Sigh! Another weekend flew by unnoticed and regretfully unfullfilling… all due to the damn rains! We had showers pouring in non-stop yesterday. All that drowsy weather left us blue and craving for some soul food. That’s where I stepped in as comfort queen, all set to reclaim my title!

One look into my fridge and I just knew the chicken was going to see his day. Another quick peek into the crisper and the ball was set to roll. Hubby dearie was all too happy to hear what was on the menu. A quick few minutes later, we had a hearty lunch waiting to be devoured!! On a day like this when all I want to do is lounge around and relish good ‘ol home-cooking, I want something quick and simple. With a quick thought, one can easily put on a pot of Dal and a deliciously quick meal in minutes!

But what if one wants something, not so simple in taste, but just as easy to prepare? Well, then I just take out some chicken and get cooking! But wait, what is that you say? Chicken? Quick? Simple? Well, yea baby! And I’m not talking throwing in a batch of carelessly chopped onions and can of diced tomamtoes and waiting for it to brew into a delicious curry. Oh no! When I say easy chicken in minutes, I mean the big bucks! Take out that kadhai (Indian wok) and lets get working on that age-old oh-so-famous deliciously-mouth-watering-finger-lickin’-good Kadhai Chicken!! Yup, you heard me! It IS that easy!!

Kadhai chicken/paneer is probably one of the simplest dishes I can add to my credit. I have made these dishes so many times that I can easily find my way blind-folded! Loaded with crisp veggies and a blend of spices, this dish is definitely a mouthful and an easy contender to the ever-growing list of comfort foods.

Kadhai Chicken

Ingredients:

4-5 boneless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch cubes 1 large onion, diced into big chunks 2 cups mixed bell peppers (green, read and yellow), diced into 1-inch cubes 1 large tomato, diced into cubes 2-3 green chillies, sliced

1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp red chili powder 1/2 tsp coriander powder salt, to taste 2 tbsp cooking oil 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil in a kadhai (Indian wok), and add cumin seeds. Once they begin to sizzle, add in diced onions and saute till transparent and tender.

2. Add chicken pieces, green chillies and giner-garlic paste and fry for a few minutes till chcken begins to firm.

3. Add salt, chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric and stir fry till spices blend well.

4. Add in chopped tomatoes, and cover cook for 10-15 minutes on medium-low heat, till chicken is cooked through.

5. Add mixed peppers and cover cook for another 3-5 minutes. You don’t want to overcook the peppers and want to still have a slight crunch.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with warm fluffy rotis!

Notes:To make yummy Kadhai Paneer, simply substitute chicken pieces with cubes of paneer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 31st, 2006 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Recipes: Non-Vegetarian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.