Grandma's Chicken Musuman with step by step video & pictorial illustrations

Talking about the traditional foods, North Malabar had established its own place; especially Kannur & Kozhikode districts; Thalassery being their leader. There's a wide variety of pathiris, snacks, curries ,etc. associated with this region. Some of them are vanished from the modern kitchen while some others are modified to adjust to the changed lifestyles.
Musuman means Whole(colloquially).This recipe is given as it was in the past. This was my Grandma's recipe and just came to my mom's mind recently & gave it a try . It was delicious & since then, Chicken Musuman found its place in our kitchen. In this recipe, chicken is stuffed with Chana Dal Masala & boiled eggs. Before it was prepared using big chicken which weighs about 1 1/2 kg or more; so that it was easy to stuff. But now-a-days we prefer small chickens & so we can't use much stuffing. I've given the recipe of 800gm chicken and I'm sure that u guys would luv it...

It's spicy as well as a bit sweet cos of the sugar we use ..The sugar is well blended with all the spices that it has a nice spicy -sweet combined flavor.

Ingredients:

Chicken 800-900 gm
Onion 2 medium
Tomato 1
Ginger 1 tbsp
Garlic 2 pods
Green Chilli 3
Red Chilli powder 1 1/2 tsp (spicy one)
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Sugar 1 1/2 tsp
Chana Dal 1/4 cup (for both the gravy & stuffing)
Egg 1 boiled (optional)

For Coconut Paste:

Coconut 1 cup (3/4 + 1/4)
Fennel (Saunf) 1 tsp
Onion,sliced-  half of a small onion
Clove 1
Cardamom 1
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

For stuffing:

Onion 1/2
Ginger -Garlic paste 1 tsp
Green chilli 1
Red Chilli powder 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves 1 tbsp
Garam masala 1/4 tsp
Chana Dal

Method:

1.Soak Chana Dal overnight or for a minimum of 6 hrs.


2. Coconut paste:

Now we have to roast coconut for the gravy as we do for our Varutharacha curry. The method is simple and goes like this:

a. Take a pan, add 2 tbsp of coconut oil. When hot, add 1 tbsp of parboiled rice ;let it roast a bit till it changes its color. Add 3/4 of the coconut ;saute well in medium-low flame;

b. add fennel seeds

c. & half onion in between.  Keep on stirring to roast the coconut evenly.

d. Saute till it turns to brown. Don't make it too brown ;else a bitter taste may come. Add turmeric powder.Switch off the flame & let it cool. Throw in remaining fresh coconut ,cardamom & clove and make a paste of it.

3.Mix the Onion, Tomato, Green Chilli, Ginger Garlic paste, Red Chilli powder, Coriander powder , enough water and salt with chicken & cook till the chicken is done.

4.Meanwhile prepare Chana Dal Stuffing:

Cook Chana Dal. Take 1/4 cup of the cooked dal & keep aside for the gravy.

 Take a pan, pour 1 tbsp of oil. When hot, add onion;saute well till it turns brown ; then add ginger-garlic paste, chilli, red chilli powder & the remaining cooked chana dal. Saute well. Finish it off with garam masala & coriander leaves.

5.When chicken is done, take it off & stuff with this masala & boiled egg. If the chicken is small, you can stuff it with only a few or1 tbsp of the chana dal masala.You can pin the chicken with tootpick so that the stuffing remains safe.(optional)I couldn't do it as my chicken was a bit delicate when done. Keep the chicken aside; no need to put it back to the gravy now.

6.Now add the coconut paste & chana dal (which was kept aside ) in the gravy & let it boil.

7. You can now put chicken in the gravy & let it boil for 3-5minutes. No need to boil it for so long and take care while serving, otherwise the chicken may break & it won't remain Chicken Musuman (musuman means whole);the stuffing may also come out.

8.Temper it with Ghee and onion.(add 1 or 2 tbsp of ghee in a hot pan & put a tbsp of sliced onion & add it to the gravy when brown).

9.Garnish with coriander & curry leaves & serve with Pathiris which complements well with this gravy.

Grandma- Last Goodbye!

It has been a tough couple of weeks that my family had gone through or still going through since the death of my grandma; a sudden death,  that the family were not expecting . Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un. For her, this was exactly her wish to die without troubling anyone or lying as a burden for her family. It just took a few seconds for her to leave us. May Allah bestow his mercy upon her soul and grant her Jannat al Firdaus. Aameen!

It is the worst feeling I've ever experienced. I loved her so much that I couldn't believe my ears when I heard this news. Still can't believe. Last year while we were about to leave after vacation, she hugged me tightly, went on crying while worrying whether she could see us anymore. I told her we would never allow you to go before Noora's (my daughter who is 10) wedding. You have lot more to witness. We never ever expected this.

She was a great cook and my tutor. She was the first one to teach me to make fish curry and biriyani. Those were the days when I was trying to settle myself all alone in my house with my toddler, who was just 3 months then and I had no experience in cooking. My grandma used to come every week with a maid to help me clean my house. She gave her instructions and helped me sort out my stuffs. Once, when I wanted to cook biriyani, she helped me with the procedures when she had never tasted or cooked biriyani in her entire life. She always said that she hated it since her childhood and for some reason she never tasted it. But that was one of the best biriyanis I've ever made.

The grief becomes unbearable when comes the thought of not seeing her again. The warmth, the love and care is no more available. How I regret not being able to say a last goodbye. I wish I had known her time was coming. Love you Gradma!! You truly were special! Those fond memories will  be with us all our life!

Grandma's Date Pickle Recipe

Strawberry Cloud Cake

Cloud cake is a no-bake, flourless cake which is a summer dessert and perfect for special occassions, where you can prepare this ahead of 3-4 days and pop it in your freezer. This is as light as cloud and melts in mouth . The crunchiness of biscuit base with coconut flavour gives a tropical touch to the dessert. It was so difficuilt to click pictures to show its texture as it was melting, melting and melting... :( still i think I should post atleast one picture. Let me check if I could find one in the folders.

This was made by my sis Hanan and thank God that I was there to taste this awesome dessert. It was lightier than ice-cream and is good when you are expecting some guests and you are not sure about their time of visit. You can make this and dump it in your freezer; make sure to serve as soon as you take it out of the freezer.

Ingredients:

For the base:

Biscuits( digestive,marie or any plain biscuits ) 150g
Butter 1 stick (1/2 cup)
Dessicated Coconut (dry coconut) 50g

Filling:

Eggwhite 2
Sugar 1 1/4cups
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Vanilla essence 1tsp
Strawberries 250g

Method

1. Line the base and sides of a spring form cake tin with baking paper or waxed paper to lift the cake out easily after freezing.

2. Crush the biscuits into crumbs. For this, put biscuits into the freezer bag or any plastic bag,seal it and then crush it using a rolling pin.

3. Mix well, the biscuits,melted butter and coconut in a bowl. Press firmly into the base of the tin. Keep this tin in the freezer till you prepare your filling.

4. Blend all the remaining ingredients in a dry bowl of electric mixer/blender/juice machine on high speed for about 5-8minutes until the mixture turns thick and fluffy . The sugar should be dissolved by then. To test, take a bit of mixture and rub it between your fingers and if you don't feel grainy sugar, it's done.

5. Pour this mixture in the prepared tin and wrap it with a baking paper or foil . Freeze it for atleast 4 hours or until set. You can store this in airtight containers for a month or so.

Serve this with fresh berries or canned berry topping.

*use a large blender as eggwhites once beaten,increases its volume .