INGREDIENTS:
– 1 x 2kg whole chicken
– 750g rice
– 1 bulb of Garlic 
– Ginger
– ghee
– Olive Oil
– Salt
– Garam Masala
– Jeera (cumin seeds)
– Sarso (black mustard seeds)
– Dhaniya (coriander)
– Tej pati (curry leaves)
– Crushed Tomatoes (fresh tomatoes can also be used)

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– Cut chicken into curry pieces (slightly bigger than usual). Skin as you go!
Don’t know how successful you’ve been with the wings, but I usually give it a miss.
Too hard!
– Wash and place in colander to drip out

– Slice one large onion. Put aside for when cooking begins.
– A teaspoon each of sarso (black mustard seeds) and jeera (cumin seeds) mixed together in a bowl; sits next to the sliced onions in preparedness of entering scalding oils.
– One can of tomatoes, crushed awaits its part in all of this.
– Have your masala handy.
– 2 large cloves of garlic, length of ginger about inch and half

Remember, because this dish will include rice, the spices will need to be amped up; more than a curry otherwise you might end with one hell of a malai (bland), tasteless pot of food.

– To continue, if you have coriander, cut off the roots from half way up the stems, leaving the top bit for final garnish
– add perhaps a couple of chillies, or one,  if you lot are keen on heat,
– as well curry leaves, two or three. If you don’t have the above 3, forget it and carry on.
Ginger and garlic will suffice as it had proven. Lots of it.

– Pound it all, or better still zip in food processor.
Rinse the processor and put away for less headaches of cleaning later.

So remember to up the ingredients in this step. 

– Boil a litre of water in your electric kettle or litre and half, if the kettle can hold the volume. Have on stand by.
– Wash four cups of rice (how big are the cups? Like mine? 750grams) So four cups then. Wash then leave aside for later.

In large pot, convenient for stirring with ease, for the volume increases rather exponentially,
– add ghee (four large spoons, add a bit of olive oil to it if there’s a cringe effect.

But like I said, if you are going to make one of these  dishes, do it right. After all, we only eat it once in awhile, so go all out.

– The chicken needs to cook in this mix or plain ghee, as I like it, so it can be moist while giving the dish a wonderful taste.
Besides it doesn’t catch at the bottom. ;p 

– Add jeera (cumin) & sarso (black mustard) mix when the oil is hot enough, when the ghee becomes fragrant, that is. Let it pop.
– Add onion. Wait until it begins to brown
– add 3/4 of the pounded stuff, stir until well spread out under the ghee, bubbling away to golden brown status.

If you’re likening your spoon to my antique (humph!),

– add six heaped spoons of masala, stir until it looks well soaked up in the now well seasoned ghee.
– Add your chicken. Stir it thoroughly until well coated with the masala.
– Now add your tomatoes.
As I said before of amped up ingredients, well your salt input will have to be rather more than you are usually used to but it makes huge sense since you will be adding rice to the whole mix in a bit.
– Add three of your spoons of salt. Be bold and take a small taste. It will need to be salty.

Is it?
Good.

We’ve got that going until the liquid reduces. Don’t stir overly much lest the meat break off the bones. You might want to reduce the heat a little while you are about the kitchen remembering this,that or the other.

Assuming the meat has reached it nadir (lowest point, if you don’t know already), simmering thickly in the reduced gravy.

– Add your washed rice and stir thoroughly.
– Add other quarter of crushed garlic and friends.
Take another taste to see salt situation.
Lovely!
– Stir until all is mixed well.
– Let it cook for a bit on low heat, stirring constantly until all liquid is sopped up by the rice.
– Add the hot water, stir, cover with lid,
– turn the heat high to bring to boil. Stir.
See, here it’s just a matter of keeping an eye on it to avoid it catching at the bottom, which it does!
Don’t I know it!
– Turn heat back down to medium,
– Stir, cover and so on until the water reduces but is seen to still bubbling on the surface somewhat like those hot springs somewhere.
– Add your dhaniya (coriander) at this point and stir through.
– Cook your rice as you would for the normal pot, until it well cooked, dry of all liquid, sticking together without being wet.

Because of the oil, it might be confusing but it gets harder to stir as you towards the end,is the only way I can explain it.

