Chicken Archives - Aayi's Recipes

Chicken Biryani With Coconut Milk

40 Comments / Chicken, My lunchbox, Rice items / By Shilpa

During Christmas holidays we visited our cousins in Boston. My cousin’s place, we had delicious and comfort vegetarian food, something I was craving a lot. At V’s cousin’s place, we had all non vegetarian meals. I was in a foodie’s heaven, amazing food at both places and we had a very relaxing time.

Make a big batch of it, as it is just out of this world and it disappears in no time.

This dish was prepared for us by V’s cousin’s wife Poornima Vaini. She made all-chicken dinner and lunch for us. Since I am a big Biryani lover, I really enjoyed this Biryani with coconut milk in it. She shared her recipe with me. I might have missed one or more steps, but this came out really well when I came back and made this. It is extremely easy one to make (I don’t know why it is called Biryani, because rice is not cooked separately here. Everything is mixed and cooked at once, but I will still stick to the name).

Ingredients:
1/2 kg (17oz approx) chicken
1/2 cup potato(optional)
2 cups basmati rice
2 cups(1 can) light coconut milk
3/4 cup onion slices
1/2 cup tomato
4-5 strands coriander leaves
1 tea spn biryani powder
1-2 tea spns chilli powder
A pinch turmeric
A tbl spn yogurt/curds
1 tea spn ginger paste1 tea spn garlic paste
Ghee/Oil
Salt
Whole Spices :
4-5 cloves
2″ cinnamon
4 green cardamom
2 bay leaves

Method:
Add ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder, yogurt, biryani masala and salt to chicken pieces. Mix well and keep aside for about 30mins.
Heat ghee/oil (I add both ghee and oil) and add all whole spices. Now add onion, salt and fry till they are brownish.
Add tomatoes and fry for few mins.
Add chicken along with all marinade and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add potatoes(optional).
Add rice and fry for few more minutes.
Now pour in the coconut milk and about 1 and 1/2 cups water, salt, mix well. Cover the lid and cook on a medium heat till done. Garnish with coriander leaves. Switch off heat and leave it as it is for about 15-20mins. Serve hot.
Serve with cold raita.

Serves : 4-5
Preparation time : 45mins

Vegetable-Chicken Curry and Puffs

2 Comments / Baby/Kid friendly, Breakfast or snacks, Chicken / By Shilpa

I always look for more ways to include both protein and vegetables into our meals. When I make chicken curry, I make a paste of cooked vegetables and add it to chapati dough or add vegetables to rice that is served with curry. But sometimes I make a curry with both chicken and vegetables. This vegetable-chicken curry is one such dish that my family really enjoyed.

The next day, I used the same curry to make puffs. My 7 year old loves puffs. This was a perfect way to get some interesting dish in his lunchbox. He even asked if there were leftovers after school.

Pictorial:
Marinate chicken.

Fry the spices.

Fry tomatoes in spices and grind. Then fry onions.

Add chicken and fry. Then add vegetables followed by spice paste. Cook till done.

Vegetable-Chicken Curry and Puffs

A tasty and healthy vegetable and chicken curry with coriander leaves and spices paste. The puffs are made by baking the dry curry in pastry sheets.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

1 lb about 1/2 kg boneless chicken
1/2 cup each green peas carrot, corn
1/4 cup spinach
1/4 cup tightly packed along with thick stems coriander leaves
3 green chillies
1 tea spn fresh ginger-garlic paste
1 tbl spn lemon juice
A pinch turmeric
1/2 cup tomatoes
1 tbl spn fresh/frozen or desiccated coconut
2 black cardamom moti elaichi
1/2 cup onion
Oil
Salt
Spices for the paste:
3 cloves
2 " cinnamon
1 tea spn coriander seeds
1 tea spn cumin seeds
1 tea spn poppy seeds khas khas
1 tea spn ani seeds saunf/badishep
For Puffs
2 puff pastry sheets

Instructions

Make a paste of coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger-garlic and lemon juice.
Marinate chicken in that paste with salt and turmeric.
In a little oil, fry cloves, cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, aniseeds.
Then fry tomatoes and coconut.
Make a paste and keep aside.
Heat oil and fry black cardamom, onions.
Then add chicken, fry for few minutes.
Add peas, carrot, corn, spinach.
Then add the paste, salt, water and cook till done.
For Puffs:
Preheat oven at 400F for 10mins.
Heat the curry till all the water is absorbed.
Cut pastry sheets into required size pieces.
Keep a small portion of the dry curry on it.
Seal the edges with water and press them down.
Bake for about 15mins (or according to packet instructions).
Serve hot with ketchup.

