Pepper Chicken

Just like all the girls who change their cooking style after marriage, I too did many things. No..no don't imagine me as a vegan who married a meat-o-holic, its 'topsy turvy' gals:)
I should say my culinary journey started even before marriage as my brothers are true lovers of NVs:) But after marriage I reduced cooking the non veg items because of hubby's lesser appetite for NV, though all of my inlaws excel each other in having them .
Before hand I used to make different varieties of chicken for my younger brother Venkatesh. Being a great chicken-holic person, he inspires me to learn more and more dishes.Almost every day he would love to have a different dish , preferably a NV in his tiffin box:) So I started trying many varieties and here is a pepper chicken .
Dedicating this recipe to all my brothers (two from my mom's and 3 from my Inlaws side)who love chicken in anything.





Ingredients:
Chicken (with or without bones)- 1/4 kg
(I made it with bones)
Red onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 brig
Sesame oil - 3 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
sesame oil - 4 tbsp
To powder :
Black pepper - 3 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cloves - 2
fennel seed - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken. Apply some turmeric all over and rinse again .
Cut it into medium size pieces and keep aside.
Chop the onion and tomato separately.
Grind 1 inch ginger and 3 garlic pods to a fine paste.

Heat the oil in a wok , add the fennel seeds and let it become red.
Then add the curry leaves, chopped onion and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Now put the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Add the chopped tomato and fry till it becomes mushy.

Now add the chicken pieces and fry for a while till it becomes a white.
Then add the salt, Turmeric powder, powdered masala and cook covered with a handful of water.
Stir frequently to avoid charing.
Cook for nearly 30 minutes in very low flame.
Then put off fire after the oil starts showing and the meat is done.
Pepper chicken is ready.

Serving suggestion:
Take the chicken fry out leaving behind the oil and place on a serving bowl.
Sprinkle a tablespoon of black pepper all over the chicken .
Fry some curry leaves in the left out oil in the pan and garnish the chicken with it for a homely touch.
Serve as side dish with sambar rice or rasam rice or even with curd rice.
The chicken pieces will loose moisture and shrink a lot. So it will be enough for just 2 people.

Unripe banana koottu

Usually we make fries or chips with raw / unripe green banana. But generally we reserve the fries for the cold winter . Also it is a custom to bring out a lesser oily version for each and every vegetable for the hot summer lunch in India.
My love for the koottu is endless and here is a koottu again with valai kai (Un ripe banana) which tastes fine with sambar and rasam rice.
I used the raw banana along with the skin and I hope that the skin adds a lovely flavor and fiber to our diet. That's how the banana has to be cooked , if following a traditional way. Guess , globally our ancestors were pretty sure to include all the possible fiber content to our diet by insisting so.

Unripe banana cubed with skin:


Unripe Banana (vaazhai kai) koottu:


Ingredients:
Unripe Indian banana (valai kai) - 2
Channa Dhal - a handful
Asafoetida powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Shredded coconut 1 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Tempering:
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
chopped onion - 2 tbsp
Urid Dhal- 1 tsp
Dry red chillies- 2
Curry leaf - 1 brig
oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Soak the channa dhal for 15 minutes.

Scrub and Wash the bananas. Remove the stem and tip on both ends.
Retain the skin.
Chop banana in to small cubes along with its skin on.
Immediately put it in the cooking pot along with water. Keep the pieces immersed to prevent oxidation (blackening).

Add soaked channa dhal, Turmeric, sambar powder, and asafoetida.
Cook till the channa dhal and banana gets cooked. Then add salt.

For tempering heat a 1 tbsp of oil , add mustard seeds.
After it crackles add urid dhal ,chopped onion, dry chillies and curry leaves.
Add the tempering to the cooked vegetable .
Mix shredded coconut and cumin . Stir well in heat to get a thick consistency.
Valai kai koottu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
The above said quantity would be enough for 3 - 4 people depending on the size of the banana.
Serve as side dish with any Indian bread or sambar & rice or rasam & rice.

Event:
Sending this 'Unripe banana koottu' to EC's 'Side dish Event' a fabulous way to bring out the best side dishes from many bloggers. Hope this 'koottu' suits the event.