Tag: cardamom
Chicken Chettinad Tikkas
These are a one of a kind of tikkas I came up with the other day. I asked my husband what he wanted to eat for dinner. He thought about it and suggested I make something with south Indian flavors. I knew I wanted grill some chicken- so I decided to come up with a recipe for chicken tikkas but not with the usual suspects. I added some south Indian flavors to it. Instead of the lemon juice, I used tamarind. It provides the same tanginess but also adds an earthy flavor lemons don’t have.
For the spices, I used a combination of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. I roasted them with curry leaves and ground everything up. Everything was mixed with the greek yogurt and marinated for several hours. It resulted in a super flavorful chicken. Everyone loved it, especially my husband.
I think this chicken will be part of the summer meals repertoire- it is perfect to serve with grilled corn and other vegetables. Try it- you will love it.
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Turkey Keema (Spiced Ground Meat)
I make keema all the time and love eating it. Usually I make it with some vegetables- like cauliflower , peas or even spinach.
I guess I am trying to make sort of a one pot meal with the protein and vegetables in one dish.
In this particular one, for some reason, I didn’t feel like adding any vegetables. As I have mentioned before, I usually visualize what I am going to cook and somehow vegetables didn’t work with specific one.
I cooked the ground meat (I used turkey meat but pork, beef or lamb will work well) with lots of dry spices including, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom seeds. To me a mixture of these spices epitomizes North Indian cuisine. I love the flavor the dry spices impart- the flavor is intense yet subtle at the same time.
Of course onion, ginger, garlic and tomatoes were part of the mix. Overall the keema was delicious. I even used the leftovers to make pizza- recipe coming soon.
I made fresh rotis and some lentils with spinach since there was no vegetable in the keema. It was a delicious meal!
- 1 pound ground turkey- dark meat
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 inch cinnamon stick, crushed
- 3 cloves, crushed
- 2 cardamom seeds, crushed
- 1 medium onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 inches ginger
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom. Saute on medium high heat for 30 seconds or till the seeds sizzle. Process the onion, ginger and garlic till they form a paste. Add to the sautéing spices and cook on medium heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomato paste and sauté for a minute. Add the tomato puree, salt, turmeric, cayenne pepper and coriander powder. Add the meat and press down with the back of the spoon to separate and cook evenly. Mix well and sauté on medium heat for 15- 20 minutes or till the excess water has evaporated, stirring constantly. Sprinkle garam masala and serve.
Chicken Curry Biryani
I made the chicken curry and had a lot of it leftover. What should I do with it? I was very tempted to come up with a new dish to eat and post.
I thought of making a biryani. My favorite Indian recipe book came to mind- Prasad. It is a compilation of recipes written by the top chefs in India. The recipes are from all over the country and can be quite labor intensive- but they are all delicious.
I have made many dishes in the past and have never been disappointed. One dish in there is a sofyani biryani- cooked with saffron, yogurt and mint. It is the most delicious biryani I have ever had. I decided to replicate it using the chicken curry I had in the fridge. I made a mixture of mint, cilantro, saffron and yogurt. I then layered it with the rice and the chicken- just like the recipe.
This is so simple yet so flavorful- it came out delicious! My daughter and husband both loved it. I will definitely make it again. This is especially good for company because you can make this in advance and make a huge quantity of it. It is a huge crowd pleaser. Give it a try…
- 2 cups prepared chicken curry
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 3 cloves
- 1 3 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 cardamom cloves, crushed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 cups chicken broth
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom seeds. Saute for a minute and add the basmati rice. Saute the rice on medium heat for a minute and add the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium and cover half way. Let the rice cook till bubbles form on the surface. Lower the heat all the way and cover completely. Cook for about 15 minutes or till the rice is almost cooked. Take out in a large platter to cool and separate the rice. Yields about 4 cups of rice.
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup mint, chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon saffron mixed with 2 teaspoons warm milk
Mix the yogurt, cilantro, mint and salt and saffron. Keep aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a square 8 X 8 serving bowl add the chicken curry at the bottom. Add ½ cup of the yogurt and spread on top of the chicken. Spread 2 cups of rice on top of the yogurt mixture. Add the remaining ½ cup of the yogurt on top of the rice. Add the remaining rice, spreading it carefully. Place a wet cheese cloth, covering all parts of the bowl. Place aluminum foil on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Serve with raita.
Chicken Curry
Who doesn’t like a deliciously cooked chicken curry? So, when my husband said to me, “how come you never cook chicken curry?”, I didn’t have an answer. I was speechless (yes it does happen to me once in a while).
I thought about it and realized I have never made a simple chicken curry before. I usually make chicken with vegetables like spinach, etc but never just chicken curry.
So, I was ready for the challenge! I started thinking of the chicken curry my Mom used to make. It was usually a very lengthy process and I was definitely now up for that.
I decided to use the same process I have in the past to make channa masala or mattar paneer. I used my magic, secret ingredients- the baked or fried onions and chicken broth. Both give the dish a long cooked flavor- and that is exactly what I am looking for.
