Chicken Mole

Every girl needs that one great friend who she can talk to anytime about anything and everything- one person to share the good and the bad with. That friend for me is Sonia. We went to grad school together and were house mates. Oh! What a ball we had in those days. Over time we saw each other get married, get our PhDs, have kids etc and we have remained great friends. Since i've moved to Seattle I miss Sonia the most. We often talk on the phone and through emails and it feels like i still live next door. Can't wait to meet her next year and especially have her meet my daughter for the first time. Well, she is a GREAT cook. Parties (and there were many) at her place entail lots and lots of great food. Today she sent me a recipe. She said she mixed a number of diffrent recipes to make her own chciken mole. The fact that she sent me this recipe means, it has to be really good. She is scared that if my readers don't like it she will be blamed for it. Knowing Sonia, if this recipe doesn't taste good to you, chances are you messed up!  Simply put Mole sauce as i knew it was a mexican sauce with chocolate in it but wikipedia enlightened me a little bit more here. I still haven't made this but definitely plan to this weekend. I'll add my pics soon in here as well. I just wanted to post this right away. Thanks a ton my sweet Sonia. I had hit a dry spell here on my blog, you got me rolling again. Enjoy everybody!

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts

one small onion-chopped fine

one bunch green onions-chopped

11/2 diced tomatoes

1cup tomato puree

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 tblsp peanut butter

1tsp cumin powder

½ tsp cinnamon powder

½ tsp nutmeg powder

½ tsp pepper powder

2tsp red chilli powder or paprika

3-4 cloves

4-5 sliced green chillies

1 ½ squares of semi-sweet baker`s chocolate - crushed

4tblsp oil

½ cup chicken broth

1tsp lemon juice

salt to taste

chopped cilantro for garnish

Method:

1. Clean and cut chicken breasts into small pieces.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper

2. Heat 2 tblsp oil in a pan. Braise chicken pieces on high heat till just done.  Keep aside.

3. In the same pan, heat the rest of the oil.  Add chopped onion and green onion.  Fry for sometime.  Add chopped garlic and fry for a minute.

4. Add chopped tomato and all the dry spices and cook till tomatoes have dissolved.  Add peanut butter and chicken broth to obtain a gravy consistency.

5. Now add the crushed chocolate pieces and blend in well. Stir gently but continuously to prevent chocolate from sticking to the pan.

6. Add tomato puree and salt. Let mole cook for 5 minutes (with continuous stirring). Check taste and sprinkle lemon juice if necessary.

7. Add chicken pieces, mix well and transfer all the contents to a baking dish.

8. Cover and bake for 40 minutes at 350°F.

9. Garnish with chopped cilantro.  Serve spooned atop white rice.

Mamma's Chicken Masala

Its April finally! I'm due in two weeks people and i hope this baby sticks to schedule and doesn't make me wait. Well with baby on the way I have my mom here with me. She made this really yummy chicken curry which tasted just like they make in the restaurants. It tastes great with rotis or nans. Its a bit tedious to put together but hey it can be made on a day when you have a bit more time. Try it out, its really good. I find it tastes better the day after its been made which allows all the sauce to nicely soak into the chicken.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken pieces, preferably bone in

Marinade
1/2 cup yogurt
ginger paste 1 tsp
garlic paste 1 tsp
corriander powder 1 tblsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
chilly powder 1 tsp
turmeric 1 tsp
salt to taste

For the sauce
3-4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
black pepper -5-6 seeds
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 tsp saunf/fennel seeds
1 tblsp khuskhus/poppy seeds
1 green chilly

Other ingredients

One large onion
3 tblsp tomato paste

Method
Mix all ingredients of the marinade together. Add to chicken and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile dry roast spices and poppy seeds. Then add coconut and roast for about a couple of minutes. Grind together all ingredients of the sauce using as little water as needed to make a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pot. Add one large chopped onion and fry till golden brown. Add tomato paste and fry. Cook till oil floats to the top. Add chicken without the marinade and fry till chicken brown a bit. Add the marinade slowly in batches cooking for a minute or two between each addition. When the chicken is half cooked, add the coconut gravy paste with 1/2 cup water and cook till chicken is completely cooked. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with nans.

