India's Invention... Butter Chicken

If you ask me, Butter Chicken is one of the greatest inventions ever made by Indian chefs :-). You will not find any non-vegetarian who does not love a perfectly cooked butter chicken. Why shouldn't they, it is really one of the delicious main courses of all time. Its rich tomato gravy is famous all across the globe. 

I always feel proud to tell anyone that Butter chicken was invented in India. The dish was invented by accident at Moti Mahal Restaurant in Daryaganj in Delhi, but it does not matter whether it was a mistake or not :-). Even the great Chef Gordon Ramsay visited Moti Mahal to taste the authentic Butter Chicken. 

There are various versions of Butter Chicken out there with different styles, techniques and ingredients. Some of the them are so technical that you may need special equipment for the preparations i.e. a Tandoor. I would like to show my version today, which can be cooked easily at home. I would just use a deep pan, a hand blender and my newly ordered chef's knife to cook it :).

Usually the authentic butter chicken is cooked in tomato sauce, however I prefer to add a bit of onion as well. Onion gives quantity to a dish. You can omit them if you want.

Usually the butter chicken is cooked in butter. However if you are one of those health cautious people like me, then I advise to use olive oil to saute the onion and tomatoes. At a later stage add some butter to elevate its taste.

The ingredients and method may sound little over whelming, however trust me it is not that complex. Please feel free to experiment with the spice level as per your taste.

Let's get to it.

Ingredients 

• 600 gms boneless chicken. 
• 300 gms curd. 
• 1 tsp red chili powder. 
• 1 mace. Optional.
• 4 green chilies.
• 5 cardamoms. 
• Salt to taste. 
• 2 tsp Chicken masala
• 2 tsp coriander powder. 
• 2 tsp cumin powder. 
• 4 to 5 tsp butter.  
• 2 cloves. 
• 1 tsp sugar. 
• Cream. 
• 1 tsp Fenugreek leaves. Hand crushed.
• 5 big tomatoes. 
• 2 onions. 
• Tomato ketchup. 
• Lemon juice. 
• Cilantro leaves to garnish. 

I used a new ingredient today i.e. Mace. I learned about this ingredient from chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Chef Harpal singh.

This picture is taken from http://www.justingredients.co.uk/

Method 

Chicken Marination 

• Cut chicken into manageable pieces in a bowl. 
• Add curd. 
• Add a spoon n half of ginger paste. 
• Add 1 tsp garlic paste. 
• Add 2 tsp chicken masala. 
• Add salt to taste. 
• Add lemon juice. 
• Add a tsp of red chili powder. 
• Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours. More is better. I prefer at lease 4 hours.

The Gravy

• In a hot pan. Add generous quantity of olive oil.
• Add finely chopped onions. Saute them till they turn golden brown. Keep the heat on max. 
• Add a little bit salt. Salt helps to bring out onion's moisture. 
• Add chopped chilies. 
• Add ginger n garlic paste. 
• Add diced tomatoes. 
• Add cumin powder and coriander powder. 
• Add red chili powder.
• Add salt to taste. Mix them well. 
• Cook them well till oil separates from tempering. 
• Take the tempering out and blend the tempering in a mixer or hand blend it. 
• Heat the pan up and add butter. If you wish you can do entire dish in butter with a touch of olive oil, so that butter does not burn.
• On top of melting butter add back the tempering. Mix them well. 
• Add the marinated chicken. Mix well. 
• Simmer the heat. Put the lid on. And let the chicken cook. 
• Cook it for another 15 to 20 mins or until chicken becomes tender. 
• Add fenugreek leaves, 1 tsp tomato ketchup and cream when gravy is almost ready. Mix them well. 
• And that's it. 

Let's plate up

Serve hot with Indian bread, naan or basmati rice. I am not an expert, but I do hope you will like it.

So, what's up on the dinner menu

Hello folks... The weather here in Vienna is kinda making me lazy and stuck up in bed. So last night I planned to call over some friends for dinner at my place to get rid of "weekend boredom". The chef for the dinner was my wife who recently joined me from India. The menu that we served up was curd chicken and an italian American pasta salad for appetizers. For the main course we had delicious Indian food chole masala and aloo gobhi, the recipes for which shall be uploaded soon.