Spinach-Cashew Chicken

5 Comments / Chicken, Healthy Options / By Shilpa

Life has gotten so busy for me with a full time job and two little kids. Somedays I find it very hard to cook anything. I have been freezing food a lot, whenever I cook, I make the double the quantity and freeze half. So these become my weekday dinners. But once in a while – atleast once or twice a week, I make something different. It is my way to enjoy my favorite thing – cooking. Few days back, I prepared this delicious spinach cashew chicken curry.

I make this same dish with paneer or eggs instead of chicken sometimes. Black cardamom gives it a great aroma. Spinach base gives a healthy thick consistency. It goes so well with chapatis or rice.

Pictorial:

Spinach-Cashew Chicken

A very fragrant, delicious chicken with spinach and cashews.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

For the paste:
3 cloves
2 " cinnamon stick
1/2 tea spn coriander seeds
1/2 tea spn fennel seeds badishep
1/2 cup onions
2 cups spinach leaves
1/2 cup tomato
1 tea spn garam masala
For marinade
1/4 cup coriander leaves
3-4 green chillies
1 tea spn chopped ginger
1 tea spn chopped garlic
1 tbl spn plain yogurt curd
Other ingredients
1 lb 1/2 kg chicken
1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup onions
2-3 black cardamom moti elaichi
Oil
Salt

Instructions

Marinate chicken :
Make a paste of coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger, garlic.
Add the paste, yogurt(curd) and little salt to chicken pieces and leave it aside for about 30mins.
Make the masala paste:
Heat oil and add cumin, cinnamon, fennel seeds, coriander seeds.
Fry a bit and then add onion and fry till they are translucent.
Add garam masala and fry for few mins.
Then add tomatoes and cook till they are soft.
Add spinach leaves and a let them wilt a bit.
Make it into a smooth paste.
Make the curry
Heat oil in same pan and add black cardamom and onions.
Add cashews, followed by marinated chicken.
Fry for few minutes and then add the masala paste, salt.
Cover and cook till chicken is done.
Serve hot with chapatis/rotis or rice.

Pepper Masala Chicken

15 Comments / Chicken, Simple and Easy / By Shilpa

I have this crazy desire to make different kinds of chicken dishes every time. I change one or the other ingredient every time to see if I can come up with a new dish. Most of the times they all taste almost same even though I switch around something. V loves spicy chicken, so few weeks ago I tried this spicy pepper masala chicken. It reminded me of our days in Bangalore when we loved to eat at Andhra restaurants. I served it with simple spinach dal and rice. It was a very comforting meal.

Pictorial:
Fry onions and ginger-garlic paste.

Add all the dry masalas and fry for few minutes.

Add tomatoes and cook till they are mushy. Then add marinated chicken. Cook till done.

Pepper Masala Chicken

A spicy dry chicken recipe with pepper masala.

4.56 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings 3 -4

Ingredients

1 lb 1/2 kg approx boneless chicken
A pinch turmeric
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup tomatoes
1 tea spn chilli powder
1/2 tea spn coarse pepper powder
1 tea spn coriander powder
1 tea spn cumin powder
1/2 tea spn garam masala
1/2 tea spn amchoor powder
7-8 curry leaves
1 tea spn ginger garlic powder
1 tbl spn plain yogurt curd
Oil
Salt

Instructions

Apply turmeric powder, a little salt and yogurt to chicken pieces and keep aside for atleast 1 hr.
Heat oil, add curry leaves, onion, ginger-garlic paste.
Fry till onion is slightly brownish.
Now add all dry powders, fry for a min till nice aroma comes out.
Add tomatoes and fry till they are mushy.
Add chicken pieces and mix well.
Cover and cook till chicken is done. In between mix everything couple of times to make sure it doesn't burn.
Serve hot.

Chicken in Tomato Gravy

4 Comments / Chicken, Simple and Easy / By Shilpa

My almost 6 years old goes through food phases where he wants to eat same thing over and over again, after few days he is completely done with that dish. I try to enjoy the excitement while it lasts!. Right now he is in chicken-chapati phase. Anytime I ask him what he wants, that is what he says. I try to keep a check on it by making it once a week and not more. So I thought it was time to post this chicken in tomato gravy recipe.

My almost 2 year old is in terrible-twos. So making anything elaborate is hard. So I pick dishes (or come up with dishes) that take as less time as possible. This is a very simple chicken gravy I have been making from last few years. It literally takes 20mins to make (not including marinating time).

