Chicken Pickle
Ingredients:-
Boneless Chicken : 1 Kg
Salt : 60 - 75 Gms
Chilli Powder : 100 Gms (you can also use whole red chillies roasted and ground at home).
Coriander Seeds : 100 Gms
Poppy Seeds : 50 Gms
Cashew Nuts : 50 Gms
Ginger : 50 Gms
Garlic : 50 Gms
Turmeric Powder : 2 Tsp
Mustard Seeds : 1 Tsp
Fenugreek Seeds : 1/2 Tsp
Cloves : 20 Nos.
Cardamom : 15 Nos.
Cinnamon : 1 inch
Lemon : 8 Nos
Oil : 750 ml
Method:-
Clean the boneless chicken using water and cut it into pieces of desired thickness. (Don't cut it very small as while frying it will shrink further)
Now, marinate the chicken with 1 tsp of Turmeric powder and half tsp of salt. (Don't put too much salt in this step as later you will be adding salt to the main mixture).
Put the marinated chicken in a kadhai and cook it without adding any water till the chicken pieces are cooked ie the water from the chicken is evaporated.
Meanwhile roast the following ingredients separately:-
Coriander Seeds on high flame for around 2 mins
I used whole chillies so I roasted them on high flame for a min and then ground them to a coarse to fine powder.
Roast the Cashews on high flame for 1 min.
Roast the poppy seeds for 1 min.
Roast Fenugreek seeds for 1 min.
Roast Mustard seeds for 1 min.
Roast Cardamom, Cinnamon & Cloves for 1 min.
Let them cool and grind each of the above spices in to fine powder using a blender. Keep them aside.
Now, pour some oil in a deep frying pan (oil can be of your choice I used canola for health benefits).
Once the oil heats up add the boiled chicken pieces in batches and cry them on medium to high flame till it becomes golden brown and a little crispy. (This step is very crucial because if the chicken doesnt become crispier on the outside then chances of the pickle getting spoilt is very high). Repeat the process with the entire boiled chicken pieces.
Now, peel the ginger and garlic and cut them into coarse pieces and grind it to a paste. Add this paste of Ginger-Garlic in the hot oil in which you just fried the chicken pieces. Fry it for around 2 mins on high flame or till you find the raw smell disappear. Turn off the heat. Tip: If you want to bite into some garlic cloves in the pickle then you can add some garlic cloves to be fried in the oil and keep them aside. Also, its more desirable to make the ginger-garlic paste at home for the freshness sake.
Take a mixing bowl and transfer the crispy golden brown chicken in it. Now add the roasted and powdered spices one by one on the chicken. Tip: If you desire a vibrant color for your chicken pickle then balance the chilli powder spiciness as per your taste and also add Kashmiri Red Chilly powder as this is not spicy but does add a good color to the pickle.
Mix this entire mixture ensuring that the chicken pieces are coated and then add the heated ginger-garlic oil on top of it. Mix well and taste the mixture. If you feel salt is less then add as per your taste. After its mixed and all the chicken pieces are well coated keep it aside to cool.
Now, slice the lemons into halves and extract the juice in a separate bowl. Use a lemon squeezer for this purpose or if you are well acquainted of using your fingers are a strainer use them to ensure the seeds don't fall into the extracted juice.
Add this lemon juice concentrate in the mixture and mix well. Check the taste and if you want it more tangier then add little bit more juice to suit your palate.
Finally, heat the remaining oil in a pan and pour it over this mixture. Also, if you want to add a little bit of mustard oil in this step you can do that by heating it up and pouring it over the pickle mixture Caution: The heating and adding of oil is the last step in the pickle making. Please do not add any lemon concentrate post this step.
Store this pickle in air tight bottles and you can use it for upto 45 days without it getting spoilt. Store the jars in a cool place at room temperature or if you want to refrigerate it then you can do that too.
Hope you enjoy this delicious Chicken Pickle. Do feel free to post your comments.