Trial and error (6): Chicken meat ball curry

I have to admit that during Christmas vacations I took it real easy. There was more ordering in of food and little of proper cooking. The snow storms that struck the city, also struck my enthusiasm. But with the new year not being so new any more and my birthday a week away I seem to be getting my drive back. So I thought of trying my hand at something I had made a long time back: Chicken meat ball curry.

There are two reasons that I have shied away from this one up until now: (1) the first time that I did make it I remember the meat balls broke when cooking and (2) the high standards that my husband holds with respect to this dish. He has grown up eating this delicious lamb meat ball curry which his aunts make. But the recipe is really intricate. So as a start I decided as usual to find an easier route.

How I did it?
I have been following Bong Mom's CookBook blog for a while. To be honest I love her writing, the stories that precede the recipes. Plus, the photos of the dishes do give confidence that she is good at what she does. Searching through her repertoire I found this post: http://www.bongcookbook.com/2009/06/kofta-curry-and-then.html and followed the instructions without deviating much. As I did not have cashew nuts and yoghurt I left them out.

Notes on cooking technique.
What is interesting is that Bong Mom's Cookbook tells that you can do the koftas (meat balls) three ways. You can fry them and serve as a starter, make them into a curry or use to make a pulao. I tried the first two and in both cases the meat balls came out nice and soft. In the meat balls mix along with coriander leaves I also added some mint leaves to give it a tangy taste. Though it wasn't mentioned I used 1 egg for binding. I have to admit that I added less salt in the meat balls. This was worked as far as the curry was concerned because the meat balls absorb the saltiness from the gravy when left standing. But it did leave the plain fried koftas wanting.
       
       I first made the meat ball mix and refrigerated it. While it was in there I began working on making the gravy. As the onions, tomatoes and ginger-garlic need to be cooked and cooled first before blending into a paste, by the time I was done 45 min had gone which was the more than the minimum time (30 min) for the meat balls mix to marinate.

My verdict.
Given that it was rather cold in the evening when I made this recipe it did not take me too long to cook it. I do intend to make it again with one variation of adding coconut milk. I think it will make it tastier.

Here is the final photo after much of the meat balls had been devoured:

Meat balls in curry and as an appetizer

We are in another year

(Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

As per tradition I should have written a post on the last day of 2013 marking the first anniversary of Write Around the Corner. But loads of work thanks to my project review mid-January, an immediate and opposite reaction to go into inertness following its completion and the desire to keep myself warm inside a quilt in this winter weather, held me from blogging my thoughts into words. And before I could help it, here I am already 25 days into the new year.

Looking back there were some promises that I had made when 2013 had just started. They were:

To communicate more with those I care for. 
To write on this blog regularly.
To take time out for doing the things that I used to like to do.
To increase my enthusiasm for cooking.
To reduce my complaint reports to a minimum.

Reviewing myself I scored in a few, failed in a couple of them and interestingly accomplished a thing or two that I hadn't even listed. The curious reader might wonder what are then my plans for the remaining 340 days? Honestly they are pretty much the same as above.

If you were to read that post of mine (see here) then you will find me relying solely on "my will" to achieve my goals. I have come to realise that it was highly audacious of me to have said so. Reading Chapter 4 of the book of James of the New Testament one November morning is what shook me up, as its following verses say:

13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15 Instead you ought to say "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that".
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

So, this year there is going to be one big difference. This time while making every effort towards arriving at the end results that I desire, I will also entrust those very desires to the Lord's will.

Noah's ark

(Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/)

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

I came across this quote on somebody's Facebook page. For those who don't know that the building of the ark by "amateurs" is in reference to Noah's story in the Bible. The ark saved him and his family by the great flood brought on the earth by God. The above quote seems to give the impression that one day Noah decided to start a new hobby out of his own will and ending up successfully bringing it to fruition based on his efforts alone. To be honest I was saddened and upset to see this picture painted as it is far from the real one. 

