My 'Freshest' Post

Normally, we prefer to have dinner between 8 and 8:30 pm, but after moving to Mumbai, dinner time is delayed 30 minutes further, and we finish eating by 9:00 pm only. Today, I had finished basic preparations for dinner before going out in the evening. There were two raw mangoes in the fridge and 4 potatoes lying unused for more than a week, and I wanted to make use of them. The easiest choice that came to my mind was raw mango chutney with aloo roti**, and plain old simple dal. I added the ingredients for the mango chutney in the mixer, pressure-cooked two cups of dal for 3-4 whistles, got the mashed potato and wheat flour dough ready, and decided to complete the dishes after returning home 'fresh'-in-time for dinner.

We are out. Phone rings. R says, "I am at a chicken shop. Shall I get a Kg?" My memory bell rings. 'Oh no. I had asked him to buy chicken if possible.' I say, "OK."

We are back home at 8 and R, by 8:15 pm, with the chicken. "So late, do you want me to make the chicken now?" My daughter A, who has recently taken to chicken, thanks to her friends, starts chanting, "I want chicken and mammam, I want chicken and mammam*" in a very familiar nursery rhyme tune. "OK. Give me an hour."

I wash the chicken with water and the '5-second lime and salt' way, as explained by Cynthia of Tastes Like Home, and proceed to marinade, stopping midway while peeling ginger with the thought - 'Why not use my raw mango mixture to marinade with curd?' - and grab fresh curd from the fridge. Well, you can read the recipes below, but I ended up making mango chicken and aloo roti** with dal for dinner.

The reason I mentioned time of dinner etc. in the beginning: While the chicken was marinad-ing(?) for 30 minutes, I made the tomato-onion-masala base for the gravy, and aloo roti, and we sat for dinner at 9:30 pm. We finished by about 10:00 pm, and I cleared up and put A to sleep by 11:00pm, and started this post, very 'fresh' from the whole unplanned-but-pleasant mango chicken curry experience. My first chicken dish prepared at home after 15 and odd months!

Mango Chicken Curry

Things you will need:
Chicken pieces - 1 kg in all
For the Mango Marinade Mixture
Raw Mangoes - 2 meidum-sized - peeled and cubed
Curd - 3 tbsp - fresh
Ginger - 2 large - peeled and cubed
Garlic cloves - 3-4 large - peeled and cubed
Green chilly - 1 large - chopped
Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
Jeera Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Methi powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 2 tsp
For the tomato-onion gravy
Tomatoes - 2 large - finely chopped
Onions - 4 large - finely chopped
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp OR to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Grind the mango mixture

• Add it to the curd and mix well
• Mix the washed, pat-dried chicken pieces in the mango-curd mixture and leep aside for 30 minutes


• Grind half the chopped onions and half the chopped tomatoes together into a paste
• Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add half the chopped onions, stir well until light brown
• Add the coriander, garam masala, pepper and salt, and mix well for a few minutes
• Add the remaining half of the chopped tomatoes, and cook covered for 2-3 minutes
• Add the tomato-onion paste and bring to boil
• Add the chicken marinade and mix well

• Keep covered and leave to cook, occasionally mixing in between
• After 15-20 minutes adjust the salt and add more chilly/ garam masala to taste, and check if the meat is knife-tender but not breaking up
• Remove from heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves (I didn't have:-()

Aloo Roti**

Things you will need:

Wheat flour/ Atta - 3 cups
Potatoes - 4 medium-sized - boiled, peeled, mashed
Roasted Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2-3 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Knead all the ingredients together into a dough without adding water, and use oil only to ensure your hands are not sticky and keep it aside

• When you are ready to make the rotis, make small balls out of the dough, and start rolling out with a rolling pin
• Heat a griddle and start baking the rotis

• When one side is done, turn the roti over and bake the other side

I served these with the Mango Chicken Curry, as below

The Mango Chicken Curry goes to Srilekha's "Chicken" event at Me a My Kitchen.

Note:
*Mammam - a term used for food or meals for children. At home, it is rice for A.
** Aloo Roti - I can never make Aloo Parathas. Because I am incapable of using the mashed potato and masala balls as a filling to a rolled out dough base and roll them out without getting the entire place messy with the filling bursting out from the sides. I prefer to knead the boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes (ensuring there is no water) into the wheat flour and prepare them the normal roti way, and therefore, call it aloo roti.

If your mangoes are sour enough, you may skip using tomatoes, and follow the recipe. If you do not like the bite of onion pieces in the gravy, use only onion paste

Dal Roti

Being tired of the normal Dal curries, but wishing to include it in my diet, I thought of using it in making rotis quite accidentally. The toor dal being cooked for Sambhar got slightly burnt at the bottom of the vessel, and I managed to salvage the remaining. Since I did not want to make curry out of it, as it may give a burnt taste, I decided to make rotis out of it. One of my roomies (during the good old days when we were eligible spinsters living together and cooking) used to make rotis out of left over dal curry. This is how I made the dal rotis.

You will need:

Dal - cooked and mashed - 1 cup
Wheat flour/ Atta - 2 cups
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Methi powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Knead the atta along with all the ingredients, cover and keep aside for 30 minutes
• Heat the griddle and start rolling out small round portions of the dough with a rolling pin
• If you wish to add oil, as you would while making parathas, feel free to do so
• Make the rotis on the griddle, and again add 1/4 tsp oil, if you wish to

Serve hot with Yam Masala or any other vegetable side dish