends for the longest time. One way of making this, is to boil the potatoes till barely cooked through and sauteing in a mixture of spices. It is then simmered in a covered pan over a low flame till the flavors completely permeate the potatoes transforming it into a delightful beginning to a lazy weekend.
p.s. I do know that it's Wednesday. But no harm in planning for the coming weekend.

1 lb Potatoes
4 tablespoon oil
7-8 curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tomato
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cayenne pepper

I used red, yellow and purple baby potatoes which were cut in half, boiled and then peeled.  You want these to be on the smaller end of the spectrum as the smaller potatoes taste better in this dish.

Heat oil in a flat pan and add curry leaves. After a minute add cumin and mustard seeds. Be careful as the seeds will splutter in hot oil. A process we lovingly called tempering. Very common in Bengali cuisine.

  
Add in rest of the spices along with chopped tomatoes.

Saute for a few minutes adding tablespoons of water if the mixture starts sticking.

Add potatoes. Give it a quick stir to evenly mix everything. You want each piece of potato to be coated. But be gentle as traditionally the dish is served as chunky pieces that are not mashed together.

Add 1/2 cup of water, lower the flame and cover with a tight lid. Water will slowly evaporate and infuse potatoes with flavor, a process known as "dom". Stir once in a while to ensure it doesn't stick.  

Potatoes are ready once most of the water evaporates and you are left with a semi-dry mix of potatoes and spices.

Step by Step Guide to Paneer

The best thing about making homemade Paneer is that you know it will be fresh, it will never be  rubbery like storebought frozen cubed ones and you can infuse the milk with herbs and spices that will introduce a very subtle hint of flavor. It won't overpower and when used in curries, it will provide a distinct yet subtle edge.

Flavored with lime zest, parsley and cilantro

8 cups whole milk

1/4 c lime juice

1 tablespoon parsley

1 tablespoon cilantro

1 tablespoon lime zest

First, set a pot of milk over medium heat so that it can gently come to a boil. If I recommend using a non stick pot for anything this would be it. Make sure to stir frequently so that the milk does not stick.

Zest and juice one lime. Make sure not to get the white pith that is under the bright green peel because it's the pith that brings bitterness not the zest.

Line a strainer with cheesecloth that has been folded over four times. A single layer would not be strong enough to hold in the cheese.

Once the milk starts boiling add cilantro, parsley and the zest. It is all optional here, you can choose to add some other herb or crushed black pepper for a little kick.

Pour in lime juice and the protein will separate from the greenish whey. Turn off stove immediately as the longer you cook the harder the paneer gets. 

Strain out the cheese. You can use the whey to make bread or as soup stock if you like.

Grab the ends of the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese to squeeze out the excess whey.

Now place the paneer on a flat porus surface. and place a heavy pan on top of it.

The water will gently ooze out and you will get paneer that holds it's shape and does not crumble. 

Cut into cubes to use in curries or stir fries.  

Thai Green Curry

This is going to be another one of my pictorial endeavors. This is time it's Thai green curry. Will be posting the amounts soon. For now, gawk and enjoy.;)

How much you use is up to you. Can use more veggies if you want. Just make sure to gather all the ingredients together as the process goes pretty fast.

I have used lime leaves, red bell pepper, snow peas, baby corn, bamboo shoots and chinese long eggplants. Add carrots if you like.

Heat oil in a wok.

Add green curry paste and lime leaves. You want to fry these for about a minute so that the flavor of the lime leaves and the curry paste can come out and make beautiful chemistry in your wok.

Now add coconut cream. When you open an unshaken can of coconut milk the cream rises to the top. You just want to take the cream off gently and stir fry it for a few minutes. Don't get rid of the watery coconut milk though. That we shall use later.

I added the cream a little at a time.

Now add in your thinly sliced boneless chicken breast meat.

Keep stirring.

Now add baby corn and bamboo shoots.

Closely followed by eggplants.

And bell pepper. Use any color you like.

Give a quick stir to mix everything together.

Now add the coconut milk. Told you, we'd add it later.

Quick stir again.

Now add fish sauce.

Cover it up to let everything cook.

And snow peas. The snow peas cook really fast. So the trick is to add it when you are nearing the end. Afterwards add handfuls of Thai basil leaves. 

And serve the green curry in a vessel of your choice. 

Thai Flavored Whole Fish

I absolutely LOVE cooking whole fish. Although I mostly make fish curries, sometimes it feels good to have something a little different. The fish here is deep fried and then cooked using Thai ingredients that provides for an amazingly light yet flavorful sauce.     


I've used croaker for this recipe but feel free to use any white fish of your choice like tilapia or snapper. 


Recipe


Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min


Juice of 1 lime

Rice flour (Use corn starch or regular flour if you don't have rice flour on hand)
salt
1 cup oil for deep frying


Sauce:
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha (thai chili sauce)
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce (dark soy sauce is a sweeter, thicker version of regular soy sauce) (optional)
2 green chillies (don't slit the chillies if like your food less spicy )
1/4 cup water 
1/2 cup basil leaves 


Clean the fish really well and pat dry with a paper towel. Put 2-3 deep gashes into each of the sides of the fish at an angle. Make sure the gashes are at least an inch apart from each other or the fish will break when frying. Now rub the juice of one lime and salt (according to taste) on the fish and leave it to marinate for 10 minutes. Don't forget to rub some juice on the insides as well. 

 After marinating, sprinkle enough rice flour to gently coat the fish, shake off excess flour and deep fry till the fish is cooked completely. A perfectly fried fish will have crispy skin and the slashes will open up.

One great tip about frying fish- never flip the fish too early otherwise it will stick to the pan and break. Give each side 3-5 minutes before flipping over gently. 

Dry the fish on paper towel after you've fried it and heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan large enough to hold the fish. Put all the other ingredients except for the basil and cook for 2/3 minutes. Add a small amount of water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce starts to stick to the pot. Stir constantly while the sauce is cooking and taste test to see if it needs more salt. Now, add the fish and cook uncovered for 5 minutes on each side. 

The fish will soak up all the lovely flavors of the sauce within a few minutes and a few minutes before taking it off the heat add Thai basil. Regular basil works fine too but the subtle aroma of Thai basil enhances the flavor so much more that it's worth getting some. 

This fish is best served warm with enough rice to mop up all that delicious sauce.

As always.. ENJOY!! :)