SPICY CHICKEN RICE & GREEN MASALA PANEER

Its been ages that I have not prepared a traditional Biryani at home, instead prefer a meat Tahiri.... lazy brats think alike you know. The son perhaps enjoys anything that has meat! The husband does eat a tahiri without a noise but that he does even if you serve him "aloo sheddo bhaat".... You get to know that he is craving for Biryani when he concludes after having a plateful of Tahiri ... "tahiri is nowhere near to biryani".... Wife gets it from outside but this island cannot make biryani... Kolkatans always prefer an Awadhi Biryani! The platter you can see with rice & chicken.... combo meal of a main & sides, SPICY CHICKEN RICE & GREEN MASALA PANEER is not even a tahiri... it was part of a dinner menu last week when I was lamenting over our inability to go out for a lavish family dinner! I told the men, let us postpone it and prepare a humble dinner for us.... I did not have the energy to go out to the market and prepared with whatever was available in the pantry. Like there were no beans but carrot... I thought "yehi sahi".... Each time I prepare a tahiri, I browse the internet, this time I did not do that.... so naming the platter got difficult. If you say so, the amount of happiness I get while blogging about a "ilish maacher matha diye kochu shaaker ghonto" or "chalkumror pur bhaja" is unmatchable.... they are authentic family recipes, do not know when to. There are celebrations around every other day and I had to make friendship with people from different communities... ohh! Anyway, what I did with the chicken, basmati rice, paneer was good in taste, else I would not have blogged about it. The son did not waste a bit means it was good. I hate wastage, hence dieting is kept at bay. Cristine is not there to share the left overs with me or help me out in the kitchen. So, I have no other way but to eat "panta bhaat with bandhakopir bora, peyaz, kanchalanka"... undoubtedly one of my most loved food. 

"Aisey nehi ki baharwalo ke saath dosti nehi hai meri"... those sweet buns & fruits goes to their snack boxes.... That is fine but breads going to my stomach with tea is not at all okay! Next month Mani will say "besh komey giyechili abar shorir bhari hoye geche"..... The mother-in-law will give instances of other's wives how beautiful they are... shiny bright skin or "tiyapakhir moto thot, tikolo naak"..... I myself adore anything that is beautiful because I was indoctrinated to in my teens... that I do wholeheartedly.... When anyone insults me, I do take the liberty to insult them in return.... like my husband's paternal grandmother was a beautiful, very hardworking woman.... the Vaishnavi who cooked her own food in a small stove until her death at age 84.... none of her three daughter-in-laws are anywhere near to her in beauty or qualities.... the youngest one is an excellent cook though! "Thakuma" loved me, always told "you are learned, do not quarrel ever".... She definitely complained that her eldest son goes to office making his own tea when the rest in the family sleeps till 12pm... None of you can make such complaints about me, I do not pack their lunch boxes with store bought food... it was egg-potato rice yesterday. I have not excused, but tolerated till date all the bad-mouthing of my mother-in-law only because she is my loving husband's mother.... mind it, not mine! The best things at her home and wardrobe goes from this home....

Anything with rice is enticing to me, be it some "makhon / ghee bhaat, panta bhaat" or this SPICY CHICKEN RICE & GREEN MASALA PANEER..... I think I have a green paneer curry blogged about earlier.... however this one I marinated and cooked in grill option.... so let it be!

I am cooking less number of dishes at a time, cleaning all the cupboards is my priority now.... that is keeping me too busy... then throwing away the old pans, buying new needs going out frequently. Do you like my new omelette pan?... I do like having omelette once in a while... solo or with rice & dal or bread... digesting it is a problem.

