Kashmiri Chicken

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We are having a long week ahead of us. Government offices and schools are already closed from Thursday on account of Eid holidays, and the private sector gets their holidays from tomorrow. So we basically have a one day working week, which sounds like fun. 🙂 The only problem is when we come back to work next Sunday, our emails may be a barrage to be sorted out. But I guess when you get a long holiday, you shouldn’t be bothered about work. We hardly get long weekends here, so this is definitely welcome.

The climate is not very conducive for outdoors so we may stick to being at home, mostly. I really wanted to visit my best friend who is in Muscat on visit, but then His plans are otherwise and I just have to be reconciled with the situation, Alhamdulillah. After all, if everything happened exactly as per how we wanted life to be, then who would want to depend on Him? When matters don’t go as per plan and I get frustrated, I try to get the below verse running into my head…

“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows while you know not.” (Surah Al Baqarah, part of verse 216)

There is always wisdom behind things that don’t happen, matters that get delayed, the job you thought you got but didn’t come through, people breaking your heart, etc. I have always seen that at one stage or another, you seem to get answers to those questions that you have in your mind. For those you don’t get answers to, the mind just settles it down and you move on with life…

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Now when Eid is coming, we all want to cook something special. Most of the time, it ends up being biriyani but now I am realizing my family aren’t biriyani lovers. That explains why biriyani recipes on the blog has literally gone to a standstill now. The girls prefer rice and curry over biriyani, as they say there is “too much kachara” in a biriyani. Now what is a biriyani without all that “kachara” they are referring to? 😕 So I have started concentrating on making other dishes that will gel well with neychoru or jeera rice, which is more accepted.

I found this recipe in one of the Vanitha magazines I had purchased during my home trip last year. It had an article by Mrs. Thasneem Azeez with 10 different chicken recipes. Since chicken is a big yes at home, I picked up the issue. Moreover, Mrs. Azeez is a very well known household name with a lot of cooking classes and events in her kitty. Kashmiri food is said to be slightly on the sweeter side. Umma would say that she would never touch the curry and have only the sheermal when they went for their Kashmiri trip last year, as she didn’t like the sweetness in their gravies. Hehe… 🙂 I was in a mood to try something new and despite the raisins in it, I thought it shouldn’t be a problem. Alhamdulillah, it wasn’t. The familia loved it! I served it with some Masala Rice so it was quite well accepted. But I feel it would be amazing with chapathis or even pooris. Do give it a try if you are in a mood for something other than the usual biriyani… 🙂

And if you do want to try biriyanis, then here are all the ones that are already there on the blog, to help you decide on something… I will be leaving the blog empty during this whole week. Since we are planning to be at home, I may take this time to cook something new and may be shoot a few drafts for the blog. 🙂 Hope to make maximum use of the time… Till then…

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5 from 2 votes

Kashmiri Chicken

Course Mains

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 800 gm chicken cut into medium pieces
• 4 onions minced
• 3 to matoes ground into paste
• 3 tbsp ghee divided
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp yogurt
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• Salt to taste
• Chopped coriander leaves for garnish.
• FOR PASTE:
• 15 cashew nuts
• 10 almonds
• 1 tbsp raisins

Instructions

• Dry roast the cashew nuts and almonds. Grind it into a smooth paste along with the raisins. Set aside.
• Heat two tablespoons of ghee. Roast the bay leaves.
• Add the onions and saute till wilted. Add the ginger garlic paste and all the powders and saute for a minute.
• Add the chicken and salt, mix well and cook on low flame with closed lid for ten minutes.
• When the oil separates on the top, add the tomatoes and give a good mix. Add the whisked yogurt and water, if necessary. Adjust seasoning.
• Cook till the chicken is done. Add the ground paste and the remaining tablespoon of ghee and cook for another minute.
• Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.