It just struck my mind to take a look at my previous recipes and see if they could fit anywhere in a dinner menu...?

I was delighted to finally categorize Curd Chicken and Italian American Pasta Salad as appetizers. And Chicken Haleem, Tempering Rice and Palak Paneer for the main course. I'm still working on a doable dessert. 

So if you find yourself in a state of confusion about setting up a dinner menu, this idea may be of little help there. 

Spinach Chicken

After four months my wife and my little kid are back in Vienna to stay with me. We are once again a happy little family together. We had a great family union over the weekend. Although it did not go entirely as I planned as I kept sleeping and did not go to pick them up from airport! Ouchhh... I know... :-)

So to cover up I decided to make an awesome dish together as a family. We are a family of three and its my third month of blogging. So our next dish will be a combination of three differently style cooked items. 

This dish is popularly called Palak Chicken or Spinach Chicken. Let me remind you that even I will cook this dish for the first time. 

I already stressed enough in one of earlier spinach (Palak Panner) recipes that how healthy spinach really is!

To put it simply this dish is a combination of boiled spinach, deliciously cooked chicken and a mouth watering tomatoes and onions tempering. 

So let's get to it...

Here's what you will need:

Ingredients 

• 350 gms Spinach 
• 400 gms Boneless chicken 
• 3 spoon ginger garlic paste
• 2 green chilies 
• 2 tomatoes chopped 
• 2 onions chopped
• Salt to taste 
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp Chicken masala
• 1 tsp Lemon juice 
• 1.5 rsp Red chili powder 
• Butter
• 1 tsp Garam masala
• 1 tsp Fenugreek leaves
• Fresh cream

Method

• Let's first marinate the chicken and keep it aside. 
• Take chicken pieces in a bowl. 
• Add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste. 
• Add 2 tsp olive oil. 
• Add salt to taste. 
• Add lemon juice. 
• Add 1 tsp Chicken masala
• Add 1 tsp red chili powder. 
• Mix it well. And keep it aside while you cook rest of the dish. 

Let's make the tempering

• Take a pan. Add olive oil 4 to 5 tsp olive oil. 
• Add chopped onions. Saute it till they change their color. Add salt. 
• Add 2 tsp ginger garlic paste. 
• Add 2 green chilies finely chopped. 
• When onion are golden brown add dry spices. 
• Add coriander powder.
• Add cumin powder. 
• Add tomatoes. 
• Mix them well. Keep saute them till oil separates out from masala. 

Let's saute the chicken 

• Take a pan. Add olive oil. 
• Lay the marinated chicken pieces on the pan. Lay each piece away from you in clockwise direction. So that you know how to turn them up for an even cook. 
• Add some butter. 
• Keep flipping the chicken pieces every 5 to 7 minutes for an even cook. 
• Once chicken is cooked add it to tempering with all the olive oil and butter mix. 
• Please make sure that the chicken cooked well. Mine was left a little undone. 

Spinach

• Bring the water to a boil in a deep pan or pressure cooker.
• Add spinach to the water and let it boil, without the lid.
• After 5 to 7 minutes take out the spinach and make a puree out if it. 
• I used a hand blender which my wife brought from India. 
• Add the spinach puree to the chicken mix. 
• Let it all cook up with the mix. 
• Add garam masala and fenugreek leaves in the end. 
• Give them a nice mix. And let them cook for another 10 minutes. Add fresh cream. 
• And that's it. 

Let's plate up

Serve it hot with Indian bread, naan or rice. It came out really delicious. Hey I'm no expert but I hope you will like the dish. 

Chicken Tear Volcano!!!

It's very cold in Vienna, Austria today. I feel like cooking something very hot! And I do mean very very hot!! Let me warn you this dish is not for faint hearts. I bet, this will be most spicy dish you would ever taste. If you are scared already then go back and check out some of my other recipes :-). 

Hmm you are still reading... That means you are among few of those brave hearts :-). So let's proceed further at your risk :-). 