You’ll know the feel of it. It changes as it dries up. You will have to constantly stir, I’m afraid. It’s that kind of dish.

Indian cooking has never been known to be straight-forward, but worth every  minute of eating it, I reckon!

Once you’re satisfied it’s done,
– turn the heat off,
– leave the lid on to steam more until chow time!

Serve with Tomato Chutney and Raita.
Recipe’s coming soon. 🙂

Watch The Stylander make chicken Palau here.

INGREDIENTS:
– 6 Lamb Neck Chops
– 1 bulb of Garlic 
– Ginger
– Soy Sauce
– Olive Oil
– Salt
– Brown Sugar
– Black Pepper
– Sesame Oil

– Your choice of carb x4 – Taro, cassava or purple sweet potato

– 1 bundle of bok choy or pak choi

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Some consider these cuts of meat sub-standard.

Offensive.
It being full of flavour when done well! Of course, the quality would have to be high. While it is considered a cheap cut, it can make some of the most delicious dishes, we know.

Soups, braised, meals in a pot, stews, and allsorts. This dish is a sort of fusion of sorts, island style, based on six lamb neck slices.

They have a tendency to be fatty, but we search for good quality, lean slices.

– Wash the slices and trim off fat if you need to or the spot of congealed blood which tends to settle at the base.
– Place in a bowl.
– Add a few splashes of dark soy sauce.
– a good drizzling of olive oil
– a level teaspoon of salt
– the same of brown sugar
– quarter teaspoon of black
– pepper
– and a good few shakes of sesame oil.

Mix into the slices, rubbing thoroughly so that they are all covered.
I usually use fresh garlic and ginger, in which case it would be

– three cloves of garlic
– and a small knob of ginger crushed fine
OR
– you can dollop out a teaspoon of garlic from a jar
– perhaps half teaspoon of ginger as well to the mix
rubbing in for good measure.

Set aside.

We eat this meal with boiled taro, cassava or the best purple sweet potato.

It is the time to put your choice of carbs onto boil,

– peeled, on low, low heat with a little bit of salt. Half teaspoon should do it.
– Taste the water for that brackishness.

Since the meal serves two or three small eaters,

Ahem!!

– Four pieces of the above carbs should do it.
– Cover and let it take its time.

You can literally forget it while you’re doing other things around it. That way we don’t get taken unawares that it may become a sloshy boiled mess or undercooked.

Always perfect, if you intend to take the challenge, that is! But your preference rules on this page.

While that is going well on its way, it’s time to take care of the vegetables.

– One bundle of bok choy or pak choi should take care of it.
– Take the leaves apart
– and wash each one thoroughly, taking extra care of the ends, and scraggy bits of the leaves. Compost stuff.

All washed?

– Chop roughly and place in colander.
Please don’t cut too fine; it may ooze out a lot more liquid than would be visually appealing, making it soupy rather than braised.

– The meat gets transferred into the pot of choice; the bowl it had sat in filled half way with water so that the bits of the marinate remaining in the bowl gets used up.

Our effort must not go to waste.

– This is then poured over the meat.
– It will need to cover the meat to about an inch above.
– Add more water if you need to get to that level.
– Turn the flame on high and let it boil.
To avoid it spilling over, move the lid open slightly to let the steam escape thereby avoiding a stovetop mess.

– It will be allowed to boil until the water reduces to three quarters way down forming thickening gravy,
– when you will need to stir, turning down the heat to avoid it burning.
– Taste for flavours.
– Add in thickly sliced onion and a sliced tomato or two.
– Continue to allow it to simmer, add a little more water if you need to.

The idea it to allow the tomatoes to amalgamate with the gravy and the flavour of the onions.
By this time, if you skewer the lamb, you will find it is melting off the bone.
And the aroma? Drooling stuff.

– Once the gravy is thick enough to hear a slight sizzling, 
– add your cabbage and stir through, until it wilts but does not overcook.
The whites must be crunchy, the green, bright.
– Turn the stove, off, pull the lid back so the steam escapes and does not continue to cook.

Presto! Time to check the root crop of choice. A skewer is a good way to check. It should pierce right through without resistance.

– Drain.
– Transfer to platter.
– Slice to serve.

Dinner is ready!