Chicken Korma...home-made & finger licking good!

There was an article in the 'Daily Mail' a while ago, which was republished in the' Mail Today', here in India, more than a month ago (May 16, 2008 pg 15). It talked about junk food as 'seen by most of us as an unhealthy but occasional treat. A survey in the UK has revealed just how bad a takeaway can be. Most meals surveyed exceeded safe limits of fat & salt content, the doner kebab being the worst offender, which can contain as much fat as a wine glass full of cooking oil'! PHEW!! 'Overall, 86 percent of the meals had dangerously high fat content and 72 percent had high salt content, according to the research by UK's Hampshire County Council.'

'The chicken korma, with a fat content of 95.4g (136% of a woman's GDA) & a salt content of 1.1g 18.3% of GDA, made it to the list too. Others included a king prawn chowmein, a lamb curry, a medium pizza with garlic bread.' It was heartening to read that 'there are attempts in UK to encourage chefs to use less fat & salt.' To quote Jen Green, a scientific consultant on the survey, " If the chef is looking to make a curry or a stir-fry, it would be useful if they had in mind how much fat & salt they put in it. It is surprising how little you need to put flavour." I couldn't agree more...with health issues looming large, in an already hectic & stressed lifestyle, this is food for thought!

To convert the thought back into food, here is a flavourful, simple chicken curry for the soul & spirit!

The korma is a mild, pale, creamy, curry dish originating in India. Korma has its roots in the Mughlai cuisine of North India. It is a characteristically creamy and silky Persian-Indian dish which can be traced back to the 16th century and the Mughal incursions into the North-Western parts of India and modern day Pakistan and Bangladesh.

This recipe comes from my sis in the US, also known as our family's 'chicken queen', for never failing to come up with chicken in every avatar possible, from varied cuisines. North African, Mediterranean, Mexican, Indian, Middle-Eastern...the list goes on. This particular recipe is one she put together as an 'amalgamation' of several versions; fits the bill for a perfect & simple korma; one that uses everyday ingredients found on an Asian spice shelf. It's been bookmarked in my folder for eons, so has to be on its way to Ruth's Kitchen Experiments for her Bookmarked event....

Ingredients:
Chicken – 1 broiler cut into pieces, the smaller the chicken the better , about 800gms (on the bone)
Onion – 3-4 md/ 250 gms, sliced fine
Green cardamom / Choti elaichi – 8-10
Cloves – 10-12
Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Peppercorns – 8-10 are optional
Ginger paste - 2 tbsp
Garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Coriander / Dhania pwdr – 5 tsp, sifted
Chili pwdr – 2tsp / as per taste
Paprika/Deghi mirch – 1tsp
Yogurt – 250 gms / 1 cup, whisked

• Take oil in a heavy bottom pan and fry onions till a dark golden brown. Take them out, drain on kitchen towel and grind in a coffee grinder. Should be crisp dry when cool. (I crushed them between 2 sheets of absorbent paper; that absorbed some of the oil too, overall reducing the fat content)
• In the same oil, put in cardamom, cloves,cinnamon & pepper and roast a little till the cloves swell up.
• Immediately add ginger and garlic paste followed by the chicken and roast really well till the water reduces and the chicken looks light brown on all sides.
• Cover and simmer for a few minutes on low heat.
• Add coriander pwdr, chilli pwdr and paprika and mix well..keep heat medium-low...
• Then add well beaten yogurt, a little at a time, and roast for a while till it is well incorporated and makes a thickish gravy and the oil comes to the side.
• Turn flame to simmer (very low), cover pan and cook for 10 minutes till the chicken is almost done. The chicken will cook in the water left behind by the yogurt.
• The colour of the curry, at this point, will look insipid; don't worry. The curry will come to life with a rich colour once the onion paste is added.
• Now add the ground fried onion paste and mix well. Add some water, if required to make gravy…as much or as little as you like.
• Let it come to a boil, then cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes for a last time.
• Serve hot with naan, parathas or steamed rice.

Sprouted Mung Dal Salad

Fresh mint & a squeeze of lime...

I posted some bits about this wonderful sprout on the CLICK post for May '08, where the theme was 'Beans & Lentils'. Sprouts are easy to make at home, & you don't actually need special bowls or 'sprouters'. I sprout the dal at home almost every week, & can hardly stop marvelling at the cute little 'sprouts' the dal obliges me with each time.

"Why Sprouts?...

• Once the dal begins to split, drain it & put it into a sieve lined with cheesecloth or a plastic colander, with a bowl underneath. Cover it keep it in a dark place for 10-12 hours or overnight.
• Wash gently the next day, taking care not to disturb the roots (sprouts) too much, to enable them to grow long. Cover & keep in dark place again.
• In summer, my sprouts are ready in a day & a half. Check to see if they are done, rinse gently, drain & refrigerate.
• Toss all the salad ingredients gently & chill well. This can be made a couple of hours in advance. Try not to keep sprouts for more than 2-3 days as they tend to taste bitter after that. Also, fresh sprouts offer maximum food value.

My son asked me a 'prudent' question this evening while eating his salad, "Mama, if we plant these seeds, will these sprouts grow out on the branches?" Hmmmmmmmmmm....another long month of vacations!!

This salad is on its way to SnackShots # 4 'SALAD', to Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet.

...& also to Lisa @ Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen for her colourful No Croutons Required which she is hosting for the month of June. The theme for June is soups or salads featuring legumes because beans and pulses are an important part of a healthy vegetarian diet. Whole, or split, big or small, anything belonging to the legume family qualifies. (Thank you Arundathi for letting me know!!)

