My brother visited us over this weekend. He came to US on a short trip for some office work and before leaving for India, he wanted to meet me and give me loads of home made stuff. We had amazing 3 days. As usual, we had loads of fun, we fought most of the time for silly things, but when he was leaving today, I started feeling so homesick :(. Even though I wanted to cook so many things for him, I hardly cooked anything when he was here. We ate in different restaurants all the time. But on Sunday he wanted to have some home made stuff and he asked me to cook chicken (he is a great chicken fan). Since my husband is not a big fan of chicken, I hardly cook when we are alone. So my brother asked me to cook something which is in my to-cook list for a long time. The moment he said, I knew what I was going to cook.
This recipe is from a Kannada magazine. There was an article about Bunt’s food . I have heard a lot about their food and always wanted to try it. Bunts (or at least the Bunts I know) love chicken. Their chicken gravy and kori rotti is a super hit combo. Since none of us like this papad like kori rotti , I served this great tasting chicken gravy with chapathis and rice.
My brother and husband both simply loved it. They said they could get the authentic taste. This has a very prominent coconut taste to it. To reduce cooking time, I used ready made coconut milk, but freshly extracted coconut milk would taste even better. The gravy tastes better and better as time passes. Make sure to use fresh chicken for better results.
Ingredients: 10-12 pieces chicken 1 and 1/2 cups thick coconut milk 1/2 cup fresh/frozen coconut 1 cup chopped onion 1 tea spn chopped garlic 1 tea spn chopped ginger 5-6 red chilies 1/4 tea spn fenugreek( methi ) seeds 5-6 cloves 1″ cinnamon 1/4 tea spn tamarind extract or 2 pieces tamarind Ghee A pinch turmeric 4-5 strands coriander leaves(optional) Salt
Method: Dry roast red chilies, fenugreek seeds, cloves and cinnamon. Keep them aside. Heat ghee and fry ginger, garlic and 1/3rd cup onion. Fry till onion turns slightly brownish. Add coconut and fry till coconut turns brownish. Grind this along with the roasted spices and tamarind to a smooth paste. Cook chicken pieces in coconut milk, 1/2 cup water and 1/3rd cup raw onion till the chicken pieces are done. Now add turmeric, salt, ground masala and cook for about 7-8mins till the gravy slightly thickens. Garnish with coriander leaves. Heat remaining ghee and fry remaining 1/3rd cup onion till they turn brownish. Pour this on the gravy. Serve hot.
Serves : 3-4 Preparation time : 30mins
PS: Along with chapathis , I served this with basmati rice. While cooking rice, I added 2 cloves and 1 cardamom to it. This resulted in a very fragrant rice which went very well with this gravy.
Back at my native, we have many jackfruit trees in our yard. During season, these trees had loads of jackfruits which were treat to the eyes. Aayi prepares many dishes with it, but this one is everybody’s favorite (as I said, I never liked it while growing up). She used to make this very often but somehow I never developed a taste for it. But when I found the jackfruit here, suddenly I started missing this dish. This time, I loved it too much.
Cutting jackfruit is a big task. I am posting a picture for the newbies. Make sure to use a very sharp knife. Better yet, use a addoli or advali or mettugathi to cut it. Use a bowl of water to put the pieces in after cutting. Preferably cut them on a paper to avoid the gum dropping on the floor and making a mess. Before touching it, apply some oil to hands to avoid sticking.
Cut the hard inside part and discard. Cut the thick skin. If the seeds are grown and are too hard, peel them and then use. Make small pieces.
Ingredients: 2 cups jackfruit pieces 3/4 cup fresh/frozen coconut 4-5 red chilies 3-4 teppal /sichuan pepper 2-3 pieces kokum 1/2 cup toor dal A pinch turmeric Salt
Method: Cook dal and jackfruit with a turmeric. (Preferably use two cooker vessels. In one, put jackfruit and in the other, put dal ). Grind coconut and red chilies to a very smooth paste. When done, put the teppal in same masala and slightly crush it(grind for a second. Make sure not to grind the teppal for long, it creates a very bad if it becomes paste). Take the dal , jackfruit and masala in a pan and cook. Add salt, kokum, mix well and cook for 7-8mins. Serve hot with rice.
Serves : 4-5 Preparation time : 30mins