If you were to read Chapters 6-9 from the book of Genesis in the Old Testament (click this link) then you would realise that Noah's story is one of strong faith in the Lord. The way it goes is that the earth had been brutally corrupted by the evildoings of men. The Lord was sorry and upset at His creation and decided to destroy it. However, He was very pleased with Noah's devotion. It was when Noah was 500 years old that God first spoke to him, asking him to build an ark as He was going to bring a great flood over the earth. 

Noah did not once doubt what he had heard and immediately set out to do as per God's will. However, it was not after the passing of one year or two years but a good 100 years the Lord actually opened the floodgates. Imagine the kind of opposition and difficulties that Noah and his family would have faced in this long period. People must have scoffed at them, perhaps called them names. Others would have surely questioned their belief and tried to tempt them to lead them astray. 

Though the Lord had given Noah the specifications for building the ark, the task itself would not have been easy for the sheer size of it. What can be said about the filling of the ark by each type of animal and bird! Clearly for that to happen the animals and birds would have had to come from different parts of the world. There is not a chance that Noah and his family could have managed this feat just by themselves.

The flood when it came lasted for forty days but the water stayed high for five months. It was in the tenth month that the mountain tops could be seen. For the earth to become dry another two months were needed. So when Noah and his family stepped out of the ark a full one year had passed. Those 365 days must have tested their patience and faith as well. But they survived it all not because they simply braved it on their own, but because God was by their side.

Another important point to take note of is that though God was angry at mankind He took 100 years to take the final action. One might wonder why He put Noah through that long ordeal. I feel that it was so because He really wanted to save as many as possible. He gave this time for men and women to give up their wrongful ways and turn back to Him. But sadly that did not happen and only a small group of eight remained standing in the end. Now that same time has been given to us. So what are you going to do with it? How are you going to respond to His call?

Forgive and forget

(Image source: http://stickyjesus.com/)

For most part I find hearing and reading Aamir Khan's interviews a treat. In my opinion he comes across as someone whose actions are grounded in thought and do not have a hidden agenda. Many celebrities, mostly from the Hindi film world, have on the Koffee with Karan show said a lot of scandalous things on the pretext of jest. So I wondered how Aamir Khan would fare in comparison.

After watching today's episode if there was one thing that I took away from it, it was a statement the actor made very early on. He said that he is learning to be more forgiving. I was once again bowled over as in today's tit-for-tat world how many of us give any importance to the need to forgive.

For long if I got off on the wrong foot with somebody my immediate reaction was to close my heart to them. I have at times deliberately kept a distance from certain people based on past experiences, unwilling to give them a second chance. In my anger I have turned off the line of communication with a few. But in the last year or so I have come to realize that this is not how it should be.

One of the first prayers that I was asked to learn as a kid was what is called the Lord's prayer in the Bible. Among many things it asks God to,

"Forgive us our as sins as we forgive those who sin against us."

We must realise that however good we might think ourselves to be, we are nowhere spotless and clean. What right then we have to condemn somebody else? If God can forgive so many of our daily wrongdoings then should we not extend the same magnanimity to others? The above short and simple verse tells us that to receive God's grace we must ourselves be full of mercy and kindness.

It is of course possible that even after forgiving a person once, he/she might be responsible for causing you hurt again. Jesus Christ said not seven times, but seventy times seven we should forgive a brother who has grieved us. This is the kind of loving heart we must all have.

Finally I believe that forgiveness is incomplete if you do not let it go. Bringing up past mistakes in your mind only sprouts doubt against the person in question and you are likely to look at his/her actions and words with suspicion. So take out that notebook of records you are keeping and tear it apart and believe me you will feel much lighter, happier and peaceful than when you held all those grudges.

Trial and error (5): Fried chicken and French fries

Early this month my aunt came home visiting us for a few days. During that time my husband and I together cooked her some tasty South Indian food that we eat regularly. Of course we also took her around the neighbourhood and at the excuse of treating a guest we ourselves got to eat in our favourite restaurants.

When it comes to fast food we haven't been able to find the popular brands in our immediate vicinity. So knowing my husband's liking I set out to try KFC Fried Chicken and McDonald's French Fries in my very own kitchen as a weekend dinner.

