MICROWAVE CHICKEN RICE

 

I BELIEVE PULAO RICE, BIRYANI, WRAPS & ROLLS SUIT MY FAMILY!

They want only these kinds & nothing else! This lessens my time of stay in the kitchen but there is one major problem, my family is not in the habit of having salads with their meals! I am too uncomfortable with the idea of giving them only meat & fish proteins without any vegetable day in and day out! This should not be what our food be like! At a ripe age, in fact during the sun set of my life I have understood the importance of having vegetables at one meal per day! If I serve it with flat or puffed breads, rice; they would eat! This is the reason why I do not simplify my cooking chore! It is also because I am a Bengali, our predecessors are used to a five course meal on a daily basis! I also hear of present day Bengalis having an avocado toast for breakfast or oatmeal with fruits! There is no wrong in either of the two, whatever suits whom! I would stand somewhere in the middle of the two extremes! I am not fond of any extremes! But how beautiful it would be had my people have a bowl of salad with pulao & chicken or baked fish & buttered rice! Because they do not touch the salad bowl, they do not get their coveted bowls of non-vegetarian pulao or a meat filled wrap on a regular basis!

I AM AGING BUT, HENCE LOOK FOR EASIER METHOD OF COOKING, IF NOT THE FASTEST!

Given our tastebuds, we hardly have anything to whip up fast! I do not believe in fast cooked vegetables, least to be eaten raw. They should not be over-cooked but well cooked! At this time, the quickest recipe I can remember would make me happy is a Russian Salad! May be because it has potatoes so I like it! Also I am fond of the dressing of it and keep thinking how it can be healthy, it has to be high in calorie! Besides all these, the thing is we cannot eat a salad bowl sitting together as a family; then I have no interest going through the process of making myself a salad even if it is of my choice! Instead, we would enjoy having a "mochar ghonto" or "kofta curry" together! The joy of having a meal together with your own is immense, it hurts mumma how her son eats his meals alone and has to arrange his every meal all by himself! Then, that is the way he would become independent I am told! What I know is I continue to live with tension, fear, worries about his safety & security until my end! Leave those, let us see what I ate yesterday! It was meals of my choice! For lunch, I had rice with my favourite Bhola Mach! For dinner, I enjoyed a khichuri meal! 

What you good people do not see are that I had two "Purir Khaja" & two "rice flour snack" with Cristine's coffee in between! T would never tempt himself to have something in between meals; does he love food? May be today he would have the starters sitting with his friends! A friend's family is leaving for Abu Dhabi next month! So long the son was here, he enjoyed the variety of food mumma cooked for him!

WHAT IS THIS MICROWAVE CHICKEN RICE?

It's been long I had been wanting to share this "useful" recipe with you all beautiful people! It's Rakshabandhan approaching, my biryani prone brother would enjoy this. There are birthdays in the family too! Also, I wish to share such recipes for my son to cook in few easy steps! I am scared about his health! One can cook it in a mono microwave without the grill mode! Not always we wish to take the hassle of cooking a biryani, for me it's royal, it's laborious! I would never call a cooker made meat & rice, a biryani! But I can always cook a boneless chicken, potato & rice bowl using some fresh herbs & spices; name it MICROWAVE CHICKEN RICE! Why do we need to call it a Biryani? Tomorrow is a National Holiday here, I think besides the world; the entire South East Asia would want to cook this gluten-free, meat & rice recipe!

 INGREDIENTS :

BONELESS CHICKEN CUBE : 400-500 GM

RICE GRAIN : 1 COFFEE MUG [I USED SHORT GRAIN JEERAKASALA VARIETY]

CUBED POTATO : 7-8 PIECE

CHOPPED CORIANDER LEAF: A HANDFUL

CHOPPED MINT LEAF : 2-3 TBSP

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 3-4

SLICED ONION : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

GINGER PASTE : 2 TBSP

GARLIC PASTE : 3 TBSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 2 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 2 TBSP

WATER AS REQUIRED

PROCEDURE : 

We would wash the chicken pieces well & marinate with the ginger & garlic pastes, washed & sliced onion, all of the spice powders, the oil & the salt! Let us rest it covered for over an hour!

We would peel, wash, cube the potato & soak in water! We would chop the herbs & wash; wash & slit the chillies!

We are to wash the rice grains well & soak for an hour & then drain the water! We would take the washed & drained rice in a microwave proof deep bowl!

We would add the marinated chicken to it along with the marination!

We would fold in well and cover cook it in high for 4-5 minutes!

We would uncover and add the potato cubes marinated with salt, the washed & chopped mint & coriander, the washed & slitted green chillies! We are to fold in well!

To that, we would add water as much required to just cover the rice, meat & potato mix! We would adjust the salt at this point a bit! We would fold in well & cover! Too much of water may spoil the texture of the rice!

We would cover the bowl & cook for 20 minutes at 600 power! You are to check your temperature, machines differ!

In between, we can stop & stir but I scared the rice grains may break! Once 20 minutes of cooking is done, we would neither take out immediately, nor uncover! We would let it be in rest for 8-10 minutes & then take out!

We would mix lightly before serving! We would have it hot with some raita & salad!