Lemon Couscous Spring Chicken In a Pot- and of goodbyes and new beginnings!

Spring has very loudly announced her presence for a while now, around here. Little shoots poke out from the ground and buds burst open into a riot of colours. Tree branches that had nothing more than barren twigs, are covered with pink petaled flowers almost overnight.

I made a trip to our beautiful farmer's market here in Marin along with friends Patty and Gina recently, and we were greeted by piles and piles of bountiful produce, that has come to life after the cold death of winter.  Bright orange carrots and pretty radishes freshly dug from the brown earth. All around me, visible signs of change, new beginnings, rebirth.

Today is Good Friday, the solemn day we remember the death of Jesus. But it is followed, like Spring follows Winter, with the greatest celebration in the Christian calendar- Easter, this Sunday. As we prepare to celebrate Christ's resurrection after His death,  we are reminded of our own resurrection after our life here on Earth is done. Reminded that our troubles, achievements and everything here in this life is only temporary- a passing mist, compared to our everlasting life to come.

The Jewish festival of Passover falls at the same time, and symbolically the two events are linked- Christians believe that Jesus Christ was sacrificed as the pascal lamb that was traditionally slaughtered for Passover. That Jesus, the son of God was crucified, accepting unbearable suffering so that each and every one on the earth, would be forgiven for our sins, and saved. He paid the price for our souls, taking on the punishment each of us deserve for our sins.

Of course, this does not mean that sin does not have consequences  What it means is that while we are here on Earth, we have the opportunity to confess our sins and avail of God's grace to "fix" ourselves and our lives, and resolve to sin no more. To put our past behind us, and start afresh.

As we celebrate new beginnings, there are going to be some major changes and new beginnings in my own life too. We have been considering this decision for a while, and it had become something we thought of as being inevitable, eventually, but somewhere at the back of our minds. Recently however, God aligned things to make this decision for us: We are moving to India! Soon, much sooner than we had initially planned.

I am very excited but honestly, equally anxious. There is SO much to do and I wish we had more time to do it. I dread my long to-do list, I dread the packing, the planning, the starting from scratch. I just want to hide and pretend that it will all take care of itself! There is furniture that will hopefully get sold, the letting go of so many things that I had accumulated and grown attached to. I hope this hard exercise is going to teach me to finally do something I strive to- to live simpler, to own less, to be less attached to mere things. Less to store and maintain, less to clutter and clean up after, less to carry around. Let's hope this resolution holds!

But in all this confusion, I feel God's hand guide us, helping me strike one more thing off my list, and then another. When I am anxious, I remember to surrender.

I am one of those people who hate change so it took me a while to get used to the very idea of the big move. I thought about everything I would miss. I will deeply miss our beloved farmer's market, the wonderful library, the long walks with my little man to the duck pond close by, the hills outside my window. I will crazily miss being only a short ride away from the cuisines of Argentina to Ethiopia and Vietnam and our regular barbecue picnics by China Camp State Park. Seeing my beloved Golden Gate shrouded by fog. I will dearly miss the friends we made here, and I know my little man will miss his friends here too.

Another half of me though, is growing more and more excited by the day. Excited about meeting up with family and our dear old friends whom we haven't seen in too long a while. One of my favorite cousin's wedding is on the day after we land and I couldn't be more thrilled that it is one wedding we won't have to miss! Looking forward to being steeped in tradition, colour, and chaos! I look forward to experience the wonderful food of my home with fresh eyes and to learn more about Indian cooking while I also try to recreate the food I enjoyed here. I look forward to wandering around the busy, colorful and crowded markets there and drinking cutting chai by the road side. To enjoy sweet golden mangoes and mangosteens from my grandmother's garden.

Lots to look forward to, hopefully even more beautiful than the wonderful years we will be leaving behind.

This means that things might get a little quiet around here, as I force my self away from the laptop and wrap up some stuff, but I will be back soon with new stories! And I won't be able to stay away from  facebook or instagram or twitter and will probably be bombarding you with minutia leading up to the big fat move!

To all our friends here: I hate saying goodbye, so I won't. See you in South India my loves, let me be your tour guide!

To all the old friends we are meeting and the new friends I hope to make: I. Cannot. Wait.

In celebration of Spring, while its still not very warm in most parts of the country, here is a one pot chicken dish adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours, which is very simple to make so is perfect if you are looking for an easy to throw together, yet dramatic Easter dish.

It makes the best of Spring veggies and you can drop in what ever you have on hand. Carrots, cabbage, caramelized shallots and garlic, everything is just sublime cooked along with the chicken. I had to experiment and add my own touch so added some lemons which add a wonderful tangy brightness and served with some couscous that readily soaked up the glorious chicken "gloop" as Dorie calls it.

