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Mains · Recipe 13

A Sunday for Her —
The Full Feast

8 min read Category: Recipe + story By Varun, Posdol
Sunday Tamil feast — a full spread of curries, rice and sides

On the chicken curry

Growing up our home was largely vegetarian. My mom is Christian but non-veg cooking at home was rare — my brother had a health condition and the house ran around that.

On train journeys from Mumbai to Chennai, visiting my dad's family, my mom would open her non-veg dish and share it with everyone in the compartment the way you do on long train rides. I ate my tamarind rice and lemon rice at the other end. I was in fourth or fifth standard and the smell of chicken was too potent for me — I genuinely couldn't handle it. If my mom touched me or kissed me after eating chicken, I would go wash that spot with water. That is how strong the aversion was.

Years later, on a random Sunday at home, I cooked a chicken curry. A proper one — bone-in thighs, Kashmiri chilli, coconut milk. I don't eat chicken. I cooked it for her.

"The kid who used to wash off her kiss after she ate chicken. Making his mom a bowl of curry on a Sunday. That felt like something."

On the mushroom ghee roast

About eight years ago, five of us took a train from Chennai to Mangalore — the first leg of a trip to Gokarna. We reached Mangalore early in the morning, got off the train, and just started walking. When we found a tucked-away AC restaurant near the station, my friends ordered rava-coated fish fry. I ordered mushroom ghee roast with plain rice and kori roti.

I had never eaten it before. It was one of those dishes where you immediately start thinking about how to make it at home. When I got back to Chennai I researched the ingredients, worked out the method with whatever I had available, and made my version. It's been my mushroom dish ever since.

Both dishes — the chicken curry and the mushroom ghee roast — ended up on the same table that Sunday. Along with jeera rice. A full meal, made from scratch, for the people at home.

Three recipes. One meal.

Coconut Chicken Curry
Prep time 20 min + 30 min
Cook time 35 min
Total ~85 min
Serves 3–4
Difficulty Medium
Ingredients — Marination
  • 500g chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed
  • 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbsp oil
Ingredients — Curry
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 inch ginger, grated
  • 200ml coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
Method
  1. Marinate the chicken. Combine Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, salt, and oil. Coat chicken thoroughly. Leave for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Sear the chicken. Heat oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Sear marinated chicken until sealed and coloured — about 3 minutes per side. Remove and keep aside.
  3. Build the base. In the same pan, add curry leaves, then onion. Cook 7–8 minutes until deep golden. Add ginger and garlic; cook 2 more minutes.
  4. Add the tomato masala. Add tomatoes, Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, and salt. Cook until tomatoes break down completely and oil separates — about 8 minutes.
  5. Braise the chicken. Add the seared chicken back. Add ½ cup water. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
  6. Coconut milk — low heat only. Add coconut milk. Gentle simmer from this point — do not boil. Add garam masala. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
  7. Taste and serve.
Kashmiri chilli powder gives the colour without the heat — non-negotiable. Once coconut milk goes in, low heat only. High heat splits it.
Mushroom Ghee Roast
Prep time 10 min
Cook time 15 min
Total 25 min
Serves 2–3
Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
  • 250g button mushrooms, cleaned and halved
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 generous sprig curry leaves
  • Juice of half a lemon
Method
  1. Ghee and curry leaves. Heat ghee in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add curry leaves — they will crackle immediately.
  2. Fry the garlic. Add garlic; fry 30 seconds until fragrant.
  3. Mushrooms — do not touch. Add mushrooms in a single layer. Do not stir immediately. Let them sit and colour on one side for 2 minutes.
  4. Toss and colour. Once the underside is golden, toss and cook another 2 minutes.
  5. Add spices. Add Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, black pepper, and salt. Toss to coat every piece.
  6. High heat finish. Cook on high heat 3–4 minutes, tossing occasionally, until mushrooms are well coated and slightly dry.
  7. Garam masala and lemon. Add garam masala, toss once. Finish with a squeeze of lemon. Serve immediately.
Do not crowd the pan and do not stir too early. Mushrooms need space and patience to colour. If you move them constantly they steam instead of roast and go soft. High heat, wide pan, leave them alone for two minutes first.
Jeera Rice
Soaking 30 min
Cook time 20 min
Total 50 min
Serves 3–4
Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups basmati rice, soaked 30 min and drained
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 cups water
Method
  1. Toast the cumin. Heat ghee in a pot. Add cumin seeds; let them splutter — about 30 seconds.
  2. Toast the rice. Add the drained rice and fry gently for 2 minutes, stirring to coat each grain.
  3. Cook covered. Add water and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to the lowest heat, cover tightly, and cook for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid.
  4. Rest and fluff. Rest 5 minutes off heat. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Soaking the rice for 30 minutes before cooking is what makes it fluffy and separate rather than sticky. Do not skip this.

One recipe, every week.

The memory behind it, the technique that matters, and the ratio worth memorising.