Chicken Sukka is a specialty dish of where I come from ; South Kanara region of India. This is the coastal region of Karnataka State. This region has a culture that is very unique to the region. Tulu is the local dialect. This region also has the origin of the Bunt ( Shetty) community, to which celebrities like Ms. World Aishwarya Rai and Bollywood stars like Shilpa Shetty and Sunil Shetty hail from. They also have their very distinctive cuisine. Chicken Sukka is a dish that belongs to their cuisine. In Tulu, they would call the dish " kori aajadina". Another famous dish is Kori rotti, where crisp, dried rice crepes are served with chicken curry. While I never cared for kori rotti, chicken Sukka is something I would die for!! Really, it is that delicious! This dish can also be made using clams, mussels, crabs and for vegetarians, using black chick peas and gherkins. While there are several different versions of chicken Sukka, the essential ingredients are the coarsely ground coconut, all the different spices, curry leaves, red chilli, onion, ginger and garlic.
I personally think it is the coarse coconut mixed with all the spices and the aroma of the curry leaves that gives this dish so much texture and flavor.
There are several different recipes and methods to make the Chicken Sukka. The one I am sharing with you today is what I have found to be the easiest and one of the tastiest!
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
Chicken thighs: 2 lbs/ 1 kg.
Lemon juice: from 1 small lemon
Coconut oil: 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Onion : 2 medium
Tomato : 1 large
Curry leaves : a handful
Chilli powder : 1 tsp ( can be adjusted as per individual spice level)
Coriander seeds : 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds (jeera): 2 tbsp
Black pepper powder : 1 + 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder (haldi): 1 + 1 tsp
Garam masala powder: 1 tsp
Freshly grated coconut : 2 cups
Salt: as per taste.
Method:
Clean the chicken. Marinate it with salt, lemon juice and black pepper powder. Cover and place it aside ( preferably in the refrigerator for at least 30 mins.
Heat 1 tsp coconut oil in a sauté pan or kadai. Sauté curry leaves lightly and keep aside.
Add 1 cup freshly grated coconut,coriander seeds and cumin seeds to the same pan. Sauté until i turns light brown. Let it cool down completely. Once it cools down, grind it with pepper powder,chilli powder and garam masala powder. Keep it aside.
Add 1 tbsp coconut oil to the pan . Add chopped onions and tomato to the same pan. Sauté until lightly brown and oil separates. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 3-4 minutes .
Add the ground paste and mix well. Add the marinated chicken and mix well. Add one cup water and bring it to a boil. Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked thoroughly ( around 20 minutes).
When the chicken is cooked, add the remaining fresh coconut and cook for 5 more minutes.
Garnish with the roasted curry leaves.
Serve hot with rice/roti or bread!
I am bringing this delicious dish to all my friends at Throwback Thursday#37, Fiesta Friday#118 and Saucy Saturdays#43! Angie's Fiesta Friday co-hosts this week are Kaila @ GF Life 24/7 and Laurena @ Life Diet Health
Cooking made easy:
You can cut the cooking time of the above dish by half if you make it in a pressure cooker. Once you add the chicken in with 1/2-1 cup water, let it come to a boil, cover the lid of the cooker, add the weight/whistle. Cook on medium flame until you hear two whistles. Turn off the flame. Wait for the pressure to be completely released before opening the lid. Add the freshly grated coconut and cook for 5 mins.
Garnish with toasted curry leaves!
Another way to make this dish faster is by using chicken breast instead of thighs. You can cook it in a sauté pan or kadai and the chicken will be cooked in under 15 minutes!
Tip for healthy living:
Always make sure that you marinate the chicken and let it sit in the fridge in a covered container as opposed to on your counter-top. You might think that you are going to cook it right away, but it might take you sometimes longer than you thought. Raw meat can go bad very quickly in hot temperature. It is much safer to leave it in the refrigerator.
Food for thought:
If you wish to reach the highest, begin at the lowest. Publilius Syrus
It was my husband's birthday this past week. Being that it was a week-day, I didn't make anything elaborate.I made his favorite Hyderabadi dum chicken biryani this weekend!
By any account, Hyderabadi Dum Biryani is the king of all kinds of biryanis! Whoa!! What am I talking about?? Does this sound like jargon?? Okay, let me start at the very beginning, so that I can make this comprehensible to all readers! Biryani is a way of cooking rice with spices and some kind of meat.. Lamb, mutton, chicken. It can also be made using fish or eggs.. There is of course a vegetarian version too.. But that is pretty much like the pulao( pilaf). Now what is the difference between pulao and biryani?? Yes, both are dishes which contain rice mixed with chicken/fish/vegetables. The difference is that in pulao, the rice and the meat/fish/vegetable is cooked together. Whereas in biryani, the rice is pre-cooked until half-done, then layered with meat/chicken/fish which has also been separately cooked until half-done and then the two are arranged in alternate layers; cooked under dum and garnished with fried onions and cashew halves on top. What is dum? Dum is pretty much slow cooking either in the oven or on the stove-top on top of a cast iron pan, without bringing the pot in direct contact with the fire.
