Chicken Salna
Tear a piece of parotta soaked in the chicken salna and put it in your mouth. The slightly watery gravy of salna will slowly trickle into the flaky parotta. When they meet, there is magic!
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram chicken small pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt
- 2 tablespoon oil
For Masala
- 3 large onions thinly sliced
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 6 green chillies sliced lengthwise
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 inch ginger finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
For roasting and grinding
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- 5 cloves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 star anise
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/4 cup coriander leaves (cilantro) chopped
Instructions
- Add turmeric powder and salt to the chicken.
- Combine well and keep aside to marinate.
- Keep the whole spices for toasting ready.
- Heat oil in a pan and toast the spices on a low flame.
- Stir occasionally so that they don't burn.
- Once they start releasing the spice aroma, add the grated coconut.
- Toast further till the grated coconut turns golden brown.
- Switch off and transfer to a plate to cool down.
- Now heat some oil in a pressure cooker.
- Add the marinated chicken and shallow fry on a medium flame.
- Transfer the chicken to a bowl and keep it aside.
- Now add the sliced onions to the same cooker.
- Stir well and gently cook the onions.
- In the meantime, transfer the toasted spices and grated coconut to a blender.
- Grind to a paste adding a little water at a time.
- Keep this ground paste aside.
- Once the onions turn tender, add the finely chopped ginger and garlic.
- Mix well and continue cooking for a minute.
- Add the finely chopped tomatoes.
- Add green chillies and curry leaves.
- Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, and garam masala.
- Combine and cook on a medium flame while stirring frequently.
- Cook till the tomatoes start vanishing into the mix.
- Add the fried chicken back into the cooker.
- Mix well and cook for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Add the ground coconut and spice mix.
- Combine well and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of water.
- Mix well and close the lid.
- Pressure cook until 1 whistle* and switch off.
- Wait for the pressure to be completely reduced before opening the lid.
- You can see chicken cooked to perfection in the curry base.
- Add some chopped coriander leaves.
- Switch on and simmer for a few mins.
- Serve hot with some delicious, flaky parotta.
Notes
* If you are cooking the traditional way with 'nati koli', you will have to cook for a longer time in the pressure cooker (3-4 whistles)