A mouthful of cooked happiness.

“You know what I love about cooking?

I love after a day when nothing is sure, and when I say “nothing” I mean nothing.

You can come home and absolutely know, that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk it will get thick, it’s such a comfort.” – Julie [from the movie Julie and Julia.]

Yes, cooking is a comfort, a joy, of creating something. Who doesn't want a delicious meal at the end of each day?

 I love the movie Julie and Julia; I mean that who wouldn't who loves food and cooking as much as I do. I have watched the movie so many times over the years and it still gives me inspiration to cook in any situation.  Cooking to me is also a way getting away from a bad day, a dull life an escape into a delicious, mouth watering daze.

Think about it, how could the vegetables, the spices all the ingredients conspire to create something so delectable and delicate something different with every different dish. What is great about cooking is the ingredients are same specially in Indian cooking yet you can create a whole variety of dishes using the same ingredients and you get a platter to satiate the hunger of taste and stomach.

Food is also my way of turning a disappointing day in to a satisfying one.  For instance how my chicken with curd and black pepper and carrot fried rice turned my tasteless Sunday in to an appetizing piece. I saw this recipe in one of the food networks and since then I had mastered it and added my touch. I simply love improvising, and why not?? As the saying goes “it’s the recipes you create are the best”

So how did I prepare my chicken?

• The basic ingredient to cooking great chicken is how you marinate it. Wash the chicken properly and then add about 1 and a half cups of beaten curd to a kg of chicken and add grounded black pepper, little bit of salt, coriander powder and three tablespoon of mustard oil. 
• Now mix them all together, I use my hands, because nothing can beat the subtle art of mixing by hand, you can loving coat each piece with the masala and see the effect. 
• Keep aside this marinated meat for at least two hours, longer if you want.

Now for the gravy, take four medium sized onions, a garlic and some ginger and make a paste of onion, and ginger and garlic.

• Then soak few cashew nuts and make a paste of it too. Keep it aside. 
• Now heat mustard oil in a pan, add dried crushed chillies and bay leaves and then add the pieces of chicken and fry (keep aside the marinated liquid). 
• When the chicken is half done, take it off from the stove and keep aside. 
• Heat some oil again in the same pan and add the onions, after the onions turns golden brown add the ginger garlic paste and fry. 
• Then add a cup of curd and stir and after a min, add the cashew nuts paste. (Note: after adding curd it’s essential to add the cashew nuts paste immediately so that the tanginess in the curd is absorbed by the sweetness in the paste.) 

Now add the marinated liquid and bring it to boil, then add the chicken pieces and a pinch of garam masala and keep the pan in medium heat for about 15 minutes and voila! Your delicious chicken is ready.

I am using mustard oil, because it really heightens the flavours of Indian cooking and also gives you a delicious colour.

I didn't use turmeric powder yet the colour is so beautiful and delicious, it’s the mustard oil which gave my chicken a hint of colour.

Now for my carrot rice… well it’s very easy,  grate one or two carrots depending on the quantity and keep aside. Now heat ghee or unsalted butter  and add two cloves of crushed garlic a pinch of pepper, salt and the grated carrots ( add the carrots according to the quantity of the rice or too much carrots would spoil the dish) and stir then immediately add the rice and stir them. Your rice is ready, so easy yet so tasty.

I don't like wasting food, so I had some leftover grated carrots.. what do I do?? I made it into a salad of grated carrots and tomatoes and green chillies and I have one satisfying meal and a comforting Ego (Wink!), because nothing, believe me nothing can give you more satisfaction than a plate of your own cooked delicious platter.

So this is the way I spent my Sunday, hope you all liked the taste of my writing..till some other cooking time. Goodbye!