From mom’s kitchen to mine

When I was around five years old, I studied in a school that was 20 km away from my home. I had to wake up at least by 6 am if I had to finish all my morning tasks and reach the bus stop on time.

Back in the 90s, Bengaluru’s weather made it difficult for one to get up early. Cuddling under the blanket made us the happiest. However, my mother used to wake up at around 4 am to make breakfast and lunch. I used to wonder how she could do it every day without fail.

But then I understood why — the joy of cooking. I too enjoyed when the aroma of whatever she was making would spread across our small 1 BHK home. As sleepy as I was, whenever I could, I would go and watch her cook.

“Why are you up now? Go back to bed and I’ll wake you up in some time,” she would yell. I rarely paid heed.

When I was in the second standard, my parents moved to Vellore, Tamil Nadu. The school I studied in allowed students to go home for lunch. At noon, I would briskly walk home to make sure that I don’t miss chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s show on TV; though I would invariably miss the first 10 minutes of the show.

That became what I called ‘lunch with Sanjeev Kapoor’. Sometimes my mother and I would even discuss the recipe and hope to make it someday. Whether it meant spending hours in the kitchen, watching my mother cook for over 40 people or helping her cut the vegetables, my interest in the culinary world slowly grew with time.

Sometimes I was less than helpful. Like when I would randomly open the lid to stir whatever she was making as I thought it would help bring out the flavour. I would get scolded for stirring the dish so much!

When the world of internet opened before us, I spent hours watching food videos. It didn’t matter if the ingredients will never be available here or that I never had the right equipment; they almost felt like an addiction. At work, whenever I get some time, I watch cooking videos. It’s hard to explain why I watch so many of these; it’s not like I really try to make it at home. But I pick up a few tricks and shortcuts and use it whenever possible.

The ‘Chicken Curry’ recipe shared here also has some of the things I learnt along the way. Though nothing beats my mother’s chicken curry, I take a little pride in saying that my friends love my version of it too.

My roommate and I loved cooking together. I’d go buy the chicken (she would probably stop eating chicken if she saw how they butchered one), clean it, marinate it for a while and start cooking. That one hour wait between the marination and cooking was the most exasperating time.

Hot rice, the chicken curry and a drizzle of ghee was our go-to food most of the time.

Though I like cooking, I don’t like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. So I make the curry in a pressure cooker which ensures that within 20 minutes, it is ready.

Recipe: Chicken curry

Ingredients

- Curry-cut chicken, 1 kg

- Chilli powder, 2 tsp

- Turmeric powder, 1 tsp

- Coriander powder, 2 tsp

- Chicken powder, 3 tsp

- Salt to taste

- Ginger garlic paste

- Ghee, 2 tbsp

- Star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom

- Thinly sliced onion, 1

- Tomato, 1

- Green chilli, 1

- Water, 1/2 cup

- Chopped coriander

Method

- Wash the chicken thoroughly with water. Use vinegar or turmeric powder to clean.

- For marination, add one tsp of chilli powder, a pinch of turmeric, one tsp of coriander powder and one tsp of chicken powder. Mix it all together and leave it to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

- In a pressure cooker, add ghee. When hot, add star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom.

- Turn down the fire and add the onions and gently stir every couple of minutes. Close the lid and continue the process till it becomes slightly brown.

- Add ginger-garlic paste.

- Add your masalas — one tsp chilli powder, one tsp coriander powder and two tsp of chicken powder.

- Stir it well. Add some water when it sticks to the bottom of the cooker. Keep adding small amounts of water till the masalas are well coated.

- Add the tomato puree and close the lid again. Stir occasionally and till the raw smell of the tomato is gone.

- Add green chilli. You can either slit it or cut it into small pieces.

- Cook all of this on low heat for a minute. Add a pinch or two of salt.

- Add the chicken and mix it in the masala. Add salt as per your taste.

- Turn the flame on high and close the lid for a minute. You’ll soon notice that the chicken has started cooking.

- Stir it again. If you are looking for a semi-dry consistency, there is no need to add more water.

- Close the lid and put the pressure one. Wait for one for two whistles.

- Open the lid, add coriander leaves and close it again for a minute.

- Your chicken curry is ready to be served with rice, roti, dosa or appam.