Chicken Curry in a Hurry

This is one of those dishes that gets in your blood.



The first night I made it, I had it for dinner.  It was nothing spectacular, and it wasn't as easy as its name suggests (I didn't name it!  It's a Cook's Illustrated recipe).  But the next day I found myself thinking about it at work as the day was ending, eager to have it again.  I couldn't understand why, because I'd been less than impressed with my first meal.  The same thing happened the next night.  Each time I ate it, it tasted better and better!

A strange phenomenon, particularly with such marked results, but there's no doubt about it.  I think the flavors need time to meld, to join, to have food sex and create lots of great new flavors.  So this is one dish that I recommend making in advance.  Make it two, even three, days before you plan to eat it.  It only gets better with age.



Despite its name, however, I wouldn't say that this is quick to make.  Maybe if you're a Food Network cook, and have kitchen peons doing your chopping, slicing, and mincing for you, preparing your mise en place, then you can actually prepare this "in a hurry" (a phrase that makes me think 10-15 minutes; maybe you think I'm even being generous).  Certainly it's faster than proper curries I've made, which involved overnight marinating and what not, but don't plan to start making this dish last minute.  The "quickness" comes from precooked chicken (this is a great dish to make when you have leftover chicken meat, say from a rotisserie chicken from the store), canned chickpeas, frozen peas, and pre-made curry powder (I bought mine from an Indian grocery store -- if you can do the same, I'd recommend it).  To make it even faster, you could use pre-minced garlic and ginger.

The recipe calls for whole milk yogurt; I used nonfat and it was just fine.  Instead of raisins I used cranberries, because I prefer them and happened to have them on hand.  I used a full tablespoon of curry powder.

Also, be forewarned that this dish makes a lot more than you might think.  With rice, it would serve 4.  With accompaniments, it could serve 6 or even 8.  It'd make a great pot luck dish -- it's best made in advance and serves a lot of people!

Chicken Curry in a Hurry (Cook's Illustrated)

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 to 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups shredded or thinly sliced cooked chicken
• 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Method

1. Build curry base: Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, curry powder, and salt and cook until onion is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add water, meat, vegetables, and cook: Stir in water, meat, chickpeas, peas, and raisins. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Garnish and serve: Off heat, stir in yogurt and cilantro and serve.

Indian Cuisine at Home

I love Indian cuisine, and so do my cousin and her husband. So when they asked me to cook up an Indian meal for them last weekend, I obliged happily.

One of the reasons I jump at the chance to make Indian food is because in order to make one or two dishes, you have to pretty much stock up on spices. And once you've stocked up on spices (which are usually sold in quantities far greater than you need for one meal), you don't want them to go to waste, do you? Of course not.



Another reason Indian cuisine is great is because it's easy to satisfy both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. I've always thought that if I were a vegetarian, I'd have to eat Indian food a lot, because it's one of the few ways that vegetables are so infused with flavor that I barely notice the absence of meat (not that I don't like vegetables on their own, but if I have them solely and repeatedly, I really notice the absence of meat).



At first I was going to make two dishes -- aloo gobi and murgh makhani, along with homemade raita and naan. But then I started to feel bad that my cousin and I would have sauce to eat with our naan while the aloo gobi was dry so my cousin's husband wouldn't (he's a vegetarian). At the last minute I decided to make palak paneer ... the only problem being that I didn't have the time to make paneer, and I don't have an Indian grocery store close enough to me to make the trip worth it. And to be honest, I wasn't really heart broken about it; while I enjoy making my own paneer, I'm rather indifferent to eating it. It turns out that my cousin and her husband feel the same way, so it was all for the best. I ended up replacing the cheese with peas (as the palak on its own seemed to need a bit of chunkiness), and thus creating "palak mattar." Hee. I'm going to be making it that way from now on -- just as yummy, in my opinion, but easier and fewer calories.

