You've obviously seen and heard of the hot pockets. Here's a way to make some, South Indian style! Chettinaad is one of the most flavorful cuisines in India and I love it. It is characterized by the strong spices used. Thinking those strong spices would be very well complimented with the mellow flavor of the ground rice and pulse cakes (idlis), I tried to make something that could combine the two.
The following recipe uses a chettinaad spice mix that I use now, after trying multiple combinations of various spices. This masala works well with any recipe for dry sauteed meat or vegetables. Remember, the quantity of the spices below are for 6 oz chicken. You can vary the amount depending upon the amount of meat you are cooking.
Here's what you need -
6 oz (150 gm) boneless chicken (used thighs)
idli batter (you can use instant mix or prepare it yourself)
1 lemon
1/2 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 medium tomato (chopped)
1 garlic clove
ginger (same amount as garlic)
1/2 tsp poppy seeds (difficult to come by, can do without them)
1/2 tsp turmeric (powder)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp fennel
1 cardamom
1/4 cinnamon stick
3 black peppercorns (whole)
1 clove
3 curry leaves
2 dry red chillies/ 1 tsp chilli flakes
Cooking -
1) In 1 tbsp clarified butter (ghee) roast the dry spices, except turmeric,on medium heat till they are darkened. It will take about 2 minutes.
2) Take off the heat and add garlic, ginger and curry leaves and grind the mixture to a paste
3) Dice the chicken in to small 1/2 inch cubes
4) Add the above paste and turmeric to the chicken and set aside
5) In a flat pan, heat1 tbsp of ghee or oil and add the onion when hot.
6) Once the onions are browned nicely (3-4 minutes), add the tomato. Keep frying on medium heat till the mixture is well browned, and the oil separates (about 10 minutes).
7) Now add the marinated chicken and fry on medium heat. Keep stirring till the chicken is cooked.
8) Add salt and lemon juice to taste.
Your chicken is ready, and now for the idli
9) In a bowl add a spoonful of water and crush the cooked chicken with your fingers. We will use this for the stuffing.
10) In an idli mold (or any rounded mold that can be steamed), put half the batter of an idli
11) Make a lose ball of the chicken so it covers a good part (as in picture below)
12) Pour the other half batter on top
13) Steam for about 10 minutes till the idli appears fluffed
14) Take out of steamer and let sit aside for a couple of minutes before removing from the mold.
15) You can sizzle some mustard seeds and curry leaves in hot oil, add little water to it and pour on top of the idlis. Or, you can have it with "rasam" or any other way you like.
The combination really works. You have to be careful about the ratio of the chicken to the batter though. I would suggest a few test runs with a couple of idlis till you arrive at a ratio you like. Even if you don't like idlis, just follow the recipe to make the dry roasted chicken (up to step 8) as an appetizer. Takes 30 minutes to make and you will not regret it!
However, this recipe may not appeal to everyone's taste (unlike the butter chicken pizza - who can not like that!), so I will call this a TRY!
Let me know how it goes!
The following recipe uses a chettinaad spice mix that I use now, after trying multiple combinations of various spices. This masala works well with any recipe for dry sauteed meat or vegetables. Remember, the quantity of the spices below are for 6 oz chicken. You can vary the amount depending upon the amount of meat you are cooking.
Here's what you need -
6 oz (150 gm) boneless chicken (used thighs)
idli batter (you can use instant mix or prepare it yourself)
1 lemon
1/2 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 medium tomato (chopped)
1 garlic clove
ginger (same amount as garlic)
1/2 tsp poppy seeds (difficult to come by, can do without them)
1/2 tsp turmeric (powder)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp fennel
1 cardamom
1/4 cinnamon stick
3 black peppercorns (whole)
1 clove
3 curry leaves
2 dry red chillies/ 1 tsp chilli flakes
Cooking -
1) In 1 tbsp clarified butter (ghee) roast the dry spices, except turmeric,on medium heat till they are darkened. It will take about 2 minutes.
2) Take off the heat and add garlic, ginger and curry leaves and grind the mixture to a paste
3) Dice the chicken in to small 1/2 inch cubes
4) Add the above paste and turmeric to the chicken and set aside
5) In a flat pan, heat1 tbsp of ghee or oil and add the onion when hot.
6) Once the onions are browned nicely (3-4 minutes), add the tomato. Keep frying on medium heat till the mixture is well browned, and the oil separates (about 10 minutes).
7) Now add the marinated chicken and fry on medium heat. Keep stirring till the chicken is cooked.
8) Add salt and lemon juice to taste.
Your chicken is ready, and now for the idli
9) In a bowl add a spoonful of water and crush the cooked chicken with your fingers. We will use this for the stuffing.
10) In an idli mold (or any rounded mold that can be steamed), put half the batter of an idli
11) Make a lose ball of the chicken so it covers a good part (as in picture below)
12) Pour the other half batter on top
13) Steam for about 10 minutes till the idli appears fluffed
14) Take out of steamer and let sit aside for a couple of minutes before removing from the mold.
15) You can sizzle some mustard seeds and curry leaves in hot oil, add little water to it and pour on top of the idlis. Or, you can have it with "rasam" or any other way you like.
The combination really works. You have to be careful about the ratio of the chicken to the batter though. I would suggest a few test runs with a couple of idlis till you arrive at a ratio you like. Even if you don't like idlis, just follow the recipe to make the dry roasted chicken (up to step 8) as an appetizer. Takes 30 minutes to make and you will not regret it!
However, this recipe may not appeal to everyone's taste (unlike the butter chicken pizza - who can not like that!), so I will call this a TRY!
Let me know how it goes!
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