brining chicken – why should you brine chicken ?

brining is a process of soaking meat in salt solution so that it remains tender and juicy
when chicken is deep fried. If you have ever wondered how the chicken served in
restaurants is so tender, soft and juicy? It is due to brining. There are so many ways of
doing it. One of the most common is to make a solution using vinegar, salt and water.
The other easiest way is to soak chicken in salted butter milk. Add 2 to 3 tbsps. of
yogurt to 2 cups water, add salt and whisk it up. Add chicken to it. Allow it to rest for at
least 4 to 6 hours in refrigerator. If you are short of time 45 minutes to 1 hour would be
fine. Drain up and use in the recipe as needed.

step by step photos on how to make chilli

chicken recipe
1. To a bowl, add cubed chicken, soya sauce, chili sauce, vinegar and pepper. Marinate
and set aside for 45 minutes.

2. Sprinkle 2 tbsp cornflour and salt on the chicken. If you like to have a thick crunchy
coating of the flour like we get in restaurants, add 2 tbsp plain flour and 1 more tbsp
corn flour. Mix well to coat. If the chicken is too dry and you do not want to use egg,
sprinkle little water and mix.
3. Add paprika / chilli powder and mix again. This helps to get a good color. This is
optional.
4. If using egg add it now. One small egg for ½ kg (1 lb) chicken works well. If the
mixture looks dry, can sprinkle very little water. However i did not use egg.
5. Prepare the sauce for seasoning. Add soya sauce, sugar, red chilli powder or
paprika, chilli sauce, pepper powder to a bowl. I am using red chilli powder here again
for the color.
6. Heat oil and shallow fry or deep fry the chicken and drain off on the kitchen tissue. It
can also be grilled in a preheated oven at 240 C for 20 to 25 minutes depending on the
size of the pieces.You can as well put them on a skewer and grill.
7. Remove the oil to a bowl and Keep 2 tsps. Oil in the pan. Add garlic and fry for a
minute. Add onions, green chilies, spring onions, celery and capsicum. Fry until they
turn slightly tender. They must still keep the crunch.
8. Add the sauces and allow to bubble.
9. Add the chicken and fry on high for 2 to 3 minutes till it looks dry.
Serve hot.
This recipe can easily be adapted to make a chilli chicken gravy as well. Here are
the steps to follow
Add 1 tsp corn flour, pinch of salt to 2 to 3 tbsp. water to a bowl. Stir well to break any
lumps. Taste this, it must be slightly salty. You can also add a tsp tomato ketchup if you
like it. Pour the mixture Towards the end. Stir well. The mixture comes to a boil and
thickens, switch off. Adjust more or less water, corn flour, salt as needed to get make
more gravy. It can be served with fried rice.
saunth chutney recipe - sweet and tangy chutney made with tamarind, jaggery
and ginger powder.

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250

ml)
 ½ cup seedless tamarind/imli, tightly packed
 1 and ¾ cups water
 ½ tsp cumin seeds/jeera
 ½ tsp ginger powder/saunth powder
 a pinch of asafoetida/hing
 ¼ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
 7 to 8 tbsp jaggery/gur or as required - adjust as per your taste
 1 tsp oil
 rock salt or black salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS
1. soak tamarind in water overnight or for 4-5 hours in a small bowl or pan.
2. with your hands, squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the same bowl or
pan.
3. strain the pulp and keep aside.
4. heat oil in a small pan.
5. lower the flame & add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
6. add ginger powder, red chili powder, asafoetida.
7. stir and add the strained tamarind pulp. cook for 2-3 mins.
8. add the jaggery and salt and cook for 4-5 mins more.
9. the mixture would thicken. let the saunth chutney mixture cool.
10. when cooled, store the saunth chutney in an air-tight dry jar or container.
refrigerate and serve the saunth chutney whenever required with chaat or
snacks.
NOTES

1. you can have the consistency of the sweet chutney as per your choice. simply
alter the amount of water and make the saunth chutney slightly thin or thick as
per your requirements.
2. if jaggery is not available then as an alternative option you can add sugar.
the taste will be little different. the amount of sugar depends upon sweetness of
sugar and the sourness of tamarind. so add the sugar as per requirement.
3. the recipe can be doubled.
 Alu Kabli

Boil 2 medium potatoes in their jacket.Peel and then cube. Soak chickpeas overnight and cook them
till soft. OR buy a can of chickpeas, drain, rinse well and use.

Chop half of a large onion in small pieces. Chop about 6 small green chili in thin rounds.

Dry roast 1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds till they roast to a nice smell. Dry roast or char by holding directly on
fire two Dry red Chili. Okay, only one for the faint hearted. Dry grind the cumin seeds and red chili
together to make a fine powder called Bhaja Masla.

In a bowl add 2 tbsp of Tamarind Chutney, 2 tbsp water, 1 tsp of Bhaja Masla, a little salt to taste
and 2 of the finely chopped green chili. Mix well.Note: I used Deep Brand Tamarind Chutney, you can
also make your own

In another bowl assemble the potatoes and a cup of boiled chickpeas.Sprinkle rest of the bhaja
masla, some pink salt according to taste, the chopped green chili and the chopped onion. Squeeze
alittle of lime juice, maybe a teaspoonful. Toss together and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Now dole out a serving in a bowl. Drizzle the tamarind water you made. Garnish with some
more chiliand onion. Sprinkle with some hot sev if you wish. Eat immediately.