Homemade Chicken Tikka with Curry Cauliflower and paired with Naan

My friend Tina Gupta got me a goodie bag full of Indian spice mix. I am not familiar with any of it...so I kept it inside my pantry for a whole year. A few weeks ago I was actually brave enough to try this amazing dish. Eating out with toddlers aren't easy so I ventured into making my own Indian spread at home.

I depended entirely to Shan Chicken Tikka Masala (I used the entire box). I followed the recipe on the back and used everything but the yogurt. I didn't have any greek yogurt so I improvised and made it with heavy cream. I also added fresh lime juice.

I used 3 chicken breast with bone and skin. Gave the chicken a few slits and massaged the curry mixture and keep inside the fridge covered for 4 hours.

Grill chicken bone side down. While waiting for your chicken. Prepare the curry cauliflower.

Clean and rinse cauliflower. Dice tomatoes and onions. Saute onions and tomatoes. Add 1 tsp of Chan Veggie curry mix. Add cauliflower and cook until tender. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and simmer for 3 minutes.

Serve with Naan or basmati rice.

That's it! I can't believe I never tried the Shan mixes before. I am so happy she introduced me to this incredible recipe.

Twice Baked Chicken with Creamy Sauce

Chicken Preparation:

Place 3 chicken breast with bone and skin on a baking sheet and season with red cloud peak. Add some salt and pepper. Squeeze one lemon and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 deg. for one hour.

Red Cloud Peak from - http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/aboutus/raleigh.html. A local spice shop on Falls of Neuse.

Red Cloud Peak Seasoning
Ingredients: Salt, hot chili powder, garlic, black pepper, Spanish and Hungarian paprika, onion, cayenne, Mexican oregano, thyme and green onion (Wow! That's crazy huh but this bottle was worth it)

After baking for an hour. Remove chicken from the baking pan and save the pan drippings.

Creamy Sauce Preparation:

In a big skillet (oven proof) add the pan drippings from the roasted chicken. Add thinly sliced onions and caramelize. Add a little salt and pepper. Stir in 1 can of cream of chicken, 1 can of cream of mushroom and 1 - 1/4 cup chicken stock. Whisk until mixture is well combined. Add chicken and coat with sauce. Place the entire oven proof pan in the oven for 1 hour for 300 deg.

You can serve this dish over steamed rice and veggies. You can also make some garlic mashed potatoes too!

This dish is super tender and easy.

Enjoy!

Green Curry

* 400 grams chicken (a little less then 1lb.)
* 3 tbsp green curry paste (see green curry paste recipe or use prepared curry paste)
* 2 1/2 cups coconut milk (1 1/2 cans Chaokoh brand coconut milk or squeezed out from 400 grams grated fresh coconut)
* 5 small fresh Thai eggplants, quartered
* 2-3 fresh red spur chilies, sliced diagonally
* 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
* 1/4 cup sweet basil leaf (optional)
* 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
* 1 1/2 tsp palm sugar
* 1 tbsp cooking oil (not olive oil, but corn, safflower or peanut oil)
* Sweet basil leaves and red chili slices for garnish

Preparation

1. Slice the chicken into thin pieces.
2. Saute the green curry paste in oil over medium heat until fragrant, reduce the heat, gradually add 1 1/2 cups of the coconut milk a little at a time, stir until a film of green oil surfaces.
3. Add the chicken and kaffir lime leaves, continue cooking for 3 minutes until fragrant and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a pot, place over medium heat and cook until boiling. Add the remaining coconut milk, season with palm sugar and fish sauce. When the mixture returns to the boil add the eggplants. Cook until the eggplants are done, sprinkle sweet basil leaves and red chilies over, then turn off the heat.
4. Arrange on a serving dish and garnish with sweet basil leaves and red chilies before serving.

Greek Chicken Kabobs

Greek Chicken Kabobs with homemade rice pilaf and tzatziki sauce served with warm pita bread



Marinade (keep refrigerated for 2 - 3 hours before grilling)

* 1 (8 ounce) container fat-free plain yogurt
* 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (for topping after grilling)
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon of Montreal seasoning
* 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
* 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch pieces
* 1 large red onion, cut into wedges (optional)
* 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (optional)

Note: You can substitute chicken with flank steak or shrimp.

Homemade Rice Pilaf Greek Style

2 c. rice
1 stick butter
1 tsp. saffron
4 c. meat stock (I used chicken)
1/2 cup frozen peas
Salt and pepper

Melt butter in skillet and brown rice 5-8 minutes. Gradually add hot meat stock and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, with cover on. Add salt and pepper and cook until the rice is done. All liquid should be absorbed by the rice when it is well done. Add peas towards the end. Allow to stand a few minutes before serving. Serves 4.

