It is again after a long time I am writing a post. I have only myself to blame. Shuttling between a school that I have joined recently , baking some goodies for my customers, taking care of my home leaves me so drained at the end of the day. Well, I intend to get back to regularly sharing a few of my favourite recipes that I go back to time and again.

From Saffron to dried fruits, Kashmiri cuisine is a treasure chest filled with flavour. It’s where I would say any meat cooked with spice comes together in beautiful harmony

This particular dish is one of my favourites. It’s an old favourite I learnt years ago.The subtle aroma, the colour, the mild flavour and the taste is just something else. To put it mildly, I’m hoping this will be your go-to recipe when you find yourself in a spot. It’s a basic garnish that’s on the post, but there are several ways you can dress this dish up. Roasted cashewnuts on top, a swirl of cream, fried onions, or even a few saffron threads dipped in milk. This dish is a wonderful balance of spice and flavour.

Do try it out and leave your comments below.

Ingredients:

• Chicken -1 kg
• Turmeric powder -1 tsp and salt

Paste 1 (Spices)

• Kashmiri chillies -15 or 2 -3 tbsp of Kashmiri chilli powder
• Shah jeera/ black jeera -1 tsp
• Mustard -1 tsp
• Pepper pods -1 tsp
• Cloves-4
• Cinnamon-2
• Green Cardamom-2

Paste 2

• Ginger -2 “ piece
• Garlic -2 pods Or
• Ginger- garlic paste -3 tbsp

Paste-3

• Cashewnuts -12
• Tomatoes blanched -3
• Kismis -3 tbsp

Other ingredients:

• Onions -4 sliced fine
• Curd-1/2 cup
• Salt to taste
• Oil
• Coriander leaves

Method:

• Rub the chicken with turmeric and salt and lightly shallow fry. (Optional step)
• In oil/ ghee, fry sliced onions till golden brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste and fry till fragrant.
• Add the spice paste and fry well
• Add beaten curd and tomato paste and fry well.
• Simmer on a low flame till you see oil pockets.
• Add chicken and stir till well coated.
• Add a cup of water and cook chicken till tender.
• Taste and balance with addition of salt/ sugar.
• You can use a mixture of oil and ghee for this dish.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with a light pulao or any Indian bread.

Chefs tips:

• The weight of the chicken should be around 1 kg.
• Soak the Kashmiri chillies in hot water for 10 minutes and then grind along with the other spices.
• Shah jeera is also called black jeera.
• Add a little salt while frying the onions, the onions will turn brown quicker.
• To blanch tomatoes, bring water to a boil. Prick tomatoes with a fork all over and place in the water for a couple of minutes. Remove the skin and make a paste with the other ingredients.
• The colour of the dish depends on how brown you fry the onions and the amount of chilli powder added. Kashmiri chilli powder is less pungent but adds to the colour of the dish dramatically.
• In the place of kismis, you can use dried apricots.
• For a simple pulao check out peas pulao on my site.
• This dish serves 6-8 adults.

Till my next post,

Cheers,

Rose