First Guest Post: Kasha Mangsho and Polao/ Bengali Style dry Chicken Curry and Rice Pilaf

This is the time of the year when we long to go home, a time of family get togethers, food and festivities. but our busy schedules sometimes dont allow us to do that our heart desires. so when some of us soak in the festivities  some cannot do that due to their prior commitments. yet we try to celebrate the puja wherever we are by getting ready in new clothes, visiting the local puja place and cooking special meals for friends and family.  we try hard to recreate the special magic of this very special festival and taste of home. My Orkut friend Krishna is one such person. She stays in USA and shares glimpses of her life and kitchen at her newly started blog Always Smile. The thing that makes her very special is her enthusiasm in everything creative. a vibratious and enthusiastic person who finds time for doing new crafts and trying out new recipes. She is here today to share a very favourite Bengali meal of Kasha Mangsho and Pulao.

Kasha Mangsho/ Chicken Kasha or Bengali style dry chicken curry is the glamorous version of this homey Sunday special chicken curry that I shared sometimes back. This is a very special dish made specially on occasions like birthdays, wedding parties or large get togethers. The polao or Bengali preparation of aromatic white rice pilaf is the perfect accompaniment for this royal chicken dish. together they make my experience of having  first guest post very very special.

Over to you Krishna...

It is almost four years that I left my home country to come to the USA. Since then, I have been participating in Durga Puja celebrations here. Actually it is not four years, rather eight years I was not in Calcutta during pujas. Though the flavor of Calcutta-puja is not present here still I don’t miss that much. Rather, I enjoy cooking special dishes during the puja time here.  So, when Sayantani invited me to contribute on her blog, I readily accepted that. Since I received her request I had been wandering what to cook? At last I decided to cook Bengali polao and chicken kasha on Saturday, 1^st October. The menu for rest of the puja-days is yet to be decided. Here I’m sharing the recipe of Polao and chicken kasha. Unfortunately I cannot tell that these recipes are very authentic, because I changed it little bit during cooking.

Chicken Kasha

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut into medium pieces

1 big size onion, finely chopped

1 medium size tomato, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

2-3 cloves

2-3 pods cardamom

1 inch stick of cinnamon

1 ½ tbsp. ginger paste

1 ½ tsp. garlic paste

1 tsp. coriander power

1 tsp. garam masala powder

1 tsp. turmeric powder

½ tsp. chili powder (if you want spicier, you can add more chili powder)

1 tsp. sugar

2 tbsp. chopped coriander leaves for garnish

3 tbsp. water

Salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Method:

Wash the chicken pieces and marinate with salt for half an hour. 

Fry 1/3 of the onion with little salt and keep aside. 

Heat 2 tbsp. of oil (I used olive oil) add bay leaf, cardamom, clove and cinnamon, and fry for few moments. Then add the rest of chopped onion and fry until golden brown. At that time you can also add one tsp. of sugar to caramelize the onion. 

When the onions are translucent add chopped tomato, ginger, garlic paste and fry. Add 1 tbsp. of water, and fry again until everything mixes up well. If you need, you can add another spoon of water.  

Once the oils start to separate at the sides, add garam masala powder, coriander powder, chili powder, and fry for 1-2 minutes. 

Add the chicken-pieces and cook until chicken-pieces become tender. Add water as per needed. When the water become almost dry, switch of the gas and put in a bowl. Garnish with chopped coriander and fried onion.

Polao:

Ingredient:s

2 cups of rice

2 bay leaves

4 pods of cardamom

3 cloves

1 inch on cinnamon piece

1 small sized onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. ginger paste

2 tbsp. of sugar

1 tbsp. of ghee or clarified butter

1 ½ cup of water

Few saffron pieces soaked in 1 tbsp. of milk

Salt to taste

Method:

Clean the rice and spread on a plate to dry. 

In a small frying pan heat the ghee, and add bay leaves and chopped onion, and fry for few minutes. 

Add cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and fry until onion becomes red. Add ginger paste, and fry for few minutes. 

Then take a microwave-proof bowl, add the fried ingredients and rice, sugar, saffron and water. Cook in microwave-oven for twenty minutes.

serve hot with the Kasha Mangsho.