Monday, August 13, 2007

Chicken Liver Fry

Many might say 'Ewwww!' or 'Blech!' but there are some serious fans out there for chicken livers. Chicken livers are excellent source of nutrition (click here) ... Just a 22 gm piece of chicken liver can give 62% of Vitamin A, 14% of Iron, 77% of Vitamin B12, 41% of Folate, 29% of Riboflavin, 22% of Selenium and 17% of Pantothenic acid, 14% of Niacin and also satisfy 9% of the protein requirements. Just a 22 gm piece of chicken liver. Wow! All the more reason to eat chicken livers, don't you think? Now, Just a word of caution.. If you have high cholesterol or have a family history of high cholesterol(like me!), you may want to stay away from chicken liver or eat it once in a rare while. Why? The 22 gm piece of chicken liver also contains 32% of cholesterol!!!

Yes, I come from a family of high cholesterolites and for sure, I have the genes to boot. But I love the taste of this dish and love all the good stuff it has to offer. So, once in a while, we do indulge. Here's a tasty dish with a boatload of nutrition (and cholesterol!) .



Chicken Liver - one packet (1 lb)
Cummin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Ginger-Garlic paste - 3-4 tbsp or more*
Onions - 2 big ones, very very very finely chopped
Curry leaves - one or two sprigs
Pepper powder- 1-2 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 1-2 tbsp
Green chillies - 2-3 slightly minced or finely chopped. (Optional, I didn't use, but this adds a lot of flavor and taste. Reduce the pepper powder if you are adding the green chillies)

Chop the chicken livers to bite sized pieces and rinse them well and allow them to drain in a colander. Chop the onions, very fine. It will look like the onions are way too much, but trust me, it will be just right.

Heat oil in a skillet, preferably cast-iron, as it adds to the flavor of this particular dish. Add the cummin seeds when the oil is hot. When it emits a nice aroma, add the onions and minced green chillies (i.e. if you are adding them) and curry leaves. Saute them till the chopped onions lose their shape (should not get charred).

The best way is to do that is to steam-saute the onions. Saute them and close the skillet with a lid. The steam helps in cooking the onions faster without much oil. Open, stir once and close again. When done, Add the ginger garlic paste and pepper powder and stir once or twice. Add the chicken liver and salt and stir once to allow the masala to mix well with the liver pieces. Sprinkle some water (about 2-3 tbsp, no more) and stir once before closing the skillet with the lid. Allow to cook for 10-12 mins. Remove the lid and let it cook on the stove, till it gets very dry. Serve it hot with rice and rasam. You can also mix the livers with rice and have it.. I love it that way. Also, a great side for the rasam rice.

This dish tastes very similar to the chicken liver fry served in Restaurants. If you try it, do tell me how you liked it.

Note: * The ginger garlic paste used here, is way more than what we usually use for nonvegetarian cooking because it helps to negate the bad effects of cholesterol. I usually add more than the recommended amount of ginger garlic paste.

20 comments:

FH said...

I wouldn't say Eww because I never tasted it,so I don't know!:)
Looks great though,I have heard that liver is tasty.

Sharmi said...

Hi are you done with the unpacking. hope you have settled down. Take care
Cheers

Saju said...

I won't say eew!, because this is one of my favs. I have not had chicken liver for ages, you have reminded me to cook and EAT it.

Kay said...

Asha, try it. It's very tasty. :) If you try a chicken liver, it's either 'ewww' or 'yummm'... no middle grounds.

Thanks Sharmi... yeah, we're finally done with all the unpacking.. now onto the furniture shopping. we decided to upgrade, hence freecycled all the furniture we had. and now window shopping for furniture. you take care too..

Yayyy, saju! another CL fan! :) go ahead, get a packet and cook it.. it cooks so fast that you'll have something to eat within 20 mins including prep time.

Anonymous said...

Hi Kay,
This is one of my favourite NV dish. All back home like it which ever form it is cooked. Curry dry or Gravy. I usually make four different types of Chicken liver. The next time I cook I shall post them. My taste buds are longing for it now......

Anonymous said...

I would like to give it a try, but when my husband says ewww..I would throw it away. Looks exactly like the lamb liver fry.
Good to see you blogging again, Kay. How is the baby?

Kay said...

Rina, blog about it. You already have someone willing to try those CL dishes. :)

RP, It looks like lamb liver but tastes so different. (at least I didn't like lamb liver when I tried it in a curry dish). IF you give it a try, first taste it, before your DH tries ..When he says Ewww!'... atleast you'll know, 'I(RP) know better'. :)

Meera is doing good.. naughtier by the day. She calls me 'mmmmAAA' and my heart melts. :)

indosungod said...

No Ewww for me, love this dish. I started cooking chicken liver only recently though the whole family loves it. Easy ingredients but great taste.

Anonymous said...

Haven't had chicken livers (other than as part of the whole chicken I buy) but I lurv goat livers! And I can see that this recipe will work just as well with those.

Kay said...

yeah Indo, another CL fan! :) I agree, great taste and so easy to prepare.

anita, go try it right away... if you love goat livers then you'll love this much more. :) I missed your party this time - was busy with my baby, next time, I'll be there. but gotta say, thank you! your poori party made me a new fan of poori, what with everybody poori-ing. :)

Poornima said...

Hi my son loves liver and I can't stand the sight of it . But for his sake i made it and he LOVED it.I did not try it but being the harsh critic he is, I am sure it must be a great recipe. Thanks on behalf of my son!!

Kay said...

Thanks Poornima for letting me know. :) I'm glad your son loved it.

Shella said...

Kay
I adore chicken liver. Whenever a chicken curry is made in the house, the liver absolutely has to be on my plate!!

I will surely try it.

Pooja Na(i)rayan said...

I love livers , but dont how to make it. Tried making once it was yucky . WIth ur recipe as guidelines I am going to make it again

Shella said...

Oh boy I said it again.....see how much I love it.....you can ignore my recent comment then.

Unknown said...

This looks like a very good receipt, I was looking for ideas and came across this one, but didnt have all of the ingredients. what i added is onions , garlic , and veitnamese garlic chili paste , red pepper flakes, olive oil - all to taste.

One IMPORTANT NOTE, dont over cook liver in general , slightly pink on the inside will give you a great flavor with out drying them out. dried out liver is just not good, the after taste seems sharper and not smooth and creamy like it will if you leave some color.

A key for me is starting hot the immediately reduce the temp to low. Slowly allowing this type of receipt to cook will allow a larger window , so you don't over cook it and get it to a point where you feel it is cooked enough. Cheers !

Deepa Kurian said...

I never liked the liver in the chicken curry but this Liver fry is very Yummy.I love this dish a lot.Infact every-one in my family like this.Tooooo Good.All of you there,try it out.Its worth

Deepa Kurian said...

I generally do not like the liver in the chicken curry but this is very tasty.Its just too good.Do try it cos its really worth.Mmmmmm....Its very Yummy.

Kay said...

Glad you all liked it too! :)

Suchismita said...

Been looking for the liver fry we have at restaurants here in Goa, and finally found this one. Thank you so much. Am cooking this tonight!