This dish is a truly wonderful thing, way awesomer than the sum of its parts. Flavorful and bright from the lemon, it is a great way to finally welcome Spring! 

I pretty much followed Dorie's instructions that you can read on her blog here

Basically you take the biggest pot you have and heat some oil and sautee garlic,  and some shallots or onions and whatever vegetables you like- I just used some carrots
Then heat oil in a skillet and brown a whole chicken that has been patted down ( Remove the giblets and if you like, the skin as well- I did) and seasoned liberally with salt and pepper. No need to cut up the chicken, or you can use some chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken.
Place the chicken breast side down ( this I think is very important to avoid drying out the breast)  on to the veggies
Place wedges of cabbage and lemon as much as you can fit into your pot around the chicken.
Stir together a half a cup of wine, half a cup of olive oil and a cup of chicken broth ( or water mixed with bullion) and whatever herbs you like- I just used some dried oregano and thyme because I didn't have any fresh herbs,  and pour this over the chicken.
Then I just covered my pot with a tight lid, but Dories makes a flour-paste to seal the lid, or suggests using foil to cover the pot tightly.
Bake for 70 mins in an oven that has been preheated to 450 F

As Dorie promises, the chicken bakes up to be fall apart tender and gosh so amazingly flavorful  The juices or "gloop" is definitely the best thing about this dish, and the couscous and cabbage that magically soaks up all this flavour gets finished off first! Seriously don't skip the cabbage even if you are a cabbage hater. It transforms into something truly amazing. And I definitely recommend adding the lemon-made the chicken taste tangy fresh and just perfect for Spring!

Reminder: There are only two more days left to enter the giveaway for a very useful straining saucepan by Gitadini  so don't forget to stop by and leave your entry if you haven't already! 

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Beer Braised Cilantro Chicken Dumpling (or anything) Stew

Wait, what? it's Friday already? Gosh this week just flew past!

How are you all doing? Anyone down with the flu? I heard it's especially nasty this year. Stay warm  and well my friends!

We decided to skip getting flu shots this time, after having been sick immediately after getting the shot for the last two years. So I'm being extra careful. I caught my self edging away from people who sniffle! I have even become one of those people who carries around a clip-on bottle of hand sanitizer (!).

In spite of all this, in case we do succumb to those dastardly bugs (very likely because we have a germ magnet of a three year old who loves to share) I have stocked up on my homeo supply and will be making steaming mugs of masala chai, pepper soups and this stew. Guaranteed to make bleak and depressing days better. Why? because it's chicken stew and it has beer in it.

I'm not too much of a beer drinker, and would much rather sip a glass of wine. But every time the hubs brings home a case of beer, I squirrel away a couple of bottles to cook with. Beer tops wine in cooking, I think and adds a lovely hearty, malty flavor to everything. From pouring onto slow cooking meat, baking super easy beer bread and this chicken soup/stew, I love the many ways that beer can be used in the kitchen.

With the Superbowl this week end I am sure many of you will end up with more beer bottles than you could possibly drink. Use them well.

And while we are talking about the Super Bowl, I felt compelled to share some Super Bowl friendly food ideas:

Grilled Chicken Wings Indian Style
Melted Brie and Bruschetta Dip
Better than popcorn-spicy rice crispies and nut mix
Skillet Pizza with no knead 5 minute dough 
Garam Masala Pulled Pork- feed a crowd!
Pork Vindaloo
Tasty Tuna Cutlets or Croquettes
Easy Kerala Style Chicken Fry - one of the first recipes here!
Whole Wheat Pistachio Cardamom cookies
4 Ingredient quick and easy Nutella Brownies

And now back to this stew/ soup. I do love the dimension of flavor that beer adds to it. But it doesn't have to have beer. It's just a basic, really good chicken stew or soup that I make all the time with what ever I have on hand. All kinds of vegetables can be tossed in, including one of those bags of assorted frozen veggies. This stew helps me use up all kinds of left overs like roast chicken, rice, pasta or even lentils. This time I simmered it with a bottle of beer that was hanging out in the fridge, though you can easily skip the beer and use chicken stock instead. Sometimes I make it with egg noodles, sometimes I plop in bits of dough that absorb the delicious broth and cook into hearty, plump little dumplings. We ate them all up so I didn't have any to photograph, maybe next time, in the next incarnation of this stew that I make too often. 

