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\n I hadn’t thought about Chicken Chasni for years! In fact I am not sure that I have heard anyone mention it since I was at university (which was in the late 90’s!!!!) And I couldn’t really remember the taste at all.
But I loved Louise’s story so I knew I was going to try this curry. And I wasn’t kidding above, this is my kids’ total favorite! Testing this at least three times wasn’t a hardship at all! They love it!
The story is beautiful and highlights one of the things I love most about food. That it has a way of bringing people together and making people feel loved and cared for.<\/p>\n
Claire x<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When I first met my husband, I thought I knew a fair bit about curry. I mean, I’d grown up on Friday night takeaways and late-night curries after nights out in my early 20’s. I had my standard order, chicken chasni, chips, pilau rice and a garlic naan the size of my head. And I’d tried small amounts of friend’s curries and starters on those late-night meals. So, the first time he took me to one of his big family dinners, I was fully expecting something similar. Turns out I knew absolutely nothing about Indian cuisine.<\/p>\n
His mum’s kitchen smelled amazing the second we walked in. There were whole spices frying away, huge pots bubbling on the cooker, his aunties arguing over something and enough food to feed about 40 people. Everyone seemed excited about dishes I couldn’t pronounce, while I stood there panicking and wondering whether my face was about to melt off from the spice.<\/p>\n
I remember quietly asking Rohan if there was going to be anything “not too hot,” and he smiled and said he would point out which dishes to choose. Because apparently chicken chasni wasn’t exactly traditional Indian home cooking. In fact, nobody in his family had ever eaten it before. I later found out it was a British invention and was apparently first made in Glasgow, where I grew up! I also found out that day that you don’t say naan bread, as that just means bread bread. You just say naan. I mostly ate bread and rice that day and I can’t really say I enjoyed the meal. I felt very out of place, I was a white Scottish girl, who couldn’t handle any heat in her food having dinner in a very traditional Indian home.<\/p>\n
But the next time we visited, his mum made chicken chasni for me. Not because she understood it as a dish and definitely not because the rest of the family planned on eating it. She made it because she knew I liked it. She had done her research, she’d ordered and tried it from a takeaway, asked a friend who worked in a restaurant how they made it and then created it at home for me! And just having it there in front of me made dinner feel happier, it made me feel comfortable sitting around that loud busy table where everyone else already belonged.<\/p>\n
Over time, I started trying all the other dishes too. Proper curries, different homemade breads, spicy pickles that nearly took my eyebrows off. But every now and then, usually when the whole family got together, there’d still be a little pot of chicken chasni sitting near me with a smile and a “this one’s for you.” Although that happens less now as I have found so many new favourite dishes. <\/p>\n
In the beginning I didn’t fit in, but I loved their son, they welcomed me, accepted my tastes and slowly over time they helped me fit in and find so many amazing dishes. <\/p>\n
My mother-in-law is an amazing cook and I have learnt so much from her. But her recipe for Chicken Chasni will always be special to me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n