This dish is all about spices, spices and spices and yes the flavors as well. It's like fire in the water. One of my friends would describe this dish as voodoo chilies and nuclear waste :-). Yeah its that spicy...

If you dare to cook it, you can serve it with vegetable rice/ pulao. Or eat it with Indian bread, naan. I cooked vegetable pulao today in a pressure cooker. Pulao recipe is for some other day. 

So let's get to it. Here is what you need. 

Ingredients 

• Lots of red chilies. I took 7. 
• Lots of green chilies. I took 3 big ones. 
• 1 tsp red chili powder 
• Ginger 2 inch piece. 
• 1 tsp Ginger and garlic paste.
• 3 medium size tomatoes.
• 2 medium size onions. 
• 1 bell pepper.
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds.
• 1 tsp Cumin powder.
• 1 tsp Coriander powder.
• 1 tsp Chicken masala.
• 6-7 chicken legs. 
• Salt to taste.
• Cream.
• And some guts :-).

Method 

• Chop onions, red chilies, green chilies, ginger piece in a chopper/ mixer. 
• Heat up a pan. Add 3 to 4 tsp olive oil. 
• Add cumin seeds. Let them crackle. 
• Add ginger and garlic paste. 
• Saute them for few minutes. 
• Add chopped onions and chilies. Fry them till onions become translucent. 
• Chop tomatoes in mixer. Add tomato paste. 
• Add chili, cumin and coriander powder. 
• Add salt to taste. 
• Cook them in covered pan. 
• Add chicken legs in the mix. 
• Mix them well. 
• Cover the pan. And let it cook till chicken becomes tender and soft. 
• Keep mixing them in between so that it does not stick. 
• Add cream and lemon juice. 
• Mix them well. 
• Cook it for some more time. And that's it. 
• You will be left with chicken pieces floating in tomatoes paste.

Let's Plate up

Plating Technique

• Take rice in a small bowl. Fill it till top and flatten it with spatula.
• Dump the bowl up-side down on a clean plate.
• Keep it like this for a minute or two, so that rice could take its shape.
• Remove the bowl.
• Take out the chicken pieces and decorate in a pattern on the side. 

If you find it very spicy add a bit of a sugar to pacify the spices. Serve hot with rice or pulao or Indian breads. 

You can also serve with plain curd, or flavored yogurt to control the spice level.

Hey #MNoExpert but I hope you will like it. Please share how your experience turns out to be :). 

Cheers. 

Raspberry Chicken Toasties

After learning from different sources. And after presenting tried and tested recipes, I think it is now time for some new invention. Don't you get bored sometimes trying same old routines and habits. I sure do :).

I won't be surprised if after this recipe, people will start to compare me with Einstein. 

Huh... you might say.

Wait... please don't close the browser I know what you are thinking. But please hear me out :). 

The other day I was watching a documentary on Albert Einstein. I got to know he used to think physics in his mind to come up with theories. On similar lines I thought this dish in my mind. Ahem ahem... please still don't close the browser. 

I will shut up now and share the recipe :)

But this time, I was so happy with the outcome, that I will show you the dish first and then we will talk about how to prepare it.

Since Valentine's Day has just gone by, so I am still licensed to you use a lot of red :).

Let's Plate up

Ingredients

• Shredded chicken and mayonnaise mix. Refer this to see how to prepare this mix.
• Pringles. Any flavor of your choice. I like sour cream and onion. 
• Whole grain bread. 
• Olive oil or butter. 
• Raspberry. Or any fruit of your choice. 
• Any bread spreads of your choice. I used cottage cheese spread. You can use one or many. 
• Olives. 
• Green chili. Chopped. 

Method 

• Toast the bread in olive oil or butter. 
• Cut the bread slice into half.
• Apply cottage cheese spread evenly. 
• Crush few Pringle's chips by hand. 
• Toss the crushed chips over the spread. And apply evenly.
• Toss shredded chicken and mayonnaise mix.
• Put a raspberry and copped green chili on the corner. 
• Put a small slice of an olive as per taste. 
• And that's it.
• I forgot to put an olive in the corner though (this proves I am no Einstein after all!)