It might interest you to know how different yet awesomely delicious too is the chicken stew that I grew up eating in Kerala- a gloriously spiced coconut milk, chicken, vegetable or meat stew that is one of my all time favorite dishes. My good friend Prerna Singh of Indian Simmer even features a slow cooker variation of it in her brand new cook book :)

Hurry over to her beautiful blog to win a copy of her first cook book and discover how to cook Indian Food easily and deliciously in the slow cooker.

Recipe for Beer Braised Cilantro Chicken Stew
Recipe by: Rose of Magpie's Recipes
Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast tenders or thighs 6
• Pearl onions or shallots 4 ( or you can use 1/4 of a regular onion)
• Garlic 6 cloves sliced into wedges
• Celery seed powder 1/4 tsp ( better to use fresh celery about a handful, chopped, I just didn't have any)
• Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
• Pepper 1/2 tsp
• Dried Thyme 1/2 tsp
• Carrots 1 cup sliced into thin rounds
• Scallions 2 chopped ( optional)
• Ginger 1 inch piece smashed
• Flour 1 tbsp
• Beer 1 twelve oz bottle ( optional, can use some more chicken stock instead)
• Chicken stock  2 cups ( can use bullion dissolved in 2 cups water)
• Cilantro a handfuls, chopped to garnish
• Oil (I use canola or light olive oil, sometimes one of those herb or garlic infused olive oils)

Directions

• Heat some oil in a skillet
• Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the chicken breasts and brown the chicken on both sides, don't cook, just brown
• Remove the chicken and keep aside
• In the same skillet, adding a little more oil if required, brown the garlic then the onion, then add the spices and vegetables and stir until lightly browned.
• Add back the browned chicken and stir in the flour. Keep stirring until the flour is slightly turned a light brown and is no longer raw.
• Add the chicken stock and or beer and let simmer.
• If you want to add noodles, pasta or cooked rice, this is the time.
• Check and add salt if required and garnish with chopped cilantro.
• Drizzle some olive oil, if you like ones infused with herbs or garlic, use that, and serve with bread, biscuits, or even over rice.

Note,  If I'm in a hurry this is what I do to save thawing the chicken in the microwave, I use my pressure cooker instead:
Pressure cook the frozen chicken tenders with 1/2 cup chicken stock or beer till thawed and cooked
Heat oil in a skillet and brown the chicken, cut it up with a fork and remove, proceed as above for the rest.

You can also make dumplings and simmer them in the stew until cooked:

Dumplings
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
Herbs (optional)
Water or milk

Mix the above ingredients with just enough water or milk to make a dough
Roll into small marble sized balls or scoop with a spoon and drop into the simmering stew.
Cover and let the dumplings cook until a skewer inserted into the dumpling comes out clean and the inside is not gummy ( 10 to 15 minutes, the smaller you roll them, the faster they will cook) 

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easy and quick cashew chicken stir fry and a trip to china town

Photo for "Less is More" Photography Exercise 

When we were kids, on Sunday after breakfast mom's kitchen was closed, and that was one day in the week she usually didn't cook. Sundays meant church, grocery shopping or trips to the zoo or the park, all of us watching the Mahabharata or Tipu Sultan on Door Darshan ( ah! those days before cable!) and the highlight being when dad would take us to our favourite neighbourhood eat out. Most often these were small hole in the wall kinds of places which I have learnt have some of the best food! Annapurna for crispy Dosas, the Shawarma stand at a nearby park, Moti Mahal for their yum butter chicken or to Golden Dragon, our neighbourhood Chinese restaurant where the food was in no way authentic to China but modified and spiced up to suit local tastes which is why I will only call it Asian inspired or Indo-Chinese.

Now that we live in the San Francisco Bay Area,  I have the opportunity to taste and discover many kinds of cuisines and sample unusual dishes and ingredients - from fresh tofu straight from the bamboo molds to funky fermented things. But even today when I crave Chinese food what I usually mean is the familiar, Indo-Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork,  chilly chicken, gobi manchurian etc. that I grew up eating.

So when I recently wandered around the colourful and bustling San Francisco China Town where I guess I will taste the most authentic versions of Chinese Cuisine without actually taking a flight to China, I found the food ( apart from the dim sums which I LOVE) to be bland to my taste buds accustomed to the heavy dose of garlic and ginger and assaulted with spices. Although I am beginning to appreciate more subtleties and nuances in flavour, more often I like my flavours really bold!