Jambalaya

Jambalaya is a perfect one pot meal to make for a large group of people. This cajun/creole dish is a Lousianna favorite and is similar to the spanish counterpart Paella. I made it as a main entree for our lab party. It could feed quite a few people with enough for left overs.

Ingredients

1 pound cut boneless chicken
1 andouille or chorizo sausage, I used chorizo, sliced
1 pound shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
One large onion chopped
One large green pepper diced
4 stems of celery diced
One large can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped parsley
2 bay leaves
3 tsp creole seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's)
1 tsp thyme
3 cups rice, washed and soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
7 cups of chicken stock
Olive oil 1 tblsp
salt to taste

Method
Season chicken and shrimp with a sprinkle of salt and creole seasoning. Brown sausage in a large bottomed pot. Remove sausage after browning and use fat from the sausage to brown chicken and then the shrimp. Shrimp should just slightly turn color but not completely cook.

Add olive oil to the pot. Add bay leaves, onions, green peppers and celery and saute till vegetables are softened. Onions, pepper and celery are known as the holy trinity of New Orleans style cooking.

Add tomatoes with juice and cook through. Add chicken and sausage back into the pot. Add salt and all seasonings. Mix well and heat through. Drain rice and add to the mixture. Mix. Then add all the chicken stock. Cover and bring to a boil on medium heat.

Once the rice starts boiling, simmer and cook covered for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid during this cooking time. Once the rice is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed stir in the shrimp and half the parsley. Cook for another couple of minutes till shrimps cook completely. Garnish with left over parsley and serve hot.

Chicken Samosas with Mint-Mango Chutney

Happy Thanksgiving People. I'm going to head out for our Thanksgiving get-together soon. I was alloted to make samosas and a bean dish. I decided to make chicken samosas and my green bean casserole. I love samosas and all my American friends love it too. Its always an appetizer that I've been asked to make. If you've never heard of samosas before they are just savory triangular deep fried pastry stuffed with different fillings. You can pretty much fill it with any kind of filling you want, potatoes being most popular. To make the dough I got the recipe from Manjula of Manjula's Kitchen and she also has a nice video showing how to fold the samosas. So here is my recipe for chicken samosas.

Ingredients (makes about 30)

Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp sooji/semolina
1 tsp salt
5 tblsp oil
3/4 cup luke warm water

Filling

1 pound ground chicken, grind further in a food processor to have finely ground chicken
2 medium onions, very finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 pod crushed garlic, use a microplane
2-3 tsp garam masala
2-3 tsp cumin powder
1/4 cup chicken stock
salt to taste
Oil 1tblsp

Method

Add the semolina, salt and oil to the flour and mix well. Slowly add water and knead into a soft dough. Keep aside covered for atleast half an hour.



Meanhwile saute onions in oil. Add ground chicken. Add spices, salt and cilantro. Mix well till brown. Add chicken stock and cook uncovered till all the stock evaporates and chicken is well cooked. Take off heat and let the mixture cool.


Roll out a lime size piece of dough into a circle. DO NOT USE FLOUR TO ROLL DOUGH. The dough has enough oil to not stick. Cut the circle in half. Wet the edges of the half moon shaped circle on all sides. Form a cone as shown and seal the edges with a wide opening. Add about 1 heaped tsp of filling into the cone. Seal one edge of the opening on the seal side to the other edge. Fold the other edge over onto the seal side. Repeat to make others. Deep fry samosas in oil till golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Serve with chutney or ketchup.

For a video check out part 2 of Majula's video.







Mango Mint Chutney

1/2 cup mint chutney in a jar from the store or 1 cup mint leaves
1/2 a semi raw mango, sweet n tangy
2 tsp sugar
1 cup cilantro leaves
3 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup cold water
salt to taste

Grind all ingredients in a blender till nice and smooth. Pour into a bowl and serve with samosas.

