So I approached this meal with alacrity. After looking through the Indian cookbook I came across this dish that had a bucolic quality. It ended up being simple and delicious. Next time Steve has insisted that to ameliorate the dish we make it spicier.
This recipe is from 1000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra.
Nirmala's Sindhi Chicken Curry
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ( I didn't use cause I was out)
- 1 tsp salt
- 3-5 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the skin
- 2 tbsp peeled minced fresh ginger
- 1 cup finely cute cilantro (also out of this)
- 2 lg onions
- 4 tomatoes
- 12 scallions (white and light green parts only)
- 1-3 chili peppers ( I used one, Steve would have liked more...too bad for him I say)
- 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt - whisked until smooth.
In second bowl ( I needed two to hold it all) mix ginger, garlic, scallions, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and green chili peppers.
Add oil to pan. Throw chicken in pan and cook for about five minutes.
Dump in first bowl (spices). Stir, coating the chicken.
Dump in second bowl and cook for a bit ( recipe says five minutes, I think I did it a little longer so it could cook down somewhat cause it was exploding out of my pan).
Add the yogurt a little at a time. I couldn't get a good picture of this cause you have to constantly stir so the yogurt does not curdle.
Let cook for another minute or two, lower heat to low and let simmer for about 30 minutes until it becomes viscous.
While that's happening lets work on our bread.
Chapati Ingredients:
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup water
- 3-4 tbsp melted butter
- 1 Chabie cat
In a bowl put 2 cups flour and stir in with fingers about 1/2 cup water. Stir til dough forms, add more water if needed. Knead dough a few times. Let sit at room temperature for about an hour.
Separate into 12 pieces.
In a small bowl put 1 cup flour. Take little dough ball place in bowl of flour and flatten into a circle. The on a floured surface roll it out.
Heat up griddle or pan. Put dough on pan for about 30 seconds then flip. Once it starts to puff you are supposed to guide the air into the center so it forms into a ball. This is the part I failed at. Once you do this coat with butter and then crumple it all up so the butter gets all in it and gets yummy. Serve these hot.
Enjoy!
I'll put the calories in later.
p.s I'm studying for the GREs, hence all the weird words.
:)
2 comments:
Studying for GREs? How come I did not know about this?
Mom
Yikes. Chapattis are supposed to look a wee bit different, you know. :)
1. Knead the dough with warm water. They turn out softer.
2. The dough needs to sit for about 10 min here in India. If you keep in a slightly heated oven for 10 min I think that would do just as well. No?
3. The trick while rolling is to keep the chapatti rotating under your pin. It sounds weird. I think I make clockwise-ish hand movements to my right so the thing gently turns under my rolling pin. That way you get round chapattis.
4. Roast both sides lightly until the chapatti turns whiteish and doesn't look like raw dough.
Now, flip it over on to a naked flame for a brief second or two. It should swell up completely into a ball or close to that. This is the bit that requires practice but charred chapattis taste great. A lot of people I know prefer the slightly smokey taste (as do I).
Butter/ghee is optional as is the scrunching. I keep mine wrapped in a thin cloth inside an air-tight container to keep them soft.
I hope you don't mind me leaving all this gyaan here. Since you did take the trouble to make chapattis, I thought I'd leave these pointers for you. I learnt them the hard way, ruining lots of batches. :)
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