Bon Appetit!

This post featured on

• The Courier News Chicago Sun Times

A delicious, crisp biscotti!

Method:

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat sheets.
• Sift the flours + salt + baking powder.
• Beat the olive oil with the sugar.
• Add the vanilla extract + eggs + coffee & beat well.
• Stir in the flour mix; & gently turn the almonds into the dough. Mix in.
• Transfer the dough to your parchment lined baking sheet and form into 2 logs, about 12” X 3 ½”. The dough is sticky, so you may have to dampen your hands to form the log.
• Bake for 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch & light golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes.
• Transfer the log gently to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 2 cm slices with a sharp serrated knife.
• Reduce oven temperature to 135 degrees C. Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes, turn slices over, and bake for another 8 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.
• Makes about 20 - 24 biscotti
• Note: Roast the almonds at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes, till the skin begins to crack open. Allow to cool, & then chop. Roasting brings out the sweetness & flavour in almonds. Can be done in advance.

This is a healthier version of the biscotti which I normally make. Have substituted some of the plain flour for whole-wheat flour & was quite pleased to see the kids enjoy them as much as we did. It's always a good idea to gradually substitute plain flour with a portion of whole-wheat flour to increase the nutritive value...these are good, healthy cookies with no butter. Made with olive oil & full of nuts, they're headed for Ivy @ Kopiaste & Ben @ What's Cooking US for an event we can't do without...Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets? (an event co-hosted by 2 of my fave bloggers). The call is to make something that you consider Diet Food for its nutritious value (high in vitamins and other nutrients and low in calories). I think we all need a little nibble at tea & this quite fits the bill!

These are healthy, healthy cookies & good for a change from butter! More of a dunk in the coffee sorta cookie! The kids liked them, & the boy had a picture idea...to hold it against the sky; eventually we settled for somewhere in between!

The recipe as adapted from Sunita's World ...
Ingredients:

Wholewheat flour - 1 cup
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Ginger powder - 3/4 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
A pinch of salt
Brown sugar - 4 tbsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Egg - 1
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla Sugar to roll the balls of cookie dough in (can use granulated sugar too)

Method:

• Whisk together the egg, oil, sugar, and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, soda,salt, cinnamon and ginger.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and tip in the egg mixture.
• Gently fold in, with a spatula until everything just comes together...do not over mix.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
• Pre heat the oven at 180 deg C, grease a baking tray.
• Divide the mixture into 15 equal portions and shape each into a ball.
• Roll each ball in the sugar and place them on the prepared baking tray, a little apart from each other.
• Gently flatten the balls for 12-15 minutes or till the tops are firm and feel dry...(there will be visible cracks on the top).
  Cool in the tray for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before storing in air tight containers.

In the daughter's words...Oooooooooooooooh crackle-tops!

HEALTHY 'n' DELICIOUS LIME CAKE...with whole wheat too!

A day without baking is tough to pass. 3 days went by, and the symptoms began. The itch to get back & do something, bake anything..anything to turn the oven on again. My mantra...the only constant is change, a variant of Heraclitus's Greek philosophy. One of the first things we were told when I had started working many years ago... the philosophy remains. So decided to try my recipe lemon cake again, with a healthier turn to it. Substituted some regular flour for whole-wheat flour & threw in some walnuts too. Disaster struck halfway through baking...yes, the electricity disappeared. It happens very often here, so now I'm just used to it! Hmmmmm...it reappeared after an hour, & the poor cake, taking pity on me, began to rise again. Once done , it was fine!! How forgiving can life get? The kids enjoyed it, & the whole-wheat flour make no difference to them.Am glad...

The crumb was beautiful!!

Ingredients:

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease well and line bottom of 8” ring tin.(Tends to stick otherwise)
• Sift the dry ingredients together. Keep aside.
• Mix the yogurt + cream + ljuice of 1 lime in a small bowl. Keep aside.
• Beat the butter + sugar well until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs 1 by 1, scraping the sides down after each addition.
• Beat in the lime rind + lemon extract + vanilla essence + lime juice.
• On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients alternatively with yogurt & cream mix…in 3 goes.
• Fold in the walnuts & chocolate chips.
• If you like, you can mix a deeper yellow colour in 1/3 of the batter to get a marble effect.
• Put the batter into the tin, alternating with the deeper coloured batter, if using, and level out.
• Bake for approximately 60 mins, or till the tester comes out clean.
• Cool in tin on rack for 10 mins, and then turn it out on rack.
• While the cake is baking, mix together the powdered sugar + extract + lime juice and make syrup.
• Taste, and increase the lemon if desired. Should taste nice and tangy…like a concentrate.
• Poke the cake gently with a skewer.
• Pour the warm syrup over the hot cake. Add sprinkles over the hot syrup if desired.
• Note 1 : Handle cake gently while warm, as it’s quite delicate.
• Note 2 : Walnuts can be substituted for craisins too, like I did in cake 2. Nice change!

Surprise,surprise...the next day we had to make a cake again for a school 'measuring' project for the son's school. I chose this just to test the difference to the crumb etc if electricity didn't do the dissapearing act. It didn't...& surprisingly, the crumb was quite similar. Conclusion- recipe's very good for me since we are still in the dark ages, & the power supply is pretty much unpredictable. My son helped make this cake, and the wrote the recipe out for school, cups and half cups, and then made a feast out of it!!