Pictorial:
Marinate chicken.

Fry onions, ginger-garlic. Then add all spices.

Add tomatoes and cook till they are mushy.

Add chicken and cook till done.

Chicken in Tomato Gravy

A quick chicken gravy cooked with a tomato base and dry masalas

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

1 lb approx 1/2 kg chicken
1 cup onions
1 cup tomatoes
1 tea spn grated or crushed ginger
1 tea spn grated or crushed garlic
2 tbl spns yogurt curd
1 tea spn cumin powder
1 tea spn coriander powder
1 tea spn garam masala
A pinch turmeric
1 tea spn chilli powder
3-4 cloves
2 " cinnamon
2 tbl spns chopped coriander leaves
Oil
Salt

Instructions

Add little salt, chilli powder, yogurt(curd), turmeric to chicken pieces and leave around for 30mins (or more).
Heat oil and add cloves, cinnamon.
Then add onions, ginger, garlic, salt (chicken already has salt, so be careful while adding more here).
Fry till the onions and translucent and then add all dry masalas - cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala.
Fry for few minutes till nice aroma comes out. Take care for to burn them.
Add the tomatoes and let them cook till they are mushy.
Now add marinated chicken and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Pour about 1 cup water, cover and let it cook till chicken is done.
Take off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with chapatis or rice.

Chicken Gravy with Mint

2 Comments / Chicken / By Shilpa

It was over a year ago, one of our neighbors had invited us for dinner. She made a chicken gravy with mint which was so good that I still remember the taste of it after a year. I meant to try recreate it, but never got to it. Finally I made it last week and it was so tasty. I don’t she followed the same recipe, I pretty much made it up.

Pictorial:
Marinate chicken pieces and keep aside.

Fry the ingredients for the paste and grind them.

Heat oil, fry onion, ginger-garlic paste and then tomato paste.

Add chicken, then mint, paste and cook till done.

Chicken Gravy with Mint

Delicious chicken gravy flavored with mint

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

1 lb 1/2 kg approx chicken
1 cup onion
2 tbl spn dessicated coconut
1 tea spn garam masala
1 tbl spn cashews
2 tea spns ginger-garlic paste
1 tea spn coriander seeds
2 red chillies
1 tbl spn tomato paste
1 tea spn chilli powder
1/4 cup mint leaves
Oil
Salt

Instructions

Apply salt, 1 tea spn ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder and leave aside for 30mins.
Heat oil and add coriander seeds.
When they are fried, add onion, red chillies and fry till onions are translucent.
Then add coconut, cashews, fry till the coconut turns brownish.
Add garam masala, fry for a minutes.
Grind to a smooth paste, keep it aside.
Heat oil and fry remaining onion(add little salt), ginger-garlic paste till onions turn brownish.
Add tomato paste, fry till raw smell goes off.
Add chicken and fry for a minute.
Then add chopped mint, already prepared paste, a little water, cover and cook till done.
Serve hot with chapatis or rice.

Chicken Curry with Black Cardamom

12 Comments / Chicken / By Shilpa

Last December when I was pregnant with Ayaan, I had invited few of my friends and their parents (who were visiting them) to dinner. I told aunty that I love chicken and she told me she will make something for me. She had only 1-2 weeks until she returned to India. She was very sweet to take out time in the busy schedule to cook and send a big batch of chicken curry.

If there is one spice that is commonly used in Indian cooking that I cannot stand, it is black cardamom. I have tried it in different ways and somehow I never liked the aroma of it. But that cardamom did something magical to this chicken curry. It reminded me the chicken curry that I used to love eating in restaurants back home. I won’t lie, I did not want to share it with V or Ishaan. Yes, I was very mean. Comeon, I was 7 months pregnant and someone had sent me something that I really loved. I must have given them just few spoons of curry and I pretty much finished everything else. Then I asked aunty for the recipe and she was very kind to share it with me.

I have tried this couple of times. I did not want to buy black cardamom for this one dish, so I prepared it without that few times. But it never came out like aunty’s. Then I bought a small pack of black cardamom and tried again and it made such a huge difference to the curry.

Pictorial:
Half cook the chicken in spices.

Heat oil and fry whole spices, ginger-garlic paste.

Add the powders, fry for few minutes. Add chicken and cook.

Chicken Curry with Black Cardamom

Flavorful chicken curry spiced with black cardamom and other whole spices.

