Tag: cardamom
Cardamom Fennel Chicken Tikkas
This is a great recipe for the summer- who doesn’t like chicken tikkas??? The only trick is to give the marinade some time to do its work.. the rest is easy…
- 1 pound chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
Marinade
- ½ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons half and half
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground to a powder
- 4 to 6 cardamom pods, ground to a powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Juice of one lime
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
Mix the yogurt, half and half, ginger, fennel, cardamom, salt and lime juice in a medium bowl. Add the chicken and mix well. Marinate for at least 2 to 3 hours, preferably 24 hours.
Take the chicken pieces out of the marinade. Place on to a line cookie sheet. Drizzle the oil all over the chicken pieces. Place into a high broiler and broil both sides until golden brown and cooked through.
Serve hot and with cilantro chutney.
Cardamom Seekh Kebab
I love making seekh kebabs- like hamburgers, sky is the limit as far as flavors are concerned. They are great as an appetizer, a meal or a side dish. Serve them with a crunchy baguette and a big salad and you have a delicious meal- of course, a glass of wine helps and maybe some olives on the side…
For this recipes I used my usual turkey meat which is inexpensive and a lot healthier than other options. I wanted to use cardamom and planned on it being the star of the dish. You can use cardamom powder in this recipe but you won’t get the same flavor. When buying cardamom- make sure the pods are bright green. It is an expensive spice and you want to make sure it is super fresh. The mixture was delicious all cooked up on skewers. I broiled them under the broiler..
It is nice to have this mixture in the fridge or even in the freezer- especially in the summer when you don’t feel like doing much cooking. It is great to serve the kebabs with some grilled vegetables and a cold glass of rose…
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Meat Koftas- Meatballs in an Onion Gravy
This is a delicious meat ball dish. In India we meatballs are called koftas. They can be made with a variety of meats. My favorite is goat meat- but pork is delicious as well.. and so is beef.
The key to make this dish successful is to season every component of this dish. I started off with the minced meat which I seasoned with salt, garam masala and a small shallot. I let that mixture sit for a few hours (over night would be great). I then prepared a spice mixture consisting of coriander and cumin seeds. It is important to use whole spices as the grounds ones don’t give as much flavor- although, in a pinch one can use the ground variety. The next step was to blend an onion with ginger and garlic- that is the base of the gravy. If the steps are followed- the dish is a sure hit.
It is not the fastest dish to make- so I would leave this for the weekend.. but it is definitely worth the extra time….
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My Recipe For Masala Coffee
While I was working on this post, I started to wonder who discovered coffee?? It is such an important part of my life- I had to know. I sort of had an idea that it started in Ethiopia and spread from there but didn’t know that it started as early as the 10th century! What an old tradition it is- when I started thinking how many conversations I have had over a cup of joe- it’s no wonder people love to gather over coffee! For me it’s the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing I look forward to before I go to sleep. I don’t need to have my it as soon as I wake up- I like to savor it, sit down, relax and enjoy the delicious cup. I get breakfast ready for my daughter and take her to school in the morning- I then come home and make my coffee and breakfast. The whole time I am going through the morning mundane rituals, all I can think about is sitting down by myself and enjoying my big cup of goodness! I usually stick to one cup a day- once in a while- okay a few times a week, I indulge in a second cup.- it usually is a cup of cappuccino. I still dream of that perfect cup of cappuccino I had in Italy years ago and can’t wait to replicate that experience this summer when we go to Umbria! What would life be without the pleasures of good food and drink!!
I was talking about sometimes drinking a second cup- well, another favorite kind of coffee I have is Masala Coffee. Many moons ago I used to work as a hostess for an Indian restaurant and a waiter there introduced me to this concoction. It is made out of instant coffee but not just any instant coffee- it is one that is made in the south of India and it has chicory in it (The brand is Bru). It gives the coffee an amazing woody flavor. This drink also has cardamom in it- which is usually in Masala Tea but you will be surprised how well it goes in coffee as well! I grew up drinking instant coffee in India. The northern part of India is mostly into tea and some instant coffee, but the south if heavily into brewed coffee- it’s delicious- I always have it when I visit a south Indian restaurant! In the north, we would boil a combination milk and water and then mix it with an instant coffee and sugar mixture. It would be sweet, creamy and frothy- brings back lots of memories. Another way I have instant coffee is by adding cinnamon. It makes a delicious Mexican inspired coffee- it is truly delicious! I guess sky is the limit when it comes to flavoring your coffee with different spices- cardamom and cinnamon are my favorite…
Try making this kind of coffee- it is a nice change of pace or a great addition to your daily repertoire. I bet it would be delicious chilled as well now that warm weather is upon us- I will try it and report back!
Pineapple and Apricot Compote
My daughter keeps reminding me how I have not baked any dessert recently. She is right… I feel if I bake something.. then I have to eat it and I really don’t want to … so I don’t end up making anything. It is better not to have anything at home to tempt you through the day or after a meal.
So, when some friends were coming over for a cook out, I started thinking of dessert. I thought about just cutting up some watermelon which is really delicious and healthy but I wanted to do something a little different but keep it healthy at the same time. I decided to cook the fruit and make a compote. I had apricots and pineapple in the fridge.. I added some honey, orange juice and cardamom. I love cardamom with fruit.. it gave a delicious floral undertone to the compote. I chilled it and served it with a dollop of creme fraiche. It was a perfect dessert. It satisfied the sweet craving but definitely did not break the calorie bank. A perfect end to a delicious meal….
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Baked Nectarines with Vanilla Creme Fraiche
The nectarine lovefest continues with this delicious dessert. I don’t know how to begin- first of all, it is delicious. Simple, yet it includes layers of amazing flavors.
I started with fresh nectarines, cut in half and ready to be stuffed with a mixture of oats, walnuts and brown sugar. I laced the topping with ground cardamom and cinnamon. To me, the cardamom was the key ingredient. It was simply amazing with the walnuts, oats and the baked nectarines- floral and sweet.
It is a great dessert to make in advance. I popped it in the oven as we sat down to eat dinner. Ten to fifteen minutes later, the nectarines were ready to be taken out.
I served them with some creme fraiche. I love using this French style soured cream instead of ice cream- although ice cream would be amazing as well. I added a bit of vanilla sugar into the cream and added a dollop on top of the baked nectarines. The combination was delicious. The cream cut through the sweetness of topping and the soft fruit. All in all- it was a very successful try. I will be making this with other fruits as well in the future- sky is the limit…
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Chicken Chettinad- South Indian Style Spiced Chicken
This is one of my favorite dishes to eat. I usually order the chicken curry at restaurants and always thought it would be too complicated to make it at home.
I finally got super curious and decided to make this on my own. I did a lot of research online and finally came up with this recipe- plus I think I made it simple as well.
To start with I marinated chicken thighs in lime juice and salt. While the chicken sat, I roasted coriander, cumin and fennel seeds. Dried red chilies, cinnamon, cloves and dried coconut were added as well and ground into a coarse powder. The next step was to saute onions, ginger and garlic with tomato sauce. Of course before I added the aromatics, I added my favorite ingredient- curry leaves. I like everything with curry leaves..
This dish does have a few steps but the end result is definitely worth all the work. Everyone loved it- especially my husband who loves South Indian food. You should definitely make this one- it is a winner…
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