The raita, which we like to eat with pretty much everything, was delicious, and the naan was as well, even if it didn't turn out quite as aesthetically pleasing as I had wanted (though there were some nice-looking pieces; the kids got to them before I could take a picture). The murgh makhani's sauce was absolutely perfect; it tasted just the the butter chicken I've had in restaurants. The only thing I'll change for next time is the kind of chicken meat I used -- breast rather than thigh. I prefer dark meat, and this dish is usually made with it, but at the time I went to the store they didn't have anything but breasts.

For dessert we had a wonderful cheesecake, but that's going to have to wait for another post. :-)

Palak Mattar (recipe adapted from here)



Ingredients:

• 1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach or 4 cups of fresh, finely chopped spinach
• 3/4 cup of frozen peas
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• pinch of asofetida
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp of whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Method:

1. If you're using frozen spinach, thaw it and squeeze out the water.
2. In a blender, puree the tomatoes and ginger together.
3. Mix together the coriander, turmeric, and red chili powder with the tomato puree and set it aside.
4. Mix the whole wheat flour with the heavy cream and set that aside as well.
5. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; it should sizzle enthusiastically. If it doesn't the oil's not hot enough.
6. Add the asofetida and cumin seeds. Let the seeds sizzle for a bit, then add the tomato puree mixture and let it cook for a few minutes until the tomato puree is reduced by about half.
7. Add the spinach, mix well, and let it cook on medium low heat for about 10 minutes, covered.
8. Add heavy cream mixture cook another 5 minutes or so.
9. Add the peas and fold them gently into spinach. Let the dish simmer for about 3 minutes, or until heated through, then serve immediately.

Aloo Gobi (recipe adapted from here)



Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
• 2 large potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch of asofetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 inch piece ginger, minced or grated
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• red chili powder, to taste
• 1/2 tsp amchur (mango powder)
• salt, to taste
• 5 sprigs cilantro, chopped

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pot.
2. Test if the oil is ready by adding a cumin seed -- it should sizzle enthusiastically right away. When the oil is hot, add all the cumin seeds and let them to sizzle for a few moments.
3. Add the asofetida, turmeric powder, and diced onion. Saute about 3 minutes.
4. Add the ginger and garlic to the onions. Saute until the onions are soft and just beginning to brown. Stir frequently.
5. Mix in the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes have broken down quite a bit and the oil starts to separate from the mixture. Stir frequently.
6. While the tomatoes are cooking, place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle on a little salt, add 1/4 cup water, cover the bowl, and microwave for about 3-5 minutes, until they are about half cooked.
7. Wash the cauliflower florets and place them in a microwave safe bowl, cover it, and microwave for about 3-5 minutes, until they are about half cooked. Lightly salt the cauliflower while it is still warm. (Please note that you salt the potatoes before they're microwaved and the cauliflower after. Also you can skip the microwaving step altogether, it'll just take longer to cook.)
8. Once oil has separated from the tomato mixture, add the coriander powder, garam masala, red chili powder, cumin powder, amchur and salt to taste, then mix well.
9. Add the half-cooked potatoes, mix well to coat all the potato pieces with spices, and turn the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender but not breaking apart.
10. Add the green peas and half-cooked cauliflower and mix well to evenly coat the cauliflower with spices. Cover and cook until all veggies are tender.
11. Take the pot off the heat and mix in the chopped cilantro.

Murgh Makhani (recipe adapted from here)



Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• 4 shallots, sliced into thin strips
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup cream
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3-4 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Method

1. Cook the shallots in butter until they are limp and soft. Remove them from the pan, leaving as much of the butter as possible, and reserve them.
2. Turn up the heat and add the chicken. Cook quickly, browning all sides.
3. When the chicken is cooked through, add the spices, ginger and garlic, and stir for a few moments.
4. If the pan is dry, add a few tbsps of water and use the liquid to deglaze, scraping up any bits of cooked chicken or spice that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. More than likely you'll have chicken juices to do this with.
5. Add the tomato sauce, lemon juice, and the cooked shallots into the pan and set it to simmer.
6. Put a few tbsps of the sauce in a bowl and mix it with the cream and the yogurt. Pour it into the chicken mixture.
7. Simmer the dish for a few minutes. Taste it and add salt as desired.
8. Place the chicken and sauce into a serving bowl and sprinkle chopped cilantro on top.

