Butter Chicken + Fresh Vegetable Salad

 

So, I love Butter Chicken. It has this weird hold on me... if I can distract myself long enough to forget about (we're talking weeks here), I'm fine. But if it enters my mind again I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT AND I HAVE TO MAKE IT. I love Indian spices, and I love Indian sauces. I also really love rice, and the way it soaks up all those lovely spices and sauces. Ergo, Butter Chicken = Perfection. The recipe I used is from the book Simply Indian which I've mentioned a few times already. 

 I'm not going to give you the recipe this time because:
1) you really should buy that book if you like Indian food - the recipes are not complicated, they just have a lot of ingredients and most of them are spices easily acquired, and
2) there are a LOT of Butter Chicken recipes out there and everyone says that theirs is the best. If you are a bit of a fanatic like me, just try a few until you find your favorite! They come in varying levels of spice, ease, and authenticity.

However, I will tell you the reasons I like this one and then maybe you'll decide that this really IS the best!

1) It has raisins in it. Weird? Maybe at first... but you fry them in butter and they get all plump and juicy and they add the most delightful sweetness and chew to the sauce! MM! (It also calls for almonds but I prefer to skip those. Nuts get soft in sauce and it really is weird)

2) I love the spices it calls for. The chicken is marinated in Tandoori powder with garlic and ginger, and the sauce has cardamom and nutmeg in it! That is very unique in my opinion, and is what gives this recipe that air of mystery.

3) This recipes calls for 4 cups of milk that have been boiled down to 1 cup. This takes forever and is simply not worth the time so I've been using Evaporated Milk instead. I'm just proud of myself for making that connection, so that's the only reason I'm adding this.

This is a fantastic Fresh Vegetable salad from the same book. Perfect for cooling off once the spice adds up!

**This is the best part - my special garnish! It's not pictured below as I didn't have the ingredients this time, but, observe:

- Finely (I'm talking as small as possible) dice:

1/2 Tomato, just the meaty parts with the skin (can substitute a Red Pepper)

1/4 Red Onion

1/4 Cucumber, again just the meaty parts with the skin

2 Tbsp Parsley or Cilantro

- Mix and spoon a generous amount on top of your steaming bowl of bright orange butter chicken!

This is a little embarrassing but, 75% of the reason I bought these blue bowls was because Butter Chicken would look awesome in them!

If you, like me, need to test out recipes before you buy a cookbook, let me know and I can email you the recipe.

Indian Feast!

I had my brother, sister, and one of their friends over for dinner the other night, and made it Indian Themed. We had so much fun, and realized how fascinating Indian food could be! 

The menu:

Samosas

Vegetable Korma

White and Brown Rice

Naan Bread

Sweet Rice Cake

Masala Chai

Vegetable Korma is one of my favorite curries so far (curry is very accommodating to the Daniel Fast)… it is so creamy and flavorful, you’d swear it was unhealthy! If I can’t have Butter Chicken, this may be the next best thing. Heck, I may even make it when I’m NOT fasting!

I substituted Coconut Milk (NOT low-fat) for the cream, and I think the recipe was all the better for it!

The Chai and the Sweet Rice Cake are from the cook book “Simply Indian” by Tahera Rawji.

The Sweet Rice Cake was baffling. The entire time I was preparing it I was convinced it wouldn't work out. I had never seen anything cooked in this way before! Of course I needn’t have worried - it turned out fine. But if you ever want to try something new as far as cooking techniques go, try this rice cake!

I still don't know how this made a cake. No eggs, no flour... yet it baked!

1 1/2 cups Basmati Rice (washed and soaked overnight, or 5-6 hours)

1 1/4 cups coconut milk (NOT low-fat)

1/2 cup milk

1 cup warm water

1 tsp. instant yeast

1/2 Tbsp. butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cardamom seeds (crushed)

1 Tbsp. ghee or butter

1) Drain and rinse the rice and blend in a blender with the coconut milk, milk, water, yeast, and butter until it's smooth (this could take awhile!). Preheat the oven broiler.

2) Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Gently stir in the sugar and cardamom. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise ("bubble" is more like it) for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

3) Put the butter or ghee in a frying pan on high heat. When it is hot, lower the heat to medium and pour in the mixture. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes until it is set and the sides are golden.

4) Place the frying pan under the broiler for a few minutes until the top becomes golden/reddish brown.

6) Cool and cut.

Makes 8 generous portions