CHICKEN IN PICKLE OIL

Ahh, this morning I woke up to a very beautiful, fulfilling family picture.... merry cherry one. No intention of taking digs at others, just a fun filled family picture. I loved.... does not matter whether I have any connection with them or not.... I have a weird habit of visiting pages of strangers and watching photos and posts and taking ideas.... with no wrong intentions though. I always give people the liberty to unfriend or block me. On the contrary, there are few in my 'so called' close vicinity who I do not wish to be with.... may be they have caused severe bruises to my soul at some point in life. My sincerest request to them is to spare me.... I have no problem if you keep the friendship among yourselves... I am happy with my gang and that is quite big.... both virtual and real. Am I hurting a few?..... May be but there is less harm in hurting people who play with your emotions. Strangers.... I am honoured if you take interest in me.... I feel good but do it as an individual... I feel suffocated when you come too close. I have zero observation power.... in the process of learning it a bit, I get wild and feel like burning few of my most loved clothes. I am like our daddy... who had been less bothered about what is going around and was engrossed in his own world.

Coming to the Mother's Day, 'some' of my real world and virtual world friends really made beautiful posts posing with their moms or with their write ups or posting their specialised dishes. What pissed me off is when some went to the extreme of saying that their 'only' identity is their mom.... haha... are you questioning your birth? The answer came as whats app messages.... some of the naughty boys in my brigade shared such a post.... Happy Mother's Day to all those Fathers who made it happen. It was such a relief, hihi.

I know we have a single parent at this time .... our mother is taken good care by my brother and his wife... I call mani at higher frequency. Bidisha is fairly good, she handles a mamma's boy with a smile, it is a tough job indeed. She too enjoys the freedom to visit her parents everyday that many girls cannot think of! In my last year's post on Mother's Day, I made it clear why I will not celebrate such days but I have no qualms when others, I mean my virtual and real world 'friends' come up with it.

Coming to the beautiful post I see today..... I wished to name my chicken dish... Achari Tele Murgi.... but then I have some wonderful friends down the west who love spicy curries we make and she / they has / have a strong bond with people who love chicken. So why not keep the name universal? These days I feel I should remain loyal to people who shows some kind of love to me even it is from strangers. May be in the process of staying loyal to few particular people whose only intention is to hurt you... one day you will find you turned grey untimely, your under-eye bags look prominent and you suffer from acute mistrust... of every other person you meet and you master the art of licking your own blood.

By the way..... my debutant film maker, painter, voracious reader and a food connoisseur elder son is in Kolkata for a project. I am visiting Kolkata next month again and too eager to meet him. His mother... my poetess & reciter friend Rupa Roy happened to be my mentor and is more friends with my husband as their wavelengths match.... If I tell him you know Rupa echoed you... his answer is ... intelligent people think alike. I always knew I am a dumbo parasite who was looking for a dependable lap to take refuge. Some chopsticks are really naughty but caring. Rupa's husband is a multi talented person and is like our elder brother.

Ideally I wished to share a sweet something today that is good for health too.... then let me think of a nice one.... So, to all meat / chicken lovers.... here is a chicken dish marinated with dry roasted spice mix and achari / pickle oil and cooked till tenderly soft. It is a dish full of flavours and done without much of hassle. Shall we do it together?.....

INGREDIENTS :

Chicken : 1kg

Pickle Oil : 2-3 tbsp [I used a homemade mango pickle]

Slitted Green Chilli : 4-5
Bayleaf : 1
Onion [sliced] : 1big
Garlic Paste : 2tsp
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Lemon Juice : 2tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp

Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp

Cumin Powder : 1 tsp

Coriander Powder : 1 tsp
Salt : As Required


METHOD :

Wash the chicken pieces well. Drain the water and marinate with salt for an hour, wash off thoroughly! Marinate it again with the lemon juice, turmeric+red chilli+cumin+coriander powders, the pickle oil, sliced onion, ginger & garlic pastes and salt.

Add the marinated chicken along with the marinade to a heated wok. Stir at high heat for 3-4 minutes. Lower the heat to the minimum and cover cook until all of the water dries up stirring every 5 minutes. It may take about 30-35 minutes. 

Add a cup of hot water & cook for another 8-10 minutes, we should be done!

Once done, transfer to a bowl, garnish with more of pickle oil! Enjoy with Rice or a bread of your choice!