Ma Niche : coriander

22.3.13

Savory Couscous with Salsa Verde

I hadn't cooked with couscous or eaten any until recently. but Chef Giada's gorgeous couscous salads tempted me to grab a packet from the grocery store... and that is how couscous entered my kitchen. though salads were the motivation behind getting couscous home, the first recipe i tried was my own. i puffed the couscous in Lucinda's Minestrone. and it was healthy and YUM.... with the italian flavors doing their thing in the background, the couscous turned out really well. for dinner i served it along with blood orange chicken and a minty green salsa.. and the next day i had it for lunch just like that. frankly speaking, i enjoyed it a lot the next day. unclouded by the flavors of the chicken and salsa, the real taste of the dish came out and i relished it so much.. Mr and baby MN liked it too. that night baby ate his dinner without much fuss and husband enjoyed his dinner too..

Simple Non-spicy Chicken Dhaniya (Chicken Coriander)

way back in 2008 a very dear friend had shared the Chicken Dhaniya recipe with me. in fact he had cooked it for me and i asked him for the recipe. his version was pretty spicy, the way most Indian recipes are... and Tasty, as they always are. and until recently i used to cook it that way. but of late, since our little one has started taking a keen interest in our dinner plates i decided to cook a simpler version of Chicken Coriander... and guess what it turned out pretty well. light, non-spicy and flavorful.

My son Pradyot seemed to enjoy it with his khichudi. He actually he finished his dinner that day without any fuss... and we too liked it with our biriyani. so all in all this recipe was a winner and certainly a keeper. now over to the recipe.

ingredients

4 pieces of chicken tenders
2+1 tablespoons oil (i used vegetable oil)
1 1/2 medium sized onions, chopped
1/2 bunch coriander, chopped
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the marinade
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of cornflour

Lemon wedges for garnishing

what i did

4 hours prior to cooking i cleaned and chopped the chicken tenders into 1 1/2 inch pieces, whisked the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl, poured it into a resealable plastic bag and added chicken pieces coating them evenly with the marinade. then sealing the bag i marinated the chicken in the refrigerator till i was ready to cook.
for the chicken dhaniya, i began by heating 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium sized saucepan to which i added the onions and salt and 5 minutes later the chopped coriander. i then let it sweat till the onions became soft and translucent and the smell of coriander was all around. then transferring the cooked onion-coriander into the blender i made a smooth puree of it and kept it aside.*
heating the remaining oil into the same saucepan, i then tossed the marinated chicken pieces in it and let it cook for about 5-7 minutes. after that i added black pepper and the prepared onion-coriander puree in it and let the chicken cook in it for another 15 minutes. at this point i covered the pan and occasionally stirred the chicken to make sure that it does get stuck. i let the chicken cook for an additional 5 minutes after the oil started bubbling on the surface and then switched off the heat and served it in the bowl garnishing it with lemon wedges.

Ok so it does not look so great. but don't let the appearance deceive you and keep you from tasting this deliciousness. i swear it tastes good :)

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