Nargisi Kofta (Scotch Eggs in Gravy)

This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe from my Just Chicken cookbook by Sharda Pargal. Essentially nargisi koftas are scotch eggs served in a gravy. The gravy is mild and not too spicy. There are some tricks to making the scotch eggs so follow those steps carefully. The recipe is long and complicated so its not something you might make after a long day but when you have the time do try it.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the scotch eggs

1 pound minced chicken
2 tbslp chana dal/bengal gram (soaked in water for 30 min)
1 medium onion very finely chopped
1 large garlic minced
1 inch piece ginger minced
Green chillies 2
cilantro leaves 1/2 cup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 egg, beaten lightly
8 eggs, hard boiled,peeled
Oil to fry

For the gravy

1 tsp ginger minced
1 tsp garlic minced
1 onion chopped finely
1 tblsp powdered cashew nuts
1 tbslp khus khus/poppy seeds
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tblsp ground dry coconut
1 cup tomato puree
2 cups chicken stock
2 strand saffron
1/4 cup heavy cream

Method

Wash the meat. Add meat, dal, onion,ginger, garlic,salt,chilly powderand garam masala to a pressure cooker. Cook under pressure till dal cooks (about 8-10 minutes under pressure/2-3 whistles). Let the cooker cook before opening. Once opended dry out all liquid in the meat by heating till all the water evaporates. To a food processor add the meat mix. add green chillies and cilantro. Grind to a fine paste. Add the beaten egg and mix well. The egg will act as a binder.

Take some meat mixture in your hand. Flatten it. Add a boiled egg to the center and start rolling the egg with the meat coating. Coat with the meat mixture working evenly to form a nice shell around the egg. Don't add too little or too much covering of meat. Let it sit uncovered for any moisture to evaporate.


Heat oil in a pot. It is critical that the oil be very hot.. This is important because the eggs are fragile so the meat has to instantly brown up when added to oil to prevent breaking. Add each egg to hot oil. Roll gently to get all the meat browned all over. This should take no more than 30 seconds. Remove and drain all excess oil on a paper towel. Repeat for all remaining eggs. Let eggs cool. Then cut horizontally in the center into two halves.


For the gravy, heat oil in a deep pan/pot. Add onions, ginger and garlic. Fry till onions turn golden brown. Add all spices, salt, cashew nuts, poppy seeds and coconut. Fry for a minute. Add tomato puree and fry till the mixture releases oil. Add chicken stock and cook covered for 15 minutes on medium low heat. The gravy should be thick. Add cream and saffron. let it heat through. Transfer the hot gravy to the serving dish. Place eggs very gently into the hot gravy with the yolk side up. Garnish with chopped cilantro and swirls of heavy cream. Serve with rice or naans.

Tamarind Chicken Wings

These chicken wings are really really good. They make a great appetizer, a change from the typical wings. You can make them just tangy or sweet and tangy depending on what you prefer. I made the non-sweet version here. Also, adjust the hotness as you like. This is also my entry to JFI Tamarind hosted this month by Sig of Live to Eat. Here's the link to the main JFI page at Mahanandi.










Ingredients (Serves 2)

8-10 chicken wing potions

For Marinade
1 tblsp tamarind concentrate (for sweet version use date tamarind chutney 2-4 tbslp, available in most indian stores)
1 tblsp soy sauce
1 tblsp very finely chopped garlic
1 tblsp worcestershire sauce
3-4 tblsp buffalo wing sauce (mild or hot on your preference)
2 pinches cumin (for the smoky flavor)
1 tsp red chilly powder
2 tbslp olive oil
Salt to taste

Method
Mix all marinade ingredients together. Beat well.



