Indian Butter Chicken Curry

This recipe came about as a way to satisfy my craving for Indian Curry. The local market where I usually get my curry paste from went out of business and so without any curry paste I decided why not try making curry from scratch. My sister Tabitha had mentioned that she and her family were really enjoying butter chicken curry lately and after having some at the LA Times book festival, I decided to give it a try.
The recipe is actually my combination of two recipes.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/chicken-in-creamy-tomato-curry-chicken-tikka-masala-recipe2/index.html
and
http://www.ecurry.com/blog/indian/curries/gravies/murgh-makhani-butter-chicken/

I really liked the idea of using fresh tomatoes in the sauce like Aarti Sequeira's recipe, but loved all the spices and the chicken marinade of the second recipe. I think both recipes are probably very good on their own.

The recipe itself is not that hard, it just takes a little bit of preplanning.

A quick word on spices. The recipe calls for a lot of spices that are hard to find in the grocery store. I found my spices at Penzey's Spice Store. They have a location in Santa Monica off the promenade, and one in Torrance, you can also order all their products online. I think it would probably be ok to substitute ground spices; which are easier to find in the store for some of the whole spices. I'll add the conversions to the recipe.
Here is the cast of spices

So without further ado here is the recipe for Butter Chicken

Garlic-Ginger Paste (from Aarti Sequeira of the Food Network)
About 1/2 cup whole garlic cloves peeled
About 1/2 cup fresh ginger peeled and cut into smaller bits
1/4 cup Canola oil
 Blend all ingredients in a small food processor or blender until it resembles a paste, there will still be tiny pieces but overall should resemble a paste. Store in a small glass container.

Chicken Marinade
2 lbs chicken, cut into about 1 inch cubes. (approximately 3 breast or 4 thighs or a combination of breast and thighs )
1 teaspoon Red Chili powder
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1 teaspoon Ground Fenugreek
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
2 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste

Mix all the ingredients together and add to the chopped chicken in a Ziploc bag and seal. Massage the ingredients around until the chicken looks coated. Place in the refrigerator and let marinate for 4-6 hours, or overnight.

The Sauce
4 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Ginger-Garlic paste
1-2 green serrano peppers (seeds removed and minced; I used just one pepper and thought it had plenty of kick, however if you like it spicy use 2)
4 green cardamom pods (or use 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom, it's just the seeds from the pod ground fine)
2 inch stick of cinnamon
 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground Fenugreek
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
2 teaspoons Paprika
8 Roma Tomatoes diced
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 cup Water or Chicken Stock
2 teaspoons Sugar
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream (seriously use the heavy whipping cream)
Minced Fresh Cilantro for garnish

Heat butter in a heavy bottom pan (4-5 qt.) Gently saute the minced peppers, ginger-garlic paste, cardamom pods(if using ground add later) and cinnamon stick until fragrant.
Add the Tomato paste to the pot and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the ground spices (this is where you would add the ground cardamom) and saute for a minute to pull out the flavors.
Add the diced tomatoes, salt and 1 cup of water or stock to the pan and bring to a boil, Once at a boil reduce to a simmer and let simmer for 20-30 minutes and the sauce has thickened a bit.

While the tomato mixture is simmering. Heat up your oven to 400 degrees or the broiler. I used my broiler. Place the chicken pieces on a broiler pan covered in foil if doing in the broiler or place on a baking sheet if making in the oven. Cook chicken about 10 minutes turning over half way. The broiler gave them a nice slightly charred look similar to a grill. Don't worry if the chicken isn't completely cooked all the way through as it will cook more in the sauce. Set aside.

Once the sauce has finished simmering, fish out the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and put the sauce in a blender, food processor; or use a hand immersion blender to blend right in the pot. Blend until smooth. Bring the sauce back up to a boil and add the chicken to the sauce, reduce to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the cream and stir until combined, simmer for 5 more minutes, then garnish with fresh cilantro.

Serve over rice with Naan bread (I cheat and get my Naan bread at Trader Joes from the frozen section, their Garlic Naan bread is really good) and there you have it!
Tim is not a big Indian curry fan and he said this is the best Indian curry I have made so far. Hope you enjoy it.

Jerusalem Chicken

Chicken and Pasta
6-9oz Chicken Breast :oil and butter for saute
1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt, pepper and spike seasoning
6 oz of pancetta (or Bacon)
12 oz of Mushrooms sliced
1-1/2 TBS capers
1 lbs Cappellini pasta Cooked


To make Chicken and Pasta
Cook Pasta and drain, cover to keep warm. Heat a small amount of oil and two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. Dredge chicken in flour and saute in pan, until brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan. Cook pancetta or bacon until done, remove from pan. Add a little more oil and butter if needed, saute mushrooms until soft cooked, add artichokes, and capers, saute lightly. Mix chicken and pancetta back into pan and heat lightly. Toss 3/4 of butter sauce if needed. Serve over noodles.

