chicken everything in my crisper

Somedays I am confronted by that monstrous question ‘what do I cook?’ Yesterday was one of them. I gaped at the contents of my fridge for inspiration, but they reciprocated with a cold, blank stare. My otherwise cherished recipe notebook lost its appeal; I wanted something simple, easy and tasty. Dinner time was fast approaching, and the gnawing hunger added to the dilemma. Usually on such days I ring up one of my friends, ‘What are you cooking?’, and somehow that would do the trick. Yesterday, I turned to my latest obsession, food blogs . Browsing through all the fabulous recipes with their tempting pictures was not an easy task , especially with a growling stomach, but proved to be very fruitful, or very chickenful. And the moment I saw Anthony’s Chicken masala dry, my puzzle was solved. Anthony’s recipe sounded easy and versatile, I was willing to play with it.

The crisper emptied a bunch of fresh fenugreek leaves , a tiny piece of purple cabbage, and my onion basket gave me two onions which had been lying there so long that they had nice green sprouts. I have never used fenugreek leaf in a non-vegetarian dish, well there’s always a first time. To make the long story short, it was fun cooking this one!

Recipe :

Chicken : 2 lbs
Yogurt : 2 T
Juice of one lime, and a little bit of its zest if you care
Crushed black pepper : 2 t
Ginger –garlic paste : 1 t
Turmeric : ¼ t
Green chili , crushed : 2
Salt

Mix all of this and marinate chicken in this, while you assemble the rest of the stuff.
Corriander powder : 2 t
Onions, chopped : 2
Fenugreek leaf, minced: 2 cup
Water : 2 cup
Cabbage, onion sprouts or any thing you care to throw in, sliced.

Heat around 2 T oil in a pan, add onions and sauté until golden. Add the coriander powder, fry for a few seconds. Add the chicken, and fry for a couple of minutes.Pour enough water to cook the chicken, (about two cups or less). Cover and cook on medium heat .
Once the chicken is well done, add the fenugreek leaf, and stir fry for another 4 to 5 minutes, Throw in the cabbage, onion sprout at the end and salt if needed.
You are done!We had it with those flaky frozen parathas.

Lesson learnt, slightly bitter fenugreek takes on a new avatar in a chicken curry. The sourness of lime-yogurt and the bitterness of fenugreek combined to a very interesting flavor. I am looking forward to my left-over lunch today ;)