Eating While Broke : Kashmiri Chicken Livers

I think with chicken livers you either love'em or hate'em.  I for one love them and often even find myself craving them (odd, no?).  However, I know that many people will not even touch a liver, let alone actually stabbing it with a fork, chewing it up, and swallowing.  If you are one who actually likes chicken livers, then you have yourself the perfect cheap meal.  I paid only $2.24 for just over 2 lbs. of chicken livers!  And there are so many different ways to fix them besides the old "livers and onions" method.

This recipe came from an Indian cookbook a friend of mine recently bought me. (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Indian food!)  I doubled it for the five of us - myself, my husband, our two children, and my friend who bought the cookbook.  Hubby and I, who both like liver, enjoyed the recipe immensely; my five-year-old daughter, who also likes liver occasionally ate a small portion; my four-year-old son was willing to try the livers and said they were good but then didn't eat another single bite; my friend who had never had liver before took one small bite and stated she didn't think she liked liver.  So once more, I think you either love'em or hate'em.  We served the livers with buttered mashed pototatoes, seasoned green beans, and some leftover butter beans.

Many people may not have all the spices called for in this recipe.  Luckily we are spice freaks and buy any and all spices when we find them on sale, even if it may be something we are unfamiliar with.  (Note to everyone: Big Lots is a great place to find brand-name spices at really great prices.)  Spices are always something handy to have, because you never know when you might use them or what they might jazz up.

Kashmiri Chicken Livers

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. chicken livers
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken livers into bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan.  Add the onion and cook until transparent but not browned. 
3. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and fry for 1 minute. 
4. Add the chili powder, ginger and turmeric.
5. Turn the heat up slightly and fry the liver for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add the water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the livers are cooked and the sauce has thickened.
7. Season with salt, to taste.

You can see additional posts in the 2009 "Eating While Broke" series by clicking the following links:

Marinated and Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash

Crockpot Beef Stifado

"Eating While Broke" is now a Gather group! Come join!

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

Bourbon Chicken

Ingredient Substitutions

Spicy Kielbasa Soup

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder

Open-Faced Beef Sandwiches

Spinach Frittata

Mexican Rice

Rice Pudding

Meatloaf

Scalloped Potatoes

Recipes from 2008 can be found at the following links:

Lasagna

Chicken BBQ Pizza, Salad, and Dessert

Enchiladas