Methi Chicken, An Ode to Sanjeev Kapoor

Hello yesterday!

Memories have a strange way of rearing their head..

they come up because of friends, family and ...food!

And little girls!

Hubby dear has almost no experience with little girls...he being the luittle one in the family and the only little girl related to us being half the world away..he is CLUELESS!

Much to his horror, a few days ago he was attacked by the affectionate Desi Girl...Vanisha Thapa(who incidently believes John Abraham is her private property...just waiting for her to grow up and marry him). My Macho Man ,who can make most men shrivel in their shoes, was flummoxed.

She bulldozed her way into his heart and now...no its still not aww to little girls ...but he is quite open to the idea of little pink booties and bibs!

This brought back memories of sweet child , when he was tiny and adorably adoring...now a prickly pear will shrivel in comparison- Teenage approaches!

Well...at least hubby dear felt the pull!

And then was talk of food and how my cooking had evolved.

And how I started.

All thanks to mum!

As long as we were in Delhi, any thing new was just a phone call away ...and then we moved far east ..And then phone calls were not that easy...so I turned to my surrogate chef-teacher.

Sanjeev Kapoor.

Loads of stuff he taught me, me,I diligently sat with a diary and noted all that he dished out and tried ...it all very often.

Some days were diamonds and some were stone!!
PS Sanjeev Kapoor was on the other side of the TV screen....

This recipe for the most succulent chicken came from one of the episodes of Khana Khazana...

Methi Chicken.

Over the years I have made a few changes, varied the proportions and the ingredients ...but the beauty of the intermingling flavors always makes me happy!

If you like chicken, and like the bittersweet flavor of fenugreek...try it. We rarely have left over’s and mostly everyone wants the lion’s share of the thick masala/curry. The pieces of chicken are just ok!

For my 

Methi/Fenugreek  Chicken, An Ode to Sanjeev Kapoor...

you need

8 pieces chicken-any cut/cuts or 1 whole chicken-anywhere between 800 gms to 1200 gms

4 large onions sliced

3 ripe tomatoes pureed or 100 mils tomato puree (ready made)

½ - 1 cup fresh cream/malai (avoid UHT)

¾ cup yogurt

5- 6 green chilies split through the center

2 tsp fresh ginger garlic paste

2 cups fresh chopped Methi or ½ cup Kasoori Methi

100 mils mustard oil/ vegetable oil/ghee

6-8 cardamom pods

Salt, red chili flakes/powder to taste

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

Start with the chicken. If you can, mix the chicken with the yogurt and a spoonful of salt a few hours before you are going to start the cooking process. If you can’t, no worries …

Half an hour will also do.

Heat the oil in a wok or a deep pan.

Add to that the sliced onions, the cardamom and the slit green chilies.

Let them cook on not too high a flame; you can add the salt and the coriander powder to speed up the process.
This time,we had a ton of fresh green garlic scapes at out disposal, so to add a double whammy to the taste, I added 1 cup of fresh garlic scapes....pods,chives et al.

Otherwise ginger garlic paste is good too.

That is sweet sister pounding at the ginger.
Once the onions are translucent add the ginger garlic paste and now increase the flame to now help caramelize the onions. The onions are sweet enough on their own and will caramelize and brown themselves. Just don’t leave them alone at this stage.

If you are using fresh chopped fenugreek/Methi this is the stage to add the well washed and drained leaves.

 Add them on a high flame and let the leaves sear and shrivel.

Add the red chili powder and turmeric now.

Puree the fresh tomatoes and add to the cooking masala and fry till it leaves oil from the sides.( I used tomato puree out of a box.)This is indication that the masala is cooking.

For the dried Kasoori Methi, make sure you tip the leaves plus an extra spoon in a sieve and wash well under running water. Squeeze the leaves dry and then use them.

With the dried Kasoori Methi, cook the onions and ginger garlic paste, when the onions brown add the tomato puree and then the washed Kasoori Methi.

Once the paste starts to ooze the oil out, add the spices.

Now either way you are ready for the chicken.

Increase the flame to high and tip the chicken in marinade and all.

Keep stirring till most of the liquid evaporates.

Cover and cook, stirring regularly.

Check for seasoning ….so keep tasting.

Remember the only organ you need to trust is your tongue.

It may taste a little bitter…but no worries...the bitter blends with the butter….

If the chicken seems to have lost its liquid, add some hot, boiling water…lubrication is important.

You’ll need to cook this till the chicken is just done. You’ll see the oil all napping the chicken lovingly….almost like a blessing of good taste.

Remove the cover and tip in the malai/fresh cream

and mix well.
On a high flame again, just bring the chicken masala to a boil and turn it off.

Serve hot with tandoori rotis/naans or just garlic bread…

It tastes perfectly mellow,spicy and yummy at the same time.

I topped the chicken with fried green chillies...
Simply slit them and fry in a spoon full of oil...

I remember a time when someone came over for dinner, and after the masala was wiped clean from the serving bowl ,asked me to bring my pan to the table…he scraped out all the masala he could and left my table a satisfied man.

That’s how yummy this chicken is.

Sanjeev Kapoor has held my hand (well this recipe has) many a time during the last 13 years…

Never has this dish disappointed.

Try this and make some happy memories of your own.

So what are you baking today???