Palak Paneer and Homemade Cheese

Unfortunately there won't be a Friday dinner tomorrow, nor for the next month or so, as I'm going on vacation! I will, however, be eating lots of good food and I'll be bringing my camera with me. :D Depending on computer/time availability, I may be able to blog a bit and share any delectable photos I've got.

Before I go though, I wanted to finally post those Indian recipes I talked about so long ago (or so it seems), as I'm totally behind on that. I got started with raita, but what about what you eat raita with?

One good choice is palak paneer, which is a spinach and fresh cheese (paneer) dish. If you like spinach as I do, it's a nice, safe choice. It's reminiscent of creamed spinach -- just flavorful in an entirely different way. Paneer can be purchased or easily made at home. That's right, make your own fresh cheese at home! It's super easy and not even that time consuming.

All you need is half a gallon of whole milk, 3-4 tablespoons (about 1/4 cup) of acid, such as lemon/lime juice or vinegar, cheesecloth, and a large pot. Instructions are always more fun with visual representation, so here we go (a few of the pics are fuzzy, as I wasn't using my tripod alas):


Bring half a gallon of whole milk (and yes, it needs to be whole milk -- you're making cheese so you want as much of the solids as possible) to boil. When it's boiling, add the lemon juice. Turn down the heat a bit. Start stirring and do this continuously.


Almost immediately, you'll see the curds start to separate from the whey. Keep stirring!


Stir, stir, stir. You'll know it's done when the whey has a light greenish tinge to it. That sounds wrong, but looks perfectly natural when you see it. You should be able to scoop up obvious curds now.


Place a strainer over a large bowl and some cheesecloth in the strainer.


Pour the contents of the pot into the cheesecloth-lined strainer. The curds should stay in the cheesecloth while all the whey goes into the bowl.


Close up! Looks like cottage cheese, doesn't it?


There are multiple ways you can do this next step; go with what's easiest for you. The goal is to drain as much of the whey out of the curds as you can. Here I've tied some kitchen twine tightly around the cheesecloth, and tied the other end to a knob on one of my cupboards. It's hanging over the bowl of whey so that the excess drips in there. You can also tie it over the faucet, or maybe around a long plastic spoon and drape that over a pitcher, etc. Leave this for about 30 minutes.


After 30 minutes, unwrap the cheesecloth from the cheese. It'll look something like this.


Put the cheese on a plate and drape the cheesecloth over it. Then put a heavy weight on top, to further squeeze out any remaining whey. The heaviest thing I could think of was a cast-iron pan, so I used two of them. :D


It's been suggested to save the whey for later use, and being that I don't like waste, I saved about 4 cups of it. I still haven't found a recipe that uses whey, but it's in the freezer for when I do.


After another half hour or so, it'll be flattened and look something like this.


Now it's ready to be cubed into whatever Indian dish you're using it in!

Now that wasn't too difficult, was it? Since the cheese hasn't been aged at all, it doesn't have much flavor to it. It really just, as far as I can tell, adds a texture contrast to the dish. In fact, in that way it reminds me of very firm tofu.

Back to the palak paneer. There are many kinds of paneer dishes; I chose spinach because I like it. Go with your preference. The recipe I used is from Show Me the Curry, as I enjoyed their videos and their recipes are very approachable.

The first thing I did was prepare the paneer, though you can wait until you've started the masala, if you like.


Here I've heated about a tablespoon of oil and have dropped cubes of paneer into it. Paneer is one of the few cheeses that doesn't melt! Your goal is to get them nice and brown.


They're just starting to brown, so I stir fry them a bit to get as much of the cheese's surface area exposed to the pan as possible.


When the paneer has been browned (on all sides if possible), drop the cubes into a bowl of cold water. This will help get out some of the excess oil. It will also soften the cheese. The paneer can stay in the water until you're ready to add it to the rest of the ingredients. At that point you'll want to gently squeeze out any excess water from them.


