Chicken cafreal

Chicken cafreal is a classic Goan dish and like all things Goan, this dish is an absolute winner. Chicken is marinated in a host of herbs and spices and then shallow fried to juicy perfectness!!! Goa was a Portuguese colony and most of the Goan cuisine is influenced by them. Chicken cafreal is no exception! There is a restaurant in Saligao - Florentines, that has in a big way made this dish popular among tourists and locals. Chicken cafreal is their signature dish. 

I have learnt this recipe from my mum in law, and over the years have cooked it innumerable times to hearty appreciation and appetites. It has strong strong spicy flavours and is an absolute must try. This is a dryish preparation with little thick sauce, so please plan your menu accordingly.

Recipe credit: Ms.Rozita Coutinho

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 1 kg (cut, washed and drained)
2. Onions - 2 medium sized
3. Vinegar - 2 tbsp
4. Oil - As required
5. Salt - as per taste

Spices & herbs to be ground using little water:

1. Green chillies - 6 nos
2. Coriander leaves - 1 cup
3. Mint leaves - 1 cup
4. Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
5. Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
6. Cinnamon - 1 inch
7. Cloves - 6 nos
8. Green cardamom - 8 nos
9. Cumin - 1 tsp
10. Peppercorns - 10 nos

Method:

1. Marinate chicken in the ground spice paste, add salt to the marinade and refrigerate for 3 - 4 hours at least.
2. Slice onions finely and set aside.
3. In a large pan, big enough so that all the chicken pieces are in contact with the pan, heat oil, and fry the sliced onions.
4. Place the chicken pieces in a way, that ensure all pieces are touching the pan. On high heat, dehydrate the chicken and let it brown on all sides. 
5. Once the chicken is browned on all sides, reduce the flame and add the vinegar.
6. Add hot water as required for the chicken to cook, this should take about 15 minutes.
7. Check for taste and seasoning. Adjust the consistency as required. 
8.  Put off the flame and it's ready to be served.

Beef chilly fry with pan fried potatoes

This dish was a happy accident. I had set out to make something else but due to some reasons, ended up making this. It was an instant hit, you can have this with chappatis or bread, in a sandwich or wrap, or with dal and rice, irrespective of what you pair it with, it tastes heavenly.

The best thing about this recipe is you can tinker around with the spices and sauces. Add or delete as long as you have the basic ingredients in place. You can create this dish to suit your palate and preference. But the recipe I share is spicy, tangy and very flavourful. So here goes!

Ingredients:

1. Beef - 1/2 kg 
2. Garlic - 4 cloves, finely chopped
3. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, finely chopped
4. Green chilly - 2 nos, roughly chopped
5. Onion - 1 large, sliced
6. Tomato - 1 large, sliced
7. Worcester sauce - 1/2 tbsp
8. Soy sauce - 1 tsp
9. Red chilly sauce - 1 tsp (optional)
10. Salt as required
11. Oil as required
12. Coriander leaves - for garnish
13. Potatoes - 2 nos, cut lengthwise

Powdered spices:

1. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
2. Pepper - 1/2 tsp
3. Red chilly - 1/2 tsp
4. Garam masala - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Cut the beef into half inch tips, wash, drain and set aside.
2. Add all the powdered spices to the beef tips and mix well. You could do this, before chopping the other ingredients for the dish.
3. In a pan, heat oil, add the ginger, garlic, green chilly and onions. Fry till the onion has softened.
4. Add the tomatoes, salt and the beef. Mix well, bring it to a boil and then let it cook on low flame till the beef is cooked.
5. Add about one cup of water as required to ensure the contents don't stick to the pan and the beef is cooked. This could take about 30 minutes or more depending on how tough or tender the meat is. Please use your discretion and check as needed.
6. Alternatively you could cook this in a pressure cooker and then reduce the water to desired consistency. 
7. This is a dry dish with with very thick sauce, so don't add too much water.
8. Lastly, add the sauces, check for taste and consistency, put off the flame.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves.

For the potatoes: This is optional.

