Damage Control: Desi, with an Italian twist

By Aswathy Kumar

'Excuses, excuses and more excuses,' my husband sat grimly, staring at his computer screen. He didn't have to say much, I knew exactly what he was looking at and what had ticked off such a reaction. It was the last updated sign on my food blog. I embarrassingly shifted in my seat to take a peek. It read January 10, 2014. Okay, I agree, I was guilty as charged. It had been almost a year since I penned down anything on my blog and it wasn't doing as great as I had intended it to be.

But honestly, I had some real valid reasons. A year ago, I moved from Washington DC to Yangon and my life had take a complete 360. Running non-stop errands for groceries, cooking, cleaning and scrubbing toilets had given way to a wonderful world of chauffeur driven cars, nannies to fuss over my little one and live-in cooks. Though initially I had planned to continue my role of 'super-mom' and 'Miss can-do-it-all' in Yangon as well, very soon I found out that houses in the developing world were not really built for a one-woman show. It felt depressing cooking in a closed-off kitchen and it was no fun hosting dinners for guests who didn't even budge from our cozy living room to check on poor-me slogging away in the heat.

That's when I found my Jassi, our Burmese/Indian dynamo cook. From the traditional Myanmar cuisine, to Thai, Chinese, Indian or Arabic, Jassi was definitely a dream-find. From my bedroom, one storey above, I could smell the concoction of creamy puréed tomatoes, butter and garam masala wafting from the kitchen. Jassi was making my famous Makhani Chicken. I had given her the recipe once and she had already mastered it to such an extend that I barely could make out the difference between mine and hers. I slowly made way to the kitchen and I couldn't help but wonder, if there was any part of it that was familiar. It was time, I thought, time to add my little magic touch.

Murg Makhani Lasagne

Jassi had already made the creamy makhani gravy and was about to add the chicken chunks when I walked in. Though I did want to regain some of my lost power, I was in no mood to start from scratch. That's when I thought, why not, shred up the chicken instead of the chunks and add it to the gravy and use it is as the filling for a completely unique dish of Murg makhani lasagne, a desi dish with an Italian twist.

Recipe

Chicken- breast shredded

5-6 tomatoes, blended

Onions-2

Ginger-garlic paste-1 tbsp

Red chilli powder-1/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp

Garam masala-1/4 tsp

Sugar-a pinch

Dried Fenugreek leaves- 1 tsp

Milk-1 cup

Fresh cream-2 tbsp

Cilantro to Garnish

Salt to taste

Lasagne sheets- depending on your baking tray

Grated cheddar cheese

In a wok, add butter and stir fry the onions till brown and blend in a mixer

Now in the same wok and with remaining butter, add puréed tomatoes, ginger garlic paste and cook through

Now add the onion paste, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt and fry well.

Add the shredded chicken, 1/4 cup water, cover with a lid let it cook

Once ready open the cover and let the water evaporate. Now add the milk, cream, a pinch of sugar, salt to taste and garam masala

Add the dried fenugreek leaves and cilantro to garnish

Start layering the curry and the lasagne sheets. I like to partly boil the sheets before using and also not use too much of it. Just a few sheets at the bottom and few at the top (but then again, that's the way we like it)

Top with shredded cheese

And bake

A not-so-happy fact!