Tag: main course
Soy Butter Chicken
Soy Butter Chicken
Pollo ala Barbacoa, aka Cuban soy butter chicken is a dish based out of communism and poverty. Cuba, being a communist country, doesn’t always have access to everyday ingredients. This soy butter chicken was created by making the most out of what was available. This dish was traditionally only made with 3 ingredients: chicken, butter, and soy sauce. You can use any cut of chicken except boneless skinless in this recipe. I’m partial to chicken thighs. Once they are seasoned, the most important thing is to get nice crispy skin on the chicken. To achieve this, the oil has to be hot. Once you place the chicken in the saucepan, don’t touch it. Let that skin brown for 6-7 minutes. If you touch it before hand, the skin will stick to the pan and tear. So don’t touch it. The best part of this dish is the sauce. The best way to utilize it is to toss in your favorite shaped pasta and cook for 3-4 minutes. I like to use gemilli, but penne, farfalle, fusilli, or caveteppi are all great choices. A spaghetti shaped noodle wouldn’t work as well.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 bone in chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup water
- 8 oz uncooked pasta prepared accordingly to package directions
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Season the chicken with the oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Make sure to get the seasoning underneath the skin.
- Heat up olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Place the chicken thighs skin side down, searing for 6-7 minutes a side.
- Add in the remaining ingredients. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer. Cover and continue cooking over medium heat for 25 minutes, occasionally basting the chicken with the sauce.
- The sauce will reduce and thicken on it’s own. Remove the chicken.
- Stir in the cooked pasta of your choosing. I’m partial to gemilli. Cook for 3-4 minutes in the sauce.
Palak Paneer
Palak Paneer
It’s April 1st, 2020; and every day this month is 4/20. To kick it off, I prepared my favorite Indian dish, and the first one I learned to cook, palak paneer. Palak paneer is a spinach curry gravy with chunks of paneer cheese. You may have seen this dish at an Indian buffet. It is usually overcooked and greenish brown in color. There is no comparison to the homemade version. It takes a little time, but us well worth the results. You can also prepare this dish with chicken or lamb. Below is also a recipe for homemade paneer cheese.
Equipment
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 bunches spinach washed
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 medium white onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 green bird’s eye chili finely chopped
- 1 small tomato finely chopped
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 12 oz paneer cheese cubed
Instructions
- Purée the spinach with a 1/4 cup of water in a food processor or immersion blender. Heat up the purée in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté for 10-12 minutes until it is thickened and the water has cooked out. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and cardamom pods for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add in the ginger garlic paste and green chilies. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the tomato. Cook for 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in the coriander powder.
- Pour in the spinach purée in the pan. Season with salt and garam masala. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the paneer. Simmer for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Paneer
Paneer is used in a lot of vegetarian Indian cuisine as a substitute for meat. Paneer is made by adding acidity such as lemon juice or vinegar to boiled milk. The acidity curdles the milk, separating the milk fats frome the whey. They the remaining liquid is squeezed out of the cheese, resulting in a firm cheese that is slightly crumbly. The paneer doesn't melt, holding its shape when being cooked. It almost looks like tofu. Making paneer is quite simple and cost effective, rather than buying store bought brands. Something to keep in mind; 1/2 gallon of whole milk will yield about 8 oz of paneer in the end.
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Over medium heat in a large stock pot, bring the whole milk almost up to a boil. This will take about a half an hour. Make sure to constantly stir the milk so it doesn't burn in the botom of the pot.
- While the milk is cooking, line a collander in a large bowl with cheese cloth.
- At the 30 minute mark, stir in the lemon juice. You will notice in 30-60 seconds the milk curdling. Turn off the heat.
- Pour the milk into the collander. Let it cool.
- Once the milk has cooled, start squeezing out any liquid.
- Place another bowl filled with water on top of the twisted cheese cloth. This will weigh down the cheese and force out more moisture. Let this sit for an hour.
- Take the cheese out of the cheese cloth. At this point, the paneer is firm, but still has some moisture left in it. It will kind of feel like a firmer cream cheese.
- Place the paneer in a bowl or container uncovered in the refrigerator over night. This will help dry out the cheese even more.
- Your paneer will be ready the next day for use.
Palak Dal
Palak Dal
Dal is dried split legumes(lentils, peas, and beans). They are one of the most important food staples in South Asia, especially in the Asian subcontinent of India where a large percent of the population is vegetarian. There are over 50types of dried dal such masoor, urad, moong, toor, chana, etc. Dal is mostly prepared as a soup, usually with a base of onions, garlic, and ginger. It is typically served with steamed rice and some type of a flatbread such as roasted poppadum. Dal is very high in protein, iron, fiber, and vitamin D.This dal recipe contains a hulled and split urad dal, which is a bean called matpe. It is simmered for 45 minutes, then mashed. Cumin seeds, onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies are then fried, and the mashed dal is added. Chopped spinach is added the last 5 minutes of cooking. The dal is finished off with lemon juice. Serve the palak dal with steamed rice. While lentil soup doesn’t sound very exciting, this dal is unbelievably flavorful and is packed full of vitamins. Plus, all of the ingredients in this recipe is great for your immune system.
Equipment
- bean masher
Ingredients
- 2 cups split urad dal
- 1 bunch spinach washed and finely chopped
- 5 cups water
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 8 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1” ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 2 green bird’s eye chilies finely chopped
- salt to taste
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine the dal, turmeric, asafoetida, and 4 cups of water. Simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes.
- Take off the heat. Mash the lentils with a bean masher or the back of a spoon. Set aside.
- Heat cooking oil in another large pot over medium heat. Fry the cumin seeds for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies. Sauté for 8 minutes.
- Add in the mashed dal with 1 cup of water. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the chopped spinach. Season with salt. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and squeeze out the juice of half a lemon.
