chinna vengayam

Kovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu

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Kovilpatti chicken kuzhambuToday, I am posting a recipe given to me by my friend who hails from Kovilpatti, a southern town in my home state of Tamilnadu in India. Kovilpatti is famous for its yummy kadalamittai (a sweet variety made from peanuts), matchstick and fireworks industry. Actually, the recipe is of chicken gravy but I have named it as Kovilpatti chicken kuzhambu in honor of my dear friend.:)
kovilpatti chicken kuzhambuKovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu is a very tasty chicken gravy and the recipe does not have coconut as one of the ingredients. One other uniqueness of this gravy is the use of castor oil and believe it or not, it enhances the flavor. And Kovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu is my HB’s favorite chicken gravy and is one of the recipes that are often made in our home.
kovilpatti chicken kuzhambuKovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu goes well with white rice, dosa, chappati etc. Also, I would suggest using country chicken (naatu kozhi) for the gravy, if available since that is what is used back home for any chicken recipe. It gives excellent taste to the gravy and also an authenticity to the recipe. 🙂

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Kovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3
 
Ingredients
To grind:
  • Ginger – 1”
  • Garlic cloves – 8 nos
  • Green chillies – 2
  • Shallots – 6
Other ingredients:
  • Gingely oil – 3 tbsp
  • Bay leaf – 1 no
  • Cinnamon stick – ½ “
  • Fennel seeds – a pinch
  • Onion, big, finely chopped – 1 no
  • Tomato, big, finely chopped – 1 no
  • Chilli powder – 1 tbsp
  • Coriander powder – 2 tbsp
  • Whole black pepper, freshly ground, powdered – 1 tbsp
  • Cumin powder -1 tsp
  • Garam masala powder – a pinch
  • Salt - as required
  • Chicken – ½ kg (750 grams)
  • Cilantro – for garnishing
  • Castor oil – 3 drops
Instructions
  1. Grind all the given ingredients under ‘to grind’ and make a fine paste.
  2. Heat oil in a thick bottomed sauce pan and add bay leaf, cinnamon and fennel seeds. When they start to sizzle add in the chopped onions and sauté until they turn translucent.
  3. Add the ground paste and sauté until the raw smell of shallots disappear.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté until oil gets separated.
  5. Now add in all the powders (chilli, coriander, cumin, pepper, garam masala) along with salt and give a quick stir. Lower the flame and add very little water. Sauté until the raw smell disappears.
  6. Finally add in the cleaned chicken pieces, stir well until the masalas are well coated on the chicken. Add a cup of water and check for salt. Cover the lid and cook in low to medium flame for 15 minutes or until the chicken is well cooked.
  7. Add few drops of castor oil on top and cook for another couple of minutes. Switch off the flame and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.
  8. Enjoy this excellent kovilpatti chicken kuzhambu with white rice or any Indian rotis! 
Notes
1.Adding castor oil is to enhance the taste. You could also use coconut oil instead.
2.This gravy tastes good as it is. In case if you want add richness to the gravy (or making a big batch) you can either add ½ a cup of coconut milk and cashew paste or you could just add yogurt.
3.I like my gravy to be thick so I added just a cup of water. You can adjust it according to your own taste.

Kovilpatti chicken kuhambu

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Anganan Biriyani

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Anganan BiriyaniCoimbatore is a southern city in my home state of Tamilnadu. It is popularly known as Manchester of the south due to its textile industry. When you think of Coimbatore, the first that comes to your mind is the lilting Tamil (Kongu Tamil) accent spoken by the people there. I have had the fortune to hear that from friends at college. Thanks dears. Since mine is a food blog and I do know of a popular dish from Coimbatore, I would like to share that here. The dish is the famous Coimbatore Anganan Biriyani.Anganan BiriyaniAnganan BiriyaniAnganan Briyani is a very light biriyani in the sense that you won’t feel that usual heaviness that you have after eating biriyani. That is because of the less masala that you use in this variety. I have never had Anganan Biriyani back in India but seems that my HB had had (of course he did since it is ‘BIRIYANI’ ;)) It has been a while since I had made this variety of Biryani. I was going through my recipe collection the other day and came across it and here I am posting the recipe. The recipe below is for chicken biriyani and you can modify it other types like mutton or fish as desired.Anganan BiriyaniTry this Coimbatore specialty Anganan Biriyani at your home and experience the lightness that I talked about earlier. And yes, my HB did say that my version of Anganan biriyani tasted similar to the original! As always share your comments and experience below. Now, I am off to make Anganan Biriyani and until then, ciao 🙂

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Anganan Biriyani
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3 or 4
 
