Chicken Makhani

Kristen recreated her favorite dish from an Indian restaurant.  This dish is also called Butter Chicken.

Chicken Makhani
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon garam masla
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 bay leaf

1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup half and half
1 cup tomato puree
1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
 1/4 cup water.

Heat 1 T. oil in large saucepan over med high heat.  Saute shallot and onion until soft and translucent.  Stir in butter, lemon juice, ginger-garlic pates, 1 tsp. garam masala, chili powder, cumin and bay leaf.  Cook, stirring for  1 minute.  Add tomato sauce, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Stir in half and half and yogurt.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
Heat 1 T. oil in large heavy skillet over med high heat.  Cook chicken until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Reduce heat and season with garam masala and cayenne.  Stir in a few spoonful of sauce and simmer until liquid has reduced and chicken is no longer pink.  Stir chicken into the sauce.  Mix the water and cornstarch together and stir it into the sauce  Cook til thickened  5-10 minutes.

Daliya Porridge (Indian Style Cracked Wheat)

This is Shonna's post and recipe.  For some reason, she is having trouble posting, so I'm posting it for her.  She made this for our family reunion.  It is delicious!
Shonna:
We love this recipe! We found it as we’ve been quarantined during this COVID-19 time and have been using our food storage. My 5 year old begs me to make this, so now it’s part of our weekly breakfast menu. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Ingredients:
2 cups cracked wheat
5 cups liquid (I use 3 cups water and 2 cups milk (1 cup nut milk and 1 cup dairy milk))
2-3 TBSP brown sugar
1/4 tsp Real Salt
1 tsp Cardamom (The original recipe called for Green Cardamom but my grocery store only had one option)
Pistachio nuts, shelled or other nuts you like
Yellow or Black Raisins (We only have black raisins right now but the original called for yellow.)
2 TBSP coconut oil

Instructions:
1.Turn your instant pot or electric pressure cooker on SAUTÉ and heat up the pot.
2. Add the coconut oil and let it melt. Add the cracked wheat and stir for a couple of minutes until it turns more golden.
3. Add the milk and stir.
4. Add the cardamom, salt, and sugar and stir.
5. Then add your water, stirring very slightly so your pot can attain pressure.
6. Turn off  SAUTÉ setting and cook on High pressure for 10 minutes. Let it release naturally.
7. Add more milk to get it to your preferred consistency and add the toppings—nuts and raisins. Enjoy!

Tandoori Chicken

My current "favorite meal" on our regular food rotation is this Tandoori Chicken. Our good friends, Steve and Rachael, made it for us a while back and I feel totally spoiled when we eat it for dinner...and lunch the next day...and lunch the day after that. Yesterday I passed up a delicious meal out in order to come home and eat these leftovers. Hopefully you enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

1/2 T curry powder

1/2 T red pepper flakes

1/2 T salt

3/4 t ground ginger

3/4 t smoked paprika (I just used normal)

3/4 t cinnamon

3/4 t ground turmeric

1 T minced garlic

2 T lemon juice

1 1/2 cups (1 can) coconut milk

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

9 chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts (I cut mine in half so they weren't as thick)

Directions:

1.  Whisk together above ingredients and place them in a gallon ziplock bag, add 9 chicken thighs (you could also use chicken breasts).  Close ziplock and massage marinade into chicken.  Place mixture in fridge to marinate for 6 hours (I did for 12 hours because I had errands all day and it was fine).  

2.  Preheat oven to 350.

3.  On the stove top, heat a cast iron skillet (or oven safe skillet) on med-high heat with a few Tbsp of olive oil (I used coconut oil).  Brown the chicken, skin side down (mine was boneless, skinless) for approximately 5 minutes or until the chicken is a nice golden brown.

4.  Turn the chicken over.  Pour remaining marinade over chicken.

5.  Bake chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees, which is approximately 20 minutes.

This week I made it with this butternut squash and I loved the 2 together. 

I served it with Basmati Rice. Yum!

Also, I have found my children think it is too spicy, so I won’t put as much, if any, red pepper flakes in next time.

Indian Naan bread

I got this recipe from 300 Best Bread Machine recipes cookbook. It is yummy. It goes perfectly with the Indian curry soup or Michelle's Chicken Tikka Marsala post.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup water (I heated this up in the microwave for 1 minute to compensate for the cold yogurt.)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I tried 1/4 tsp and it wasn't enough flavor)-this is my addition
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Topping
2 tsp melted butter w/ some dried parsley flakes and some garlic salt.

Directions:
1. Measure ingredients into baking pan in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough Cycle

2. Remove dough to a lightly floured surface; cover w/ a large bowl and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll into balls. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Gently stretch into a teardrop shape about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a baking sheet, sprinkled w/ cornmeal and let rest for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. Brush the dough w/ melted butter mix.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the naan sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.




image from
http://islamiciftar.blogspot.com/2010/08/iftar-recipe-indian-naan-bread.html

Indian curry lentil soup

Servings: Serves eight. Yields about 14 cups.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium yellow onions, chopped 

Kosher salt 

2 teaspoons Madras curry powder or garam masala

2 quarts lower-salt chicken broth or homemade vegetable broth 

Two 14.5- ounce cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained

1 pound (2-1/3 cups) dried red lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained

2 medium celery ribs, cut into small dice

1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into small dice 

2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (I used 1/4 tsp garlic powder)

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 


Directions
1
Heat the oil in a 6-quart (or larger) Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and just starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the curry powder or garam masala and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

2
Add the broth, tomatoes and their juices, lentils, celery, carrot, garlic, cayenne, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently to keep the lentils from sticking; skim any foam as necessary. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils, carrots, and celery are tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve with your favorite Naan bread.


image from http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/02/dinner-tonight-curried-lentil-soup-with-chickpea-puree.html

Chicken Tikka Marsala

I tried an amazing recipe for dinner tonight. This one is definitely going on our meal rotation. I would re-post the recipe, but the pioneer woman does an amazing and thorough job, so here is the link. The only things that I personally would change when I make it next time is to add a little less fresh ginger than it calls for and maybe try using coconut milk rather than heavy whipping cream. But ooooh man. It is my new favorite. Thanks to my friend who made it for us a couple of months ago, I've been dying to try it ever since! It didn't disappoint.