Chicken Vindaloo (Balsamic vinegar style)

Confessions of a quickly turning Goan

It's really a sign of turning Goan when you choose to make your own Vindaloo, and you dare to improvise and adopt new flavours in your own kitchen, than just go out and get some Vindaloo!

This is another original recipe concocted by Anand, after much trial and error and permutations and combinations. But the winning factor, I think, is the use of Balsamic vinegar, as opposed to regular vinegar.

Believe him, like I did, and try this one out.

What you need:
900 gms diced chicken

For the spice mixture
1.5 teaspoon black peppercorns
1.5 teaspoon mustard seeds (black)
1.5 teaspoon cumin
2 medium sized stick of cinnamon
6 cardamom pods
10 cloves
6 red chillies (vary as per capacity for spice)
1 petal star anise
1 bay leaf

For the marinade
3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons freshly crushed ginger + garlic
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
5 tablespoons tomato puree

For the curry
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 large onions diced
2-3 medium tomatoes diced

What you need to do:
Wash, chop and get your chicken ready to marinade in a non-metallic bowl.

To prepare the spice mixture, begin by roasting all the whole dry spices on a low flame for about 5-6 minutes, till the aroma wafts through your kitchen.

Set aside to cool, and then grind to a fine powder.

Add the turmeric and salt to the chicken. Quickly crush up some fresh ginger and garlic (about 3 teaspoonfuls) and add it in too.

Next, in goes the Balsamic vinegar, followed by the puree.

Then, add in the spices and mix well with your fingers, so the chicken is evenly coated and sinks into the marinade.

Cover up in foil, and let this sit for up to 8 hours. Marinading it overnight usually results in wonderful deeply flavourful Vindaloo. But if you're badly planned like me anything from 4-8 hours should do.

In a pressure cooker add some oil and sauté onions till translucent. Add the coriander powder and stir till lightly cooked.

Next, throw in the diced tomatoes and cook till slightly soft.

Then, pour in the chicken with the marinade. Add water at this stage if necessary. cook for a short while and then shut with the pressure weight on.

Pressure cook for about 10 minutes on high and 10-15 minutes on sim. Once open, add salt if necessary.

Done!

This Vindaloo turned out darker than is usually is, presumably because I used Balsamic vinegar. However, it didnt disappoint. So much so that I'm considering pre-preparing the spice mix in bigger quantities, to enable making it more often.

It is best enjoyed, as we had it, with pao on the side. And if you can get your hands on Goan Poi, there's really nothing like it :P

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Meaty pasta

Old pasta with a new perspective

This pasta is a combination of a much tried and tested creamy tomato pasta that I make often, along with some tricks from Sandhya's winning meaty pasta. It seemed like a logical and sinful add on for my basic pasta recipe, so I decided to be brave and give it a go. And it turned out brilliantly.

I dont have an oven, which is what prompted me to combine an old recipe with Sandhya's, which involves one round of baking. But for those of you who have an oven, I would advise you to go ahead and give Sandhya's recipe a go. It sounds so yummy!

What I used:
2 medium tomatoes
2 medium onions
5-6 pods of garlic
400 gms minced meat, I used chicken kheema
1 packet of tomato puree
Olive oil
A knob of butter
A dash of wine
Seasoning: salt, lots of pepper, lots of basil (dry or fresh), some thyme, some oregano, some sugar
Cream
Grated cheese
Pasta

How I made it:
You could look over my basic creamy tomato pasta recipe before you begin this, if you like. Because I havent covered each step with a picture this time around. I decided to be brave and go with the flow this time.

Begin by getting all your chopping done :)

Melt some butter and add some olive oil in a deep pan. Throw in the chopped garlic and onion and saute well. Very few smells transport me to another world like the smell of freshly chopped onion and garlic sauteed in olive oil and butter. To call it heavenly would not be an understatement methinks.

Next add in the minced meat and stir around. If youre using chicken, it tends to cook pretty fast, so keep stirring to keep it from sticking.

Add in the tomatoes next, followed by a whole packet of tomato puree.

Next in, a dash of wine. Sandhya uses white wine in hers, but I had some red, and Iv seen Smitten Kitchen recommend it many times in her tomato-based pasta. So I decided to be brave.

The next thing to do is be brave, cover the sauce and let it simmer. The longer the better. I let my sauce be for a good long 45 minutes, opening it occasionally only just to get a whiff and stir it around. Let it bubble away and meld in its awesomeness.

45 minutes later, I opened up the lid and faced a serious tomato-attack. But I decided to be brave and forge ahead, by adding in some herbs. And because my super market didnt have any fancy herbs, I settled for this shady "Tushraj Oregano". This experiment was really all about being brave and going with the flow.

