Project Spinach Chicken

The day marked its beginning at 11.20 am when I uttered ‘wow’ in pure delight after tasting my spinach chicken. It was a perfect blend of spices and no red chillies in it, as I am trying to avoid the powder form. Four years in South Korea has made my stomach lining prone to red chilli attacks in every other form. Since I have had enough, I decided to shift to green chillies only and keep it minimal. The best part is contrary to my expectation it worked just fine. 

My little red pressure cooker is working overtime with all the cooking. The spinach chicken was cooked entirely and wholly in this wonderful cooker. This time I chose to introduce three new changes in the preparation. Instead of dicing or chopping onions, tomatoes and spinach, I decided to put each one separately in the mixer and run it till it became a paste. Second, I marinated the boneless chicken overnight with Smith and Jones ginger and garlic paste and third, I did not use red chilli powder at all, only three green chillies.

For each vegetable gives a separate flavour and a distinct aroma, it is important to separate them while preparing the gravy. For example, I used four mid-sized onions for one kilo boneless chicken. After washing them and cutting them I made the paste. In the mixer I also added cloves of garlic that I had peeled yesterday, ginger root and three green chillies. All these ingredients have a strong flavour and take time to cook, so all this goes in first. For stir frying I used refined vegetable oil. It took a good half an hour to cook. How to know that it has been cooked? Simple, the paste starts separating from oil. Next, after making a paste of five tomatoes I added it along with premixed spices in water to the prepared onion paste in oil. I added salt, (not too much, remember you also put it when you marinated the chicken), coriander powder, MDH kitchen king, and garam masala. Then I let it heat and heat.

Once the gravy was ready, I added the already marinated chicken. The gravy gave a rich aroma of spices along with ginger and garlic. It has to give a balanced aroma, not too tangy not too harsh. Then in the end, the show stealer arrived when the entire gravy turned into a magnificent green mixed with deep orange and swept into soft, moist pieces of chicken. I added the spinach paste at last.

The entire spinach chicken takes one-pressure-cooker-whistle long to cook. I like to leave it in the cooker, switch off the gas after the first whistle and let it rest. Let it cool off and rest while all the ingredients mix well and the chicken gets softer with the left over heat. Eating is an activity that involves all our senses- sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. The colours of spices blending with colours of vegetables is a wonderful sight, sound of spices being added to hot oil adds to the joy of cooking. While we eat, we taste food and smell its aroma. The aroma begins to tingle with our senses since the first jeera chonk is put in hot oil. 

In India, we eat with our hands, this unique act makes us privileged to actually touch the texture of what we are eating. As Oprahji observed in her recent visit to mysterious land of India, where people dwell and prosper in ‘Slumdog Millionaire –esqe’ life we still eat with our hands, where she had food from katori and thali- the Indian way. In Circuit’s words ‘poor Indians, hungry Indians’, and eating with hands Indians. 

Eating with hands evoke certain emotions that kindle senses and makes you connect to the food. It is like an innately warm and gentle caress. It is like building a sensual connection with food that is to be devoured with passion and care mingled together, followed by warmth and satisfaction of consuming it. Food is not just about carb, protein and fibre, it is about enjoying the aroma, touching the texture and feeling the food melt in your mouth. Your hands dip in while your fingers reach for the food. Eating has to be an experience not just an act. 

Spinach Chicken

It is time for me to experience the spinach chicken. Bon Appetite!!

Foodie Day

Did you know that soaking garlic in water makes it easier to peel off later? I had a discovery time today when I found that out, along with lesser acknowledged fact of what a great cook I can be. 

Today can be safely termed as Kitchen Day for me. The morning started with time perfected recipe of tomato cheese sandwich made from multi-grain bread and fresh tomatoes. The best way in monsoon for a crisp toast is to heat pan and toast the bread lightly before spreading the creamy cheese on it, for me I prefer Amul cheese spread original. It leaves me with choice of flavour of the day and variety of taste I can make. Today I chose the simple and salty, tangy chaat masala flavour. Many a times I find that tomatoes keep slipping out from between the bread slices. This time I found a solution to that. If you spread cheese on both sides of bread followed by a dash of salt and chaat masala it sticks together neatly. Along with that the perfect companion was my mug full of black coffee. It was a start to a perfect day. The wind flowing in from French windows and the wind chime singing along.

It poured today morning. When it rained in Delhi after long dry spell it used to smell of mud. From where I live, when it rains it smells of faeces, defecations, excretions and sewage from all around. Danny Boyle would have his set ready for Slumdog Malad, right over here. The street where I live is literally filled with slums and dogs. Each of these dogs has their area divided and each has its own loyalty to the slum it dwells in. They have a special affinity to the garbage and trash cans so liberally distributed all over the road. The rains bring along with the slush, litters of open garbage on road making travel even more challenging.

Aloo Matar

As luck would have it I myself had to go out today morning to get things from local market. The tomato sandwich setting mood for the day, I craved for more foodie time. I picked up the alteration clothing from local tailor, who by the way did a lousy job, making it even more important to divert myself into foodie time to recuperate. My first stop was at cold storage shop from where I bought chicken, then off to veggie mart. The craving for the day was for spinach chicken and aloo matar with chapatti.

My favourite utensil for cooking anything is the pressure cooker. It amazed my American friends to see the beauty and the simplicity of this utensil. It is so much easier than a frying pan or kadhai. So my first project was to cook aloo matar. With tomato as base I stir fried chopped tomatoes in cooker. Now this time after they were done, I took a small bowl put all spices in it, added water to it and stirred it then added to the tomatoes. Each work package was neatly followed by side by side washing up too, monitoring and controlling time while achieving target. Once the project closure was achieved it was time to unwind after lunch. That is when I discovered soaked garlic peel easy while I was doing that after lunch for chicken preparations. The cooking and pre-prep took all post-afternoon. Before I knew I could hear the colony kids screeching headlong downstairs and running all over the place, marking beginning of evening.

The Basket Lights

The living room French windows were open with breeze passing in as I tapped away on my lappy sitting on the floor and listening to the wind chime. The clothes drying themselves in the wind brought in fragrance of fresh laundry. I got tired of waiting for a sunny day, and decided to wash them despite rain. I got lucky; the rain did not slash itself again later today.  However the sluggish flow of garbage continued in the creek behind as I watched the slum-dogs waking up from their siesta and taking a walk in their arena. It is time from me to switch on my little lights from Bombay Store, or as I like to call them the basket lights in a string and mark the sunset time and welcome twilight.

P.S.: I have marinated the chicken and put it in fridge; tomorrow’s project – spinach chicken.