Chicken Wild Rice with indian Flavours

This recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1.5 pound)
• 1 1/4 cups (310ml) chicken broth
• 1 cup (250ml) water
• 3/4 cup (180ml) wild rice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup (60ml) sliced almonds

Method:

1. Combine salt, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon and turmeric in small bowl. Rub spice mixture on both sides of chicken breasts. Place chicken on plate; cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
2. Meanwhile, bring chicken broth and water to a boil in large saucepan. Stir in wild rice. Cover; reduce heat to low. Cook about 45 minutes or until rice is almost tender.
3. When rice is almost done, preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 13X9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides; set aside.
4. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to same skillet. Cook and stir onion, carrots, bell pepper, celery and garlic 5 to 10 minutes or until crisp-tender.
5. Stir vegetables into cooked rice in saucepan. Spread rice-vegetable mixture in prepared baking dish. Top with chicken breasts; sprinkle with almonds. Cover tightly with foil; bake 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and rice is tender.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

• ½ fresh red chilli, deseeded
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 15g fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• a pinch of paprika
• ½ tablespoon garam masala
• a teaspoon of tomato puree
• 3 sprigs of fresh coriander, leaves picked and chopped, stalks reserved
• 400g chicken breast, diced into 2.5cm pieces
• 1 small onion, peeled and sliced
• ½ red pepper, deseeded and sliced
• ½ green pepper, deseeded and sliced
• a pinch of ground cinnamon
• a pinch of ground coriander
• a pinch of turmeric
• 1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes
• 100ml plain yoghurt
• 100ml double cream

Method:

1.  For the marinade:
   Blitz the chilli, garlic, ginger and vegetable oil in the food processor. Add the paprika, garam masala and tomato puree, plus the coriander stalks, and blitz again to form a paste. Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl, coat them with the marinade and leave in the fridge overnight.
2. The next day…
   In a little vegetable oil, on a medium heat, fry the onion, peppers and spices in a large saucepan. Cook gently for 10 minutes then add the tin of tomatoes and the yoghurt. Add the chicken pieces and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked. Just before serving, stir through the double cream and chopped coriander leaves.
3. Serve with fluffy boiled rice and a mixed leaf salad.

Tandoori Chicken

This recipe serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 250ml (1 cup) plain yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method:

1. Pierce chicken breasts several times with the tines of a fork and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine yogurt and all the spices and mix well.  Add the chicken to the mixture and turn so all the chicken pieces are coated.
3. Cover and chill for at least one hour, or overnight.
4. When ready to cook, prepare and preheat grill.  Remove chicken from marinade and cook on grill for about 15 minutes until thoroughly cooked, turning once during cooking time. 
5. You can also cook the chicken on a dual contact indoor grill, for about 5-7 minutes until thoroughly cooked.

Butter Chicken

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 700g roasting chicken (with bones, cut into 8 pieces)
• 75g white butter
• 100g fresh cream
• 4 sliced green chillies
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed fenugreek leaves

 Ingredients for Marinade:

• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
• Salt
• 1/2kg curds

Ingredients for Gravy:

• 100g white butter
• 1/2 teaspoon black cumin seeds
• 1/2kg tomatoes, pureed
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• Salt

Method:

1. For the marinade, mix red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, salt and curd together. 
2. Mix the raw chicken into the marinade and keep in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Then roast the chicken in a tandoor or an oven for about 5-10 minutes until it is 3/4 done.
4. For the gravy, heat the butter (100g) in a pan.  Add black cumin seeds, tomato puree, sugar, red chilli powder and salt.  Mix it well.
5. Now add the roasted chicken, butter (75g), fresh cream, sliced green chillies and crushed fenugreek leaves.
6. Cook till chicken is done.  Serve with rice or naan.

Indian Mee Goreng (Indian-Style Fried Noodles)

This recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 500g (1 lb) mee (fresh yellow noodles)
• 60ml (1/4 cup) oil
• 100g (3 1/3 oz) tau kwa (pressed beancurd), diced
• 12 curry leaves, minced (optional)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 1 tablespoon bottled sweet chilli sauce
• 3 tablespoons bottled tomato ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 potato, boiled, peeled and diced
• 1 spring onion, sliced (optional)
• 1 finger-length chilli, sliced
• 1 cucumber, sliced (optional)

Method:

1. Place the noodles in a colander and rinse well under running water.  Drain thoroughly and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat and stir-fry the tau kwa (pressed beancurd) until golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
3. Add the curry leaves, if using, and onion to the wok and stir-fry over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add the drained noodles, tomato, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and soy sauce, and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
4. Add the beaten egg and allow to set, then mix well with all the ingredients in the wok.  Add the potato and tau kwa (pressed beancurd) and stir-fry just enough to heat through, about 1 minute.  Add the spring onion, and mix well.  Transfer to a large serving dish and scatter the sliced chillies on top.  Serve hot with small sauce bowls of tomato and chilli sauce, and freshly sliced cucumber on the side.

Classic Fish Head Curry

This recipes serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 1 large fish head (1.5 kg/3.5 lbs), cleaned
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 3-4 sprigs curry leaves
• 4 cups (1 litre) thin coconut milk
• 125ml (0.5 cup) tamarind juice
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 3 medium tomatoes, sliced in wedges
• 8 - 10 small okra (ladies’ fingers)

Ingredients for Chilli Paste:

• 15 - 20 dried red chillies, cut into short lengths, and soaked in hot water
• 8 - 10 shallots, peeled
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 4 cm (1.5 inch) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

Ingredients for Spice Mixture:

• 2 tablespoons coriander powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon fennel powder
• 1 teaspoon white peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, ground

Method:

1. Thoroughly wash the fish head, remove any scales and season on both sides with 2 teaspoons of the salt, then set aside in the refrigerator while preparing the other ingredients.
2. Grind all the chilli paste ingredients to a smooth paste in a mortar or blender, adding a little oil if necessary to keep the mixture turning.  Set aside.
3. Combine the spice mixture ingredients and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a large pot or wok and stir-fry the mustard seeds and curry leaves until the seeds start to pop.  Add the chilli paste and stir-fry over medium to low heat until fragrant, about 4 minutes.  Add the spice mixture and stir-fry for 2 minutes.  Pour in the coconut milk, stirring to mix with the paste and spices.  Add the tamarind juice, sugar, onions and the rest of the salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.
5. Rinse the fish head thoroughly under cold running water.  Add the fish head, tomatoes and okra (ladies’ fingers) to the pan and simmer, uncovered, until the fish is tender, for about 10 - 15 minutes.  Serve with steamed rice.