Chicken Pickle/Kozhi achar

Chicken pickle.. i think most of u get confused about the title, right? Did she type it wrong.. no guys.Today i thought i can share with u guys something special. That is Chicken Pickle. Kerala is famous of these kind of non-vegetarian pickles.The Fish, Chicken and Beef pickles are the very popular non vegetarian pickles in Kerala. Amma hardly makes any non-veg pickles but my aunt  is an expert in making fish pickle.(Sure i will post the fish pickle ).
For long time i was thinking to prepare this chicken pickle. Whenever i talk about the chicken pickle  my hus used to say u can't make chicken pickle like fish (Tuna, King fish) because chicken texture is so different.really i was in dilemma.one day suddenly he asked what happened? Nowadays not hearing abt the chicken pickle? Anyway u just try it.. So I decided to prepare it in the same day and luckily some chicken was there in the freezer. Frankly speaking i did not know the recipe but i wanted to give it a try. I searched for its recipe but hardly find any.so what i did is i just called my aunt and collected the fish pickle recipe then made some changes and tried this  one and the result was superb. My hus really liked it and he concluded that the chicken pickle is as good as the fish one. (Only if I get a good review from my hus, i try those recipes again.
Really it is a delicious side for rice or roti. No need to make any other curries. Usually for this preparation we are using lots of oil. if u want to prepare the low-fat version, do not add more oil. if u want to keep the same for longer it is good to use more oil. But i don't think we are going to keep the chicken-pickle for that long. Here i prepared it with only one pound of boneless chicken and it is finished within days.
So let me tell u how i made the delicious pickle.

Ingredients
Chicken(boneless)(kozhi kashnangal): 1 lbs
For Marinating the chicken
Salt (uppu) : to taste
Turmeric Powder (manjal podi): 1 tbsp
Ground Pepper (kurumulaku podi):1tbsp
Garam Masala Powder: 1 tbsp
Redchili Powder:1tbsp
For frying
Sesame Oil (nallenna): 5 tbsp
Mustard seed(kaduku): 1 tsp
Red chili(chuvanna mulaku): 4 nos
Curry leaves(curryveppila): 2 sprig
Garlic(vellulli): 10 pods
Ginger(inji): 1 big size
Green Chili (pachamulaku): 3 nos
Asafoetida: 1/2 tsp
Red Chili powder: 3 tbsp
Whole pepper(kurumulaku): 5-8 nos
Whole Fenugreek(uluva): 3nos or Fenugreek powder: 1/4 tsp
Red chili powde(mulaku podi)r: 2 tbsp
Salt(uppu) : to taste

Vinegar(vinagiri): 3 tbsp
Preparation

• Cut the chicken into very small pieces.and pat dry the chicken in the kitchen tissue paper
• Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric powder, pepper powder and garam masala. Keep it for an hour
• Slit the green chili ,slice the ginger and garlic.

Procedure

• Heat oil in a pan. Deep fry the chicken. Do it in batches.
• Transfer  the deep-fried chicken in to a sheet tray and  let it cool for about 5-10 minutes
• Heat 3-4 table spoon of oil  (you can use same oil which is used in the above step)  and add  mustard seeds
• Once it started spluttering add the red chili, whole pepper and fenugreek seeds followed by green chili, ginger and garlic slices. Fry until the g-g-g get light brown color .
• Add the Red chili powder and asafoetida .fry for a minute or two.(if u r using the ground fenugreek fry that too)
• Add the curry leaves into the mix.. saute well.
• Add the fried chicken pieces and the extra oil (if u like to add) and mix all together and heat for 3-5 minute in very low heat.
• Once the mix get cool down add vinegar..Keep the same in an airtight container for 2-3 days in the room temperature.

The delicious pickle is ready to have..