The dry spices give this curry great flavor- you will not find at any restaurant- so make this at home. Finally, the dried fenugreek is de piece de resistance! It finishes this dish off beautifully. My family loved it- and I did too. I wonder why I never made it before- my guess is because I always thought chicken curry as quite boring- well, there is nothing boring about this recipe…
- 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 inch piece ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Juice of one lemon
Marinate the chicken pieces in a mixture of garlic, ginger, salt and lemon juice for 2-3 hours.
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 cloves
- 1 3 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 green cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1/3 cup baked onions
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt
- ¼ cup kasuri methi (dried fenugreek)
In a processor, add the onion. Process till chopped fine. Keep aside. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and sauté for a minute or till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the onion and sauté on medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. Add the baked onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook stirring consistently for 5-6 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add the turmeric, coriander powder, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix well. Add the chicken broth. Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium low heat. Add the kasuri methi. Cook on high heat till reached the desired consistency (it should be between a soup and a stew). Check for seasonings.
Mutton Pulao
I am not sure how to describe this dish- it’s the epitome of everything I find delicious and nostalgic. Just thinking about it makes me happy. So when my Mom came to visit us, this was one of the things she cooked. It brings me back to childhood- the creamy savory rice with a burst of sweet raisins- and the meat- oh, the meat is out of this world!
I have made this rice dish in the past but with chicken. It really tastes different with goat though- which is really my favorite. I love the flavor and the texture- it’s very much like lamb.
The goat meat is cooked with lots of whole spices, onion, garlic and chicken broth. The pieces are then taken out, cooled and sauteed in oil and cumin seeds. The rich and flavorful broth is used to cook the goat and the rice. The flavor is unbelievable- some people really like biryani– which is a dish of rice layered with a meat curry and then the whole thing is baked. This is better because the rice is cooked in the rich broth full of spices- a lot better!
Definitely try this dish- it is a bit labor intensive but so worth the extra work. I would recommend it for the weekend or even a Sunday dinner. You will end up creating the same memories I have of this delicious dish!
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Pistachio Cardamom Gelato
This is the second flavor I have tried after discovering a gelato recipe made out of whole milk and corn starch. I thought of pistachios because it is my husband’s favorite and it was around his birthday. I decided to be a really nice wife and make him happy. When I started to think about the recipe, I felt it needed to be a little different than your typical pistachio gelato. Since whole milk was the main ingredient – I felt another ingredient needed to be added to off-set the lack of fat in this gelato. I thought of cardamom- I love the flavor, very flowery and delicate but exremely dominant. It makes me think of the Indian version of ice cream, kulfi. Kulfi is made out of whole milk that is cooked on a low heat for hours- it is essetially evaporated till the consistency is thick and custard like. It is then frozen in different molds. Typically it is flavored with cardamom, mango or saffron. I remember growing up eating mango kulfi that my Mom would make. It would be quite a production since it takes a while to cook and then freeze. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the frozen metal mold full of yummy frozen milk. When I was putting this particular frozen dessert together, the smell took me back. Adding the cardamom to the milk and pistachios made this concoction amazingly delicious.
After chilling the mixture over night and then adding it to the ice cream maker- we were all very curious to try the first bite- and , it was delicious- the creaminess of the pistachios came through and the cardamom was definitely the star. It definitely didn’t taste like it was made out of whole milk- extremely creamy- we didn’t miss the cream and the eggs at all.
Most importantly, my husband really enjoyed it. I took it to a get together and it was a big hit! I think the next one I make will be with hazelnuts- can’t wait!
A Delicious Grilled Chicken Recipe: Malai Chicken Tikka
If I had to choose one technique of cooking meats- making tikkas (grilled meats) would be my all time favorite. The process includes marinating any kind of meat or fish and then cooking them on skewers in a tandoor. Usually the marinade consists of hung or greek style yogurt (I tend to use low fat sour cream more often), lemon juice, ginger, garlic and a variety of spices. I think if I had to give up meat- it would be very difficult knowing that I won’t be able to eat any tandoori preparations- my weakness (one amongst many!).
The one thing I still don’t think Indian restaurants make really well here in the US are the tandoori dishes. Somehow in India, the marinated meats taste a lot more tender and full of flavor than the ones we eat here- not sure why?? I do make them at home, and the outside grill does a decent job of replicating the taste-although it’s not really the same… The most important thing is the marinade – if there is not enough flavor in the concoction, the meat won’t have any either. If I have to pick one ingredient that makes the most difference, I would have to say it’s salt. If enough salt is not added to the marinade- they meat will be tasteless! I remember, growing up we used to walk to an open market near our house with lots of food vendors. One of them made the most spectacular mutton tikkas I have ever had. They were tiny bite sized pieces of meat that were marinated and then cooked in a tandoor to perfection- I can still picture and taste them as if it was yesterday. Tandoori dishes are first on my list whenever I make a trip to Delhi- no different from any other city I visit- food is generally the focus!
In this particular dish, I have used cardamom, nutmeg and saffron as the main flavor ingredients. It gives the chicken a very subtle floral flavor. The other ingredient that gives this dish a very different flavor is the cashew paste. The nutty and creamy flavor gives the tikkas a very authentic taste in my opinion. The chicken is especially delicious if you use the outside grill- although the oven broiler will do the job as well.
My daughter and husband loved this chicken. We also cooked it in the class I just taught and the response was good as well. It’s a great dish to make for the summer with a yummy salad and a nice chilled rose or beer!!!