Spicy Chicken Vindalho (Serves 4)

I would like to apologize for not posting in a long while, as I have been trying to recover from an herniated disc which hasn’t let me in a position to cook. As a temporary solution I now sit on a chair and cook, as I can’t stay from cooking and don’t want to trouble my wife too much :-)

I got the recipe for this dish while looking on Google, and came upon this Goan food blog called http://www.goanfoodrecipes.com.


I used to have a lot of Goan food (very spicy and flavorful with common items being fish, coconut, rice) while in India, and this site appealed to me with its traditional Goan food recipes. So I was curios to take a recipe from here and try it out over the weekend. 
Vindalho or Vindaloo is usually made with pork and malt vinegar. But chicken can also substituted for the pork. I had to make some adjustments to the recipe in terms of the amount of vinegar, and also the oil needed. I also used rice vinegar instead of the malt vinegar. The result nevertheless was outstanding. 


The author was right when he mentioned that this dish reminds you of pickle. Yes, the vinegar and the simple spices make that happen. Let's go straight to the recipe. It is so simple, you can make it even if you are totally wasted! :-) well, almost.

2 lb mixed chicken breast and thighs (boneless)
2 big onions (2 medium sized onions if you are in the US)
2 tbsp paprika powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 inch piece ginger cut small
5 cloves garlic cut small
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
8-10 black peppercorns
4-5 cloves
2 inch piece of cinnamon bark
4 tbsp oil
salt to taste


Cut the chicken in to one inch chunky pieces and set aside in a large bowl. Add salt to the chicken and mix well.

In a small bowl add the different chilli powders, 3/8 cup vinegar and mix well. Pour this mixture in a blender. Add the ginger root and garlic (both cut into small pieces), cumin seeds, turmeric powder, and blend everything till it forms a fine paste.


Pour this paste into the chicken pieces and mix everything really well. Refrigerate this overnight preferably, or at least one hour like I did.

Cut the onions into chunks and blend them in the grinder as well. 


In a large pan on medium heat, add the oil. As the oil gets hot, add the chicken and the blended onions, mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water, 1/8 cup of vinegar, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon, and let the chicken cook on a low flame for at least an hour until the it is well done. Add more water based on the consistency you need, although I would suggest to keep it on the drier side.


Store in the refrigerator overnight to let the all the flavors mingle together and let the meat absorb the spices. Serve hot with rice, or chapati/fresh Italian bread.

Delicious!


Health Rating: Medium


Substitute Ingredient/s: For vegetarians you can substitute the chicken with chunky starchy vegetables such as potatoes. Adding carrots and celery to the potatoes would give it the flavor of a nice stew.


Also note that you will get a fantastic red color if you use authentic red chillies from Kashmir that the original recipe calls for. They aren’t that spicy, by the way.

Sweet and Spicy Basil Rice (Serves 2)

I was almost going to add this to my http://www.justveganit.com/ site and then realized that even though the ingredients for this dish were vegan and sugar free, the minimal oil criteria didn’t quite fit in here.

Either way, this simple and yet elegant creation is perfect for an evening when you are not really in the mood of cooking something elaborate. You can start with some salad maybe and finish your dinner off with this dish. You will really enjoy this basil flavored rice with just a hint of heat and sweetness in it.

1 cup of sweet basil leaves (packed)
1/3 rd cup olive oil (5.33 tbsp of olive oil)
1 medium green chili
2 tbsp dried raisins
1/3 cup roasted walnuts
2 cups cooked (al dente) basmati rice
salt to taste

Wash the basil leaves well. Add the basil leaves, olive oil, chopped green chili, raisins, and salt to taste in a blender and blend it as fine as you can. Set aside the mixture in a cup. You can even do this before hand and store it in the refrigerator. It should retain its freshness for a few days easily.
 
Cook 2 cups of basmati rice, al dente (just cooked right, like you would cook rice for a pulav or fried rice). Please do not steam or pressure cook your rice as those processes will make the rice sticky. The best way is to pour the washed rice in boiling water (water level should be at least an inch and a half above the level of rice) and when the rice is done, drain the water similar to the way you would drain water from pasta.
 
Let the rice cool down a little and make sure not much moisture remains after the water has been drained out.

While this is going on, quickly chop walnuts and roast them on medium heat until they release their oils and are nice and brown.

In a bowl, combine the rice, the basil paste and the walnuts. Add more salt according to taste. Serve hot.

Health Rating: High

Alu Tikki (Potato Nibblers) (Serves 7-8)

For our barbecue party I had prepared this appetizer for the kids, and hence kept it simple and not added any hot peppers or chilli powder. 


Alas, by the time the kids could even get a sniff of it, we adults just ate it all up. That is what a lovely evening, lots of beer and wine, and a barbecue does to you :-). 


Good thing is if this ever happens to you, you can always make some more quickly as long as you keep some boiled potatoes ready in the fridge as a back up ;-). Will remember that for the future. Here is the recipe.

5 medium potatoes boiled (do not overcook)

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp Shan Garam Masala or Haleem Mix

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

Salt to taste

1 small bunch coriander leaves chopped fine

1 cup Panko bread crumbs for patting the potatoes 

In a small pan on low to medium heat, add 1 tbsp oil. As the oil starts to heat up, add the cumin, garam masala, turmeric, and coriander powder and give everything a mix. Turn off the heat after 5-10 seconds ensuring that the spices don't burn up.

