Chicken Tonight

I have a fairly large spice and herb collection. it is wonderful. Instead of buying jars of spice pastes and sauces, I make my own. This way I don’t end up with a fridge full of half used jars designed made to feed families. It also means I know that I am eating good, wholesome ingredients and can healthily add flavour to food. It’s an investment well worth it in my eyes.

My homemade “tandoori” chicken is far from authentic but is packed with flavour and super moist (I apologise for the use of that word, but it had to be done). The chicken is marinated in spices overnight and then grilled quickly giving it a crunchy charred outer and succulent middle.

“Tandoori” Chicken Recipe (adapted from Tandoori Style Chicken – Food.com)

(serves 2)

Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 small chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/8 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon jalapeno, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Method
  

  	1. Mix all ingredients except for chicken a small bowl to form a paste
  	2. Place chicken and paste in a plastic bag and smother chicken in paste. Bash chicken with a rolling pin so that it is only 2cm at it’s thickest (try and make it even). Marinate overnight for best taste.
  	3. When ready to cook, line a tray with tinfoil and spray with cooking oil. Place chicken on the tray and then lightly coat it with another layer of cooking oil.
  	4. Grill chicken at the top of the oven at the hottest temperature it will reach for 5 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the oven when it is slightly charred and cooked through. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

  I served my chicken on top of a cucumber raita with snow peas. It would also be fabulous with rice and a green salad.

Grocery Mission Aborted

I REALLY need to go grocery shopping and I REALLY don’t want to. I still haven’t done a proper food shop since my Frugal Frittata post and I thought I’d cleaned out my cupboards pretty well then. After having a look at the few items in my pantry and freezer I decided that I could make one more dinner from what i had left and it turned out better than a planned meal – win.

Usually I like to make my recipes from scratch. I like to know what’s going into my body is good and nutritious and if i make my own food I know that for sure. However, I’d bought some Taste of India Moong Dahl because I was impressed by the ingredient list (or lack thereof). It has no added chemicals, preservatives or sugar – just real food (see picture below).

Cheat’s Moong Dahl Recipe

(serves 2)

Ingredients

1 tub Taste of India Moong Dahl
1/2C frozen peas
1 1/2C frozen shrimp
1 courgette, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped roughly

Method

1. Sautee onion and courgette over a medium heat until softened and transparent
2. Add frozen shrimp
3. Once shrimp is heated through, add Moong Dahl
4. When mixture is hot add frozen peas

I don’t think you can get a much faster, quicker and tastier dinner recipe than that! I served mine with unsweetened yogurt and mango chutney. If you like your food with a bit of kick you might want to add some chilli to the onion and courgette mix at step one.

Lentil Dahl

Don’t be put off by the long list of spices for this recipe.  Although there are lots are ingredients, it is still a quick and easy dinner to throw together on a weeknight. I use the half  hour the recipe takes to simmer to tidy the kitchen, make my lunch or prepare some dessert. I used canned lentils because that is what I had in my cupboard but you could most definitely use dried lentils and it wouldn’t take much, if any, longer to prepare. You would just need to increase the amount of stock so the lentils have enough moisture to absorb.

Lentil Dahl Recipe

adapted from Joe Rich’s Red Lentil Dahl recipe

(serves 2 as a main or 4 with rice and vegetables)

Ingredients

• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 2tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2tsp fennel seeds
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 1tsp cardamom
• 1/2tsp ground chili
• 1/4tsp cinnamon
• 1 lug olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1TBSP minced garlic (3-4 garlic cloves)
• 1TBSP minced ginger
• 1/2tsp salt
• 3TBSP tomato paste
• 1/2C vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 can lentils
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1TBSP lime juice
• few handfuls of baby spinach leaves

Method

1. Gently heat spices in a saucepan with oil until fragrant
2. Add onion and saute until softened and translucent
3. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a further few minutes
4. Add salt, tomato paste, stock, lentils & tomatoes
5. Cook for 20-30 minutes until mixture is thickened
6. Add lime juice and spinach, stir until wilted

I just had this plain but plain yogurt and some coriander leaves on top would have just made it. The flavour is quite ‘tomato-ey’ and has a just a little heat. It’s definitely not authentic Indian by any stretch of the imagination but still yummy.