Lemon Butter Sauce
4 oz Lemon Juice
2 oz White Wine
4 oz Heavy Cream
1 lbs Butter

Heat lemon juice and wine in sauce pan over medium heat. bring to a boil and reduce by one third ( until there are 4 ounces) Add cream and simmer until mix is thicker (3-4 min) slowly add butter until completely incorporated. season with salt and pepper. removed from heat and keep warm.

CPK's Pasta Jambalaya

I found this recipe online from the California Pizza Kitchen and it's soooo good!
Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients, it's actually fairly easy to make!
Slight modifications by me, mostly to make it easier and faster to make =D

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN JAMBALAYA
Makes 4-6 servings

Chicken Marinade:
2 Boneless skinless chicken breast - cut into cubes
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a mixing bowl combine the olive oil, garlic, soy sauce and salt. Add the cubed chicken and let marinate room temperature for 10-20 minutes. You can do this part for longer, just put the chicken in the marinade then put in the fridge until you are ready to use.

Jambalaya Sauce:
1 pound linguine
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 # Andouille sausage or Louisiana hot links (2-3 hot links depending on how much you want in the dish). I like to cut them in quarters but you can cut each sausage in half and then into slices.
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes (I take a can of diced tomatoes and slightly puree them)
3 ounces canned tomato paste (half of a small can)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you want more kick bump it up to a 1/2 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 bay leaf
In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chicken and saute, then add the sausage and cook for a couple minutes more. Add the garlic and saute for about another minute. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, until sauce thickens a bit. Remove bay leaf before using.

Caribbean Peppers and Onions:
1/4 cup bottled sweet chili sauce
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium yellow bell pepper
1 large red onion
Large Dice the bell peppers and onion. In a medium size bowl, stir together the chili sauce, soy sauce and olive oil until well combined. Toss the peppers and onion with the sauce until well coated. Heat a saute pan, I like to use a cast iron skillet, and saute the peppers and onions. Set aside.

Cook the Linguine until just done, do not overcook the pasta, you want the pasta to absorb some of the sauce. Toss the pasta with the Jambalaya sauce and Caribbean peppers and enjoy!

This goes really well with the Disney Cornbread ;)

Greek Chicken

One of mine and Tim's favorites. It takes a little bit of prep work but is so worth it!

GREEK CHICKEN

Marinade: Coats about 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast cubed (4-5 breast)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp garlic cloves minced

2 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients and then add chicken cubes. Coat well and then cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours and a max of 6 hours ( any more and the yogurt will break the protein in the chicken down too much and make it mushy)

Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto skewers. You can also skewer bell peppers and red onion (or sweet onion) on a separate skewer to go alongside the chicken. I also like to do mushroom and little tomatoes. The veggies will cook faster or longer, depending on the vegetable, then the chicken, so don't skewer them together.

Grill over high heat until chicken is cooked through, roughly 8-10 minutes total. Grill veggies too.

Whisk a 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp fresh garlic minced, 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil and 3 Tbsp lemon juice in a small bowl. Brush over chicken and veggies when they come off the grill. I like to make a recipe and a half of this because it's so good and I like to put lots of it on.

Serve with Yogurt-herb dipping sauce, or purchased tzatziki

Yogurt-Herb dipping sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove minced

1 Tbsp minced fresh basil

1 Tbsp minced fresh mint

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and chopped fine

Whisk yogurt, oil ,lemon juice, garlic, basil, mint, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir in cucumber, cover and refrigerate until flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Rice pilaf.

I make a simple rice pilaf with half a cup of orzo ( you can find at the grocery store in the pasta section or at Trader Joes) and half a cup of rice. Pour about 2 cups of chicken stock or broth over the rice and add a pat of butter, some salt and pepper. You can make it stove top or in a rice cooker. You don't have to use the butter.

To Serve put the rice pilaf in a bowl, then unskewer all the veggies and chicken  on top of the rice family style. Serve with Pita bread.
We like to put the rice/chicken mix into the pita and top it the yogurt sauce almost like a taco.

Enjoy this meal is delicious!!!!!