Mash the potatoes with your hands until fine (make sure you boil the potatoes just right, and not overcook it). Add the spice mixture and oil, salt, and the fresh coriander leaves and mix everything well. Form the potatoes into little balls, and flatten them in the palm of your hands. You can use some oil on your palms so the potatoes don't stick.

Heat a non stick pan, and add very little oil. Pat the tikkis or nibblers to the bread crumbs, and roast them on the pan, both sides until the bread crumbs turn golden brown. As you cook, add oil as needed. Please don't overdo the oil, though.

Serve hot with coriander/mint chutney and Heinz ketchup. Yummy! Your kid/s will love this simple addictive appetizer. And you will, too :-).

Health Rating: Medium

Ingredient Substitute/s: For adults, to the above recipe add 1 tbsp red chilli powder, and 2 medium seeded jalapeno peppers chopped fine. If you don't have bread crumbs, you can use cream of wheat instead.

Grilled Paneer with Tandoori Masala (Serves 10 - 14)

One of the appetizers from my blog anniversary party, delicious grilled paneer with tandoori masala and veggies. You really can't go wrong with this one, if you follow the recipe accordingly. They got eaten up in no time. Thankfully they were only appetizers.

Paneer (fresh cheese) and tofu for that matter are similar in their ability to adapt to any flavors you add to them. Very common in the northern part of India, it has found its way to all restaurants that prepare Indian food. You can experiment a lot with paneer and be rest assured you won't mess up. But let me warn you, you really can mess up the base gravy to which you add the paneer if you get too boisterous :-)

Usually made by curdling hot milk with lemon juice and draining the water completely away, one does not need to conduct this experiment anymore as nowadays you get good paneer from any Indian store.

2 450g blocks of Nanak Paneer (as always choose the best available in the store)

1 cup strained yogurt (e.g. Greek yogurt)

4 tsp Shan Tandoori Masala powder, and more to sprinkle later

1 tbsp oil, and a little more in a cup for brushing the vegetables prior to cooking

1 inch piece fresh ginger root grated

1 clove garlic grated

salt to taste

2 onions

2 green peppers

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Few yellow lemons cut in quarters

Cut the paneer into 1 inch square chunks or any size suitable for your skewers as long as they don't break up while grilling. Poke some tiny holes in the paneer pieces with a food pick.

In a large bowl add the yogurt, Shan tandoori masala powder (I am big fan of Shan lately), oil, ginger, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Mix everything well to prepare the marinade.

One thing to note here is that the Shan tandoori masala powder has salt in it. When you add additional salt to it, you would think by tasting the marinade that there is enough salt. I would suggest you add a little bit more salt at this point, as the paneer has no salt and once its cooked the level of saltiness is less.

Add the paneer cubes to the marinade, mix well, and store in the fridge for a few hours.

In the meanwhile cut the onion and green peppers into chunks that are similar in size to the paneer. On flat skewers (using round skewers, the paneer and vegetables keep turning and grilling is a pain), arrange the paneer and the onions and peppers alternatively (2 of each or any order you like).

Brush the vegetables with oil and sprinkle tandoori masala powder liberally on the vegetables as well as on the paneer. Place on the grill, and close the lid on the grill. Grill on medium heat (400 - 425) until the paneer is nicely roasted and the vegetables are done and crunchy. If you have no grill, use the conventional oven and bake the same at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until well roasted.

Take off from the skewers onto a serving platter, squeeze a good amount of lemon juice on the paneer and vegetables, and serve hot. Oh yea, total bliss!

Health Rating: Medium

Mango Mousse Cake (Serves 16)

Recipe for mango mousse adapted from (http://www.indianfoodforever.com/mango/mango-mousse.html) and modified in creative way to make mango mousse cake.

I had mentioned in my earlier post that a few of our friends had brought in some desserts that were really good. This adapted and modified recipe is from Rakhee Chopra, who is always on the move where cooking is concerned, ready with her spatula and wok at a moment's request. A good cook too, which always makes it better :-).

1 can Ratna Alfonso Mango pulp (the best brand out there for Alfonso mangoes)
1 tbsp gelatin
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups Cool Whip whipped topping (not frozen)
2 lbs of store bought sponge cake or angel cake
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp peach or orange liqueur (optional)
1/2 cup water

1. In 1/4 cup warm water, mix the gelatin till it fully dissolves and then mix this well with the mango pulp.
2. Fold the whipped cream gently in the mango pulp.
3. Take 1/2 cup of water and mix the sugar and liqueur in it.
4. Layer a serving pan with thin cut slices of the cake and dab some of the sugar-water-liqueur mix on it.
5. Now pour 1/2 the mango-cream puree on it and level it.
6. Put a second layer of cake and dab that as well with the sugar-water-liqueur mix.
7. Pour the remaining mango puree, level it and put in the fridge (not the freezer) for at least 2 hours or till it is well set.
8. Decorate the cake with chocolate shavings and whipped cream.
9. Enjoy devouring the cake!

Health Rating: Medium
 

Bio on Rakhee Chopra (in her own words)

 

"I am a Expert Business Analyst in Swiss Re reinsurance firm with Claims being the area of expertise. I enjoy what I do but cooking is my passion. It relaxes me after a hard day of work and what better stress reliever than the one that benefits the entire family! Coming from a Punjabi family every meal is a big deal and I love cooking for my boys and entertaining friends and family."

See how lucky to have friends like this who like to cook and entertain as well? ;-)

Rakhee lives in Westchester with her husband and son.