chicken khichuri

নাহ! কোনমতেই দাবি করছিনা চিকেন খিচুড়ি বীফ খিচুড়ির চেয়ে উন্নত। গরুর ভুনা খিচুড়ির উপর আসলেই কোন কথা নাই। কিন্তু ঝড় বৃষ্টি তো আর সবসময় বলে কয়ে আসেনা তাই ডীপ ফ্রিজে রাখা গরুও সবসময় রেডি থাকেনা। সে জায়গায় মুরগি আবার খুব চটপটে। খুব অল্প সময়ে বৃষ্টিবিলাসের জন্য চিকেন খিচুড়ির জুড়ি মেলা ভার। আমার এখানে আজকাল প্রায় বিকালেই প্রচন্ড বৃষ্টি হয়। দেশে থাকতে আমি আর আব্বু খালি উসিলা খুজতাম খিচুড়ি খাওয়ার। সে জায়গায় এমন ঝুম বৃষ্টি হলে তো কথাই নাই! যেহেতু এখানে ফুলিকে ফোন করে বলার উপায় নাই, "দ্রুত খিচুড়ি বসাও। বাসায় আসছি" , তাই একদিন নিজেই চেস্টা করে দেখলাম! 

নাহ ফুলির মত মজা হয়নাই। ওইটা সম্ভব ও না! কিন্তু এই রেসিপিটাও খারাপ না!

To cook rich food, it is almost always a hassle to take preparation. I have been looking for easier ways to enjoy this delicacy since I am a foodie and at the same time lazy! This recipe was a savior for me. Easy to cook, less time to prepare and mouth watering to feel the taste! 

lets check on what we need to find in the kitchen to get started! 

• 1 chicken - cut in small pieces
• five spices - 1 tspn
• green chili -  as per your taste (I used 10-12 pieces)
• chopped onion - 1.5 cup
• garlic paste - 1.5 tbspn
• ginger paste - 1.5 tbspn
• mustered oil - 1 cup
• turmeric powder - 1 tspn
• chilli powder - 2 tspn
• coriander powder - 1.5 tspn
• cumin powder - 1.5 tspn 
• bay leaf - 2
• cinnamon - 2 stick
• cardamom - 2 piece  
• basmati rice/ chinigura rice / kalijira rice - 2 cups (I used chinigura rice)
• masoor lentil - 1 cup
• moong lentil - 1 cup

This recipe has two separate parts. 

chicken preparation 

• pour a glug of oil in your saucepan. tamper the oil with five spices, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamon and green chilies
• once the fragrance of spices are oozing the air, add 1.25 cups of chopped onion. let the onion caramelize a bit
• add the cleaned and water drained chicken. let the chicken fry a bit with the oil and onion.
• once the chicken changes color to a whiter version from outer side add 1 tbspn garlic paste and 1 tbspn ginger paste
• stir thoroughly. wait until the raw smell of pastes go away. 
• once you see oil coming over the spices, add turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder.
• stir thoroughly once again. 
• add water if necessary to get the chicken cooked. 
• once cooked, let the excess water get dry and oil to come over the spices.
• at this stage , the chicken should look like below picture --

pro tip : I did not cover the chicken  with lid since I was using a broiler chicken which takes very less time to cook. you can cover the lid for 5-10 minutes to cook the chicken if the chicken is not cooked within this time.

So, we are done preparing the chicken. you can have it with paratha or white rice as well. now lets jump on to the next part

preparing the rice 

• wash the rice and lentils all together. let it rest in a strainer and get dry.(tip: the ratio of rice and lentil is 1:1. since I used 2 cups of rice, so, lentil has to be 2 cups all together )
• pour a cup of oil in a pan. once again, temper the oil with cardamon, bay leaf, cinnamon. 
• add leftovers of chopped onion. caramelize the onion. 
• pour the mixture of rice and lentil . 
• keep stirring to avoid burining
• the better you fry , the neater the khichuri will be
• add 4 cups of warm water. (tip: the ratio of rice-lentil mixture and water is 1:2. since I used 2 cups of rice-lentil mixture. so the water is of 4 cups)
• cover the lid
  (Tip: 1. if you are not using a heavy bottomed pan, keep an iron tawa or frypan below the pan to avoid burning.
  2. I made it with rice cooker. If you want to do the same, then add the fried rice-lentil mixture once fried and add same amount of warm water)
• after a while, check if the rice is half cooked and water is reduced
• add the chicken prepared earlier and mix well. 
• altogether let it cook for some more time and wait for the fragrance to come out(It should not take more than 20 minutes to get cooked if you are preparing in stove. in rice cooker it takes 5-7 minutes altogether)
• check with a spatula if the rice is cooked . add a spoon of ghee and few green chilies. turn of the stove. 
• enjoy!!