Thursday, July 16, 2009

Simbalee Chickun

Looks like I am on the quest of "ek se anek". Same basic ingredients but wide variety of end products.
As with Dahi/Hung curd( refer earlier post), Chicken also lends itself to numerous preparations yes, even with the same ingredients like tamatar, pyaaz. Ever wondered why the dahi chicken that you make tastes so very different from your friends?
Whenever I think I have mastered all the possible ways of making chicken I discover yet another new way of making it with almost the same ingredients, with only a slight shift in that fine balance of ingredients.

The one I reproduce below is really quick and easy to prepare. Very few ingredients, very little chopping and unless you look closely the ingredients and the method sounds deceptively similar to the way most of us cook our chicken. But the elaichi powder( an unusual ingredient in non-vegetarin cooking, usually added either as mixed garam masala or as a whole spice) gives it a nice aroma, subtle flavor and authentic taste.

Elaichi Murg( A Sindhi Dish)

Ingredients
500 grams of chicken
1 finely chopped onion( though I tend to use two)
1 finely chopped tomato
Elaichi powder( freshly pounded): 1 tsp
Garam Masala: 1 tsp
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil: 1 tsp( if making on a non-stick, can avoid the oil completely)

Method
  • Heat a non-stick pan and add a tsp of oil, add the onion and fry till they brown
  • Next add the chicken, salt and pepper and mix well.
  • Add the tomatoes, 1/2 tsp elaichi powder and garam masala. Cover and cook for close to 10/15 minutes on low heat
  • Remove the lid( chicken would have left a lot of water), increase the heat and dry the dish( if you plan to have this with rotis as I did then I would suggest you leave a little bit of the water as gravy), sprinkle the remaining elaichi powder.
  • Serve hot.

Suggested accompaniment: Vegetable Pulao and Palak Raita. Goes equally well with rotis.

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