Chicken with Fresh Curry Leaves and Tamarind

This recipe is inspired by Raghaven Iyer in his book 660 Curries.  He calls it Yogurt-Marinated Chicken in a Black Peppercorn Sauce – Chettinad Kozhi.  You’ll find it on page 122-123 of his book.   I had to order a few special items for this recipe, and I got them on Amazon.  They are Fresh Curry Leaves and Tamarind Paste (or Concentrate).

The taste is EXOTIC.  The family loved it and gave it 4-5 stars out of the gate.  There were some questions of texture by Asher, but I have some solutions to that if you care to use those below.  Overall, a very different taste and something that really spoke to the emotions.  Had dinner with my Dad, Asher, Riley, and Britney.  Jennie and Amethyst ate later upstairs.

INGREDIENTS

·         3-4 pounds of boneless chicken thighs. You’ve heard me talk about this before, and I’ll do it again.  Don’t use white meat. 

·         2 tablespoons of yellow split peas (chana dal) or Pidgeon peas. 

·         ½ cup of whole plain yogurt

·         2 teaspoons of black peppercorns

·         1½ teaspoons of salt

·         ¼ teaspoon of turmeric

·         6 cloves of fresh garlic or 3 tablespoons of minced garlic

·         6 green cardamom pods

·         3 small dried red chilies (serrano, cayenne, red Thai), stems removed.

·         1 cinnamon stick 3 inches long

·         2 tablespoons of Ghee

·         1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds (you can use black seeds as well)

·         1 red onion chopped

·         12-15 large fresh curry leaves

·         2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chilies OR 2 fresh Anaheim chilies.

·         1 teaspoon of tamarind paste or concentrate

·         ¼ cup of shredded coconut dried, unsweetened or sweetened, reconstituted with 1 cup of boiling water.

INSTRUCTIONS

1.   Preheat a small skillet over medium high heat.  Add the split pease and cook, stirring them constantly or shaking the skillet every few seconds, until they are reddish brown in patches and smell nutty.  1-3 minutes.  It was about 1 and half minutes when I do it.

2.   Transfer toasted split peas to a blender and add the yogurt, peppercorns, salt turmeric, garlic, cardamom pods, dried chilies, and cinnamon stick.  Blend using a spatula to push the stuff down.

TEXTURE NOTE: This creates a really gritty sauce, with pieces of peppercorn and cinnamon stick.  There are two ways to avoid this.  1 some water to the mixture or more yogurt so the sauce fills the bottom of the blender better.  The other way is to use ground spices: ground pepper, garlic paste, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon.

3.   Marinate the chicken in the marinated for as long as you can.

4.   Heat the ghee in a large pot.  Add the mustard seeds and cover, letting the seeds start popping like popcorn, about 30 seconds.  Add onions, curry leaves, and Anaheim Chilies and cook till soft and transparent, 6-10 minutes.

5.   Add the chicken pieces, marinade and all.  Cook.

6.   Meanwhile, combine the tamarind paste with 1 cup of water in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve the paste.  Pour this murky brown water over the meat. 

7.   Simmer for 10-30 minutes.

8.   Still in the coconut and serve.

Cult of Yex - Second Cataclysm

On a totally related note, here is my first published novel!

http://www.amazon.com/Cult-Yex-Saga-Second-Cataclysm-ebook/dp/B00QMIH5UC

Jason's Enchiladas

Jason's Enchiladas

Tonight (November 23rd, 2014) I decided to try my hand at Enchilada's without any recipe.  Really wing it.  Turns out my winging it was fantastic, and far better than I anticipated.  So here is the recipe which I will use again.

INGREDIENTS

Meat

2-4 lbs of cheap chuck roast (Cheaper the better really)

Spice Mixture #1 (Mix to your tastes)
Spice Island Chili Powder
New Mexico Dried Chili Powder
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Fajita Season Mix I had
Ground Cumin

Sauce

2-3 Tablespoons of Saffron Oil
1/2 stick of Butter
2 Tablespoons of Chopped Garlic
2 onions

Spice Mixture #2 (Mix to your tastes)
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Oregano (lighly)
Spice Islands Chili Powder
New Mexico Dried Chili Powder

1 Can of Crushed Tomatoes (28 oz).
Water

1 Package of New Mexico Dried Chilis
Water

Enchiladas

Canola or Vegetable Oil
Corn Tortillas
4 Cheese Mexican Shredded Cheese
Fresh chopped Cilantro
Limes (cut in wedges)
Sour Cream


INSTRUCTIONS

Meat

Liberally cover both sides of the meat in Spice Mixture #1.  Then heat  2-4 tablespoons of Safflower oil in the bottom of a pressure cooker until very hot.  Brown the meat on both sides, maybe 2-3 minutes a side. Add 6 cups of hot water, not quite covering the meat, then seal it and set it to 1 pressure bare and cook for 3 hours.  Just let it cook slowly and soften up that meat.