Mmmm... My mouth is watering already. Biryani is one of the top dishes offered in India. It is generally made on special celebratory occasions. There are several kinds of Biryani.. Bombay Biryani, Hyderabadi biryani, so on and so forth.. Hyderabadi Biryani is considered top notch and the best tasting.. Hyderabad is the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. This biryani apparently originated in the royal kitchen of the Nizam Shahs who ruled the region at the time.
Every Indian who likes Biryani prides themselves on making a good one. I have come across several recipes out there that are either too tedious with hundreds of steps to it or it just didn't taste right. Me being me.. I have neither the time nor the patience for long-drawn recipes that take all day to make. Therefore I was thrilled when my dear friend Phani( who is from Andhra Pradesh) shared this quick and easy recipe for Hyderabadi Dum Biryani. I have been making this for a few years now and I must say, it is absolutely fool-proof! I am yet to find a person who didn't like this Biryani! The addition of boiled egg halves before serving is not part of the original recipe.It is my modification as sometimes the Biryani is too spicy for me and this helps cut the spice level.
Whenever I make this Biryani, I make a huge batch in my Dutch oven as my husband looks forward to leftovers. I must say that this is the only non-vegetarian dish whose leftovers he eats!!! I think he secretly looks forward to every time I make this dish!;)
Servings: 6-8
Ingredients:
Basmati rice: 3 cups
Water : 8 cups
Chicken with bones : 2 lbs, cleaned, chopped into medium pieces.
Red Onions: 3 medium, chopped lengthwise.
Cashew halves: 2 tbsp
Sour yogurt: 1 cup
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Haldi: 1 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Green chillies: 6, chopped fine.
Bay leaves: 2
Cloves:4-6
Cardamom pods: 4-6
Cinnamon stick: 2 nos
Shah jeera: 2 pods
Kalajeera: 1 tsp
Ghee: 2 tbsp ( optional)( you could use just oil instead of ghee)
Coconut oil: 2 tbsp( any cooking oil can be used)
Mint leaves: 1 cup, cleaned
Saffron:3-4 strands
Warm milk: 1 tbsp
Hard boiled eggs: 4, sliced into 2( optional), for garnishing.
Salt: as per taste.
Method:
Marinate the chicken pieces with a little salt, lemon juice, haldi powder, red Chilli powder and keep aside for atleast 30 mins.
Fry sliced onions in ghee-oil mixture until golden and crispy . Drain on paper towels.
Fry cashew halves in the same oil and keep aside.
Now sauté cinnamon, clove, cardamom, bay leaves, kala jeera, shahi jeera in the same oil for 1-2 mins and keep aside.
Soak basmati rice in water for 30 minutes. Drain and let it dry for another 30 mins.
Boil water with 1/2 tsp salt . When the water comes to a boil, add the basmati rice. Cook it only until the rice crackles( half-done, takes around 10 minutes). Drain using a colander. Keep aside.
Cook the chicken until half-cooked. Let it cool down.
Once cooled, add to it ginger garlic paste, yogurt, salt, the fried whole spices, half of the fried onions and cashew halves, green chillies, mint leaves. Mix well.
Soak the saffron strands in warm milk for 10 mins. Mix this into the warm rice.
Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.
Take the chicken in a oven-safe pot( I use a Dutch oven). Spread it along the entire bottom of the pot.
Now layer the half-cooked rice on top of this.
Cover the pot tightly with aluminum foil.
Close the lid and place it in the oven for 45minutes to 1 hour, checking in between.
When done, garnish with the removing fried onions/ cashew halves and boiled egg halves.
Mix well before serving.
Serve hot with onion raita and/or chopped onions dressed with lemon juice and salt.
Enjoy!
I am bringing this to Angie's Fiesta Friday! I know it is a little late in the day to bring it but I am sure the wonder ful and Angie and her co-hosts Jhuls and Margy wouldn't mind and would not want to miss out on this delicious dish!
I am also bringing this to Super simple Tuesdays by Hun whats for dinner?.
Cooking made easy:
If you don't have an oven, you could still make Dum Biryani by heating a cast iron frying pan/griddle on low flame and keeping the pot on top of the pan.
There is an even easier way, but if course is not the authentic Dum Biryani. This is by layering it in the rice cooker and letting it cook there. Though I have never personally used this method, I have seen my friend do it. It comes out perfect!
Tip for healthy living:
For those who are health conscious, most recipes that call for ghee can be substituted with a 50:50 ghee:oil mixture. This way you can enjoy the flavor and aroma of ghee too while being low in calories/fat content.
Food for thought:
The future of the distant and the difficult is deceptive.The great opportunity is where you are.John Burroughs
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