4.34 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings 7 -8

Ingredients

1 kg Chicken
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup roughly chopped onion this will go into paste
1 cup of dry coconut
2 tbl spn poppy seeds khuskhus
1 tbl spn sesame seeds til
2 tbl spn ginger garlic paste
A pinch turmeric
2 tbl spn coriander powder
1 tbl spn red chili powder
1 tbl spn spn garam masala
1/2 tea spn cardamom powder
Salt

Whole spices :

2 " cinnamon
2-3 cloves
3-4 black cardamom masala velchi/moti elaichi
3-4 peppercorns
2 bay leaves

Instructions

Dry roast poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dry coconut, cool them and grind to powder.
In a pan, heat oil and fry the roughly chopped onion till they are golden brown and grind to a paste.
Heat oil and add finely chopped onion, 1 tbl spn ginger garlic paste.
Fry till the onions are translucent.
Add turmeric, coriander powder, red chilli powder, fry for a minute.
Add the chicken, salt and cook till chicken is halfway cooked.
In a separate pan, heat oil and add whole spices.
Add remaining ginger-garlic paste, ground coconut, poppy seeds, sesame seed powders, onion paste, cardamom powder, garam masala.
Fry for few minutes and then add the half cooked chicken.
Add water to bring it to required consistancy. Adjust salt.
Serve hot.

Venkat Chicken Gravy

10 Comments / Chicken, NonVeg / By Naveen

In Object Oriented Programming word, whenever there is clash between names, programmers prefix it with another name to make whole phrase unique. If there is a clash between function names, prefixing with object names them unique in that space. If there is clash between different objects of different classes, concept of namespaces comes to rescue. Prefixing with namespace resolves clashes when it comes to compiling. We do see this at many places in real life too. This generation of people at Kodkani used this so effectively to identify persons when there is such ‘identity crisis’. When my grandfather was alive, at my native there were multiple ‘Ram Annas’ working at different places. The Ram Anna who was working at post office was called ‘Post Ram Anna’. The other Ram Anna who was having shop called ‘Aangadi Ram Anna’(Aangadi means shop in Konkani/Kannada). There were multiple Mukund annas too. The one who lived in Aachari Hittal(an area in Kodkani) was called ‘Achari Hittal Mukundanna’, the other elderly person lived close to barron land and hence was referred ‘Bena vailo Mukundanna’. Such a simple concept was perhaps adopted while implementing compilers later!!

This recipe name must be quite puzzling. But this is how it is referred in my house as this recipe comes from a friend Venkat who is ex-colleague. He generally does not like eating outside his house and had invited us to his house once. This dish was prepared at his house and we liked and asked the name. He said for us chicken means this is it. When we say there is chicken today, it means it is only this chicken. We took recipe from him and in fact from his wife and prepared few times. It was liked by everybody. However as we prepare variety of chicken gravies and for us it is one amongst many gravies, we had to give a unique name – now over the years for us ‘Venkat’s chicken’ means it is this chicken gravy. This new brand was born few years back but recipe was perhaps established one at his place but certainly new to us.

Pictorial:
Take the garam masala ingredients.

Dry roast all the garam masala ingredients and grind to a powder.

Take gravy ingredients.

Fry onions, chilies. Add the chicken.

Add the spices.

Add the ground spice. cook for sometime and then coriander leaves.

Venkat Chicken Gravy

Chicken is cooked in a flavorful gravy prepared by grinding fresh spices and coconut to make this spicy and tasty chicken gravy.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

1/2 kg Chicken
1 cup grated Coconut
2 tb spns Ginger garlic paste we always prepare paste fresh and never use readymade paste
1 chopped medium sized onion
5 Green chillies
2 tbl spns Red chilli powder
1/4 tbl spn Turmeric powder
4-5 strands Coriander leaves
Salt
4 or 5 tbl spns Oil

For Garam masala powder:

4 tea spns Coriander seeds
1 tbl spn Poppy seeds
2 pieces 2 inch Cinnamon
5 Cloves
2 Cardamom
2-3 Peppercorns

Instructions

Heat 4 tbl spoons of oil in a pan.
Add chopped onion and slit green chilies, shallow fry them.
Add cleaned and washed fresh chicken to bowl. Fry for 10 minutes under light flame
Add salt, turmeric powder, stir it and leave for 5 minutes.
Add Ginger-garlic paste, chilly powder.
Cook it for 5 minutes.
Add water as per gravy requirement (until chicken pieces are immersed in water upto another 1/3rd of content, as gravy thickens later)
Cook until water gets bubbles.
Dry roast Garam masala ingredients mentioned above along with grated coconut and make powder. Add to the mixture above.
Add salt and bring to boil.
Add chopped coriander leaves.
Cook it for 5 minutes and stop the flame (once the gravy turns thick).
Serve with bread or rotis.

