My grandmother is Kashmiri. Her family lived in Lahore before partition and would visit Srinagar to escape the summer heat of Lahore. Later her trips to Srinagar were replaced by trips to New York, when her five children had made the United States their home. Nano, as I call her, was an excellent cook. She doesn’t cook much anymore due to her age and health, but I am so happy that her recipes are still alive in the family.
I called my aunt a few weeks ago (mom wasn’t available) and she gave me a recipe passed onto her from Nano. The story behind this recipe is that when Nano visited New York (from Pakistan), she didn’t quite understand how to bake things in the oven, so she invented this chicken recipe for the family. I made it for my American girlfriends the other day for the first time. In case you want to experiment with South Asian American cooking, here is the simplest thing I’ve made yet:
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Not Your Grandmother’s Chicken
Marinate Chicken: (2 pieces per person recommended) doesn’t need to marinate for long, can be seasoned and cooked immediately:
- Sprinkle garlic powder on both sides
- Sprinkle fresh ground black pepper on both sides
- Sprinkle salt on both sides
- Lightly sprinkle red chili powder on both sides (I actually add a teaspoon to the sauce instead of sprinkling it on the chicken)
Sauce:
Cook over medium heat in saucepan:
- 2 tomatoes chopped (you can adjust this to your taste – it depends also on how much chicken you are making)
- 1 cup of cilantro chopped (you can adjust this to your taste – I like more
- 2 green chilies chopped
Potatoes:
Steam potatoes in microwave. Each potato needs 4 minutes (2 mins on each side). Cut potatoes into halves or fourths.
Cooking Directions:
- Fry (without oil) marinated chicken in frying pan until the water released by chicken has dried, and it has slightly changed color on all sides.
- Place the chicken in baking pan, place potatoes in a baking pan, pour sauce over chicken, and place under broiler for 20 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
