Maharashtrian Goda Masala Chicken

Within 3 months of the inception of Guilt Free, I got introduced to a world that was so similar to mine, yet I hadn’t been aware of its existence all this while. It was a world of happy and smiling people — people who loved to cook, who loved to click, who loved to share and who loved to feed. In them I found my own reflection, and in no time I became a part of them. Yes, I’m talking about the Kolkata Food Bloggers. I wear my identity of a KFBian proudly on my sleeve, and so when they announced that the next 3 months our new event Know Your Blogger is going to be dedicated to not Puja, not World Cup, not Poila Baishakh but to our very own selves, my joy knew no bounds.
So here’s how it works. Every week we highlight a member of the group and the rest of us recreate a recipe of hers in our own kitchen. Now I always have so many stuff bookmarked from my fellow KFBians’ blogs that this scheme sounded perfect to get some of it actually done!

This week we have as the focus our event manager Sarani Tarafder (of Cocoawind), who despite not being in Kolkata, is as active in the group as it can get. Tall, svelte and always sporting a winsome smile, this mother of an adorable 5-year-old looks more like a model and less like a food blogger. 😛 She whips up everyday delights with fun, fresh and easily available ingredients (yes, cream cheese, blueberries and quinoa are easily available in the US of A). If she is a wizard in the kitchen she is an ace behind her camera lens. Her photographs, be it of food, or her cute little son Soh, or even the countryside as captured from a moving car, are absolutely breathtaking. Come on, she can even make a mug cake look pretty! What other validation do you need?

Picking one recipe from Sarani’s blog wasn’t going to be easy. I had lusted after so many of them overtime and had even made these gorgeous Oven-Baked French Fries a few months back (with stupendous success, if I may add). I am on a protein spree right now and her Chicken Curry with Maharashtrian Goda Masala looked perfect for an Autumn afternoon. I spiced it up some more, made some very minor changes and came up with this beauty. My mother, who normally has a very low heat tolerance level, also couldn’t stop herself from taking a second helping!

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Chicken, cut into medium-sized pieces: 500 gm
Onion, sliced: 1.5
Tomato ketchup: 3 tbsp (The original recipe asked for tomato puree, but I had run out of
tomatoes)
Garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Ginger paste: 3/4 tbsp
Green Chillies: 3
Garam Masala: 3/4 tsp
Crushed black pepper: 1 tsp
Sugar: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil: 2 tbsp

For marinade:

Yoghurt: 4 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Garlic paste: 1.5 tsp

For Goda Masala:

Desiccated coconut: 4 tbsp
Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp
White Sesame Seeds: 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp
Black Peppercorns: 6-8
Star Anise: 1
Cloves: 4
Black Cardamom: 1
Dried Red Chilli: 3
Cinnamon stick: 1 stick
Bay Leaf: 1
Asafoetida: a fat pinch
Oil: 1 tsp

Method:

1. Marinade the chicken pieces with all items listed under marination after refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight.

2. For masala: In a hot non-stick pan, dry roast the desiccated coconut, coriander seeds and sesame seeds on medium heat till they turn golden brown. Keep stirring continuously. Set aside.
Heat oil in the same pan and add the rest of the ingredients. Fry till they release aroma and turn a darker shade of brown. Take off heat and let it cool completely. Once both the mixes are cool, grind everything to a fine powder in a blender.

3. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces till brown on all sides. Once chicken is cooked, set aside.

4. In the same pan add more oil if required and add the onions and sugar. Fry till they are dark brown and caramelised, say for 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook for a another couple of minutes.

5. Add the tomato ketchup, garam masala, 2 tbsp of goda masala, crushed black pepper, green chillies and cook till the oil separates. You can add a little bit of water at this stage to prevent your spice mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

6. Add the cooked chicken pieces, salt, 1/2 cup water or so and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and cook covered for 5-6 minutes and then uncovered for another 5 minutes till done.

7. Serve with roti/paratha or plain rice.

I am sending this post to Kolkata Food Bloggers’ event Know Your Blogger

 

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