Chili Chicken (dry)
8:45 AM
In many
ways living in a new country is intimidating. especially when you
don’t speak the similar language to express yourself. The first few
days are fun as you go out and keep telling yourself how different, how good everything is. You sigh and you wish things were similar
back home. you go out almost everyday, explore new places, taste new
food, some you like some you don’t but they have an occupying
effect on you. You go to bed exhausted, get a good sleep dreaming of
all things good and nice that you saw in the day.
Then after
a few weeks these initial excitements sink in, you start missing home.
you miss every mundane thing. your day to day life, your weekly visit
to the bazaar, that familiar taste of shukto lightly scented with
Jharna ghee or the simple mere objects like your favourite pink
pillow or how the morning sun used to stream in through the curtains.
You miss everything but the thing you miss most is your parents, your
family.
You pine
to share your new adventure with your brother. When your son bravely
enjoys the bungee trampoline you want your parents to be there to
shout and clap with you. And you miss them more when suddenly one
afternoon the kid wakes up and starts crying, blaming you for
bringing him away from his Dadubhai. You need to put a brave face on
as you don’t have the heart or the answer to tell him the truth.
Then one
day while shopping you find your son talking to a stranger, you rush
towards him to take him away but stop in the midway to see how happy
he is. The old lady seems to be doting on your kid and you get the
same twinkling in his eyes too. You silently watch them talking to
each other in two completely different languages and are amazed to
realize how everything made perfect sense. The old lady greets you
when you near them and forms a fine sign with her fingers to tell you
that your’s is such a well behaved kid. The lines on her face tells
many stories but all you can see right now is the same joy that your
mother gets when she meets her grand kids.
now every time The little one sees any elderly person on the road he approaches them, says Hi and gets unconditional love and affection in return. Every time he falls on the ground or hurt himself, they are the people who reaches for him even before his parents could reach.
There
definitely is a similar thread of familiarity running every where, irrespective of the time, country or the culture...all you need is to open your heart to receive it.
The recipe has nothing to do with this feeling. It was cooked on a rainy windy and chilly day when the son finally declared 'ami akhon jhal khete pari.' (I can eat spicy food). This is the quintessential red colour and taste enhancer sprinkled dry chili
chicken. Just the kind you get from your favourite street side vendor
in Kolkata, deep fried, tender chicken pieces in super spicy coating
gravy with tons of green chilies and cubed onions. It’s one of the
most favourite recipe that a meat eating Indian will like to order at
any restaurant, its that special Indo-Chinese dish which you will get
everywhere in India but would never see anywhere in China.
Dry Chili
Chicken
Ingredients:
Chicken
breast: 2 pieces
Green
capsicum; 1 large
Onion: 1
large
Ginger: 1/2 " piece
Garlic
paste: 4-5 fat cloves
Garlic:
2/3 fat cloves
Green
chilies: 7-8, I used really hot chilies but you use as per your heat
quotients
Vinegar: 2
tbsp+1/2 tbsp
Pepper
powder: ½ tsp
soy sauce: 2 tbsp+1 tsp
chili sauce: 2 tbsp
Kethcup: 2 tsp
Kashmiri
red chili pepper: 1 tsp (optional but gives this reddish hue)
Egg: 1
Corn
flour: 21/2 tbsp+2 tbsp
oil for deep frying
sugar: 1/3 tsp
few springs of spring onion chopped.
oinch of red food colour (optional) I used.
Method:
pound or make a paste of the ginger-garlic and 3-4 green chilies.
mince the rest of the garlic, peel and cut the onion and capsicum in cubes.
cut the chicken breasts in small (1") cubes. place the pieces in a bowl with 2 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, ginger-garlic paste and pepper powder. mix and keep aside for min 1 hour.
once you are ready to prepare the dish heat oil in a deep bottom pan. once its heating add 1 beaten egg and 21/2 tbsp of corn flour to the chicken and mix till it coats the pieces. Carefully drop the pieces in the hot oil and fry till golden on medium flame. do not over crowd the pan as the corn flour will
Make the stick to one another. drain on kitchen paper.
Mix 2 tbsp of corn flour to 3/4 cup of water and keep aside.
If you are using the same pan then take out almost all the oil and keep only a tbsp. add the chopped garlic and 3-4 slited green chillies. Fry on medium till a nice aroma rises. immediately add the onions an with a pinch of salt saute it for a minute. add the capsicum and saute for few seconds. add all the sauces and 1/2 tbsp vinegar to this. mix in the chicken stir well with salt, sugar and pepper powder. once it starts to sizzle add the mixture of corn flour and water (give it a good stir just before adding). on low heat stir it continuously to coat all the chicken and veggies well. taste and adjust the seasoning. let it simmer on medium till all the gravy gets absorbed and the chicken pieces are shiny.
sprinkle the chopped spring onion and serve hot. with rice, fried rice, noodles or as snacks with evening cuppa.
Posts
19 comments
Beautifully done chilli chicken :) loved reading your write up, I can mind similarities in my own experiences of moving to a unfamiliar place
ReplyDeleteI hardly resist to chicken dishes, seriously chilli chicken is mindblowing dear, mouthwatering here..Love that stone plate,damn cute.
ReplyDeletevery nice...
ReplyDeleteChilli chicken looks so tempting and that plate adorable.
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yummy!!! i love it..
ReplyDeleteChili chicken looks super tempting with beautiful clicks...
ReplyDeleteChili chicken looks yummy !!! Love the colour of the recipe :)
ReplyDeleteStone plate looks very adorable !!!
That chilli chicken looks so very tempting and delish!
ReplyDeleteLoved the way you plated your food.Do drop in at my space,looks like we have lots to share.
Makes me drool..wonderful pictures.
ReplyDeletelooks awesome!!loved the clicks!
ReplyDeleteNice clicks
ReplyDeleteLatest Post - Paala Taalikalu / Rice Noodles Sweet (My Grandmom's Recipe)
Loved reading the experiences. Living in a new atmosphere can be enjoyable and intimidating too. Glad you are seeing the larger picture and enjoying the expereince. Loved the famous Indo chinese version !!
ReplyDeleteSayantani, these news tidbits you post about life in Japan are very interesting. The truth is kids will adapt much more quickly than you ever will. Good Luck make the most of it.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing the number of people especially older people who will come and talk when kids are with you. They get great pleasure in interacting with the kids. I have made many friends in the places I visit regularly only because I have DD2 with me. Most will never approach and talk if the kids were not with me.
As for this yummy chili chicken. It never fails to make you happy.
OH, This looks so delish! I love Chicken too, and your recipe using this ingredient really shows that you are an expert cook!
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This looks lip smacking, Sayantani. Drooling.
ReplyDeleteSayantani ..... this is such a heart touching writeup. I enjoyed it thoroughly. And you have become an avid photographer to say the least. I may not b commenting on those pics religiously ..... pardon me for that, but I swear I luv each one of those.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteExcellent piece of information, I had come to know about your website from
my friend kishore, pune,i have read atleast 8 posts of yours by now, and let
me tell you, your site gives the best and the most interesting information.
This is just the kind of information that i had been looking for, i'm already
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again hats off to you! Thanx a lot once again, Regards,
Chinese Chilli Chicken
Spotted this and have to make it right now...looks amazing.
ReplyDeletelooks lovely...going to cook this right now!
ReplyDelete