Add chicken wings to a ziploc bag. Add marinade. Close bag and mix in the chicken wings with the marinade. Keep in the fridge overnight (If you're in a hurry marinate for atleast 30 minutes at room temp). Wings can also be frozen this way. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place chicken wings on it and pour any extra marinade over the wings. Bake at 425 F for about 30 minutes till chicken is cooked. In the last 5 minutes turn on broiler and broil on high for 5 minutes till wings turn dark brown on top. Serve hot with bleu cheese or ranch dip.

Kerala Chicken Fry

When my dad was commanding his own regiment in the army, we had a cook called "Rajan Bhaiyya". He made the most amazing food everrrrr. His chicken fry was soooooo good that I wanted to remake it the way he did. I remember when my sister got married he came to visit. He had left the cooking days of the army behind and started his own little store in his kerala hometown. He was such a sweet guy. I hope wherever he is, he's doing well. I poured over all the blogs and recipes so I could find a recipe for chicken fry that seemed much like his and this is what I came up with. This recipe is a bit on the "fatty" side so if you want to cut out the extra oil just omit all the frying in oil bit.

Ingredients

Bone in chicken cut into medium pieces
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp red chil powder
2 onions, one medium, one large, sliced
about 15 dry red chilles
1/2 package frozen coconut, thawed, about 150 g
1/3 cup corriander seeds
10-12 curry leaves
1 large cinnamon stick
3-4 cloves
2 potatoes diced
2 tsp tamarind pulp
salt to taste

Method
Season washed and dry chicken with salt, turmeric and red chilly powder. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Saute in oil till chicken pieces turn golden. Keep aside. In the same oil saute diced potatoes till golden. In oil saute one medium sliced onion.

Heat a deep dish pan. Roast red chillies and corriander seeds. Remove and add to the grinder. Roast coconut in the pan and add to the chillies. Add the sauted onions to the to coconut and red chillies. Grind the entire mixture with a little bit of water and tamarind pulp till it forms a smooth paste.

Heat oil in the same pot in which you fried the chicken. Add curry leaves and whole spices. Add the other large sliced onions. Fry till golden brown. Add the ground coconut paste.

Fry this mixture till the paste stops sticking to the sides of the pan and releases grease. This step is critical since it indicates the "ready" state of the base. If you are not patient enough to wait for this stage your base will not taste good. Once ready, add the chicken and potatoes. Mix and add salt and extra tamarind as needed. Cover and cook till chicken and potatoes are cooked through. Let it cook uncovered later to make the mixture as dry as needed. Serve hot with rice or chapatis.

Mint Chicken Pulao

Holla! I'm back after my long hiatus. I'm beginning with this delicious pulao my sister makes. She makes it more like a biryani. I came upon this yummy dish when I arrived starving at my sister's place and raided her refrigerator. In there was a giant bowl of this left over pulao. I ate the whole bowl, it was that good. So here is the recipe. It can be made with any other meat or with vegetables as well. Do try it out.

Ingredients

Chicken (bone in or boneless) cut into small chunks-1 small store package
Rice 2 cups, wash and soak for 30 minutes in water.
Chicken broth 4 cups (can substitute water/vegetable broth)
2 tomatoes chopped
1 inch stick of cinnamon
2-3 cardamom pods
4-5 cloves

Mint mix
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
4-5 green chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
salt to taste

Method
Grind all the ingredients of the mint mix with water into a smooth paste. Add the paste to the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes. Heat Oil in a pot. Add spices. Add chicken with the Mint mixture and fry well. Add the tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes are well cooked into the mint sauce and the mixture has turned thick. Add the rice and more salt if needed. Add the chicken broth. Stir once and then bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes or till rice is done. Serve hot.

Preeti's Goan Chilly Chicken

I have been bugging my family to send me some of their favorite recipes. Finally my sister Preeti sent me this one. It really is an amazing recipe. I do hope you try this one and let us know how you liked it.