Mrs. Thomas Jambalaya

This recipe was given to me by Anna Reese, her Mom Laura Thomas makes the best Jambalaya! This is one of my go to recipes for a yummy easy dinner!

Momma Laura's Jambalaya

1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped (if you don't like bell peppers you can leave this out)
4 celery stalks chopped
1 small can of diced tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/2# shrimp
1/2# sausage (Louisiana hot links or similar)
2 chicken breast (boneless,skinless)
1 cup white rice
2 cups chicken stock or broth

1. Boil the chicken in enough water to cover the chicken, when cooked through pull out and let cool a bit. After chicken is completely cooked cut into chunks or shredd.
2. In a 3-5 qt pot with a lid, Sauté the chopped veggies in olive oil, adding the chopped garlic toward the end.
3. Add sausage to veggies pot
4. Add rice and tomatoes with juice to veggies pot
5. Add 2 cups chicken broth and chicken to veggie pot and bring to a boil
6. Turn down heat, put the lid on the pot and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Stir the mixture every once in a while so that the rice doesn't stick or burn to the hottest part of the pot.
7. If using short grain rice, only use 1 1/2 cups chicken stock.
NOTE: if you use shrimp add it to the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time. You don't want to over cook the shrimp.
If you don't use shrimp just add a little more sausage.
The dish will be kinda wet, not dry like when you normally make rice.
Enjoy!

Chicken with Mustard, Mascarpone, Marsala Sauce

I wanted to try making a chicken Marsala dish for dinner and found this recipe from Giada on the Food Network. It's Chicken Marsala with a twist and is delicious! Tim said I could add it to the recipe rotation. I made a few alterations from the original and will give you my version of it =D

Chicken Marsala, with Mascarpone and Mustard
Serves 2-4 depending on portion size

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup of flour
salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
5 Tablespoons Butter, divided
1 Shallot, chopped
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 cups Marsala wine
1 cup (8ounces) mascarpone cheese (comes in a little tub)
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 bag (about 6 ounces) fettuccine or whatever pasta shape you feel like

Mix the 1/2 cup of flour with salt and pepper. Cut the chicken breast in half, lengthwise(butterflied), so you end up with 4 thinner breast pieces. Coat the chicken breast with the flour. Heat the oil and 1Tablespoon of butter in a large heavy skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown on both side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Once the chicken is removed from the pan, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms are about half-way done add the shallots. Saute until the mushrooms are tenders and the juices evaporate, then add the garlic and saute for another minute more. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced to about half. Stir in the Mascarpone and mustard. Now you can either put the chicken breast in whole or slice each breast crosswise and then add them to the sauce. I put mine in whole. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the past and cook, stirring occasionally. Drain. Toss the pasta with remaining butter(I forgot to do this part and it was fine, if you want to cut down on the butter). Swirl the fettuccine or place the pasta onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken and sauce mixture over the top. Voila!

Country Captain Chicken

SO Taber and I had this at Beth and Danny Ruiz. Beth said it is from Rachel Ray 30mins. It was a pleasant surprise to me. I do not like bell peppers but I got to say mixed with the raises I was ok eating them.
2 3/4 cups of water
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups of white and wild rice or long grain rice
2/3 cups of flour, eyeball it
1 rounded tablespoon sweet paprike
4 pieces, 6 ounces each, boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 turns of the pan
2 Tablespoons butter
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic smashed
1 table spoon curry powered or mild curry paste
1 cup of chicken broth
1 can of diced tomatoes in puree or chunky style crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup golden raisins or currants a couple of handfuls
2 ounces, 1 small pouch, sliced almonds lightly toasted
3 scallions, chopped for garnish

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add butter and rice and return water to boil. Reduce heat to low and cover the pot. Cook rice 20 minutes or until tender. Turn off heat and fluff rice with a fork. Combine flour and paprika in a shallow dish. season chicken with salt and pepper. cut each chicken breast and thigh in 1/2 on an angle. Coat chicken pieces in paprika seasoned flour. wash your hands and chicken work surfaces thoroughly.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to the pan. Brown chicken pieces. 3 minutes on each side and remove from the skillet. add butter to the pan, then stir in peppers, onions and garlic. season the veggies with salt and pepper and saute them 5 to 7 minutes to soften. add curry, stock, tomatoes, and raisins. Slide chicken back into the skillet and simmer over moderate heat for 5 minutes to combine flavors and finish cooking the chicken through. Place skillet on a trivet and serve the chicken from the pan. Garnish the country captain's chicken with the sliced almonds. Transfer rice to a serving dish and garnish with chapped scallions.

