So far, 2020 has turned out to be the scariest nightmare of our lives. As of yet, we are only at the third month (March) of the year and are done with it. Amen, right? Currently when we are practicing self-isolation in this COVID-19 pandemic, all of us got some time to reconnect with ourselves (don’t bash me if I’ve not said “The Almighty” because I believe that we all are clearly aware of which and do our parts of calling upon Him in good and bad times – no judgements). So, in this quarantine, everyone has sorted out some stuff to keep them going and catch up on their most procrastinating tasks. For example, organizing cupboards, cleaning the house, workouts at home, book reading, painting, cooking, and home/room décor are a few activities that I’ve found trending on the internet these days (if you know more, please to add in the comments below). And to match up with this slow-paced #QuarantineLife, I also kinda jump on the bandwagon and tried sth new. For now, sharing one of the many things I did while staying at home.
So the other day, I took inspiration from @thatkarachigirl’s Instagram stories to make this Balochi Karahi and Garlic Naan. Cooking has never been my cup of tea but when I do, I put my heart and soul into it. And the same happened this time. Alongside, mission kill-time-with-something-productive also accomplished.
Bored of my blabbering? Okay, okay, let’s roll down to the recipe now.
TIME REQUIRED:
Karahi:
45 mins (including cooking & broiling chicken, as well as seasoning)
Garlic Naan:
Prep Time: 60-90 mins (15 mins of dough kneading, 75 mins of setting-it-aside to rise). May increase if require.
Cook Time: 30 mins
SERVES: 6
INGREDIENTS:
Balochi Karahi:
Chicken – ½ kg
Oil – 3 tbsp
Garlic (mashed, not a paste) – 2 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Black Pepper (grounded) – Approx. 3 tbsp
Water – to broil (as required)
For Masala:
Coriander seeds – 5 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 5 tbsp
Round red chillis – 5-6 (big)
For Seasoning:
Green chillis – 8-10 (big)
Garlic Naan:
All-purpose flour – 2-3 cups
Yeast – 2 tsp
Milk – ½ cup (and more as per required for the knead)
Salt – ½ tsp
Yogurt – 3 tbsp
Baking powder – 2 tsp
Milk powder – 2-3 tsp
Garlic paste – 1-2 tbsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Chopped coriander – as required
Sesame seeds – as required
METHOD:
Karahi Masala
Take all ingredients (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and round red chillis) and sauté them on a dry flat skillet (tawa or frying pan). After that, throw them in the grinder and blend. It can be preserved for future use too.
Balochi Karahi
- Take a deep cooking-pot (karahi) and put in oil. Add in ginger & throw in the chicken with that.
- Add in salt and pepper to it. This recipe is a little spicier hence the amount of pepper is more than usual.
- Cook chicken in these ingredients till the oil is separated. Now transfer the oil (only, not the curry) into another pan.
- Now put in water as much as to cook the chicken completely. And cover the lid of the pot.
- Heat up the taken-out oil (check step-3) on the other stove & throw in green chillis (split from the center). Let them cook gently and take off the flame immediately. You don’t have to make them mushy; they need to maintain their firmness.
- Once the chicken is cooked, throw in some karahi masala you prepared earlier. And cook.
- At last, transfer the chicken into serving dish and season with the oil and chillis on top.
Garlic Naan
- Warm the milk in microwave, just to dissolve the yeast into it. Don’t overheat or it’ll make the lumps of yeast.
- In another bowl, take flour, baking powder, yogurt, milk powder, oil, salt, garlic paste, and yeast mixture altogether. Now knead it with more milk (remember, do not add water) to make a dough.
- Cover it with plastic wrap to tighten the air and rest it to rise. Duration: 1-2 hours is the ideal.
- In the meanwhile, make a mixture of water and salt in another bowl.
- Once the dough has risen, make balls out of it. Take each ball, flatten it, put sesame seeds and coriander in the middle and reshape it.
- Take these filled dough balls. Flatten each again, put sesame seeds in the middle and begin rolling out.
- Flip the naan onto your palm, put the salty water (check step-4) on the back side to cover completely. Now put the watery side on a pre-heated non-stock pan or tawa. Keep the flame high. Note: The pan needs to be good hot and it should have a handle to hold.
- In 2-3 mins, the naan rises. Now flip the pan over the fire and cook top side of it. Once it catches color, take it out. Brush coriander mixture (melted butter, chopped coriander, garlic paste) and cover it. Serve hot.
Tell me if you make it. Peace out.
Hey Meshal thanks for sharing us quarantine days activity this motivate me to do some effective work (ah! i am such a lazy girl). Lol 😛 I’ve found that people find artist in themselves they usually share in their stories.