Boston Bhukkads

A collective food memoir

[bostonbhukkads]

Kozhi Millagu Kuzhambu (Pepper chicken curry)

A chicken curry prepared with vibrant Indian black pepper masala!

Boston is 7F in the new year! We are freezing in the middle of snow storm Hercules.. what better way to warm ourselves than with the aromatic and spicy flavors of black pepper and mattai (kerala red) rice!

Ingredients

chicken - 1 lb

plain curd - 4 tbsp

dry ginger powder - 1 tsp

salt - to taste

turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

fennel - 1 tsp

cinnamon - 2 inch

bay leaf - 1

sesame oil - 1/4 cup (must)

salt - to taste

curry leaves - 1 sprig

Paste 1-

tomato - 3 (or 1 cup curd) 

onion - 1

garlic - 1 (full) 

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and fry the chopped onion, peeled garlic and saute. Then add the chopped tomato (or curd) and cook till it gets mushy. Let cool and grind to a fine paste.

To dry roast and grind-

Whole black Pepper - 2 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 3 tbsp

cumin - 1 tsp

cardamom - 5

cloves - 4

cinnamon - 2 inch

fennel - 1 tsp

black cumin - 1/4 tsp

mace - a thin strip

nutmeg - a tiny pinch

Marinate the chicken with a tsp of salt, curd, turmeric for an hour or two. Dry roast the spices above (just a minute is enough...don't let any of them char) and then dry grind. Heat oil in a wok and put fennel seeds, cinnamon, bay leaf and curry leaves. Then add the marinated chicken pieces and cook. Add the onion-tomato paste and cook covered with required salt. Finally, put the prepared dry masala powder, add dry ginger powder and mix well. Cook covered in medium heat till oil separates.

Garnish with fresh curry/coriander leaves and enjoy with rice or malabar parotta!

[bostonbhukkads]

Bhutte Ki Sabzi [corn curry]- Aditi from Rani Subramaniam

In cold cold Delhi winters, my ammu makes this super innovative and delicious dish. With abundance of CSA corn, figured let's give it a shot! Must say it brought back memories... aromas of crushed masalas... eating for long hours at the dining table in Dilli with family...bliss!

Ingredients

Corn ears (pressure cook with milk and water. keep aside)

Corn niblets

Onions (minced)

Tomato (finely diced)

Whole garam masala (roast and crush)

Cumin powder: Coriander powder (1:3)

Cinnamon

Clove

Yoghurt 

Ginger 

Garlic

Green chillis (ended up using some Jalapeno for a kick!)

In a wok, sauté the onions till brown, add all the four masala powders, coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli.  Add the ginger, garlic and green chillis. Then add the tomatoes and crushed garam masala. Crush and add the cinnamon and clove.  Add yoghurt and let boil till the consistency is like a thick gravy. Add the corn and salt to taste. Simmer till ready. 

Garnish with coriander!

[bostonbhukkads]

Mutton Qorma [Pronounced Korma]- Henry Ledlie

Ingredients

1 kg chicken / Mutton marinade in hung Dahi (yoghurt) Marinade for approximately half a day . Best to keep it overnight for the next day * Grill in tandoor or heated oven for about half and hour minimum . (Not a micro wave) 

namak (salt)

1 tea spoon red chilli

garlic + ginger

cashew (kaju)

Process

Heat oil . Add whole (sabut) Garam Masala and cook lightly till the flavors hit your nostrils. Add 2 to 3 Onions chopped and brown them slightly .  Add 2 to 3 grated or finely chopped tomatoes . Add one teaspoon ginger +1 teaspoon garlic and cook till you get volcanic eruptions. splatter splatter!!

[ and now this is the secret ] Add 10 pieces Kaju (cashews) ground with 2 table spoons of khuskhus to a paste . Cook a few minutes till the oil comes on top of the Masala .  Now add chicken/ Mutton which has been marinaded and tandoored and cook 10 -15 mins !!!!!!!!!!!! 

[bostonbhukkads]

Laab Kai [Thai Minced Chicken salad]- Henry Ledlie

Ingredients

Minced Chicken...let the mince be a lil bit chunky. Not too fine.

Gallangal...very finely chopped . The finer the better...but not a paste. Chicken stock cubes 

Water 

Fish sauce  

Lime Juice 

Dried red Chilly powder 

Gur (jaggery) or sugar...palm sugar is the best 

4 to 5 Shallots or red onions finely chopped  

3 to 4 sticks of Lemon Grass finely chopped  

6 to 8 Kaffir lime leaves very finely chopped 

2 to 3 Spring Onions coarsely chopped 

Coriander leaves coarsely chopped  

Mint leaves coarsely chopped 

Basil leaves coarsely chopped or torn in quarters / halves depending on how strong you want the taste 

Process

Take 500 to 600 ML of hot water and bring to a boil.

To the hot water add the Chicken Mince,the finely chopped Galangal , and 2 cubes of Chicken stock.

Cook /Boil till the mince turns white and the galangal is cooked 

Once cooked remove the water and only keep the dry mince /     Galangal. 

