Recipes from cutedoll_adi

Skip Navigation Links.


Latest Recipes by cutedoll_adi





Tuesday February 26, 2008

MASSI's CHICKEN CURRY

INGREDIENTS

• 500 gm. chicken pieces with or without bone. I use small thigh pieces or small drumsticks, mixed half and half. You can use chicken pieces of your choice.
• 2 tbs. cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 large or 2 small onions (200-225 gm.)
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 tbs. tomato puree or you can use 1 cup of thick yoghurt instead.
• 2 tbs. dry fenugreek or methi leaves (optional)

Whole Spices
• 1 bay leaf*
• 1-2 pieces of cinnamon stick*
• 2 large cardamoms*
• 3-4 small green cardamoms*
• 5-6 black peppers*
• *These five spices make Garam Masala, when ground together. If you do not have them, use 1 1/2 tsp. garam masala instead.

Ground Spices
• 1 level tsp. turmeric powder
• 2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. paprika powder for colour (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. chilli powder or to taste
• Salt to taste

Garnish
• A handful of fresh coriander leaves
• 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala.


METHOD

1. Remove skin from chicken pieces, wash and drain.
2. Peel onions, ginger and garlic and chop finely or grind in a food processor.
3. If using fresh tomatoes, chop into small pieces or puree.
4. Clean, wash and chop coriander leaves and keep aside.
5. Measure whole and ground spices separately.
6. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed wok or pan.
7. Add cumin seeds and whole spices*, wait until cumin seeds splutter, but not burn. Add onions and garlic and ginger mix and fry until brown. Ginger often sticks to the pan, so keep stirring or use a non-stick pan.
8. Add all other spices and stir for a few seconds to allow flavours to come out.
9. Add tomatoes and methi leaves. Cook stirring frequently, until oil separates. If using yoghurt, instead of tomatoes, add after step 10, when chicken pieces are browned and sealed.
10. Add chicken and cook on medium-high flame, stirring frequently until it is well coated and sealed.
11. Cover and cook on low-medium flame until tender, approximately 15-20 minutes. Cooking time depends on the quality of chicken.
12. Add water, only if a thinner gravy is required. Usually there is enough water in the chicken.
13. Turn off heat.
14. Sprinkle garam masala and half of coriander leaves & stir. Cover and leave.
15. Sprinkle rest of the coriander leaves as garnish, before serving.
16. Serve with Plain Pulao Rice or Boiled Rice or Nan or Tandoori Roti or Chapatti.


NOTES

• For a more exotic taste, add a 2-3 tablespoons of any of these cream or sour cream or thick yoghurt or creamed coconut or a cup of red wine, towards the end of cooking and mix thoroughly. It is difficult to specify the exact amount, adjust to taste after adding initial 2-3 tablespoons.

Other Variations
• Add one bunch of fresh or 2 tbs. of dry fenugreek leaves while meat is cooking. Fresh leaves have to be removed from their stalks, washed and chopped roughly.
• Add a cup full of chopped or 1/2 cup tinned spinach.

Posted by cutedoll_adi at 3:35 AM
2 Comments

Tuesday February 26, 2008

Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM)

Ingredients

• 1 kg. chicken breast, skinned, boned and cut into bite size pieces
Marinade
• 200 gm. creamy dahi
• 1 tbs. oil
• 1 1/2 tbs. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• Juice of 1 lemon/lime
• 2 tsp. sweet paprika powder for colour (I do not use artificial colouring in this dish).
• 1 tsp. Garam Masala
• Salt to taste
For cooking
• 1-2 tbs. oil
• 2 medium onions peeled and thinly sliced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed or grated
• 1 inch root ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 large tomato, chopped*
• 1 tbs. tomato puree*

Instructions

1. Wash and drain chicken pieces.
2. Mix all marinade ingredients and make a paste. Coat chicken pieces in this mix and marinate overnight or for at least a few hours. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge to avoid smell getting into everything else. Allow it to return to room temperature, before cooking,
3. Heat oil in a large wok or pan.
4. Stir fry chicken, along with the marinade, on high flame, for 6-7 minutes. Take out and keep aside.
5. In another pan, heat oil and fry onion, ginger and garlic until nicely browned.
6. Add Tomatoes and tomato puree (or soup) and fry for a few minutes.
7. Add the cooked chicken and its marinade to the onions and boil briskly until sauce thickens and the chicken is tender. You may need to add a little water or chicken stock if the gravy looks too thick. The sauce should be of custard like consistency.
8. Adjust spices and salt.
9. Serve hot with Nan or Plain Pulao Rice and sliced onion salad and slices of fresh lime.

Notes
• *You can add 1 can of tinned Campbell’s tomato soup to replace these two.

Posted by cutedoll_adi at 3:30 AM
0 Comments

Monday January 21, 2008

Murg Dhansak

Dhansak is a popular Parsee dish, each family has their own favourite recipe. This is my concoction, based on recipes I found while surfing the net. My family love it. Serves approx 6 as part of a main course.


