Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken)

Butter Chicken is probably the most popular North Indian curry, enjoyed by so many cultures now. It's beautiful blend of spices, tomato, yoghurt and cream makes it a mild and balanced curry which you can make as spicy as you like. I usually keep this one pretty mild as I often team it with a beef vindaloo which I like hot.  Indian restaurants around the world have adapted the traditional butter chicken to accommodate the Western palate and so as a result, the recipes I found on the web were not nearly as authentic and true to Indian flavors as they should have been. This is a recipe I devised myself from a number of books and remembering some tips I learned at an Indian masterclass in Sydney with Ajoy Joshi. I am not suggesting I'm an expert in Indian cuisine by any stretch but this tasted incredible, as good as the best version of butter chicken I've ever had!

Mark and I hosted a "curry-fest" the other day with our neighbors and so the next few posts will be the delicious spread we enjoyed. I hope you take the time and effort to give some of these fabulous curries a try... it is worth every minute.  They freeze well so why not make the large batch below and save some for another time.

Serves 10-12 as part of an Indian meal

Ingredients:
Sauce:
2 tbspn vegetable oil
3 brown onions, finely diced
1/3 cup ghee (clarified butter) or butter
2 tspn salt
4 tblspn garlic, crushed
4 tblspn ginger, minced
2 tspn garam marsala
2 tspn ground coriander
2 tspn chili powder
2 tspn ground cumin
1/2 tspn ground fenugreek seeds, use a spice grinder
2/3 cup natural plain yoghurt
1 cup heavy cream
2.5 x 410g tin tomatoes, pureed
1 tspn cayenne pepper
2 tspn turmeric
1/2 cup finely chopped cashew nuts
2 tspn honey
2 fresh green chili's, chopped
handful of freshly chopped cilantro/coriander leaves

Marinade for chicken
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 kg / 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cut into bit size pieces
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
1/2 tspn garam marsala

Method:

• Dice the chicken and marinate it in a large bowl with the lemon juice, anywhere from 30mins to 2hrs.
• Pre-heat the oven to 380'F / 190'C
• Drain the chicken and place the chicken pieces on a baking tray in a single level.  Bake without turning for 12 mins.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Shake the garam masala and cayenne pepper over the chicken.
• Heat the oil and ghee in a large saucepan.  Saute the onions and add the salt, cook until translucent approx 5-8mins.
• Add the garlic, ginger, garam marsala, ground coriander, chili powder, cumin, fenugreek seeds and stir until fragrant. 
• Puree the tomatoes using a hand mixer before adding to the saucepan
• Stir in the yoghurt, cream, cashew nuts, turmeric, cayenne pepper, fresh chili peppers and continue to cook until combined, the tomatoes are cooked and the sauce has thicken slightly.
• Add the chicken pieces and cook stirring frequently until chicken is cooked through, about 5-8mins. 
• Stir in cilantro.  Taste and add salt and/or honey if necessary.

Serve as part of an Indian meal with Naan, cucumber raita and a cold beer!

Note to my US friends:  Fenugreek seeds are not so easy to find but the Spice House have them.  You'll also find garam marsala there if you don't see it in the usual places.

Chicken pinwheels

Sitting drinking a glass of wine at 5 o'clock last night at my friend Angie's house, watching our girls play happily outside with a brownie in their mouths, she asks me, 'So, what's for dinner tonight?'  I have to be honest, at 5 o'clock with a glass of pinot grigio in hand, and the girls dessert already consumed I really wasn't thinking or caring what would come next.  The sun was out, three of us friends on the block were enjoying the last evening before the end of school and discussing how hurtful 5 yr old girls can be and feeling protective of our children - wishing we could pick all their friends for all time!  That half an hour of female conversion, aided by the wine and fresh air, was the highlight of my day and I was so reluctant to drag myself away to the daily grind of cooking for my hard working family.  The kids had had a full day of school, my husband had found some work/life balance and desire to be home from work before 5:30 and so life beckoned.  I had to perform some feat of magic and have something on the table within 25minutes or our night would be ruined.

I said, I have some chicken breasts out, but still not sure what I'll do with them, thinking maybe burrito's or chicken skewers with satay sauce. Then, she shared this recipe idea with me and I loved it!  It's a great way to keep the chicken moist and add flavor without having to pour a sauce all over your chicken.  This is always a dilemma for me as my husband thinks chicken is boring and dry on it's own and so we rarely eat it baked without some addition.

