MURG KALIMIRCH

I was thinking about the working women sitting idle with my books, music and tea. Would the women who come back home from the office tired and think on my line, say that they love to cook? Even if they enjoy cooking, they do not have the luxury to go ahead with an elaborate cooking spread on a weeknight! That does not mean they do not love their family. Let us not keep them under fire and ask a silly question..."what comes first to you?" The practical world does not expect a "Durga" at every home... all are human beings. Keeping these on my mind, I prepared this simple desi style black pepper chicken with minimal spices. I did not follow other black pepper chicken recipes already present in the internet. It was a kind of an experiment for me using only onion, ginger and garlic pastes, lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper and turmeric. I visualised a tired woman in the kitchen on a week night and proceeded. The curry was light and soupy, went well with hot rotis. Served with rotis alongside a veggie or dal, it is an excellent and easy weekday menu which will make your family happy. Let us see how we do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Chicken : 500gm
Onion : 1 large
Garlic Paste : 1tbsp

Ginger Paste : 1 tsp
Lemon Juice : 4 tbsp
Black Pepper Powder [freshly ground] : 1tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Oil : 4 tbsp

METHOD :

Wash the chicken thoroughly. Marinate with lemon juice, black pepper powder, half of the turmeric powder and salt as required. Keep aside for an hour.

Peel, wash and slice the onions. Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the sliced onions until golden brown.

Add the ginger and garlic pastes, fry until the raw smell goes away. Add the rest of the turmeric powder and salt  as required. Stir for a minute.

Add the marinated chicken with all of the marinade. Stir and cover cook at medium to low heat until all of the water dries up. We need to stir every 5 minutes.

Add a cup of water and cover cook for another 8-10 minutes at medium to low heat.

Enjoy with any kind of flat or puffed breads or steamed rice.