1. In a pan add 1 cup water and salt, bring it to a boil, add the potatoes and cook till 3/4th done. 
2. If the water has not evaporated while cooking , drain the water, drizzle little oil so the potatoes are coated and pan fry till done.

Tinned Tuna Cutlets

I am not a fish eater. Many are surprised considering that I hail from the coastal Mangalore, famous for its delicious fish preparations. My family like true Mangis (Mangloreans) loves fish, specially in curries. In fact growing up, I had a tough time during meals since fish curry rice was a staple diet on week days. My mother refused to cook separately for me and I had to make do with rice and curry minus the fish or curd and rice.

Lucky for me the Goan I married isn't too fond of fish either. :-)

A big part of what I am in the kitchen today is thanks to my mother-in-law. She has taught me many things, not only inside the kitchen but also outside it. She taught me that fish need not necessarily be eaten in curries. One could make yummy cutlets too. Over the years I have tried different permutations and combinations of ingredients, and finally perfected the cutlets. And that's what I share with you today. I am told one can replace tin fish with fresh tuna (kupa), or king fish (rawas). But I have never tried that.

Recipe credit : Ms.Rozita Coutinho

Ingredients:

1. Tin fish in oil (tuna) - 180 grams
2. Onion (small) - 1 no (chopped)
3. Tomato (small) - 1 no (chopped)
4. Green chilly - 1 no (chopped)
5. Ginger - 1/2 tsp (grated)
6. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
7. Bread slices - 1 or 2
8. Oil - as required * (see notes)
9. Bread crumbs - as required

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions, fry till they turn pink. Add the chopped tomato, ginger and chilly and continue sauteing till the mixture looks mushy.
2. Add the tuna chunks, give it a good stir and break the chunks into smaller bits. Mix it well and take it off the stove. Put the mixture aside to cool.
3. In the mean time, soak the bread slices in water and squeeze the water out. It will look like a ball of dough.
4. Add the bread to the tuna mixture and mix the whole thing with your hand. Taste for salt.
5. Make five to six balls and pat them to a flat patty, roll in breadcrumbs and shallow fry on each side till it changes colour and looks brown and done. 
6. This takes about 5 - 7 minutes on a medium flame.

Notes:

• I used oil from the tuna tin to fry the initial onion mixture. If I use two tins of fish I use the oil from the second tin to shallow fry the cutlets.
• If your health conscious you can use tuna in brine or water. Or one tin in oil and one in water.
• You may add chopped coriander leaves once the mixture has cooled down. This adds an excellent flavour to the cutlets. 

Tomato Coconut Chutney

South Indians can make chutneys with anything. Seriously ! The sheer creativity in this particular area of food amazes me. The plan is to share all those different chutney recipes right here. Chutneys typically are served as an accompaniment to different dishes.They enhance the taste of the meal and are mostly bursting with a lot of flavor and aroma. I borrowed this recipe from my sister who in turn borrowed it from a work colleague. In the family circle we call this recipe "Malti's chutney" as that was how it was written in my sister's recipe book. A chance discussion at a family get together got this innocent chutney name some serious embarrassing comments. But not as embarrassing as Lancy's lollipops ;-)

Anyway, the recipe I share with you today is something that I love putting on the table with "Dosas". Dosas are popular for being healthy, nutritious and hassle free preparation. They are common across South India and there are different types of dosa, for example, neer dosa, paper dosa, set dosa etc. I don't make idlis, but you can pair this chutney with idlis too. Give it a go, and you'll know how special this chutney is! :-)

Recipe credit : Teacher Malti from Lokmanya Tilak School

Ingredients:

1. Onion - 1 large
2. Tomato - 2 medium
3. Garlic - 5 flakes (medium sized)
4. Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
5. Kashmiri chillies - 4 nos
6. Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
7. Oil & Salt as required

Method:

1. In a pan, pour 1 tsp of oil and fry individually ingredients 1 to 5.
2. After the last ingredient is removed from the pan, switch off the flame and while the pan is still hot, place the grated coconut for a couple of minutes.
3.  Let the ingredients cool and grind  with some water and don't forget to add salt to suit your taste.
4. Serve with hot dosas and see the magic work.