This paneer has been browned, soaked, and dried, and is ready to be added to the dish! As you can see, not all the paneer has been perfectly browned; just do the best you can and when most of them are browned just pull them from the heat. You don't want them to burn.


First thing that goes into the pan is some oil, along with the pureed onion.


Next should be the pureed tomatoes. Don't skip pureeing them (as I did) unless you're okay with bits of red standing out in your palak paneer. I thought the diced tomato would melt into the mixture eventually; it didn't do so completely.


Add the spinach. It's also instructed for the spinach to be blended using a hand blender; I was lazy and skipped that step, since the chopped spinach is already pretty much falling apart. I imagine blending it would make the final dish even creamier.


The spices go in next. Generally I like to measure out all the amounts of spices ahead of time.


Now the dish should be looking something like this. See how the tomatoes don't completely melt in? Next time I'll be pureeing them for sure.


Add the cream/milk. Mmm, creamy curry goodness.


Finally, when you're about ready to serve, add the paneer. Since the dish is already fully cooked, you don't need to cook this step for very long, as mixing too much will just make the paneer fall apart.

Serve with rice or your choice of Indian bread. Delicious!

Palak Paneer (recipe found here, with some changes by me for clarification)

Ingredients:

• 16oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 7oz paneer
• 3 tbsp oil, divided
• 2 medium onions, minced or pureed
• 1-inch piece of ginger, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 large tomatoes or 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes, pureed (not canned tomato puree)
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• red chili powder, to taste
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• milk, to taste (optional)

Method:

1. Cook frozen spinach with 1/2 cup water in a microwave safe dish for 7-8 minutes, stirring in between. Blend cooked spinach to desired texture (avoid over-blending).
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a medium non-stick pan on high heat. Once oil is hot, add in the minced onions, stir, cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Add in the ginger and garlic and mix. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.
4. Add in the tomates, cover and cook until the oil separates from the mixture. Stir often to keep the mixture from burning.
5. While the onion and tomato mixture is cooking, cube the paneer to your desired size. In a non-stick frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add in the paneer cubes and let them cook till they are golden brown on all sides. Remove from the pan into a plate with paper towel to soak the excess oil. In a couple of minutes, pour the paneer into a bowl of cold water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
6. When the onion and tomato mixture is ready, add in the blended spinach and mix.
7. Add the garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, chili powder and turmeric powder. Mix well and cook for 3-5 minutes.
8. Add in the desired amount of cream and/or milk. Mix and cook for another few minutes.
9. Gently squeeze the water out of the paneer and add the paneer to the spinach mixture.
10. Stir gently and serve hot.

Raita and Homemade Yogurt

Lately I've been on an Indian food kick. The most daunting thing about making Indian food at home is having on hand all the various spices the cuisine uses. Once you've got those, however, you're pretty much good to go on just about any dish.



For me, a must with any Indian meal is raita. Every raita is as unique as the person making it. The seasonings, the vegetables, all vary from cook to cook. The one constant is plain yogurt. This can be any store-bought variety of plain yogurt, or you can make it yourself. Read further, and I will describe one way of making yogurt at home, and my method of preparing raita. If this is your first time making raita, you can use this recipe as a base and modify it to your own preferences.

I make only one or two cups at a time, because it's so easy and tastes best when freshly made. Generally I have a lot of leftovers when I make Indian food, and it's not a difficult task to make a fresh batch of raita every meal. I consume a lot of raita in one sitting -- probably more than most people. Though it's considered a condiment, to add a bit of freshness and tang or perhaps cut the heat of an overly spicy curry, I gobble it up as if it were a dish in its own right -- forking up an equal amount of raita and entree with every bite. Since it's mainly just yogurt and vegetables, it makes for a delicious and healthy breakfast or snack as well, but I just can't help but feel that I should be eating something with it.