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

You can get the recipe here. I made my own version.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/07/greek-yogurt-tzatziki-recipe.html

I didn't buy English cucumbers. I used the regular cucumbers and removed the seeds. I grated the halved cucumbers and squeezed the juice. If you don't do this your sauce will get watery. I added the freshly squeezed cucumbers in a bowl and added 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese, salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp. cumin and freshly chopped dill. This sauce is a nice refreshing dip or sauce for your chicken kabobs.

Stuffed Chicken with Potato Galette

Stuffed Chicken with Goat Cheese & Spinach paired with Potato Galette.

Stuffed Chicken with Goat Cheese & Chopped Spinach

Ingredients
3 Boneless chicken breast (no skin)
1/2 cup goat cheese (I get mine from Trader Joe's I only use 1/2 block)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped spinach (squeeze water out after thawing)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup Panko & 1/2 cup Italian bread (blend together) crumbs
1/2 flour
2 eggs
1. Place breasts in the center of a plastic food storage bag or 2 large sheets of waxed paper. Pound out the chicken from the center of the bag outward using a heavy-bottomed skillet or mallet. Be firm but controlled with your strokes. Season with salt & pepper.

2. Defrost spinach in the microwave. Transfer spinach to a kitchen towel. Twist towel around spinach and wring it out until very dry. Transfer to a medium-mixing bowl. Add salt & pepper, goat cheese & herbs. mix well and set aside.

3. Place a mound of stuffing on each breast and wrap and roll breast over the stuffing. Secure breasts with toothpicks. Roll stuffed chicken breast in flour, dip in egg wash and coat with mixed bread crumbs.

4. Add 3 tablespoons oil to the pan, 3 turns of the pan. Add breasts to the pan and brown on all sides. Bake stuffed chicken breasts in the oven for 25 minutes at 375 deg.

Potato Galette from Epicurious.com but I edited the recipe

* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 3/4 pound red potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
* 1/4 teaspoon Italian Herb Seasoning from Costco (Giant container but so worth it)

In a small bowl stir together the butter and the oil. In a food processor fitted with a 1-millimeter slicing blade or with a mandoline or similar hand-held slicing device, slice the potatoes thin. Working quickly to prevent the potatoes from discoloring, brush the bottom of a 9-inch cast-iron skillet with some of the butter mixture and cover it with a layer of the potato slices, overlapping them. Brush the potatoes with some of the remaining butter mixture, sprinkle them with some of the Italian herbed mixture, and season them with salt and pepper. Layer the remaining potatoes with the remaining butter mixture and the rosemary in the same manner.

Heat the mixture over moderately high heat until it begins to sizzle, transfer the skillet to the middle of a preheated 450°F. oven, and bake the galette for 25 minutes, or until it is golden and the potatoes are tender. Cut the galette into wedges.

Gai Pad Prik

This is a good dish for those who don't like really hot food, as it can easily be prepared with less curry paste.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 cup of chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup of veggies (either cabbage, long beans, or broccolli, or a mixture of beans and broccolli)
3 tablespoons of red curry paste
4 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
3-4 sprigs young green peppercorn

Directions:

Stir fry the curry paste for a short while, until the mixture becomes aromatic, and a little oil is driven out of the paste by the cooking process. Add the chicken and stir fry briefly, until it just begins to turn whitish. Add veggies at the end and cook for 5 minutes.

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

BBQ Marinade

• 2 lbs. chicken thighs
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 3 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
• Cloves of 4 head of garlic, finely chopped
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• ½ cup 7-Up or Sprite (optional)
• 3 tbsp ketchup

Marinade overnight and use soaked bamboo skewers to prevent the BBQ stick from burning.

Chicken & Pork Adobo

Twice-cooked chicken and pork adobo with tomatoes and cilantro garnish

2 lbs. chicken (I used drumsticks)
1 lb. pork loin (cubed)
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Mr. Yoshida Sauce (you can get this at BJ's or Costco)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
4 -5 bay leaves

1. Use one big crock pot. Add all the meat and all the other ingredients. I cooked my dish while my kids were napping in the afternoon. I think cooked it till after dinner. About 4 - 5 hours on high. Stirring occasionally. I left my pot on top of the counter top overnight. When it's cold you can leave it until you are ready to bake the dish before dinner.

2. Next day use a rectangular baking dish. Transfer everything and bake at 375 for 1 1/2hrs. Totally worth baking makes it extra brown and the sauce thickens a little bit.

3. The meat falls of the chicken bone. It's amazingly soft and flavorful. Serve with steamed rice and cubed tomatoes. I added cilantro with a dash of fish sauce. I added pork to this dish because I like pork and Mark prefers chicken. :)

This dish can feed about 5 to 6 people or more. We always have leftovers. The more the meat sits in the sauce the tastier it gets.

Enjoy!