My stalwart friends from blogging world warned me that blogging will get addictive . Being a person with a natural tendency of getting addicted, I got scared . On second thoughts, I whisked it off thinking that I have been through worse addictions . This is not a forum to divulge the dark secrets…. so not getting into it .
Never thought that how being a passionate cook and disinterested social media person – my wife will get passively addicted . Passive smoking is injurious to health . What about passive blogging ?? Any other case stories ?
In a span of a week all the household support system got changed – the helps never came back from Diwali vacation , the driver of last 2 years went for greener pastures , the Dhobi went for a holiday . Any thing more needs to happen ?
Office was in full swing , Tugga was in wild swing , clients all of a sudden were looking like that swirl of air in the movie Twister, but life continued ….
It was during these days , after the morning chaos was over while travelling together , struggling through the traffic – I just asked what are you planning to do next – super charged up and excited she said – ‘I was also thinking the same thing’ .
It was for next fifteen minutes we discussed about options , cuisine , colour schemes , props available for shoot and more importantly what we would like to eat next .
This is a result of the brainstorming of that particular day … Let me know how you like it and please leave some feedback for the passive blogger too
Masala Roast Chicken with a Shahi Gravy
Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
| Chicken | 1 whole, with skin | Butter | 3 tbsp |
| Coriander powder | 2 tsp | Cumin powder | 1 tsp |
| Kashmiri Red Chili Powder | 2 tsp | Fenugreek | 4-5 roasted and then pound in mortar and pestle |
| Garam Masala | 1 tsp | Red Chili Powder | 1 tsp |
| Hung Curd | 3 tbsp | Salt | To taste |
| Ginger paste | 2 tsp | Garlic Paste | 1 ½ tbsp |
| Lemon | 1 whole | Coriander leaves | ½ bunch |
| Green Chili | 2 (optional) |
Some of the ingredients for Masala chicken with Shahi Gravy
For the Gravy:
| Almonds (blanched and skinned) | ½ cup | Onions | 1 large finely sliced |
| Saffron | Few strands | Nutmeg Powder | ½ tsp |
| Tomato Puree | ½ cup | Sunflower oil | 2 tbsp |
| Ginger paste | 1 tsp | Garlic Paste | 2 tsp |
| Turmeric powder | 1/2 tsp | Kashmiri Red Chili Powder | 1 tsp |
| Kewra water (optional) | ½ tsp | Milk | ½ cup |
| Salt | To Taste | Sugar | 1 tsp |
Shahi Gravy – one of the key ingredients of the dish
Method:
Wash and clean the chicken. Pat it dry with a kitchen towel. Slice the butter and rub it underneath the skin all over the chicken. Take all the spices for marination and mix it with the hung curd. Add the ginger and garlic paste. Add salt and then massage the chicken thoroughly with the paste mix. Make sure to put some in the cavity of the chicken as well. Refrigerate the chicken for 4 -6 hours. You may keep it in the fridge overnight too.
The complete dish when ready – Masala Roasted Chicken with Shahi Gravy
Before roasting, bring the chicken to room temperature. Pre heat the oven at 220 degree Celsius. Take a roasting pan, and place some slices of lemon and then place the chicken over it. Put some coriander leaves and half a lemon inside the cavity of the chicken for added flavor. Your may add a couple of chilies too if you like the punch. Place the chicken in the oven for roasting. Leave it at 220 for half hour. Then take it out once and baste it with some butter. Place it back again for another 45 minutes at 200 degrees. By this time the chicken should almost be done. Prick with a sharp knife to get a feel of the texture. I don’t have a digital thermometer to check the temp for exact cooking. However, it can easily be understood by feel. Blast the oven temperature to 220 again for another 10 -15 minutes to bring the golden brown colour to the skin. If you want, you can baste the chicken once again with some butter.
Close up of Masala Roasted Chicken with Shahi Gravy
For preparing the gravy, in a wok, fry the onions in oil for a couple of minutes till it is translucent in colour. Add the ginger and garlic paste and the almonds. Once they have been tossed well, take it off the heat. Now make a paste from the above in a blender. In the wok, add some more oil. Once it is hot, put in the paste. Add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt. Keep frying in medium to low heat till the spices get cooked off and the raw smell of the tomato goes away. Add the saffron (which needs to be soaked in warm milk for half hour), nutmeg powder and sauté a little bit. Keep adding warm water from time to time so that the masala doesn’t stick to the bottom of the wok. Add some sugar, check the seasoning. Add kewra water in the end before turning off the gas. Once the chicken is out of the oven, you can add the excess juices from the roasting pan to your gravy to give it the added depth.
Serve the chicken with the gravy and some steamed basmati rice.
Pikturenama is a blog about our travel and food escapades along with stories to share through photography. 