When done remove from the heat, open pressure cooker with lukewarm tap water, remove meat and put onto a cutting board.  Liberally sprinkle meat with more Spice Island Chili Powder.  Reserve broth for the sauce below.  Chop meat up with a knife or fork.

Sauce

In a large pot heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil and then put in half a stick of butter.  When melted add the garlic and stir and then add the onions.  Add spice mixture #2. Cook until the onions are soft, and then add can of crushed tomatoes.  Swirl in some water (maybe half a can).  Bring to a boil and simmer
for 1-2 hours.

At the same time put the entire package of dried New Mexico Chili Pods (whole) into a big pot of boiling water and boiled them for a good 2 hours. I probably over did this, but it didn't really matter.  Drain them, and remove the stems and most of the seeds and throw the pods into the pot of tomato sauce.  

The sauce cooks for probably a total of 3 hours, 2 by itself, then another hour with the pods.  Keep it at a simmer and stir it often.  It will get really thick.

Take 1 ladle of sauce and 2 ladles of broth and put into a blender. Liquefy for a while, then pour into a strainer over a bowl, using a spoon to press the juice through and keep out any pulpy stuff.  Keep doing this process until all the tomato sauce is blended.  Pour the blended and strained tomato sauce (which is a good orange color looking like either Enchilada Sauce or Tomato Soup depending on the way you see things) back into the big pan, and added the rest of the broth and then taste it.  It might be SPICY HOT but don't worry.  Add some flour, bring to a boil, and simmer for a while.

Enchiladas

Set your oven for 400 degrees (maybe 375 if you are lower altitude, I am 1 mile high).

Get a flat bottom pan, fill it with Canola oil, heat it till very hot, and then cook the corn tortillas about 20 seconds a side.  Dry on paper towels.

Put a little sauce in a big glass casserole dish, spreading it around on the bottom.  Take some of the meat and tear it apart if necessary put it into the cooked enchilada, and roll it up.  Put the rolled enchilada in the casserole dish on the sauce.  Keep doing this until you are out of meat (you might need 2 casserole dishes).

Then liberally cover with cheese.  I like a LOT of cheese, you probably would want less, but I used a lot.  

Bake for 10 minutes or until top of enchiladas with cheese is golden brown.

Garnish with cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and sour cream!  

Indian Spaghetti Sauce

Indian Spaghetti Sauce

This is a recipe I use for spaghetti that is based on my traditional version, but has a few 'Indian' influences.  for what it's worth, this is considered my families favorite version.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb of ground hamburger
Olive Oil & Butter
1 Onion
Mushrooms (Optional Addition)
2 Packages of Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage (or another hot Italian sausage brand)

SPICE MIXTURE

Vary the size of your handful (by handful I mean palmful) as you see fit.

• 1 Handful of Onion Powder
• 1 Handful of Garlic Powder
• 1 Handful of Black Pepper
• 1 Handful of White Pepper
• 1 Handful of Salt
• 1 Handful of Thyme
• 1 Handful of Oregano
• 1 Handful of Garam Masala
• 1 Handful of Chili Powder
• 1 Handful of Cumin
• 1 Handful of Ground Coriander

2 large 28 oz cans of Crushed Tomatoes SW Premium

2 large 28 oz cans of Hunts Tomato Sauce

1 Cup of Heavy Cream
1 Handful of Kasoori Methi (dried Fenugreek Leaves)


DIRECTIONS

1. Get a pound or pound and a half of hamburger.  Brown it, and drain it to get off all the fat.
2. Add 3-4 tablespoons of Olive Oil and 2-3 tablespoons of butter into the pot and heat till hot.
3. Add 1 onion chopped and a huge spoon of chopped garlic.  I like a lot of garlic.  Cook for five minutes. You can optionally add a lot of mushrooms at this point.  Fresh, or canned, either way.  I like a lot of them myself. 
4. Add drained hamburger back into the pot.
5. Add two packages of Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage cut up.  There are a lot of different Hot Italian Sausages out there.  You can try different ones if you like, but this is the one I always return to.  I encourage you to find the one that works the best for you, because it's vitally important to have the right one for your specific tastes.  
6. Now add the spice mixture. 
7. Stir this all up and very well and mix and cook for 10-15 minutes till the sausage is cooked all the way through.
8. Then add 2 large 28 oz cans of Crushed Tomatoes SW Premium
9. Then add 2 large 28 oz cans of Hunts Tomato Sauce - *Again, the types of sauce you use is up to you.  Experiment.
10. Then cook it... as long as you can.  I have done it as short as 45 minutes, but 2-3 hours is great and 4-5 is even better.  If you cook it longer, you might want to add some water or broth.
11. At the end, add 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of heavy cream. This just smooths the whole thing out a bit, and turns it a bit orange.  You can add even more, say up to 1 cup if you want to make it creamier.  
12. Finally, add a small handful of Kasoori Methi leaves (dried fenugreek leaves)  Still, and it's ready to eat over pasta!!!