Ingredients



8 Chicken thighs
1 small sized onion (roughly chopped)
2 one-inch pieces ginger (roughly chopped)
4 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
6 Green chillies (chopped)
Salt to taste
4 tsps Lemon juice
1 tsp Cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsps Coriander seeds (dhania)
2 Red chillies (whole)
3 Green cardamoms
4 Cloves
1 inch stick Cinnamon
4 tbsps Ghee
4 tbsps Tomato Puree
¼ tsp Sugar
A few sprigs Cilantro (chopped)
1 tbsp Vinegar




Method
Clean, remove skin and wash thighs. Drain thoroughly.
Make a wet paste of onion, ginger, garlic & half of the chopped green chillies.
Add salt and lemon juice and marinate chicken for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Dry roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, red chillies, green cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. Grind to a fine powder in a dry grinder. (I strongly recommend Cuisinart’s dry grinder.)
Heat 2 tbsps ghee in a pan. Add marinated chicken & fry over high flame.
When the chicken is cooked a bit (it will turn slightly white, then pink-red), add the dry masala powder and mix well.
Add remaining ghee & tomato puree (I pureed one large tomato) and let it cook.
Add sugar, adjust salt and cook till the chicken is done.
Add the remaining chopped green chillies and coriander leaves.
Remove from heat, add vinegar, stir and serve immediately.
This goes well with rice if you leave a little gravy during the cooking, or else tastes great with fresh chapattis.

Chicken Fry (From Coorg: Maybe)

This chicken dish originates from Coorg, a region in Western India in the state of Karnataka (See end of post for some argument on this issue) . In most cities in the united states the Indian food we get in restaurants features mostly a north Indian style cuisine. I find it hard to explain to my friends how India has so many dfferent types of cuisines, each so distinct from the other. Not only do cuisines change from state to state but also within regions in a state. I originally read this recipe in my Thangam Phillip cookbook. Since then I have forgotten the exact proportions she had in her recipe, so here is my version of it. Eaten with rice its absolutely delicious. I love to scrape up the pan drippings on the bottom of the pan in this recipe. Enjoy.



Ingredients


1 package cut and skinless chicken pieces
2 pods garlic
2 green chillies
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp pepper corns
a handful of cilantro leaves
1 onion
2 tblsp white vinegar
4 to 8 tblsp water
salt to taste
Oil

Grind together all ingredients (except oil) in a blender to form a smooth thick paste. Add little water at a time to aid smooth grinding of all ingredients. Marinate chicken in this mixture for at least 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan. Add marinated chicken (don't add extra paste yet) and fry on high heat for 10 15 minutes. Once chicken browns, add left over paste and cook on a medium high heat till most of the water dries up leaving a nice thick curry sauce and the chicken is nice and browned. Serve hot with steamed rice.















It was pointed out, not very kindly I must say, that this dish looks nothing like real Coorg chicken (See comments). At first I was mad at this blatant rudeness but then Cariz is proud of being from Coorg/Kodava and didn't think my recipe was authentic. He was hurtfully being truthful. I guess Thangam Phillip who published this recipe is wrong or my cooking skills are so messed up that it looks nothing like authentic chicken from Coorg (Ha Ha) or Cariz doesn't know of the existence of this recipe. Thats the great thing about recipes. They vary from home to home even if they are from the same region. Which one is really "authentic". I know that in Konkani cooking that happens all the time. Anyway I have duly renamed my recipe in case it offends another proud member of the Kodava community. Howevr if I ever see a "not so authentic" recipe from the Chitrapur Saraswat Community, I will stop by and leave a comment that says "Hey, what a nice recipe. Different from what i've eaten I will definitely try it".

Shami Kabab

Another easy appetizer that can be made ahead of time.

Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken (kheema)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 green chillies
2 pods garlic
Two inch piece of ginger
3 heaped tsp garam masala
1 tsp Shan meat tenderizer (raw papaya powder)
1 tsp amchur
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ajwain
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg beaten, use half
1 tsp black pepper
Besan (gram flour) 2 to 3 tblsp
Salt
Oil

Add all ingredients except besan into a food processor. Grind well together.While grinding add besan till mixture is dry enough to be formed into patties.Apply oil to your hands and form patties. Refrigerate covered for 2 to 3 hours or overnight.One can also leave it at room temperature for half an hour to marinate well.