Notes

We always prepare ginger-garlic paste fresh and never use ready-made paste. We feel that gives a better flavor.
If you like to have slight variation, try adding Gongura leaves to get different taste and flavor. You may want to soak few Gongura leaves in hot water for few minutes, blanch and rinse them with normal water and add, while preparing this dish.
Add coriander leaves.
However this is not part of Venkat’s recipe and we did not want to dilute ‘brand Venkat’.

Chicken Curry with Onion – Tomato paste

5 Comments / Chicken / By Shilpa

Chicken Curry with Tomato - Onion Paste — Chicken Curry with Tomato – Onion Paste

My brother and his family hired a cook two years back, after they had a baby. Since my brother is a great cook himself (and a hard critic), when he says something I feel like I should taste it immediately. Few months back he said he likes the chicken dishes prepared by his cook. Then when my parents were visiting them, they noted down the recipe of few of the dishes. This chicken curry with onion-tomato paste is one of them. It is very simple to make and tastes delicious. By the way, I have run out of ideas for recipe names!.

Pictorial:
Make a paste of onions, green chilli and tomatoes.

Heat oil and add whole spice.

Add onions, ginger garlic paste and cook. Add marinated chicken.

Add spices and beaten yogurt.

Add chili powder, paste.

Cook till done.

Chicken Curry with Onion-Tomato paste

A spicy chicken curry made with a base of raw onions and tomato.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Total Time 35

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

1/2 kg chicken
1 and 1/2 cups onion
1 cup tomato
1 cup yogurt
1 tea spn garam masala
3 green chillies
1 tea spn chilli powder optional
4 cloves
2 " cinnamon
1 bay leaf
2 cardamom
2 tea spns ginger-garlic paste
A pinch turmeric
4-5 strands coriander leaves
Salt
Oil

Instructions

Add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, a little salt and 2 tbl spn yogurt to chicken pieces and keep it aside for 30mins.
Heat a little oil and add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom. When a nice aroma starts coming, add 3/4 cup onions, 1 tea spn ginger-garlic paste to it and fry till translucent.
Now add the chicken and fry for few minutes. add garam masala and salt. Mix well.
Make a paste of 3/4 cup onion, green chillies, tomato to a paste and add it to chicken pieces, mix well.
Beat the yogurt well and pour it in chicken. If necessary, add the red chilli powder.
Cover and let it cook till chicken is completely done (you can cook in pressure cooker, I just cook on stovetop).
Garnish with coriander leaves(optional). Serve hot.

Chicken Curry with Garam Masala

6 Comments / Chicken / By Shilpa

Finally I have started cooking with bone-in chicken. I am yet to find already cut bone-in Organic chicken here in grocery stores. So I always cooked with boneless chicken. I know it is very easy to cut a whole chicken, I have seen so many videos, but I still cannot get myself to do it. Few months back, one of my friends sent me a chicken curry with bone-in chicken. I don’t know if it was the pregnancy or if it was really that good, I started craving for bone-in chicken. So now V buys whole chicken from Whole Foods Market and gets it cut every time. Since I am trying to include more chicken in our diet, you will see more chicken recipes here in coming days.

These days I try to make something very simple and hearty for lunch and dinner. I made up this recipe last time and it came out so well. We have really started to like curry leaves and chicken combination – which we were not very used to before.

Ingredients:
1 lb (approx 1/2 kg) chicken
1 tea spn garam masala
1 tea spn ginger-garlic paste
1 tea spn chopped ginger
1 tea spn chopped garlic
5-6 strands coriander leaves
10-12 curry leaves
1 tbl spn yogurt
3/4 cup onion
1 tbl spn fresh/frozen coconut
1 tea spn chilli powder
1/2 cup tomato
A pinch turmeric
Oil
Salt

Method:

Apply ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, a little salt, turmeric to chicken and keep aside for atleast 30mins.

Heat oil and fry 1/2 cup onion, 1/4 cup tomato, ginger and garlic. When they are translucent add chilli powder, turmeric, 1/2 tea spn garam masala, coconut. Fry for few minutes. Grind with coriander leaves.

Heat a little oil in same pan, add remaining onions and 5-6 curry leaves. When the onions turn translucent, add marinated chicken. Fry for few minutes. Add remaining tomato, ground paste, salt. Cook till the chicken is completely cooked.
Now sprinkle remaining garam masala and remaining curry leaves. Cook for 1-2mins.
Serve hot with chapatis.

Serves : 3-4
Preparation time : 25mins