SO.. studying for the bar…it’s very vital to have good brain food. And by brain food I mean food that is delicious so you look forward to your study breaks, but that is still fresh and healthy and doesn’t give you that sleepy after-eating feeling.

So I asked my mama for her Karahi chicken recipe.

And I thought I’d share both Mama’s Karahi Chicken and my own vegetarian take on it. (I’m not vegetarian but I find that feeding both me and Jonathan meat meals for lunch and dinner gets pretty expensive! Plus, I love me some veggies!)

So here it is!

Mama’s Karahi Chicken (exactly as Mama emailed me):
Hey Girl,
First brown two medium onions in vegetable oil until golden brown.
as they are browning, get all the spices ready to add and chop one medium tomato.
crush or chop together two small cloves garlic, one small piece of ginger( about equal to garlic) one small chili pepper.
For spicy, (Dad spicy) 3/4 tsp chili powder, pinch gara masala, 1/2 tsp cumin powder.
Once onions are golden brown, add powdered spices and stir for about 30 seconds, add garlic, ginger,chili pepper, stir for about 30 seconds, add tomato and stir it all together.
Add chicken at this point and stir all together. If everything is sticking to the pot add tiny amount of water until tomato get liquidy.
Cook stirring every 5 minutes or so until chicken cubes are done. You can add small amounts of water as needed to keep it from sticking and to get the gravy to the consistency that you want.
Add fresh coriander on top for looks and flavor, stir once and then turn off.

With chicken breast should not take more than about 20 minutes once chicken is added. Also add salt to taste when you add all the other powdered spices. If you do not have the individual spices, you can just use 1 1/2 tsp of chicken curry spice.

Thanks, Mom!

Here is my vegetarian take, which is simmering on the stove to be packed up for my lunch as we speak:

Ingredients:
1 can chick peas / garbanzo beans, well rinsed
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds
1 onion, chopped into half moons and then chopped into thirds
1 tomato, diced
same spices as above ( 3/4 tsp chili powder, pinch gara masala, 1/2 tsp cumin powder) … feel free to adjust to taste
1 tsp oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
Equal amount of grated ginger to garlic

Brown onions in 1 tsp oil, throw beans in there while the onions are browning.
Once onions are brown, throw in the spices and stir for 30 seconds. Throw in garlic and ginger, stir for 30 seconds. Add a splash of water to keep from sticking if necessary. Throw in tomatoes and let cook down for about 2 minutes. Throw in garbanzo beans. Cook on medium heat until beans are cooked. Add water as necessary to keep it from sticking and to keep it as liquid as you want it.

My Veggie Karahi

The tiny bit of Mama’s Karahi Chicken leftover from last night. Yum!