Quick Moti Pulao (Pearl Pilaf)-Restaurant Secret Recipe for Durga Puja/Navratri

Amazon.in NEW Section added!!

“Aaj dhaner Khete roudro chhaya-e lukochuri khela re bhai – lukochuri khela”  – (The fun game of hide-n-seek in the sun & shade of the paddy field…)

These beautiful lines(part of a song) by Tagore reminds me of my childhood. We were three sisters – me & two of maternal cousins who I spent the initial 10 years of my life with. It was enriching & full of activity. Now that I see my little niece who can barely hold her herself together demanding an ipad, I can’t help but wonder if how the days have changed. For us luxury was either a trip to the zoo or a Bengali spread at lunch with Pulao, beguni (Eggplant fritters), pathar mansho (Mutton gravy), something sweet my mami’s tomato chutney. I know that makes me sound like hundred and two years old but how simple & charming were those days! Gone!

Before I fly off to my memories, let’s get on with the recipe of the day, Pulao. I am sorry if I come out as an Indian Classic dish maniac to you but I can’t just help but try these evergreen recipes. But this time I took a step ahead & whipped up something my family hardly makes – Moti pulao (Pearl pulao).

Weird name?? Well, the word moti which means pearl in hindi comes from the pearl-like cottage cheese/paneer balls. They are either stuffed or plain flavoured. They look good, yes. But they also taste delicious with the saffron sweet-ish rice!

What irked me the most for years is how the pulao made at home in the comfort of my kitchen never seemed to be the same as those we are served in fancy restaurants. I have tried endless versions of similar kind of pulaos & 70% of the websites online  are all good but alas not the restaurant-like. Note that by no means do I want to say the homemade ones are any bad but….well! you know what I mean, don’t ya?

So after a good number of try & massive help from my maa, here’s a restaurant trade secret just for you. It certainly was an ‘eureka’ moment for us in the kitchen!!

Here’s the recipe of the day for you. Go crazy!

10 Tasty Chicken Recipes you must try!

I am gonna keep the introduction as short as possible today. why? Because I am excited as hell!

It’s my first round-up post with list of delicious 10 style chicken recipes. This is a simple yet interesting mix – from tender chicken in tangy rice to kebabs to Bengali stew! If you are a chicken lover, you will adore this. wink

If not, this is my earnest try to make you fall for it. Amen.

(CLICK ON EACH RECIPE TITLE TO OPEN THE COMPLETE BLOG POST)

1. MY MOTHER’S ONE POT CHICKEN PULAO (TRADITIONAL INDIAN PULAO/PULAV RECIPE)

Why is it special you ask?
☆ Its an one-pot meal – so no extra cleaning & slogging in kitchen!.
Not only can it be made in a Branded One-Pot meal maker, Rice cooker, Pressure cooker, Handi…it can also be made in a wok/kadai or Pan.
☆ Its quick. yes!
☆ It’s delicious. Period.
☆ It’s extremely filling. Even if you dont make a side dish or get your salads ready..your tummy will be a happy tummy!
☆ It’s got basic ingredients that’s easily available.
☆ versatility is a word I adore. This is versatile..Not only in terms of how its served but how it can be made ~ Swapping an ingredient or two, adding 3 more, minus 1 here or there is all common But you can even alter the sequence of a step of making or two. It wont matter much!
☆ Don’t think these one-pot meals are for work days..this can be just as Posh and apt for those fancy dinner parties. All you need is a decent plating skill!
(Shh..If I can plate, so can you! trust me!)
How about taking a look now….

One pot chicken pulao

 Ingredient list :

♡ Chicken (With bones), 500gm
♡ Basmati rice (soaked for at least half an hour), 2- 2.5 cups
♡ onions (finely sliced), 1 big & 1 small
♡ Tomatoes (chopped small), 1 big or 2 small pieces
♡ Curd or yogurt, 1/4 cup or 3 big tablespoon
♡ ginger garlic paste- 1 big tablespoon
♡ Green chilies (chopped fine), 1 or to taste
♡ Salt, to taste
♡ Red chili powder/Kashmiri chilli powder, 2 teaspoon or to taste
♡ coriander powder, 1- 1.5 teaspoon
♡ Garam Masala powder, 3/4th teaspoon
♡ Whole garam masala
(Cinnamon- 1″ stick,
Green Cardamom – 1 or 2,
Cloves – 1 or 2,
Nutmeg, a small piece)
♡ 1/4 cup oil + 1/4 cup ghee
♡water, as required
♡ chopped green & red chilies for garnishing (optional)

2. Chicken Kebabs (made in the oven)

Another Indian/Turkish classic that people drool over. The best part about this is it’s made in an oven rather than the tandoor/mud oven.

All you need are :

• Chicken breast – 1 lb, cut into chunky bite sized pieces
• Almonds, blanched and skinned – 1/2 Cup (I used store bought slivered almonds)
• Greek Yogurt/Hung Curd – 1/2 Cup
• Ginger – 1 inch, peeled
• Garlic – 3 to 4 fat cloves
• Harissa Powder – 1 tsp (can be substituted with red chili powder)
• Black pepper, freshly cracked – 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp to season the chicken pieces
• Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
• Few squeezes of lemon juice
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

That’s it! When are you trying this then? (Click on the title to go to recipe site)

3. Shorshe Murgi: Indian Chicken Curry With Mustard Paste 

If you are a bengali, you must be drooling – Mustard & bengalis have a bond! If you aint, trust me and add some mustard in your palate now! The usual mustard fish is ditched by the chef at Hamaree Rasoi here for chicken.