Hamburgers Indian Style

Hamburgers - Indian Style

I've made these hamburgers many times and they are worthy of joy and enlightenment.  I really hope you enjoy them.  They are really special.  Instead of using ketchup we make a special Red Pepper Chutney Sauce.  Do NOT skip the Chutney. It's what really makes it take off!  You'll use it for all sorts of different meals, not just the hamburgers.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour (also called gram flour or besan)*
• 3 lbs of ground beef or ground lamb
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
• 3 teaspoons of cumin powder
• 3 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons of black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of sea salt
• 2 lightly beaten eggs

*If you don't have chickpea flour, just add 1 cup of bread crumbs.

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Roast the chickpea flour in a small frying pan over high heat till it turns brown. Stir often.

2. Put the chickpea flour into a bowl and add the spices: cayenne, cumin, coriander, pepper, and salt.  Mix well.

3.  Chop the Cilantro

4.  Crack open and lightly beat the 2 eggs.

5.  Add the cilantro and the mixed chickpea flour and spices and the eggs into the ground beef, mixing well with your hands.  

6.  Form the hamburger into 1/2 pound patties.  Grill them on the grill to medium rare.  Take them off and cut them in half.  Add them to pita pockets, adding Feta Cheese and a LOT of Red Pepper Chutney.  

They will utterly amaze you.  Unlike any hamburgers you've ever had before, and I'm convinced you'll think you had died and gone to heaven.

Red Pepper Chutney

Red Pepper Chutney

This amazing sauce is easy to make and can be added primarily to Hamburgers Indian Style.  Having said that, I think you'll find this amazing sauce useful on almost everything else you can eat.  It is THAT good!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 30-40 large fresh mint leaves or 30 smaller ones, chopped up.
• 2 lemons or 4 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 2 tablespoons of chopped slivered almonds
• 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped dill or dill paste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop the peppers

2. Chop the Mint Leaves

3. Slice the Lemon in half, and remove the seeds

Or use lemon juice

4. Mince the Garlic

5. Put all the ingredients, pepper, mint, lemon juice, garlic, cayenne, salt, black pepper, almonds, and dill into a blender.

6. Blend till smooth - you may have to use a spatula and push the chutney down the sides of the blender.

7.  And now you have magical Chutney for your Hamburgers Indian Style!

Teriyaki Sauce

Teriyaki Sauce

I made this home made Teriyaki sauce last night (March 22nd, 2014)  which we used to marinate chicken and beef, cook stir fry vegetables and spinach in, and used as a dipping sauce.  Everyone RAVED about it.  I'll show you what I did so you can do it yourself, and then I'll include some researched variations so you can effectively experiment and finally come up with a sauce that you can put in your tool box and always know how to make.

The basic sauce can just be made with the first five ingredients/

INGREDIENTS
Basic Sauce

• 1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup of Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of minced ginger
• 1 Tablespoon of Mirin Wine, Dry Sherry, Saki, Rice Wine, or Shaoxing Cooking Wine (which is what I use).

Additions (optional)

• 1 teaspoon of corn starch
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon of Rice Vinegar (Marukan)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Mongolian Fire Oil (House of Tsang)
• 1 teaspoon of Sesame Oil (La Tourangelle)
• 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon of Gochujang Hot Pepper Paste*

*This is an amazing sweet pepper sauce, that is very good.  You usually can only find it at a specialized Korean Market.

DIRECTIONS
Put it all in a bowl and mix well.  Pretty simple. Use for marinading meat, cooking stir fry vegetables, and as a dipping sauce.

Variations

The Core ingredients of Teriyaki sauce, when you start researching it, are Soy Sauce, Sugar, and Mirin.  Here are some variations:

Use brown sugar, some use white sugar.  I use brown.
Add a little honey with the sugar
Some variations mix water into it.
You always want to add a little ginger and garlic, fresh and minced, or even powdered in spice form.  
Some people omit the red pepper flakes it's up to you
Add some black pepper
The Mirin can be dry white whine, rice wine, Saki, sherry, etc.