Next up, some cream. As much as your bravery allows you to dunk in. I put in about quarter carton, around 50 ml. And then grate in some yummy meltable cheese. As much as your bravery allows you to. And I dont have pictures to show you how brave I was because my hands were too messy amidst all the cream pouring and cheese grating.

But once it was plated up, I was too hungry to stop and take pictures. I just had to have a go.

The husband and I both devoured our dinner in no time. The quantities were just right, and the cream and cheese makes it filling enough not to even want seconds. For some veggie factor, I put together a pretty decent salad with tomatoes, bell peppers and fresh corn, with a dressing of Balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and a tiny bit of herbs. It was perfect, if I may say so myself. Being brave has its advantages. And this experiment was proof of that.

Chickey Curry. My way!

..OR what to do with marinated meat

This is a product of what happens when you have leftover meat that must be used pronto, and youre out of seemingly innovative recipes.

Im bored of the regular chicken curry I make at home, and I suspect the husband is too. Trouble is, I had some marinated chicken leftover from the batch I contributed to the BBQ lunch we went to on Sunday. I would have hated for the whole batch to go to waste, so I decided it must be put to good use.

The outcome was tasty, and the process of making it was quick and uncomplicated. The gravy was home cooked yet had that hint of "something special", out of the ordinary home-cooked menu. I think theres definitely going to be a repeat of this one.

Heres what I did..
What I used:
Chicken (enough for 2 people)
3 tbsps tandoori masala
3 tsps freshly made ginger-garlic paste
Juice of half a lime
4 tbsps thick curd
A pinch of salt (lesser than you would require)

2 medium tomatoes chopped
2 small onions chopped
2 green chillies chopped
A small handful of chopped coriander
A small piece of cinnamon, some cardamom and 2-3 cloves

How I made it:
First of all, I must say that the chicken I used, soaked in the marinade for over a day, so that probably made a huge difference. However, I think a few hours (3-4) should do the trick all the same.

Chop up the chicken and let it soak in the lime juice and salt for 15-20 minutes. Then, add in the curd, tandoori masala and ginger-garlic paste and let it sit for a good long while.



To prepare the gravy, in a little oil, saute onions, chillies, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves till the onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and continue to saute till tomatoes are cooked well.



Once this is done, turn off the heat, throw in the chopped coriander and mix well. Set aside and allow this to cool completely.



Once completely cooled, blend the onion+tomato+coriander in a mixie till smooth.

In a pan with a little bit of oil, add marinated chicken and saute till semi cooked. Add the pureed onion+tomato+coriander and simmer till chicken is fully cooked.



Done!

BBQ masti

Sunday afternoon was spend amidst food, fire, fun, rain, beer and music. We went to a BBQ lunch. On the menu featured 3-4 different kinds of chicken, fish marinated and wrapped in banana leaves, prawns, feta cheese and tomato salad, bbq paneer and roasted potatoes and beets. The weather was just perfect, and to make things better we had a downpour. The BBQ menu was largely improvised and experimental, or so it seemed. Everything was tasty, though :)

Until Sunday I didnt imagine a BBQ get together could get so many people together having so much fun. The lunch began at about 2 and ended close to 7. 'nuff said.

Dont have any recipes to share, but just some snapshots that capture the fun we had:

Chilli Chicken

Inspired, impromptu Chilli Chicken

I cant take credit for this one. I first saw this incredibly easy recipe on Finely Chopped's wonderful blog. And like I said to him, merely reading the post made me crave that Chilli Chicken. And it made me want to have it right then and there! So make it, we did!



What you need
Finely minced garlic
Sliced onions
Sliced capsicum
2-3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
Ajinomoto
Green chillies slit
Chicken

What you need to do
Heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a non stick pan. This is the kind of Chilli Chicken that will only taste nice if you are brave with the oil, forget about your heath for a bit and enjoy!

Add a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic and saute till slightly brown. Then, add two to three tablespoons of dark soy sauce. Add a teaspoon of green chilly sauce. Stir around until the soy sauce spreads across the pan and forms an oil slick like layer at the base.

Add sliced onion and capsicum. Stir till onion looks a bit pale. Chilli Chicken, for me, tastes best when the onions and capsicum is cooked, but still retains some of its crunch.

Throw in the chicken cut into two inch long pieces. Toss around with a ladle to ensure that the pieces cook evenly. Finely Chopped says it usually a maximum of about five minutes.

Add salt and a pinch of ajinomoto. Keep the flame high so that the chicken really absorbs the juices and flavours.

Add 5,6 slit green chillies.

Done!

Ps: this one made me wonder if its worth starting a Chilli Chicken cart somewhere around town.. :P