Cook's Tip

• Completely dry the chicken pieces using kitchen tissues
• keep the marinated  chicken pieces for more than an hour.
• use the sesame oil instead of any other oil.
• Always use dry spoon to serve the pickle otherwise the the pickle get moisture and it leads to get the fungal and that spoils the whole pickle
• You can keep the same for 3-4 months in the refrigerator.(Add more vinegar and oil, if you are planning to keep it for long time. Also make sure that all chicken pieces are immersed in the oil-vinegar mixture)

Banana Chips & Fried banana pieces in jaggaery(Ethakaya Upperi & Sharkkara Piratti)

Today I am going to share with you guys the very delicious and famous Kerala snacks -Ethaykka Upperi(Banana chips) and Sarakkara Pirratti (fried banana in jaggery). These are some of the must see dishes in Kerala feast also.I think whoever visits Kerala, sure get a chance to taste the banana chips and they will buy a big bag full of chips for their family too..
Last weekend during our  shopping at Costco, for finding the chicken sausage ,i asked for help to one of the shop assistant and she told me the exact  location. She then asked us abt our native place in India.I just told we r from kerala..Then she was so excited and screaming: “wow! You r from GOD's own country?” (I really surprised about how she knew about that slogan because international people hardly know about Kerala). she was talked abt the places Cochin kovalam etc and these delicious banana chips and the taste of the big fish she ate during the house boat cruise( House boat cruise is one of the main attraction in Kerala).. . When she talked about these banana chips really made us crave to eat the same. How  beautifully she explained the beauty of our place and the deliciousness of our food.. She also mentioned  that she is saving money to plan for another vacation to Kerala in future.

When she mentioned about these Banana chips, I thought of making it at home. When i prepared the chips i just tried the Sarkkara piratti also. 

The banana chips are very easy to make one.. but you have to fry it nicely otherwise it won't get that crispy texture.About the sarkkarapiratti, it’s easy but be careful while making the jaggery syrup it should be in right consistency otherwise the the banana pieces wont get the  jaggery coating.. also deep fry the banana pieces and let it cool then only add to the jaggery syrup.Hope u guys will try to make it at home.Use the raw plantain only

Let me tell u how i made these items:

1.Banana chips(Ethakkaya Upperi)(ഏത്തയ്ക്ക ഉപ്പേരി)

Ingredients

Raw Plantain (പച്ച ഏത്തയ്ക്ക): 1 no
Oil(എണ്ണ): for deep frying
Salt(ഉപ്പു്‌) : to taste
Turmeric Powder(മഞ്ഞള്‍ പൊടി ): a pinch(optional)
Procedure

• Heat oil in a pan.Add the banana pieces and the turmeric powder in to it( slice the banana using the slicer and  directly add them into the heated oil) 
• Deep fry until crispy.
• Transfer the chips to kitchen tissue. Just add some salt and mix well.let it cool for 3-5 minutes.

The chips are ready to have.Keep it in an airtight container(if u have any left over)

Cook's tip

• Do not keep the sliced  banana for long.It will get dark color and won't get the fresh taste.
• When u transfer the fried pieces add the salt and mix well.. 
• apply the turmeric powder in to the sliced pieces  and then fry it otherwise add the turmeric powder directly in to the oil.

2.SarakkaraPiratti(Fried Banana pieces in jaggary mix)

Ingredients
Jaggery(sarkara - ശര്‍ക്കര): 1/2 pound
Water:!/2 cup
Raw Plantain(pacha ethakka- പച്ച ഏത്തയ്ക്ക) : 2 medium
Ground Dried Ginger(chukkupodi - ചുക്കുപൊടി): 1/2 tsp
Grond Cardamaom(elakka podi - ഏലയ്ക്ക പൊടി):1/2 tsp
Oil(enna - എണ്ണ): for frying the banana pieces
Rice flour (അരി പൊടി) : 2 tsp
Procedure

• Slit the plantain and cut them cross into medium size pieces.
• Heat oil in a pan ,add the plantain pieces fry until crispy.
• Transfer the fried pieces in to a kitchen tissue and let it cool..
• By the time make the jaggery syrup.Add the jaggery with 1/2 cup of water and make a syrup which has right consistency (the syrup will be like oil(means neither it be watery nor so thick)
• Reduce the heat to very low and add the dried Ginger and cardamom powder to them and mix well .
• Add the fried and cooled plantain pieces into the jaggery syrup.Mix well.Switch off the heat and mix the pieces until it completely coated with jaggery finally just sprinkle the rice flour. 
• Transfer the sharkarapiratti into a plate and let it cool.. 

The delicious sharkkara piratti is ready to have..Keep them in an airtight container.. 

Cook's Tip

• Do not add more water for making the jaggery syrup.
• The syrup should be in right consistency. if u feel it's get the oil texture that means its ready to use .. do not be so thick or so thin then the banana piece won't get the coating properly
• Do not forgot to sprinkle the rice flour.