INGREDIENTS

• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets, cubed
• Marinade ingredients for dry-roasting together
• 1 flat tsp. cumin or jeera seeds
• 1 tsp. coriander or dhania seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black mustard or rai seeds
• 1 medium bay leaf or tej patta
• 1 tsp. fennel or saunf seeds
• 2 1/2 cm. or 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 7 black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp. fenugreek or methi seeds
• 1 dried red chilli
• 3 green cardamom or choti illaichi
• Other marinade ingredients
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ginger crushed or grated
• 1 tsp. crushed garlic
• Water to make a paste

Ingredients for cooking Dhansak
• 200 gm. red lentil (skinless masoor dal) or arhar
dhal/dal (tuvar dal or pigeon-peas)
• 1 medium potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 carrot peeled and sliced up thick
• 2-3 tbs. oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped fine
• 1 tsp. crushed garlic
• 1 full or round tsp. ground coriander powder
• 1 full or round tsp. ground cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp. coconut powder or desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp. turmeric or haldi
• 1 tbsp. kasthuri/kasoori (dry) methi leaves
(optional)
• 1 tsp. brown sugar only if needed to balance taste
(carrots are sweet!). Or use 1 small tin of
pineapple rings in syrup (chopped fine)

To serve
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• Black salt/kala namak or ordinary salt, to taste
• 2 tbs. green coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 tsp. ginger crushed/grated

Buy ingredients from a recommended supplier, Spices of India. For more information, see here.

Instructions

1. Dry roast all the marinade ingredients together in a wok, allow to cool then grind to a fine powder.
2. Add other marinade ingredients to the powder, i.e., salt, ginger, garlic and water and marinate the cubed chicken breasts with this mix for 1 hour.
3. Wash and soak the dal for an hour or so.
4. Place the dal in a pressure cooker, with 2 1/2 times the water, carrots, beans and potatoes, and cook on full pressure for 3-4 minutes/pressures, until fully cooked. The dhal texture should be smooth and thick, like custard. You can mash it to make it smooth, or leave as is, if you prefer some texture.
5. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil it briskly in a pan until done. This may need more water. Red lentil cooks faster than arhar dal.
6. Heat the oil in a pan and fry chicken until golden. Keep aside.
7. In same pan, add onions and garlic and brown gently, until a rich golden brown.
8. Add the remaining ingredients under ‘ingredients for cooking dhansak’(i.e. garlic, coriander, cumin, coconut turmeric, kasthuri methi and bhoono/stir-fry well. Then add brown sugar or pineapple, whichever you prefer) and mix very well.
9. Add this mix to the chicken and dhal and stir in.
10. Sprinkle with coriander, ginger, lemon juice and kala namak and mix together well.
11. Serve with Plain boiled rice.

Posted by cutedoll_adi at 3:02 AM
0 Comments

Tuesday February 26, 2008

AAM DAL

INGREDIENTS

Red gram (Arhar or tuvar dal) - 1 cup
Turmeric powder (Haldi) - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Unripe mango - 1
Onion (finely chopped) - 1
Garlic (finely chopped) - 3 cloves
Mustard seeds (sarson) - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies - 1
Curry Leaves - few
Ghee or oil - 1 tbsp

METHOD

1. Wash and soak the dal for 1 hour.
2. Add 1 1/2 tsp salt and haldi.
3. Keep on medium fire to boil till the dal is half cooked.
4. Peel the mango and cut into nig pieces. Add to the half cooked dal.
5. Cook till dal is tender and the mango pieces are cooked to a pulp. Keep aside.
6. Heat the ghee in a frying pan and fry the mustard seeds till they splutter.
7. Add chopped onion and garlic and fry till brown. Add red chillies and curry leaves.
8. Add to the cooked dal. Aam dal should be a watery in consistency. Serve with rice

Posted by cutedoll_adi at 3:12 AM
0 Comments

Tuesday February 26, 2008

Penne Rigate in Marinara Sauce

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1/4 pound pancetta, thick-cut, chopped into small bits
1/2 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
1 pound combined ground mutton, pork and chicken
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup good quality dry red wine (Chiantilli or even Merlot is great option - a glass or two goes well with your meal, too, later)
1 cup prepared chicken stock, packaged in a box container or canned
2 cans chunky style crushed tomatoes (32 ounces each)
A handful of flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon (a couple of pinches)
Coarse salt and black pepper
2 pounds penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, as an accompaniment
Fresh, crusty bread, for mopping


Preparation

Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add oil, garlic, bay leaf and pancetta bits and
brown for one minute. Add meats and brown and crumble them for five minutes.

Chop carrot, celery and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables
with meat for five minutes and add wine. Cook for one minute add stock and tomatoes to the pot.

Stir in parsley, allspice or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring
sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 10-15 minutes minimum before serving. Reheated
sauce only improves.

Toss pasta (cook only as much pasta as you need at the time half a pound for every three people)
with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of
cheese and pass bread at the table.

The sauce will cover up to two pounds of pasta.

Posted by cutedoll_adi at 3:21 AM
0 Comments