No Butter Chicken and Whole Wheat Rotis

Decided to make a little healthy Indaian food tonight. The no butter chicken was very easy and quick. This is the first time I've made roti wich is a Indian quick bread stuffed with cauliflower, cilantro, chilies, ginger and corriander. Brush it with a little garlic infused olive oil and you're money.

Have the tums ready. The butter chicken was SPICY.


No Butter Chicken

Ingredients

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cut into cubes
1/4 cup low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup water
Serving suggestion: Serve with roti or rice

Process:

Put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it starts to get hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 4 minutes, or until the onion is golden. Add the tomato paste, brown sugar, cumin seeds, garam masala, red chile flakes, turmeric, and salt and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken cubes and stir well to coat. Add the yogurt and water and cook, stirring until the chicken is done, about 8 minutes. Serve the chicken with roti or rice.

Whole Wheat Roti

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
1 cup finely grated fresh broccoli
1 cup cooked mixed lentils
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup water

Process:

Combine the whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, spinach, broccoli, lentils, ginger, and water in a large bowl and mix by hand until well combined. Continue to knead the dough until the dough has a smooth consistency, like bread dough. Remove a piece of dough, about the size of a golf ball and roll it into a round flat disk. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and then using a lightly-floured rolling pin, roll the ball into a thin patty (like a tortilla).
Place a nonstick pan over medium heat and gently place the rolled roti in the pan. Cook until it starts to bubble and then flip the roti over and cook the other side. The roti is done when there are brown spots on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes total. Continue to roll and cook all the rotis.

Moroccan Steamed Mussels

This meal seems impressive, but its easy and actually pretty cheap to make. The broth is delicious, make sure you have crusty bread on hand for soaking it up.



Ingredients:
2 T EVOO
1 T garlic, chopped
1 T paprika
1 T coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 C tomato juice
1/2 tsp chili flake
3/4 lb yukon gold potatoes
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 2 lb bag of cultivated mussels
2 tsp chopped cilantro
Pinch of saffron

Process:

1. In a large pot, combine oil, garlic, paprika, coriander and cumin, cook on medium heat for about 1 minute. add tomato juice, chile flakes and 2 cups of water. Bring to boil. Add potatoes and and carrots, return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Place mussels in bowl and rinse. Remove any that have gaped open slightly. If they close the are alive and save to eat.

3. Increase heat to high and add mussels to pot, cover and cook for 5 minutes. remove lid and discard any mussells that remain closed. Add cilantro and serve with crusty bread.

Chicka - Chicka - Chickpea Curry

Here is a healthy meal you have quick and easy (thats what she said). Set it and forget it. I also pan roasted some boneless skinless chicken thighs and added those on top and it was awesome. I would recommend basmati rice for indian dishes as well.

Makes 6 to 8 servings
This recipe is from Chile Pepper magazine.

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, pinced
1 piece (1-inch) fresh giner, peeled, grated
2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1 teaspoon groud cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons garam masala (see Note)
2 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas, drained, rinsed
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes with juices
Hot cooked rice Combine all ingredients except rice in a slow cooker. Cook on high 2 hours or on low 3 to 4 hours.



Serve the curry over the hot cooked rice.

Tandoori Chicken....No Tandoor Required

Tandoori Chicken............

I bought the garam masala from a spice shop in Indy. The name of it is Pensey's, their a national chain, anyone ever been there? Anyway, that's where I'm buying all my spices these days, it's a pretty cool place. Garam masala doesn't have much kick to it, so I added some spicy curry powder to this recipe. Turned out to be a nice addition. Could have used more actually. The chicken came out with a nice crust and the Indian flavor was very tasty. Served some garlic naan bread on the side, which I bought from Trader Joe's. The naan was freakin delicious, go buy some and eat it, you'll see. I will be making this again, maybe some tandoori chicken wings with a yogurt dip of some sort......??????


Serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon garam masala (see note)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (see note)
4 tablespoons juice from 2 limes, plus 1 lime, cut into wedges
2 teaspoons table salt
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts (breasts, thighs, and drumsticks, or a mix, with breasts cut in half), trimmed of excess fat and skin removed


1. Heat oil in small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garam masala, cumin, and chili powder; continue to cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds longer. Transfer half of garlic-spice mixture to medium bowl; stir in yogurt and 2 tablespoons lime juice and set aside.

2. In large bowl, combine remaining garlic-spice mixture, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and salt. Using sharp knife, lightly score skinned side of each piece of chicken, making 2 or 3 shallow cuts about 1 inch apart and about 1/8 inch deep; transfer to bowl. Using hands, gently massage salt-spice mixture into chicken until all pieces are evenly coated; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken and toss until chicken is evenly coated with thick layer. Arrange chicken pieces, scored-side down, on wire rack set in foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Bake chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 125 degrees for breasts and 130 for legs and thighs, 15 to 25 minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Transfer chicken pieces to plate as they reach correct temperature.)

4. After removing chicken from oven, turn oven to broil and heat 10 minutes. Once broiler is heated, flip chicken pieces over and broil until chicken is lightly charred in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees for breasts and 175 for legs and thighs, 8 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate, tent loosely with foil, and rest 5 minutes. Serve with chutney or relish, passing lime wedges separately.