How I did it?
I searched over blogs and youtube to find the right recipes for the two dishes. Some even claimed to reveal the hidden secret. Eventually I mixed up a couple of versions in tandem with the ingredients I had with me. So the following are the steps to follow:

For McDonald's French Fries

1. Peel the skins from 3 long (Russet) potatoes and cut them lengthwise, like typical shapes of fries. Soak them in water for 5 minutes to remove the starch.
2. In a deep dish bring water to boil and then blanch the potatoes in it for 5 min.
3. Drain the water and cool the potatoes in ice water to stop the cooking process.
4. Next dry the potatoes either on a paper napkins or a towel.
5. Place the potatoes in a dish, cover it and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
6. Bring them out just at the time of cooking. You do not need them to come to room temperature.
7. When the oil heats nicely deep fry the potatoes for a few minutes till they becomes slightly yellow in colour. Drain on paper towels to remove the excess oil.
8. For serving season with salt.

KFC Fried Chicken

1. Wash the skinned chicken (I used 9 drumsticks), drain the water and pat dry. Marinate in 3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste for 30 minutes.
2. To prepare bread crumbs dry 3 bread slices in an oven at 300 F for 15 minutes (if bread is fresh), turning them over every 5 minutes. Allow them to cool and blend in a mixer/processor to a coarse texture. Keep aside.
3. In a large flat dish mix together 1 cup all-purpose flour (maida in India), 2 tsp chilli powder, 2 tsp pepper powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 2 tsp salt. Then add the prepared bread crumbs to it and give it a mix.
4. In another large bowl whisk 1 egg and add 1/2 cup milk to it.
5. At the time of cooking first put the oil to heat.
6. While the oil heats, start coating the chicken legs by first dipping in the egg and milk mixture and then rolling it around in the dry flour-bread crumb mixture. Keep them aside in a plate.
7. To know the oil is ready add a little wet flour and see if it immediately rises to the top. When this happens fry the coated chicken pieces in batches. If they are not completely covered in oil then you will need to turn them around to let them cook from all sides.
8. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes to get the (slightly dark) brown colour (but not burnt) on the outside. 
9. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.
10. Serve with French fries on the side.

Notes on cooking technique.
Regarding the French fries, I think I blanched the potatoes for nearly 7-8 minutes and so they became softer than needed. So the 5 minutes time in the above recipe is just correct. Ideally one is supposed to pack the potatoes in air tight bags and freeze them to make them crunchier. But as I didn't have such bags and the right containers, I refrigerated them instead. Further, I only fried the potatoes for about 2 minutes as they were already quite cooked and so they didn't get that yellow. As an alternative one could perhaps add turmeric powder to bring out that colour.

      In my "research" I saw two types on recipes for fried chicken. One in which the skin was removed from the chicken and another in which it was kept intact. I happened to have both types of chicken legs. What I found was that keeping the skin on made the fried chicken more crunchier. For making the dry mixture I used 2 cups of all-purpose flour but with the same measure of spices as in the above recipe. As a result I needed to season the fried chicken with some extra salt on the top. Further, even after coating all the 9 chicken pieces I had half of the flour mixture remaining. So, the 1 cup of flour that I have mentioned in the steps is the right quantity to take.

      Though I made bread crumbs by myself, it was because I had forgotten to buy it from the supermarket. You could very well use the ready made ones and save some time. From what I have read if one were to also mix in some corn flakes along with the bread crumbs, it would make the fried chicken still crunchier. I definitely plan to make that addition in my next trial. Most recipes add garlic and onion powders into the flour. But as I didn't have either of the two I instead marinated the chicken in ginger-garlic paste. You could also add herbs like oregano and sage leaves if you have them in your kitchen cabinet.

My husband's verdict.
He loved the look of the fried chicken. Though he had the KFC taste in mind, he still liked it. He felt it would be nicer to have it during evenings instead of as a large dinner meal. As long as he thought it was a decent attempt it is encouraging enough to try it again.