Boneless Buffalo Wings

Serves 2-3
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black peppe
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 chicken breast fillets
4-6 cups vegetable oil(or half crisco and half veggie oil)
1/4 cup hot sauce (Crystals or Frank's Louisiana)
1 Tablespoon butter

1. Combine flour, salt, peppers and paprika in a medium bowl
2. In another small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk.
3. Slice each chicken breast into 6 pieces or however big you want your "wings"
4. Preheat the vegetable/crisco oil in a deep fryer until hot
5. One or two at a time, dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture then into the flour/spice blend.      Repeat the process so each piece of chicken is double coated, then place on a plate. Once all the            chicken pieces are coated chill the chicken for 15 minutes.
6. When the chicken is done resting, drop each piece into the hot oil and fry for 5-6 minutes or until       each piece is brown and chicken is cooked.
7. As the chicken fries combine the hot sauce and butter in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave        the sauce for 20-30 seconds or until butter is melted. Stir to combine. Or heat the butter and sauce      in small saucepan over the stove top and stir until ingredients are blended.
8. When chicken is done frying, remove onto a plate lined with paper towels.
9. Place the chicken into a container with a cover and pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover with lid and gently shake until each piece of chicken is coated in the sauce.
10. Pour the chicken onto a place and serve with your favorite sides.

 I made them into Buffalo burgers. Just cut the chicken breast in half and pound them out a little flatter, then follow all the rest of the instructions. Serve them on hamburger buns with mayo, lettuce, pickles and tomatos. It was really yummy!

Recipe number two!

Chicken breast with bacon and sherry vinegar

5 slices bacon chopped

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast

salt and pepper

2 shallots, minced

1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, ( ok this was weird because i could not find this in any stores so i called Erin. i think i used a little bit more on the sherry side.)

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 teaspoons honey

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes, Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and pour of all but tablespoons fat from skillet.

2. Spread flour in shallow dish. pat chicken dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. cook chicken in fat in skillet until golden brown about 4 minutes per side transfer to plate.

3. add shallots to empty skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 1 minute. stir in 1/3 cup vinegar and simmer until syrupy, about 1 minute. add broth, honey and chicken and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. transfer chicken to platter and tent with foil.

4. Continue to simmer sauce until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. off heat, whisk in butter and remaining vinegar. pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with bacon. Serve

Ok now for the real food

These three recipes are from the cook book called The Best Simple recipes. they all take about 30 to 35 minutes to cook.
The first one:
Chicken with Pesto-Mushroom Cream Sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken

salt and pepper

3 table spoons of oil

10 ounces of mushrooms sliced thin

garlic cloves minced

1/2 cup of low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup basil pesto

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 table spoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. cook chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil

2. Add remaining oil to skillet and cook mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cream, broth, and chicken in to skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a boil. reduced heat to low cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

3. transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil. return skillet to high heat and simmer until sauce s thickened, about 5 minutes. Off heat stir in pesto and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. Serve.

This goes great with rice, potatoes, coucous.

Chicken Wraps

These are yummy and easy to make. It's nice light meal that can be used for lunch or dinner as well as makes for a good summer dish, since you don't have to turn on the oven =D I made these for dinner for Tim and I tonight and thought I should share the recipe!

CHICKEN WRAPS
Serves 3-4
12 oz Shredded Chicken, or 2 chicken breast
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tblsp pesto
1 tsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 shallot
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp thyme
2 Tblsp white wine
salt and pepper to taste

1 cup shredded Romaine
4-5 tortillas
Place your chicken breast in a sauce pan and fill with water to cover the chicken. Bring the chicken to a simmer and simmer until the chicken breast is cooked all the way through. Once chicken is cooked pull out of water and pat dry. Using a fork shred the chicken by running the fork along the grain of the chicken, put the shredded chicken into a bowl and set aside.

Blend all the other ingredients (except lettuce and tortillas) in a blender or food processor until nice and smooth. Pour the dressing over the shredded chicken and mix well.

Warm you tortillas and place some of the shredded chicken in the tortilla, top with shredded romaine lettuce and roll up. Voila!

Note; If I am making this for just Tim and I usually half the recipe and use one chicken breast. It should make enough to fill 3 tortillas

Variations
Sundried Tomato pesto. Substitute sundried tomatoes in place of pesto or add along with the pesto, both are good.
If you don't have either pesto or sundried tomatoes add 2 tsp balsamic vinegar. I usually add the balsamic vinegar to the recipe anyways since I like the way it taste.
Have fun with the recipe! I never follow it exactly so play around with ingredients you like!