I had several Indian dishes that I wanted to make in mind: palak paneer, aloo gobi, chicken makhani. And that, of course, meant that I would need to make raita. If I haven't made it apparent already, raita is an indispensable part of the experience of eating Indian food. Thanks to a mother who introduced me to the joys of spicy food early in life, I can take a lot of heat and it doesn't bother me. So my massive raita consumption has nothing to do with needing to cut the spiciness of any Indian dish. It's simply that I love the fresh, tangy contrast of the yogurt and vegetables with the heavily spiced, typically creamy entrees.

Here's my recipe for raita, with some notes below about each ingredient. It's such a simple recipe using simple ingredients that getting them right is key.

Raita

Ingredients

For the raita:

• 1 cup plain yogurt, well stirred to a light, creamy consistency
• 1 medium tomato, seeds removed, diced
• 1/4 English cucumber, julienned or diced
• 1/8 red onion, diced
• 1/4 tsp chat masala (recipe below or use store bought)
• salt to taste
• sugar to taste
• red chili powder or paprika, to garnish

For the chat masala (combine all below, then use 1/4 tsp of the mixture for the raita)

• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon amchur
• 1 tablespoon black salt
• 1 teaspoon red chili pepper
• 1 pinch asafetida
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Method

1. Mix all the raita ingredients together. Salt to taste. Add sugar if the yogurt you're using is particularly tart. Sprinkle red chili powder or paprika on top to garnish.

Notes on the ingredients:

Yogurt: Should be well stirred to a light, creamy consistency. Lowfat, nonfat, full fat, all work, they just have different levels of thickness, so use what you prefer. I really love Greek-style yogurt, which is especially creamy.

Tomatoes: The seeds/wet center should be removed. I've never tried using canned tomatoes, but this might be one dish where a substitution won't work. Definitely if you try it, you need to drain all the juice out or your raita will be too runny.

English cucumber: English cucumbers are better than regular cucumbers because they're normally wrapped in plastic, which prevents water loss, and thus they aren't waxed. That means they can be eaten without being peeled. They still have seeds in them (though sometimes they're called 'seedless') but the seeds are less prominent. Using regular cucumbers is fine, just make sure to remove the seeds and to peel the skin.

I like to julienne my cucumber with my mandolin (or you can grate it using the side of the grater with the larger holes) or dice it. A lot of people prefer their raita with larger pieces of vegetables, so it all depends on preference.

If you opt to julienne or grate your cucumber and you want a thicker raita, you will want to squeeze out as much water as you can from the cucumber. I don't need my raita to be super thick, so I leave the water -- and many nutrients -- in.

Onion: Any kind of onion will do; I like to use red because I love the color contrast.

Making Yogurt at Home

Now, as for making yogurt at home, it's a lot easier than you might think -- and certainly cheaper if making large quantities. The most difficult thing is regulating the temperature so that the good bacteria has the perfect environment to grow.

All you need is 4 cups (1 quart) of milk -- again, any kind will work, but what you choose will affect the final consistency, and 3 tablespoons of 'starter' plain yogurt, which can be a small container you've purchased from the grocery store or leftover from another batch of homemade yogurt. Heat the milk in the microwave or stovetop to boiling. Cool the milk to about 100°F (plus or minus 10°F is okay). Skim off the skin that's formed. Heat your oven to 180°F then turn it off. Whisk the yogurt in a large bowl until smooth and light. Add the warm milk and whisk until well incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a quart jar. Put the jar in the warmed oven for 4-5 hours (if you like a tarter yogurt, you can leave it for longer). It should be about 100°F at all times in there, so turn on the oven as needed, but make sure you don't get it too hot or you'll kill the necessary bacteria. At the end of that time, the consistency of the yogurt will be like that of a slightly watery pudding. It won't completely set until it's been chilled, so don't worry if it doesn't look exactly like yogurt yet. Put the container of yogurt in the refrigerator to complete the process.

Homemade yogurt will keep for about a week in the fridge.

When I need to buy starter yogurt I save the 3 tablespoons I need to make a batch of my own yogurt, then use the remainder to make a quick and yummy serving of raita!