I made a seasoned cheese version for the girls which they really enjoyed.  I will be more deceptive with them next time and slip some veggies in there, like spread some pureed butternut squash and finely diced spinach or mushroom but we eased into it this time and they gobbled it up.








Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Boursin spread, (ie. white cheddar and sage or garlic and herb)
2/3 cup mushrooms, diced
1/3 cup cashew nuts, diced
parmesan cheese
2 rosemary sprigs
panko breadcrumbs
butter




* for the kids I used plain cream cheese spread, parmesan and a mild BBQ seasoning for chicken, I had "montreal chicken seasoning".

I will make it again and perhaps try sun dried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts and spinach.  The flavor combinations are endless.  You could try feta, prosciutto and kalamata olives or mushroom, sage, almonds and prosciutto.


Method:

• Preheat the oven to 380'F
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper
• Slice each chicken breast down through the middle to make two even thin slices of chicken
• Spread the boursin spread over the chicken, add the diced mushrooms, rosemary, cashew nuts and shaved parmesan cheese and then roll up and secure with a toothpick.
• Roll the outside of the pinwheel in a little breadcrumbs and place the chicken on the baking tray.
• Cook for approx 20-22 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and browned on the outside, however halfway through the cooking drop a tiny knob of butter on top of the breadcrumbs to enhance the browning process
• Serve with steamed vegetables or salad.

Pumpkin Soup

Ever since my days working on Hayman Island, I have loved pumpkin soup.  The fine dining restaurant La Fontaine, made a version that was absolutely unforgettable.  Their secret weapon... they used duck fat in the process! You'll be pleased to know it's not necessary in order to get a good hearty flavor and one you can enjoy without the guilt of hardening your arteries!

This is simple, delicious and perfect for the whole family on a cooler day.  It would have to be my favorite soup and now I am pleased to see my girls eat bowl after bowl of it too.  It warms my heart...

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 whole butternut squash, diced into 1" pieces
2 large potatoes, diced into 1" pieces
1 large brown onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
olive oil
1 tblspn butter
1/2 tspn nutmeg
2-3 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream, more to serve if desired

Method:

• Diced the onions, and cut the pumpkin and potato into similar sized pieces of about 1" cube.
• Add a little oil and the butter to a soup pot and heat until melted
• Add the onion and sweat until clear, then add the garlic and stir until fragrant
• Place the pumpkin and potatoes in the pot with the chicken stock, enough to cover the vegetables.
• Heat to a boil and then turn down to simmer until the vegetables are soft enough to mash.
• Drain the majority of the cooking stock, keeping the liquid separately for the time being.
• Add the nutmeg to the soup
• Using a hand bamix/blitzer, puree the soup in the pot, adding a little of the cooking stock to reach the desired consistency.
• If you wish to freeze any of the soup, remove that portion now
• If you are eating it immediately, add the cream and adjust the salt and pepper and stir until combined
• Serve with a drizzle of cream, cracked pepper and some fresh or crunchy bread

Quesadilla with avocado, cheese and zucchini

Is after school snack time beginning to do your head in?  The kids want the same old thing and it always leaves them asking for something else five minutes later? Well, take 5 minutes and put this together.  It will have them thinking it's pizza time all the while you've managed to get a few good ingredients into them.

You can put practically anything inside a quesadilla but essentially a traditional quesadilla is a flour tortilla, grilled with melted cheese and folded over like an omelette.  I have used two flour tortilla's like a toasted sandwich so I can cut them into a few more pieces.  I have made these for my own lunch with things like olive, mushroom, capsicum (red peppers) and a mix of my favourite cheeses, like feta or goats cheese.  It's delicious and super fast.

Ingredients:
2 large flour tortillas
Grated cheese, strong cheddar, tasty or monterey jack or a mix
Zucchini, finely grated
Avocado or guacamole
olive oil

Method:

• Heat a cast iron pan or non stick pan on the stove.
• Grate your cheese.
• Grate the zucchini, (roughly chop as well if necessary to disguise the veg from your children!) place between some paper towel and press to absorb any excess liquid.
• Place one tortilla on the hot pan and cook.  Flip so that both sides starts to puff up and warm through.
• Spread your avocado across the tortilla while it's in the pan, sprinkle the zucchini and cheese and then place the second tortilla on top.  Flip when the base is browned sufficiently.
• Remove and cut into pieces.  
• Serve with some fresh tomato salsa or humus if preferred.