Veg-Nonveg Thali (Spicy Chicken Chop Fry & Vegetable Korma)

Step 1: Prepare Chicken Marinade Masala

Grind the roasted cashew nuts, fried onions, fried garlic cloves, dried rose petals, green cardamom powder, mace powder, and dried red chillies to a coarse paste without adding any water.

Step 2: Marinate Chicken

In a large bowl, combine the chicken drumsticks with 1/2 tbsp garlic paste, 1 tbsp ginger paste, the prepared coarse masala paste, salt to taste, and the juice of half a lemon. Mix well to ensure the chicken is thoroughly coated. Ideally, marinate for 8-10 hours, but for immediate cooking, proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Heat Oil and Butter

Heat 1/4 cup oil and 1 tbsp butter in a kadai (wok) over medium heat.

Step 4: Infuse Whole Spices

Add a 1-inch cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamoms, 4-5 cloves, and 10-15 black peppercorns to the hot oil and butter. Let the spices infuse for a few seconds until fragrant.

Step 5: Sauté Chicken

Add the marinated chicken drumsticks to the kadai. Sauté on high flame for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is lightly browned on all sides.

Step 6: Cook Chicken Covered

Cover the kadai with a lid and cook the chicken on a medium to low flame for 5 minutes to allow it to cook through.

Step 7: Prepare Chicken Dressing

In a separate bowl, whisk 1 cup yogurt until smooth. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves, 10-15 torn fresh mint leaves, and 1 crushed sliced onion. Mix all ingredients well to form a dressing.

Step 8: Add Oil to Dressing

Add 1 tbsp oil to the yogurt dressing and mix again to combine.

Step 9: Add Dressing to Chicken

After 5 minutes, uncover the chicken. Add the prepared yogurt dressing, 1 tbsp roasted dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi), and 1 tbsp chaat masala powder to the chicken. Spread the dressing evenly over the chicken.

Step 10: Simmer Chicken with Dressing

Cover the kadai again and cook on a low flame for another 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld and the chicken to finish cooking.

Step 11: Garnish and Serve Chicken

Uncover the chicken, stir gently, and then shut off the flame. Garnish with 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaves. The Spicy Chicken Chop Fry is ready.

Step 12: Prepare Korma Base

In a clean kadai, heat 3 tbsp ghee. Add 3 sliced onions and brown them well until they are golden brown.

Step 13: Brown Cashew Nuts

Add 1/2 cup cashew nuts to the browned onions and continue to brown them together until the cashews are also golden.

Step 14: Grind Korma Base Paste

Remove the browned onions and cashews from the kadai, let them cool to room temperature, and then grind them to a fine paste.

Step 15: Fry Paneer

In a separate pan, fry 200 gms paneer cubes until they are nicely golden brown on all sides. Set aside.

Step 16: Heat Ghee for Korma Gravy

In the same kadai used for browning onions, heat 2-3 tbsp ghee.

Step 17: Infuse Whole Spices for Korma

Add 1 star anise, 10 black peppercorns, 5-6 cloves, 4-5 green cardamoms, a 1-inch cinnamon stick, and 2 black cardamoms to the hot ghee. Let them infuse until fragrant.

Step 18: Sauté Ginger and Garlic

Add 1-inch finely chopped ginger and 6-7 finely chopped garlic cloves. Sauté for a few seconds until their raw smell disappears.

Step 19: Add Powdered Spices

Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tbsp red chilli powder. Immediately reduce the flame to low to prevent the spices from burning.

Step 20: Add Yogurt to Gravy

Add 1 cup whisked yogurt to the kadai. Stir continuously on a low flame until the oil starts to separate and a beautiful layer of oil appears on top.

Step 21: Add Vegetables and Almonds

Add 500 gms each of blanched assorted vegetables (French beans, carrots, peas, cauliflower), 3 finely chopped green chillies, and 10-12 soaked and peeled almonds. Mix well to combine with the gravy.

Step 22: Add Vegetable Stock

Pour in 1 cup of vegetable stock (the water used to boil the vegetables). Mix thoroughly.

Step 23: Add Fried Paneer

Add the fried paneer cubes to the vegetable korma. Gently mix to incorporate them without breaking.

Step 24: Adjust Seasoning

Adjust salt to taste, ensuring the flavors are balanced.

Step 25: Garnish and Finish Korma

Add 1/2 cup freshly chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Shut off the flame. Finally, add 1/2 cup fresh cream and gently fold it into the korma. The Vegetable Korma is now ready.

• For richer flavor, marinate the chicken for 8-10 hours.

• When adding yogurt to the gravy, reduce the flame immediately and stir continuously to prevent it from splitting.

• For a vegetarian chicken chop fry, substitute chicken with potatoes or other mixed vegetables (avoid paneer as it tends to crumble in this preparation).

• For the vegetable korma, you can use different combinations of vegetables based on seasonal availability.

• Adjust the spice levels in both dishes to your preference by altering the amount of red chillies and chilli powder.