Visiting China Town:
Walk! It's impossible to find parking here. Plus it's great to wander around and soak in the ambiance and especially interesting to visit during parades and festivals- though ofcourse would be much more crowded then.
My little one loved the stone lions outside the Chinese Benevolent Association building.
For knick knacks and props : The Far East Flea Market 
and The Wok Shop for cast iron woks and other kitchen utensils
Keep an eye out for street art by the UK artist Banksy 

I love going to China Town to pick up unusual ingredients and inexpensive little props for the blog. It's good to carry cash as some stores don't take cards.
It's also great fun to walk through the busy market and see weird things like dried sea urchin that I someday hope to find a way to use in my cooking! There are also lots of familiar things too, like this dried shrimp that made my Mallu mouth water.

China Town has very unique bakeries with impossibly fluffy sponge cakes and filled steamed cakes, and these cute shaped breads, that I spotted while I was traipsing down the busy markets, camera in one hand and my delicious bubble tea in the other. That was a good day!



When I got back home I was craving some of the kind of spicy Asian inspired stir frys that for me ( An Indian in the US)  is quintessential Chinese food. I am very curious to hear suggestions for authentic and unique Chinese food I should try next time in China Town.

I usually make stir frys in my cast iron skillet to give the chicken a nice sear and a better alternative to deep frying. Garlic powder gives it that restaurant type taste, though I often add a lot of fresh garlic as well, being a household of garlic lovers! I toss in what ever vegetables I have on hand- broccoli, mushroom, peas, even a bag of frozen mixed veggies. That day it was bell peppers and onions and a handful of cashews for crunch!  It may not be authentic, but it sure tastes good!

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grilled chicken wings indian style for the last few weeks of summer

This has been one glorious summer. Beautiful sunny days just meant to be spent outdoors. Picnics, barbecues  melting ice cream, fairs, trips to the park and the  farmers market and a bounty of fruits and veggies and grilling. Let's not forget the grilling!

Especially when it came with views like this..

and days like these..

This is a picture I love of the little monkey going for a walk (or rather a run!) with his Ammama, after which he brought me this flower, sometimes its a leaf or a twig. Once it was a tiny rock. Toddler treasures! 

But back to the grilled chicken which made this summer complete. Simple to make on a grill or under the broiler or even on a pan on the stovetop. Easy and delicious! 

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Easy Baked Chicken and The Kerala Kitchen June 2011 Event Announcement

Last month the amazingly sweet Sarah of Spoonful of Delight hosted the Kerala Kitchen while I was busy packing, shifting houses, unpacking and rescuing a little monkey who loves to dive headfirst into cardboard boxes. Head on over to her wonderful site here to check out the awesome collection of Kerala inspired dishes we received from our awesome members. Now that I am all settled into my new home and new kitchen, I am happy to be hosting again! Sarah had a neat idea to make it even easier for you to submit entries, with a simple form that you can see at the end of this post, so no need to fuss with emails. Thanks for that, and for being such a wonderful person Sarah! 

Last week was another good friend, awesome blogger and my co host of Kerala Kitchen Ria's birthday and I celebrated with Chocolate Oreo cake. Today I am posting her grandmother's recipe for a delicious tender and juicy baked chicken which is also super easy to make. It earned her mom the Pachakarani ( Queen of cooking) title at a cookery competition so you can be certain this is a surefire hit! 

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Healthy Spinach Chicken Curry or Chicken Cheera for your New Year Resolutions!

This January you may have seen many new, earnest faces at your Gym. You would  have had to wait patiently to use your favourite elliptical machine. But come February, by when the achy muscles have worn the motivation off the gym will be nice and empty again. Notice I used "you". Unfortunately I am one of those slackers- who are all pumped up in January, after a month of excess and holiday excuses. Or in my case a year of "Hey I just had  a baby ok?" excuses. Now that the baby has turned one, I have run out of excuses :(
I'm hoping this year will be different and that my New Year resolutions for healthier living sticks.

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Chicken Curry in a hurry for Kerala Kitchen

There are those days when you imagine yourself to be the next Julia Child and whip up delicious and elaborate meals with a smile on your face. Then there are those days-when all you want to do at the end of a long and tiring day where everything went wrong, is to eat a hearty dinner and curl up in bed. Those days when cooking, especially a curry with all that frying of onions and masalas, and all the clean up after seems insurmountable.

On those days I call for greasy take out make Pal Pizinja Kozhi Curry ( Chicken curry in coconut milk) an everyday Syrian Christian Chicken Curry that my mom made very often, and now I do too.

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Easy & Quick Bourbon Chicken

Bourbon chicken is a flavorful chicken dish named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana and for the bourbon whiskey ingredient. The dish is commonly found at Cajun, Chinese, and American BBQ themed restaurants.

