Ever had to whip up a meal in short amount of time from scratch? Or, do you not just feel like standing over a stove all day and want a quick fix? We all use short cuts when cooking from time-to-time; would love to hear others’ tips and techniques for a quick meal that looks like a lot of effort went into it!
Here’s how I make a simple chicken salan:
In a pan, heat some oil, and fry some GG paste
Add your meat pieces, and cook until they change colour
Add one teaspoon of salt along with one teaspoon of your chosen packet spice mix (I buy meat masala, and use it for both chicken and lamb). Bhoonify.
Add one tablespoon of tomato puree, followed by about 1 cup of water. Mix and lower the heat.
The magic ingredient! Add 2-3 tablespoons of fried onions, put the lid on and keep the salan on dum for about 5-10 minutes. The onions will soak up the water and your curry will become thick.
Finally, add 2-3 cups water, or however much you require depending on your desired consistency, and you’re done! You can make a curry from start to finish in about 20 minutes!
not a big fan of packet masalas per se; i only use them as enhancers in a dish rather than the be all and end all of the spice content.
i almost always have a bunch of pre-cut stir-fry veggies in my freezer, and a chicken breast or two handy, so i just make a Chinese/Thai entree with garlic or plain buttered rice. quick-cooking, multi-tasking friendly, and does the trick looking like a lot of work, too.
^^ Yes but if you make it according the packet’s instructions, they ask you to put the WHOLE packet into one dish lol. I just use one teaspoon. And if you need more spice, I’d add half a teaspoon red chilli powder or a couple of slit green chillis.
Yeah, stir fry is easy too. You can buy frozen ready made stir fry packets here too. I’ve never tried them before but wonder if they’re any good?
simple chicken karahi, fry chicken pieces, add ginger garlic paste add chopped tomatoes, crush red chilli , salt, cover n cook , remove the lid dry excess water and you are done just sprinkle some chopped coriander
How do you make it? I make shorbay wala, and with shorba you have to cut the onions, fry, add spices, tomatoes, then bhoon so the masala becomes smooth (which I STILL haven’t mastered by the by…) - that salan-making process takes me longer than 20 minutes
Nnabid, I have started to blend my onions before frying, and they generally take less time to cook that way. The rest of aloo anday salan is really quick, so it can be done in 20 mins.
I have made balti sweet and sour chicken similar to your method and there’s no chopping involved. In some greek yogurt I add tomato puree/paste, garlic paste, salt, garam masala, chili powder, sugar, and mango chutney and mix till smooth. Cook this mixture for a few minutes in oil. Add boneless chicken. When the meat is cooked all the way and oil is released, I mix in some cream for a richer texture. Squeeze some lemon juice, garnish with some chopped dhania and mirchain.
