Chicken Ghee Roast (Mangalorian)

I did not know about this fantastic Mangalorian preparation until I joined a few Food Groups. The dish was posted on one of the forums and I drooled! I had guests coming over that night. There was an immediate change of menu and this was going to be the 'Star' at my party that night. 

'Ghee Roast' is said to be native to coastal Karnataka and apparently originated in Kundapur (near Udupi).
If you read the recipe you will realise that the ingredients are going to create something amazing. Chicken roasted in ghee (clarified butter) with a perfect combination of spicy and tart ingredients. The bright red color just adds to the beauty of this dish. Once I was done cooking, I had to hide it from myself in the refrigerator. It was just too tempting!

Now, you could make this dish healthy by reducing the quantity of ghee, but I think it will miss that distinct aroma and flavor which roasting in ghee gives it. I would suggest indulging in this heavenly delicacy only occasionally.
This preparation is supposed to be really dry and not with a little gravy like I have made it. But I needed this dish to go well with the soft dosas I was going to prepare. So a little gravy worked great for us.
The bright color of this dish is because of the 'Byadgi chillies' I have used. These chillies give more color than spice.

Am sure by now, you all are looking forward to skipping right to the recipe instead of reading what I have to say. So without further delay, let me get to the recipe.

Level: Easy
Serves: 5 to 6 people
Adapted from: Cherie's Stolen Recipes, RuchikRandhap

Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken (bone-in, cut into medium pieces)

Marinade:
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup + 2 tblsp yogurt
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

5 - 6 tblsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp sugar
10 - 15 curry leaves
20 dry red chillied (8 - 10 if you have the spicy variety at home)
15 black peppercorns
1 tblsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
10 - 12 garlic flakes
1 tsp tamarind paste (or to taste)
Coriander to decorate

Method:
Step 1 - We have to thicken the yogurt a little. Tie yogurt in a muslin cloth and let it hang for 30 mins or like me just plop the yogurt in a large fine strainer and let it drain for an hour.

Step 2 - Wash the chicken well and pat dry. Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl and apply it well to the chicken pieces. Make sure the marinade coats all the chicken pieces well. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Overnight works best).

Step 3 - Let us make the masala. Heat a medium sized pan on medium low heat. Dry roast the red chillies. Let them change their color slightly. Make sure you do not burn these. Burnt chillies will totally spoil your dish as this is our star ingredient. Remove them onto a plate. Now add the peppercorns, coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Dry roast them till coriander seeds turn brownish and it gives out a great roasted aroma. Remove these onto the plate too.

Step 4 - In a mixer bowl, blend together the roasted spices, garlic cloves and tamarind with as little water as possible to form a thick paste. Use less tamarind if you are not sure how sour your brand is. We can always adjust it later in the preparation. Keep aside.

Step 5 - Take a wide heavy bottomed pot. Heat the clarified butter. When the butter is hot, add in the marinated chicken and stir it for a good 8 - 10 mins on medium or medium high heat. Cook the chicken till it is almost done (90%). Transfer the chicken pieces onto a plate. Do not pour out the ghee. We will use it in our cooking ahead.

Step 6 - In the same pan add the ground masala paste from step 4 and saute it for 6 - 7 mins on medium heat till the raw smell of the spices vanishes and oil starts to leave the sides of the pot.

Step 7 - Add the cooked chicken pieces back into the pot. Add a little water (1/4 cup) if the entire mixture is too dry and is sticking to the pot. Cook well together on medium heat, stirring occassionally till the mixture gets as dry as you would like and coats the chicken pieces well. Add sugar and mix lightly.

Garnish with curry leaves and coriander leaves.
This tastes best when served hot with some Neer Dosas, but I do not have a grinder that behaves! So we settle for some nice soft thin dosas made from the ready made batter we get from our Indian Stores. You can serve these with plain steamed rice or hot chapatis too. Heaven!

Happy Drooling Everyone!

Paratleli Batata Bhaji (Pan Fried Potatoes)

What do you do when you suddenly realize that your guest list has increased by 5? Add in some super quick dish.
Nothing can be as super quick as this 'Paratleli Batata Bhaji'. But such a regular dish besides gems like mutton, chicken, fish...nahhh...
Remedy.. make it pretty! And that is just what I did!

Everyone loves this preparation and if you are a Maharashtrian, this is one of the regulars at your dinner table. But if it has to be presented at a party, you cannot just randomly chop the potatoes and make the dish look blah!
The other benefit of chopping the potatoes like I have, is that the dish gets cooked in less than 10-12 mins. Jackpot!
That being said, you can always save time by roughly chopping potatoes into medium to small cubes and continue with the preparations.

So here is a super quick, pretty and a party favorite recipe for all of you!

Serves: 6 to 8 people
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
12 medium potatoes, chopped into tiny cubes
0.5 tsp mustard seeds
3 pinch asafoetida
1.5 tsp cumin seeds
0.75 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chilly powder or to taste
4 - 5 tblsp oil
Salt to taste
2 pinch sugar
Coriander to decorate

Method:
Step 1 - Chop the potatoes as pretty as you can and submerge them in water so they do not change color.

Step 2 - Take a flat pan and heat some oil in it. Add in the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the asafoetida and cumin seeds. Stir them a little till they change color.

Step 3 - Add the turmeric and saute it for 2 - 3 seconds. Do not let it go brown. Immediately add the potatoes and stir them around till they are all well coated with the oil and turmeric. Then, just spread them around in a single layer and let them cook on a medium flame. Stir occasionally.

Step 4 - When the potatoes are 50% cooked, add the red chilly powder, sugar and salt. Saute for a couple of minutes so the spices spread all over the potatoes. Cook till the potatoes are done.

Decorate with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with some soft hot chapatis.

Tips:
Many homes cook this dish with only mustard seeds or only cumin seeds. So you can use whatever you would enjoy.

Do not over handle the potatoes. You want them to brown a little while cooking. So stir only if you think they are sticking to the bottom of your pan or burning.

Try and use a flat pan for this recipe so that all the potatoes can be spread in a single layer and they don't pile on each other. Piling could cook a few potatoes too soon and some might remain raw. Plus you will not get proper browning of the potatoes.