Ma-in-laws Ginger Chicken

This is not the real Ginger Chicken, in fact this is not even my Ma-in-laws Ginger Chicken. My Ma-in-law makes a very unique and tasty Chilli Chicken. Every state in India worth their salt has their unique version of Chili Chicken, there is Varanasi Chilli Chicken, The Kolkata Style Chilli Chicken, the Madrasi Chilli Chicken and then there is my Ma-in-laws Chilli Chicken.

Last year when she was here with us, she made this for us and everyone was pretty much bowled over by it. Her version did not have any garlic, yeah no garlic, I remember. However I had a gut feeling that she used a lot of ginger in it. So when I saw JFI Ginger for this month I thought I would make it as my entry. So deciding to make it for friends and for JFI I called her bright and early on Saturday Morning to get the recipe

So I said " Could you give me the recipe for the Chilli Chicken you make ?"
She said " You need chicken, soy sauce, corn flour, blah blah …"
I said "Yeah, that's fine but what about the Ginger…"

My voice drowned somewhere in mid-Atlantic, leaking from those fiber optic cables

She said "Marinate the chicken in vinegar, soy sauce, blah, blah…"
I said "But how much Ginger do I use ?"
She gingerly side stepped my question and went on "Heat oil, fry the chicken pieces, blah, blah..."
I was now desperate "But wait I really need to know about the Ginger, that is what is important, for all I care the chicken can take a backseat"

And she said " There's no Ginger…"
I said "Whaaaaaaaaat NO GINGER, and you tell that now, What am I to do…"

All these numerous events had taken their toll, I knew I was cracking up. She the poor soul had no clue what was happening, so preferred to talk to her grand daughter about un-gingerly issues rather than giving me a recipe of a chili chicken sans ginger
I was desperate, and my Ma said "What's the big deal, put a lot of Ginger instead, if it's not Chilli Chicken , it's going to be Ginger Chicken"

So that's what I did, and it turned out great. It had a gingery flavor and could well be Bengali Ginger Chicken. I was pretty flustered by this time to take exact measures, so measures are approximate (which it is in most of my cooking anyway)

Read more...

Ginger Chicken

What You Need

Chicken ~ I used 2lb of boneless, skinless Perdue Chicken Tenderloins cut in small pieces
Soy Sauce
Ginger ~ 3" fresh ginger grated
Green Chillies ~ 5/6 finely chopped
Onion ~ 4 tbsp of onion paste

Corn Flour ~ 2-3 tsp
Vinegar ~ 1 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup ~ I used about 1-2 tbsp of Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Ketchup

Salt
Oil

How I Did It

Cut the Chicken in small pieces
Marinate the chicken in Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Salt and 1/3 of the grated ginger for an hour
Sprinkle corn flour on the chicken and mix
Heat Oil in Kadhai/Frying Pan
Lightly Fry the chicken Pieces till they are brown. Remove and drain on paper towel
Grind the Onion to paste. I already had Onion Paste so I used 4 tbsp of it
To the oil add the onion paste
Fry till the onion is nicely browned
Add the rest of the ginger, the green chillies and sauté a little
Add 1 tsp of soy sauce. If you think you need more go ahead and do it.
Add 1 tbsp of Hot & Sweet Maggi Tomato ketchup
Add salt
Add the fried chicken pieces
Saute till the masla coats the chicken nicely
Cook on low till the chicken is done. Avoid adding water, I just sprinkled a little

Mine was on the dry side. You can have a little gravy if you want. Serve it with Fried Rice or just by itself. Sending this for JFI Ginger to Rosie of WTRT Jim ? Heard she is moving, so hope she gets this in her Inbox.

Trivia: Tangra is a district in north-west Kolkata known for it's famous Chinatown. Food from Tangra is a distinct variety of traditional Chinese food adapted to Indian ingredients and the Bengali palate.

MySpice -- Ginger

Ginger, a important part of my everyday cooking and hence life. Though referred to as a root it is actually a rhizome i.e. it is actually an underground stem of the plant Zingiber officinale. It Originated in China and went over to be cultivated widely in India and Southeast Asia.

Though in the Western World Ginger is most often used used for food that is sweet like ginger cookies etc. for me Ginger is a spice I use with most of my vegetarian and non-vegetarian cooking, even the quintessential curry has ginger as an important ingredient. In her everyday bengali cooking something that my Ma uses most is Jeere-Dhone-Ada bata. And this is a paste that a grinder does not do justice to, it needs loving human hands. The kitchen help who comes in every morning to do the dishes and help my mother knows this and makes wet paste of the three spices Jeera or Cumin, Dhone or Corriander Seeds and Ada or Ginger in the Shil Nora, a stone grinder which has to be seen to be understood. My Ma uses it fresh or at the most for the next day in most of her gravies. And the taste of such food, ahhhhhhh..., there are some things that the heart says better than my keypad...

Ginger in my everyday cuppa is another love relationship I have with Ginger. Ginger Tea or Adrak Chai boosts me early morning and refreshes me after a hard day's work.

How I Do This

Heat water and milk in the ratio of 2 : 1 in a kettle
When it comes to a boil, add freshly grated ginger
Let it come to rolling boil
I like a strong tea, so I add a teaspoon and a little of Brook Bond Red Label tea (this is CTC or crush,tear & curl tea)to it. This tea tastes good flavored with ginger.
Let it soak for a couple of minutes
Add sugar if you want
Strain with a strainer and enjoy it hot


Ginger has several medicinal effects too, so raise your cup to Ginger today...

My Ginger for JFI post will follow soon, hope I will be able to post by tonight

26th January -- Republic Day of India

Jhanda Uncha Rahe Hamara

Chamke Uska Sada Sitara...