Here is the photo resulting from all that frying heat:

Fried chicken and French fries

   

Satyamev Jayate (4): O ri chiraiya... song

O ri chiraiya, nanhi si chidiya

Angana mein phir aaja re

Andhiyara hai ghana

Aur lahu se sana

Kirno ke tinke, ambar se chun ke

Angana mein phir aaja re

Humne tujhpe hazaaron sitam hain kiye

Humne tujhpe jahaan bhar ke zulm kiye

Humne socha nahi, tu jo udh jaayegi

Ye zameen tere bin sooni reh jaayegi

Kiske dum pe sajega mera angana?

O ri chiraiya, meri chiraiya

Angana mein phir aaja re

Tere pankhon mein saare sitaare jadhu

Teri choonar dhanak satrangi bunu

Tere kaajal mein main, kaali raina bharu

Teri mehendi mein main, kachi dhoop malu

Tere naino sajaa doon naya sapna

O ri chiraiya, meri chiraiya

Angana mein phir aaja re...

The above song has been composed by Ram Sampath and written and sung by Swanand Kirkire. At the end of Episode 1 of Satyamev Jayate on female foeticide the two came on stage to perform it in front of the audience. Here I have translated the song in English and attempted to incorporate rhyming like in the Hindi version. In the lyrics chiraiya/chidiya or bird represents the girl child. So here goes...

O bird, little bird

To the courtyard return again

Darkness is deep

And with blood sullied

Twigs of sun rays, pick from the sky

To the courtyard return again

We have thousands of times caused you hurt

We have inflicted on you all injustices of the world

We never gave thought if you fly away

This earth without you will be left desolate

Who will then beautify my courtyard?

 

O bird, my bird

To the courtyard return again

Your wings I will, with all the stars decorate

Your stole with the seven coloured rainbow interlace

In your kohl I will, the black night pour

Your henna I will, with raw sunshine cover

In your eyes a new dream adorn

O bird, my bird

To the courtyard return again 

Satyamev Jayate (3): Episode 1 Daughters are Precious

(Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zitona/)

Like many I was eagerly looking forward to the telecast of the first episode of Satyamev Jayate on 6 May, 2012. However, being in Sweden meant that I would not be able to watch it the moment it premiered. Luckily an official channel on youtube and a site for the programme were launched so that I could at least see it the same day.

         The episode opened with Aamir Khan telling us viewers how his personal pride for our nation's progress is mingled with a sadness at the things that are severely lacking. He lets us know what Satyamev Jayate aims to do. Following this brief description we were taken into a studio filled with an audience.

Theme of the episode
Standing centre stage Aamir Khan as the host brought to our attention the special place we have for our mothers in our lives. The sacrifices she makes for our well being are not hidden from us. In India many are known to worship goddesses like Durga, Kaali and Saraswati whom they call Maa or mother. Despite this today mothers are being ill treated.

Stories
During the show we were introduced to Amisha Yagnik, Parveen Kaur and Mitu Khurana who each tell their awful stories.

        Amisha was made to undergo multiple abortions by her husband and in-laws whenever they found that she was carrying a female child in her womb. After some years of such struggle and much against their wishes when she did manage to deliver a baby girl, they took away the child from her to force her to give a divorce. Later with a lawyer's help Amisha got her daughter back and has since then been taking care of her.

        Parveen Kaur's husband wanted a son to carry forward his family name, but when that did not happen after a couple of attempts he one day assaulted her while she was sleeping. He bit her face and left it mutilated. The photos of the nose-less Parveen on a hospital bed silenced the audience.

        For those who were under the impression that such incidents happen only in villages or in poor and uneducated families, hearing Mitu Khurana's account was an eye opener. Mitu, a doctor married one from her profession. Her father-in-law was a professor of history, mother-in-law a vice principal of a school and of her two sister-in-laws one was a teacher and another a Ph.D. After an ultrasound revealed she was going to have twin girls they began torturing her to have an abortion. The effect was such that she was about to give up her life when her father came to her rescue and took her with him. However, after the two girls were prematurely born Mitu went back to live with her husband and in-laws only to find no help. Worse was to come when on the pretext of assisting Mitu, her mother-in-law pushed the cot carrying one of the babies down the stairs. Luckily the baby was securely tied and did not get hurt.

