Tag: main course
Chicken Korma
Chicken Korma
I feel out of every ethnicity of cooking that I’ve done on this site, Indian is always the most complex. There are so many ingredients and steps in a recipe. There is always a specific order in which ingredients need to be added to get the right flavor. This chicken korma recipe is definitely that. But, holy snikes! This is one of the best things I think i’ve ever made. Adding the cashew paste to this curry at the end gives it a nutty richness. There are so many aromatic flavors going on in this dish, it will give you a sensory overload. This is that dish that will make you feel all tingly inside; kinda like you just sat in a puddle. I’ll have what she’s having.If you want to make this dish vegan, you can leave out the chicken and Greek yogurt, substituting carrots, peas, and green beans and adding 3 more tbsp of cashew paste. Lamb, shrimp, and firm fleshed white fish are great substitutes for protein.
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs chicken thighs and drumstick bone in, skinless, cut into 2-3 pieces each
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 2 black cardamom pods
- 3 bay leaves
- 2” cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 medium white onion finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2” ginger minced
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup cashews soaked in warm water
- salt to taste
Garnish
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/4 cup cashews chopped
Instructions
- In a heavy bottomed large sauce pan, melt the ghee over medium high heat. Add in the cardamom pods, whole cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick. Fry for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions. Cook until they start to change color.
- In a blender or food processor, blend the garlic and ginger with just a little bit of water to form a paste. Add that to the sauce pan with the chicken. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure that the chicken is evenly browned on all sides. They don’t have to be cooked through yet.
- Mix together the Greek yogurt, kashmiri chili powder, and turmeric. Add that to the sauce pan, making sure all of the chicken is coated in it. Simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup of water to the sauce pan. Give it a stir. Cover. Reduce heat to medium low, simmering for 20 minutes. Give it a stir half way through.
- In a blender or food processor, blend the soaked cashews with a 1/2 cup of the soaking water to form a paste. Add that to the sauce pan. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, constantly stirring. Add salt to taste. Turn off the heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro and cashews.
- Serve with yellow rice and parathe.
Yucatan Roast Salmon
Yucatan Roast Salmon
While this isn’t a traditional Mexican recipe, the achiote marinade is and is used all over the Yucatan Peninsula. The marinade consists of achiote paste, freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice, garlic, and oregano. This marinade is also great on pork, chicken, and shrimp. Serve the salmon as is with black beans. You can also turn the salmon into tacos. A 1lb. salmon fillet will yield 8 tacos.
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon fillet
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Achiote Marinade
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cup grapefruit juice
- 40 grams achiote paste
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano
Instructions
Achiote Marinade
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender.
- Purée until smooth.
Yucatan Roast Salmon
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Add a tbsp of olive oil to the bottom of it. Place the salmon fillet skin side down. Brush the salmon with the achiote marinade. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Right before throwing in the oven, brush on another layer of the marinade. Cook for 12 minutes.
- While the salmon is roasting, add the rest of the marinade to a saucepan. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes.
- The sauce should’ve thickened significantly.
- Let the salmon sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Serve the salmon as is with black beans…or, serve it the way I did; as a double corn tortilla. taco, topped with pickled red onion, habanero pickled jalapeños, cabbage, and the thickened achiote sauce.
Caribbean Style Shrimp Ceviche
Caribbean Style Shrimp Ceviche
The national dish of Peru is ceviche; where it originated from over 2000 years ago. Ceviche is raw fish or other seafood marinated in citrus juice; typically lemon or lime. The acidity of the juices “cooks” the raw seafood, making it safe to eat. Ceviche eventually spread all over South and Central America, México, and many Caribbean islands.There are many different types of fish, seafood, and other variations of ceviche. Shrimp, scallops, octopus, squid, snapper, or any other firm fleshed white fish are used to make ceviche. It is vary important to use freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice to “cook” the protein. Bottled varieties of lemon and lime juices won’t work and have extra chemicals and preservatives in them.Ceviche is a great as an appetizer, and even a main course. Serve with tortilla chips, toasted baguette, plantain chips, or leaf lettuce.
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- juice of a lime
- juice of a lemon
- 1 cup roma tomato diced
- 1 cup cucumber diced
- 1 large mango diced
- 1/2 cup red onion finely chopped
- 1 serrano pepper seeded and finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped
- 1/2 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup lime juice freshly sqeezed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 avocado diced
Instructions
- Wash your shrimp. Cut each shrimp into 3-4 pieces. Marinate for 15 minutes with the juice of a lemon and lime.
- Scoop out the shrimp with a slotted spoon into another bowl. Add in the tomato, cucumber, mango, red onion, cilantro, serrano pepper, orange/lemon/lime juices, salt, and pepper. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Add in the avocado before serving.
- Serve the ceviche chilled with tortilla chips, toasted baguette, plantain chips, or leaf lettuce. I fried a couple of corn tortillas a little longer than normal and turned them into tostadas.
