No Oil Pudina (Mint) Chicken

Come weekend, and there's non vegetarian cooking in my kitchen. And if it is a sunny day, daffodils blossoming in the lawn, a cricket match on the television and hubby dear relaxing with a beer or two, then there's definitely some non vegetarian cooking in my kitchen. :) :). So I have brought to you this weekend, another mother's signature dish ...PUDINA CHICKEN!!

Pudina (Mint) Chicken is very special in many ways. It is a dry dish with absolutely no gravy, no onions, no OIL, no water whatsoever. That's right....Love and Calories does sometimes bring you a calorie less meal too. ;) This dish is great to serve with chapathis and rice and also served as an appetizer!! So bring on your plate and let me serve you Pudina Chicken. :)

Marinade:

• A bunch of Mint leaves (approx 40 gm chopped)
• 1 tbsp ginger - garlic paste
• 1 big cinnamon stick
• 5-6 cloves
• 3-4 cardamoms
• 10 black peppercorns
• 4 green chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• salt to taste

1. Blend the above ingredients into a fine paste. Do not add water to it. If u need more liquid to make a paste, then add more vinegar.
2. Rub the paste onto a 1/2 kg diced boneless chicken (can opt "with bone" too). Marinade it for a minimum of 1 hour.
3. Heat a heavy bottom non stick kadai and topple your marinaded chicken in it and cover with a lid. Let it cook in medium heat. Do not pour water or oil in the kadai during the cooking process. Taste the chicken at this point and add salt accordingly.
4. Stir the chicken every 10 min so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. It won't happen if you are using a non stick vessel. The juices in the chicken will make it cook by itself.
5. Wait till all the water in the chicken evaporates and the chicken has cooked fully. Stir constantly if you want your chicken to be light golden on the outside. Switch off the heat.
6. Serve on as your starters or as a side course meal. :)

PS:- Indian poultry meat are quite tender and if cooked for long (especially like these dry dishes), the chicken pieces shreds automatically. Its all the more tasty then. Whenever I make Pudina Chicken in India, it resembles the Kerala Jackfruit dish (idichakka poduthuval) :)