If I had high metabolic rate, my meals would have been like "panta with daler bora, kancha lanka, peyaz".... "bhaat, begun bhaja with dal or ghee, ekta kancha lanka".... "maar bhaat, aloo sheddo, ekta maach bhaja"..... "aloo-peyaz bhaja, porota".... "kochi pathar patla jhol... jui phool bhaat"..... "Bangali French toast, Danish Bread, chop-cutlet-shingara cha".... each and everyday! Look at my husband, you cannot make him eat anything except for the three, actually two meals a day! He will have appetisers only when guests come over, else its only nuts with his wine & beer! On weekends, he does enjoy a "jhal-muri".... The son and his mother are having too much of prawn crackers and "jhuri bhaja".... thinking of getting only mixed-nut snackers now onwards besides the individual packets.... Bengalis do not eat fox nuts and all... they are healthy! Anyway, this platter of SPICY CHICKEN RICE & GREEN MASALA PANEER is wholesome and tasty both.... We prefer a raita with such a meal!

INGREDIENTS : [for the SPICY CHICKEN RICE]

Chicken : 750gm
Basmati Rice : 1coffee mug
Plain Yogurt : 1/2coffee mug beaten
Potato : 2-3 medium sized [peel, wash, remove skin, cut half]
Onion : 2medium [remove skin, discard two ends, wash, slice]
Carrot : 1 [ends discarded, peeled, washed]
Green Chilli : 3-4 [slitted, washed]
Mint Leaf : 12-15 [washed]
Coriander Leaf : 2-3 sprig [washed, roots discarded, washed]
Curry Leaf : 8-10 [washed]
Garlic Paste : 2tbsp
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Meat Masala Powder : 1tbsp
Coriander Powder : 1tsp
Cumin Powder : 1/2tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 11/2tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Green Cardamom : 3-4 [slightly torn]
Cinnamon Stick : 2-3 two-three inch sized
Clove : 3-4
Bayleaf : 2-3

Lemon Juice : 2-3 tbsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 2tbsp Sunflower Oil + 3tbsp Mustard Oil

INGREDIENTS : [for the GREEN MASALA PANEER]

Paneer : 250-300gm
Mint Leaf : 10-12
Chopped Coriander : 2-3tbsp
Green Chilli : 2-3
Plain Yogurt : 2tbsp
Lemon Juice : 2tbsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 2-3tbsp

PROCEDURE :

Let us wash the chicken pieces thoroughly under running water and marinate with some salt, wash & drain after half an hour! To the plain yogurt we will add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin & coriander powder, meat masala powder and keep aside covered for an hour.

We will soak the cut and washed potatoes and carrots in salted water for an hour or so & wash the onion slices, the green herbs & slitted green chillies nicely too!

For the Green Masala Paneer, we will prepare a paste with all of the ingredients mentioned except for the paneer pieces and oil.

Marinate the washed and cut paneer pieces with the paste and oil for an hour.

We will wash and soak the rice 1/2 an hour & cook in enough water until 80% done, drain the water!

For the Spicy Chicken Rice, we will heat the oil and ghee together in oil & temper with a bayleaf, cinnamon sticks, green cardamoms, cloves.

We will add the sliced onions and fry till golden brown. We will add the ginger & garlic pastes & fry for 2-3 minutes at low heat! Thereafter, we will add the marinated chicken & vegetables & fold in well! We will cover the wok!

We will cover cook for 12-13 minutes at the minimal heat. We will uncover and add the curry & mint leaves!

We will fold in well and cover cook at minimal heat for 8-10 minutes. The chicken & vegetables should be 80% done & still have some gravy!

We will add the cooked rice & cover with a lid! We will cover cook at minimal heat for 7-8 minutes! We cannot let the chicken burn from the bottom! Once done, we will switch off the gas stove & gently half mix the rice & chicken! We will garnish it with washed & chopped fresh coriander leaves before serving.

For the Green Masala Paneer, we will grease a bake proof plate with few drops of oil, place the marinated paneer pieces on it. 

Mine is a convection mode microwave and I have placed the low height wired stool inside; on top of it the marinated paneer plate! I have cooked in the microwave+grill option for 8-10 minutes one side.... turned over and grilled for another 5-6 minutes.... We are done. You can char grill using the high wired stool!

This combo meal is a keep at your homes!