Hey I am no expert, but I do hope that you will like it. Please try and share with your loved once. And please let me know how it turns out for you.

Cheers

Chicken n Mayo sandwich - The accidental Valentine's Special :)

Just to remind you it's 14th Feb today. I roll out of my bed this morning totally forgotten that it's Valentine's Day today. I forgot because I was thinking more about Arvind Kejriwal's sworn in cermony. He is Delhi's newly elected cheif minister. And I was thinking about tomorrow's India's world cup first match and that too against Pakistan. It is going to be a craker!!

I am sure real men can now understand why I forgot the Valentine's day but the bigger question is can girls understand?

More over can my wife understand? Answer is a simpe NO!! Hence the panic :). 

What do I do, I asked myself? In such a short notice how can I give her a very nice Valentine's gift?

And therefore I named today's dish - An accidental Valentine's special :). 

Here is what you need:

Ingredients 

• Boiled boneless chicken. 
• Mayonnaise. 
• Black pepper. 
• Salt to taste. 
• A piece or two of strawberries - its a must if you want that that your wife should spare your life ;). 
• French salad dressing (optional). 

Cooking Process 

• Boil chicken in a pressure cooker. Add some salt as well. 
• Once boiled. Grate the chicken. 
• Add black pepper, Mayonnaise, french dressing, salt to taste.
• Mix the dressing well. 
• Toast the bread with butter. 
• Spread the chicken paste on bread and cut into traingles. 
• Decorate it with strawberries. 
• Here is how the chicken mix should look like. 

Let's Plate up

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. Enjoy it with your loved ones. The Valentine's day and this dish :)

Palak Paneer - Popeye's Favorite :-)

I was thinking hard about how to introduce my next recipe and I suddenly remember my 2+ year old son watching Popeye's the sailor cartoon and going nuts over it. 

He reminded me of my childhood when my younger brother and I used to see and wonder how Popeye quickly ate a whole big jar of spinach when in trouble and quickly gained strength. Why wouldn't he, now I say. After all Spinach comes on top of the list of world's healthiest vegetables!

Spinach is rich source of Iron, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2, Potassium, Copper, and the list goes on and on.

I think everyone should eat this vegetable at least twice a week especially the kids. 

Today I will show you my first hand attempt on cooking a very popular Indian dish Palak Paneer (Spinach and Cottage Cheese).

Here is how the whole process go.

Ingredients

• Fresh Spinach, roughly 400 gms. Rinse it through clean water.
• 2 tsp ginger paste.
• 3 tsp garlic paste.
• 1 tsp cumin seeds. 
• Cottage Cheese 200 gms cut into small cubes.
• 1 onion finely chopped.
• 1 tomato finely chopped.
• 2 tsp red chili powder (adjust as per taste).
• 4 green chili finely chopped.
• 1 tsp garam masala.
• 1 tsp black pepper.
• Salt to taste.
• Butter or Cilantro leaves to garnish.

Cooking Process

• Take water into a deep pan. Bring it to a running boil.
• Pour spinach and boil it for 2-3 minutes.
• Take spinach out and make a fine paste of boiled spinach in a mixer. Take it out and keep it aside.
• Chop onion and green chilies in a chopper.
• Take a separate pan on medium heat.
• Add olive oil, or refined oil, or butter or desi ghee.
• Add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
• Add finely chopped onion and chilies. Saute till onion change its color.
• Add ginger and garlic paste.
• Mix them. Saute them well.
• Toss the finely chopped tomato. 
• Add salt and red chili. Mix them well.
• Cover the pan and let it cook on slow heat. Keep giving them a gentle mix in between.
• Once oil separates out, add the spinach puree into it.
• Mix them well.
• Add garam masala and black pepper.
• Add cottage cheese cubes.
• Mix them well.
• Cover the pan and cook it for 10 minutes.
• And that's it.

Let's Plate up

Hey I am no expert, but I do hope you will like this dish. Please give it a try. As always your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Cheers