Heat 2 to 3 tblsp of oil in a pan. Pan fry patties on both sides till golden brown. Serve hot with slices of lime and garnished with cilantro

Fried chicken dinner

Today was a horribly cold, snowy, blustery day. My husband and I huddled together under our parkas trudging through snow as we walked towards the parking lot from work. On the way home I thought of making something comforting and classic. What better than a fried chicken dinner. I love fried chicken, especially on a day when the weather is miserable. So next time you have a bad weather day-- try fried chicken.I like dark meat so I used chicken thighs. You can also use chicken breast if you like. Enjoy!



Ingredients

For fried chicken

6 to 8 chicken thighs with bone (skin removed)
1 cup flour
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red chilly powder or cayenne pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning
salt to taste
Also keep a little bit of all the above seasonings to season chicken
1 cup buttermilk (or yogurt beaten with water)
Oil

To the flour add salt, pepper, chilly powder and poultry seasoning. Mix well and place in a shallow platter. Season chicken as with salt, pepper, poutlry seasoning and chilly powder as well. Heat oil in a pan. Dip seasoned chicken in buttermilk. Roll in flour mixture till all sides are coated well. Add to hot oil on medium heat. Fry till golden brown and the chicken is well cooked (about 8-10 minutes per side).

Mashed potatoes, gravy and boiled peas

For gravy: Take 3 tblsp of fat from the fried chicken. Add 3 tblsp of flour. Cook well on medium heat till the flour browns. Add chicken stock, stirring continuously. Season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Once the mixture comes to a boil, take off the heat and pour into a gravy dish. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.

Mashed potatoes: Boil diced potatoes. For a healthier option use red potatoes and keep skin on. Once potatoes are well cooked, drain and add to a bowl. Add salt, pepper, sour cream and butter. Mash well when hot. Serve with gravy.

For peas, just boil frozen store bought peas. Season with salt (and butter if desired).

Easy Pan Fried Chicken

Cut chicken 8 to 10 pieces
2 tsp chilly powder
2 tsp dhania jeera powder (coriander-cumin powder)
1 tsp haldi/turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
2 tblsp lime juice
2 tsp ground pepper
salt to taste

Add all the spices to the chicken pieces. Add lemon juice and salt. Coast mixture well on chicken and marinate from 30 minutes to over night. Heat oil in a pan, a little less than shallow frying. Add chicken pieces. Fry on high hear till chicken browns on all sides. Reduce heat and cook till done. Serve with chopped cilantro and a slice of lime.

Chicken Kathi rolls

Ingredients
One packet Kwaan Malaysian paranthas (Frozen)
One egg per parantha, beat and keep in a bowl.

Chicken filling

One onion
Cilantro one bunch
Ginger small piece
Green chilly one
One large tomato

Grind above ingredients to a paste. Can be made without grinding for a chunkier filling.

Chicken tenderloins cut into small one inch pieces

Shaan chicken curry masala (1 tsp)
MDH meat masala (1/2 tsp)
salt to taste
Lemon juice

Garnish

Sliced onions
Cilantro chopped
Lemon juice

Method
In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add ground paste and psices. Cook till oil runs out from mixture. Add chicken, salt and lemon juice. Fry well for about 5 minutes. Add ½ cup water. Cook uncovered till mixture is dry. Keep aside.




Fry frozen paranthas on a hot pan on both sides till lightly cooked. Beat one egg and pour in the middle of the parntha and flip parantha to cook egg on it. One can also cook thin egg omelettes separately (one per roll) and add it later to the roll. I like the second method as it is less messy. Slice one onion into thin slices. Chop cilantro. Add cilantro and lemon juice to onions mix.



Lay parantha flat. Add chicken mixture in a line in the center. Add onion garnish (and egg if adding separately). Roll and serve hot. Yummy!!