Ingredients
To grind and marinate:
  • Shallots – 6 nos
  • Green chillies – 4 nos
  • Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
  • Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
  • Cinnamon stick – 1”
  • Cardamom – 2 nos
  • Cloves – 3 nos
  • Mace or javetri – ½
  • Star anise – 1 no
  • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • Yogurt – 2 tbsp
Other ingredients:
  • Oil – 3 to 4 tbsp
  • Cinnamon stick – 1”
  • Cardamom – 2 nos
  • Cloves -2 nos
  • Green chillies, slits – 5 nos
  • Mint, finely chopped – 1 cup
  • Onion, big, slits – 1 no
  • Chicken – 750 grams
  • Salt as required
  • Water – 3 cups (1:1/2 ratio, for 1 cup of rice add 1½ cups of water)
  • Seeraga samba rice – 2 cups (I used basmati)
Instructions
  1. Wash and soak the rice in water for 30 minutes. Drain and save the water.
  2. Grind all the given ingredients under ‘to grind’ and make a fine paste – marinade.
  3. Make few deep slits until the bone on either side of the chicken and marinate with the above paste.
  4. Heat a pressure cooker with enough oil. Add in the whole garam masalas and allow them to sizzle. Add green chillies, mint and onions. Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
  5. Add the marinated chicken. Stir to mix and sauté for a couple of minutes.
  6. Add enough salt and water. Cook for 15 minutes until the chicken is ¾th cooked.
  7. Check for saltiness and add the rice, carefully mixing it and bring it to boil. When the water is ¾th absorbed or you see the rice on top, lower the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro and ghee.
  8. Close the lid and dum cook (without whistle) for 10 minutes and switch off the flame. After 10 minutes, serve it hot with any raitha and gravy on the side. Enjoy! 
Notes
You don’t have to soak samba rice in water before you cook. And here the water ratio is 1:2, i.e for 1 cup of rice add 2 cups of water.

 
Anganan Biriyani

ADAI

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Adai dosaAdai is a dosa like dish synonymous to Tamilnadu (specifically from Chettinad cuisine, I believe) and is made using different varieties of Dal (Moong, Urad and Channa). It is a very healthy dish and usually eaten for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. I started making Adai mainly as an alternative to dosa. For dosa, as you know, the main ingredient to make the batter is rice and rice is rich in carbohydrates which in turn is one of the contributing factors in weight gain (if the intake is often, of course).
062My HB is very health conscious (and that has rubbed off on me as well, sometimes ;)) and so I started my search for a healthy and easy alternative for the usual fares that we have at our home. Then I came across this Adai from the web and found it to be the perfect alternative. Making the Adai batter does not involve fermentation. So the entire process of preparing the batter to cooking Adai is very quick. Also, you don’t need a grinder to prepare the batter. A blender will suffice.
068In our home, we normally have Adai with coconut chutney but by making the batter a little bit spicy (described in the cooking instructions below), you can have Adai without a side dish (how awesome is that!). In restaurants, Adai is often served with butter and Avial (another south Indian dish for which I will post the recipe sometime soon).
So try this very healthy and easy to make Adai in your home and let me know your comments.

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ADAI
Recipe type: Breakfast/Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
Adai is a dosa like dish synonymous to Tamilnadu (specifically from Chettinad cuisine, I believe) and is made using different varieties of Dal (Moong, Urad and Channa). It is a very healthy dish and usually eaten for breakfast and sometimes for dinner.
Ingredients
  • Toor dal - ¼cup
  • Moong dal -1/4 cup
  • Urad dal - ½ cup
  • Idli Rice or Raw Rice - ½ cup
  • Whole Red chillies - 6
  • Salt-as per taste
  • Shallots(small onions) – 2 (chopped)
  • Hing - 1 tsp
  • Cumin seeds - 1 tbs
  • Chopped Coriander leaves – ¼ cup
  • Water as required
  • Oil required to smear around adais
Instructions
  1. Wash and soak urad dal, moong dal, toor dal and rice together in water for 4 hours.
  2. Grind the soaked dals and rice, along with half a tsp cumin seeds, whole red chilli, salt and hing together until smooth. - like dosa batter.
  3. To the ground adai batter add chopped shallots, coriander leaves and little water.
  4. Mix well the batter, the consistency should be similar to dosa batter. Set aside the adai batter to rest for atleast 30 mins.
  5. Heat a dosa tawa, add a ladle full of adai batter to the center of tawa and start spreading the batter from center in circular motion like making dosa or pancakes.
  6. Smear 1 tsp oil around adai and cook on medium heat until both sides of adai are golden brown and crisp.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 2 to 3

Adai dosa