Basanti Pulav with Chicken Kossa

Friends!! I am back after a long time!!!
Recently we enjoyed a long festival season.What crops up in your mind when we talk about festivals ?
To me, festivals mean shopping,meeting-up with old-good friends,having delicious food,
bursting crackers and last but not the least, the rituals.In our busy daily schedule we don't get much time to follow our rituals, but when we wear the saree on Durga-Ashtami, accessorised with gold ornaments, we once again can feel strong vibes towards our tradition and culture . When we make colorful rangoli and lighten the diya on diwali, with our family all around, we find how deeply we are connected to our roots. Rituals are different, but the enjoyment,thrill and excitement behind these rituals,is all the same.The essence of GARBA remains the same even miles away,outside India,for our NRI faternity . And delicious food is an integral part of all these festivities . During festival seasons, we usually dine outside at expensive restaurants with our family members, but Pulav and Chicken prepared by my mom is better than any five course meal at even the best
five star hotel. I learnt today's recipe from my aunt, who shared this recipe with me, without giving any name to it. I prepared this recipe during Basanti puja (another name for Durga Puja).
Although Goddess Durga was traditionally worshipped in Spring (Basant), during the battle at Lanka, Sri Rama had to invoke her in Autumn - this is known as Akaal Bodhan [the wrong time]. Since then, we follow Lord Rama's date for Durga/Basanti Puja that has become popular among the Bengalis all over the world. I am naming this recipe as basanti pulav, since the recipe was conceived during this Basanti Puja.

Basanti Pulav
Ingredients:
1.One and half cup pure, fine basmati rice. I would prefer Kohinoor basmati rice.
2.Two medium sized onion, chopped into thin slices.
3.One table spoon ginger and garlic paste each.
4.Turmeric powder,salt and sugar.
5.2-3 cloves, 2 medium sized cinnamom sticks, 2 cardimom, one bay-leaf.
6.One big sized potato, cut into four pieces.
7.One/two table spoon ghee.
8.cashew nut,raisins,handful of green peas, if you would like to add.
9.Corriander and chilly powder.

Method:
1.After washing the basmati rice, soak it for 10-15 minutes.Mix the ginger,garlic paste
with some water and keep it aside.
2.Fry the potatoes with salt and a little bit of turmeric powder.
3.Now heat the pressure-cooker and add refined oil into it.
Add bay-leaf and whole garama masalas as mentioned above for 'forni/tadka' ('foron' in bengali). 4.Once you start getting the aroma of the garam-masala, add thin sliced onions and fry it until it turns brown.
5.If you want to use green peas and dry-fruits, add it now.
6.Fry it for a while. Filter out the ginger-garlic water and
add the same. Add turmeric powder, salt, corriander, chilly powder and salt as per taste.
7.Fry this mix for 3-4 minutes so that the raw smell of the spices goes away and then add ghee and fried potatoes.
8.Add water to the extent that the water level should not exceed 2 inches above the surface
of rice.
9.Boil uptil two whistles from the pressure cooker.

Chef's Tips:
1.If you want to prepare rice in handi insead of pressure cooker, then you will have to be very
careful about the amount of water that needs to be added. It should be just enough so that the entire water can dry up,
leaving a perfect softeness in the rice.
2.After two whistles from the pressure cooker, if you feel that the rice needs to be cooked more, then sprinkle
a small amount of water over it and wait for one more whistle.

Chicken Kossa
Ingredient:
1.for 500gm chicken four big sized onion.Chop two onions and use rest of the two onions for
for paste. make a paste of two onions,1 1/2 inch ginger, two green hilly,one toamto,10-12 garlic cloves.
2.Red chilly powder , turmeri powder,salt ad sugar as per your taste-buds.
3.Refined oil/Mustard oil 5-6 table spoon.If you love oily food then can use 7-8 spoon.
4.Garama masala powder.You can prepare it at home or use readymade one.One bay-leaf
5.Cumin and corriander powder.

method:
1.Heat the oil and add bayleaf.
2.Add sliced onion and fry it till it turns pink.(slightly fried)
3.Add all the spices except garam masala along with chicken.
4.Cover with a lead and fry it for 10-15 minutes in medium flame.
Then remove the lead and fry it till it starts releasing oil.Switch off the flame.
5.Add two-three cups of water in a cooker and heat it to boil.Add the chicken, sprnkle over garama masala into it
and whistle it.
4-5 whistle is enough to make the chicken soft and tender.

Chef's Tips:
1.if you want dry chicken instead of gravy, then skip the cooker.Continue Cooking in the same for another 10-15 minutes in kadai.
2.If you don't want to use cooker and want a gravy then you will have to add hot water into kadai and cook for another 15 minutes.
3.I have not used curd/vinegar or lemon juic.But if you wnat to use curd then add it
while chicken starts releasing oil.
4.For extra taste you can use cashew paste and add it while frying the chicken but
sometime I love this simple process, preparing it without lemon juice,vinegar,curd,cashew.
Many of us believe that curd/lemon-juice/vinegar is must to make the chicken soft.But
trust me and try the above simple porcess,I can vouch you will not be disappointed.