The cause
How female foeticide came to spread on such a large scale across the length and breadth of India was explained by Dr. Puneet Bedi, a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology in New Delhi. He informed that in the 70s our country's problems were blamed on its large population. A scientific paper suggested that the population could be brought under control if the "unwanted girls" were selectively aborted as most families yearned to have a boy. A program was started in the government hospitals where women were encouraged to do so. The eventual easy availability of ultrasound to determine sex of the foetus and the large monetary returns abortions brought, turned it into a 2000-3000 crore (200-300 million) rupees business. Later as various organisations protested the program was stopped in the government hospitals, but it continued to thrive in the private sector.

In news
Next Aamir Khan talked with two Sahara Samay reporters Meena Sharma and Shripal Shaktawat from Jaipur who seven years back had carried out a sting operation which caught on camera 140 doctors from about 40 cities involved in the racket of killing the girl child. Video recordings of doctors promising that the girl will not be born alive and suggesting ways of covering up in case she is, like by throwing the baby in a river or burying it were shown. Yet with all the evidence none of them had been punished. Not only that all the cases (at the time of the episode) against the accused doctors were being considered separately and the hearings being held in different courts causing Meena and Shripal a lot of distress.

The effect
The episode highlighted that a direct effect of female foeticide is the large difference between the number of boys and girls. There are districts and towns with hordes of unmarried men which has led to more crimes such as buying and selling of girls, kidnappings and gang rapes. The women who are bought are treated badly at home and are not given any rights whatsoever. Sometimes they are forced to have sexual intercourse with all the unmarried men in the house.

Turning it around
During the episode Nawanshahr in Punjab was presented as a shining example of how a change can be brought about. The first issue that Mr. Krishnakumar took up when he joined as Deputy Commissioner of the district in 2005 was to correct the dwindling girls:boys sex ratio. To this end he held seminars and workshops for doctors and mid-wives, warning them of severe consequences lest they were found guilty. He got students and various institutes to join hands with him and organise rallies and street plays to raise awareness. A phone helpline was started to provide support to pregnant women and help them if they were being ill treated or forced to find the sex of her child. All these efforts led to a 71% increase in the sex ratio in 2011 compared to 2001.

Action
In the end of the episode Aamir Khan offered a simple solution to overcome the problem of female foeticide. He said that all of us as individuals come together to form a coherent strength. So all we need to do was to decide that from that moment onwards we will not be part of a society that kills the girl child and that we will not allow it at least within our families and friends.

My comments
For long daughters have been called paraaya dhan (not one's own money) in our country. The perception is that as she will eventually get married, the family she is born into is not her actual family. So it is the boy who takes forward the family name and when the parents grow old it is supposedly the son alone who can take care of them. Further, age old traditions of having to give a large dowry during a wedding and of only the son being able to perform the last rites in certain religions have led people to preferring a male heir.

Earlier we would often find stories in the newspapers of just born baby girls being dumped in the trash. But with medical technological advancements came the ease of sex determination and abortion. Though presently it is illegal in India to determine the sex of an unborn child, such practices still happen. As was told in the episode some doctors work in packages offering to find the sex of the foetus and aborting it if it is a girl.

Initially I was in shock when I heard Mitu Khurana's story as her husband and in-laws were highly educated. However, having given more thought to it since I saw the show I realised that education does not automatically give a person a conscience and nor does it stop him/her from sinning. After all aren't all the involved doctors educated? Isn't it the families with the means that offer a bribe and buy accomplices? A lot can happen and remain hidden behind the closed doors of palatial homes.

Sometimes we read or hear a lot about the wrongdoings taking place but do not register their significance. In this regard the sad and scary consequences of female foeticide were well brought out in the episode. Indeed it is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed. Clearly, its root lies in the negative mindsets of the society for a girl child. Perhaps that is why Aamir Khan's appeal for us to individually decide to put a stop to it within our personal circles makes perfect sense. Who else but us can better convince those around us? Let us not be afraid of or shy away from taking a stand.

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P.S.: For the O ri chiraiya... song that came at the end of the episode see my next post.