To the dried mince ADD the following : Fish sauce, lime juice, dried red   chilly powder & sugar. Remember the quantity is as per taste .....keep   on tasting the mince till you get it right. Mix it all up with the mince. 

Turn the flame off and-

Add the following to the above : 4 to 5 finely chopped  shallots/onions , 3 to 4 sticks of finely chopped lemon grass , 6 to 8  very  finely chopped Kaffir lime leaves . Add the above to the cooked mince meat & dry mix and stir.    Add the 2 to 3 spring onions , coriander leaves , mint leaves and the Basil leaves . Add all this to the cooked mince and once again dry mix and stir . No flame . Just dry mix . 

This mince can be served on fresh lettuce  or toast and even tastes SUPER with plain steamed rice.

Now sit back and enjoy this super Thai dish . 

[bostonbhukkads]

Fried Fish- Shyam Venugopal

When you go to a bar and order fried fish, you can expect to be given a plate of some tasteless goop fried in the dregs left over from the fractional distillation of crude oil. Seriously, how hard is it to add some salt and chilli powder to the fish. Here's how fried fish was meant to be made.

Ingredients 

Fish (preferably king or pomfret, but talapia will do nicely) - 1 pound sliced into fillets

Curry leaves

Pepper - 1 tsp (crush fresh pepper if possible)

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Salt - To taste

Lime juice - 1 tsp

Process

Mix spices and lime juice in a bowl.Mix well into a thick paste.  

Rub the marinate onto the fish pieces and set aside for 30 mins.

In a shallow frying pan, pour the oil and let it heat up. Add curry leaves and let them sputter.

Introduce the fish into the oil (Carefully for god's sake unless you want to look like this dude http://tinyurl.com/28353c ).

Let the fish fry for a few minutes. Flip it over; fry the other side.

Once both sides are golden brown, fish it out (no pun intended).

Soak up excess oil.

Garnish with lime juice and sliced onions.

Works best with rice and rasam.

[bostonbhukkads]

Rasam [Andhra Rasam] - Spandana

Ingredients

4 Medium to large tomatoes

Lemon (one half)

Ginger garlic paste

tamarind paste

Cilantro

one small onion

cumin

mustard seeds

little oil

dry red chillies

salt

red chilli powder

black pepper

Process

Grind the tomatoes into a rough paste . Add 4-5 glasses of water to the paste and put it on low heat for 15-20 minutes . As the water starts to slowly boil, add 3 tablespoons of tamarind paste, 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste (you can also chop fresh ginger and garlic into fine pieces) and let it simmer. Also squeeze one half lemon into the rasam (please be careful not to add the seeds of the lemon). Stir the mixture well.

On a different Kadai (wok) , add little oil and cumin and mustard seeds. Once they start sizzling, add chopped onions and saute them till they are brown. Add dry red chilles (2-3). 

Add the whole mixture from kadai to the boiling rasam. Add salt and red chilli powder to taste. After another 10 minutes or so, add a bit of black pepper and chopped cilantro. Ready to serve.

Can be eaten with rice as traditional rasam or can be served as light soup.

[bostonbhukkads]

Egg Fried Rice- Spandana

This is my most favorite recipe. Has never failed to bring a smile whenever I cook it.

Ingredients

10 eggs

3 cups of rice

salt

black pepper

peas, turmeric

1 large onion

cumin

garam masala

Process

Boil all the eggs. Once boiled, chop all the eggs into small cubes. I usually chop the egg with the yellow but if you so prefer, you can just use the whites as well. Please be ready to boil more eggs if you plan to just use the whites.

Cook white rice separately. Once cooked, let it cool for 5 minutes.

In a large kadai (wok), add some oil. Add cumin seeds, and once they start sizzling, add onions. Once onions are brown, add the chopped egg pieces and peas. Once the egg looks fried (light brown will appear on the egg white), add the rice. Add Salt, turmeric and black pepper and a pinch of garam masala. Mix well and let it look for 5 minutes.

Your egg fried rice is ready to serve. Things to remember... black pepper is the key in this recipe. Do not substitute with red chilli powder. It will taste completely different. The rice stays good for 3-4 days so I usually prefer to cook it on a Sunday for my week lunches. Add dahi (yogurt) and taste as well.

[bostonbhukkads]

Kerala Pepper Chicken- Aditi from Radha Venugopal

  Ma (Shyam's mom) wrote a book of recipes and shipped them off stateside with her son almost 10 years ago. I was so excited to try some of these recipes with Shyam. Here is one of them that never fails us!

On a cold cold day..this will surely hit the spot :)

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 pound cubed 

Ginger Garlic paste- 1 and 1/2 tsp

Freshly ground pepper- 2 tsp

Onions- 1 or 2 (sliced)

Green chillis- 2 or 3

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Marinate the chicken with salt, ginger garlic paste and the garam masala. Set aside for an hour. 

Fry the onions and green chillis in oil. Set aside. In the same pan, put the chicken and cook it with a little water. When it is 3/4 cooked, add the pepper and the fried onions. 

Cook it till it gets dry, adding oil when and if necessary. Add coriander to garnish!

Enzoi!

[bostonbhukkads]

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