
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
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 Gravy with Mint
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.

Few days back my friend Mahi had invited us for dinner and she made a delicious mango dal. It reminded me of the big batch of frozen mangoes I had bought from Costco. It was another purchase on the whim. I never made anything with them. I usually make mango dal using this recipe . This time I wanted to try something different.
When I started making it, I remembered a big batch of roasted fenugreek(methi) seeds powder that aayi made for me when she was here last year. I was supposed to consume that batch after Ayaan’s birth. I religiously did for a while, but there was only so much time left for myself after taking care of a 4 year old and an infant. Most of the days I was happy to put a decent meal on the table and find enough time to sit and eat. So the fenugreek powder stayed there. I used it in this dal and it elevated the taste of this simple dal. I have made this once every week since then. Even the boys enjoys it very much.

Pictorial: Cook dal with mangoes. Add spices, salt. Put seasoning and serve.
Mango Dal (With Fenugreek/Methi)
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal
- 1 cup mangoes sweetish ones
- 1 tea spn red chilli powder
- 1 tea spn roasted fenugreek methi powder
- 3-4 kokum pieces or 1/2 tea spn tamarind extract
- A pinch turmeric
- 1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
- 4-5 curry leaves
- Oil/ghee
- Salt
Instructions
- Roast fenugreek seeds (without oil) till a nice aroma comes out. Make a powder and keep aside (this remains good for a long time when stored in airtight container).
- Cook toor dal with mango pieces, turmeric in pressure cooker (about 3-4 whistles).
- When pressure cooker is cooled down, mash dal with the back of the spoon.
- Add enough water to bring to required consistency.
- Add chilli powder, fenugreek powder, salt, kokum(or tamarind), boil it for few minutes. Take off the heat.
- Heat a little oil and add mustard seeds.
- When they start popping, add curry leaves.
- Pour the seasoning over dal.
- Serve hot with rice and ghee.