The recipe includes soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and bourbon in the base, and the chicken is marinated in this sauce. - Wikipedia 


Almost all Chinese take out menus and those at the mall food courts feature some version of this chicken in a dark sweet/sour sauce served over mounds of steaming white rice. I found this recipe while looking for something to whip up quickly for dinner one night and was intrigued by the more than 2000 reviews it had received over at recipezaar. It may not be athentic, but so many people thought it was great- fast to whip up and delicious, and I do too!


Bourbon Chicken
Recipe source: LinMarie on recipezaar now Food.com from here


Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts or tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic pod , crushed ( I used garlic paste)
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger ( I used ginger paste)
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup apple juice ( I used store bought prune juice, others have used orange)
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar ( I used regular sugar)
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp to 1/4 cup Bourbon whiskey ( Optional) 

Method

• Heat oil in a large skillet.
• Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned.
• Remove chicken.
• Add remaining ingredients, mix well over medium heat until everything is dissolved and well combined.
• Add chicken and bring to a hard boil.
• If you like the sauce to be thicker, you can add 1 tsp of cornflour diluted in about 1/4 cup water while boiling and mix well. 
• Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
• Serve over rice and with steamed vegetables.

Verdict: 

Ease:  * * * * *

Taste: * * * * *

It's all done in about half an hour and is so easy to prepare but tastes like you have slaved for hours. Was an instant hit and will definitely be made very frequently.
Thanks Anonymous commentators, have included your suggestions and will try them next time I make this! Do leave your names so I can thank you by name :) 

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Chicken Curry in Coconut Milk

The curry is spicy and rich and since the chicken is cooked ( preferably in a pressure cooker) with the spices and coconut milk, it becomes tender and absorbs all the flavours. Commonly called Pal Pizincha Kozhi Curry, this is a family favourite, as it is in most homes in Kerala and you are sure to have tasted it, with rice, appam, or chappatis if you are from Trichur and a Syrian Christian. It goes especially well with the layered buttery soft Malabar Parathas that I picked up conveniently frozen and microwave ready, from the Indian grocery store, and also with rice, appams, stringhoppers, rotis and even bread.

With coconut milk being available in tins nowadays, it is quite easy to make too, though an even easier and much faster version of this curry, can be found here: chicken curry in a hurry


Pal Pizincha Kozi Curry  (Chicken curry in a thick coconut milk gravy)
Recipe source: This is a common preparation in many Syrian Christian homes and one we make very often at home

 Ingredients:

• Chicken ( Cut into medium sized pieces. Can also use about 3 frozen and thawed chicken breasts or equivalent) – 6 pieces 
• Potatoes ( small sized)- 4 ( cubed)
• Ginger paste- 2 tsp
• Garlic paste-2 tsp 
• Onions (medium sized)– 2 (Chopped ) 
• Tomato (medium sized)– 2 (Chopped) 
• Green Chillies – 6 slit into halves (add more or less depending on your tolerance for spice)
• Red Chilly powder – 1 1/2 tsp 
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Garam masala – 2 tbsp 
• Coriander powder 1 tbsp 
• Coconut milk – 1 cup (Can use tinned or mix 3 tbsp coconut powder in warm water) 
• Oil – 2 tbsp 
• Salt- 1 tsp 

For garnish ( optional) 

• Coriander/cilantro leaves – a small bunch (optional) 
• Mint leaves- a small bunch (optional) 

Method 

• Take a deep dish ( preferably use a pressure cooker) and add the oil. Keep on medium flame 
• When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and salt and fry till translucent
• Add the ginger garlic paste and keep stirring so that it doesn't get burnt 
• When it turns brown and the oil starts to separate from the onion garlic and ginger mixture, add the spices ( red chilly pwd, turmeric pwd, coriander pwd and garam masala pwd)
• Saute for a minute until the spices get roasted and the raw smell leaves. 
• Add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies slit lengthwise and saute for a couple of minutes 
• Add the cleaned and cut chicken pieces and saute for a couple of minutes so that the pieces are well covered in the masala and the flesh turns whitish. 
• Add the potatoes. Add 1 cup thin coconut milk ( also called second extraction and if using a tin, this is the thinner milk that collects at the bottom of the tin, under the heavier creamy part- I usually turn the tin over and open it, so that I can pour out the thinner milk first. The thinner milk does not curdle as much as the thicker milk) with 1 cup water 
• Close the lid of the pressure cooker and when the whistle blows, lower the flame and simmer for 7 minutes. 
• Alternatively, you may need to cook it for about 15-20 mins if you are not using a pressure cooker. The potatoes should now be soft enough for a fork to go through easily. 
• Now add the creamier, thicker coconut milk ( also called first extraction) 
• The chicken curry is ready to serve and if you want you could garnish it with coriander and mint leaves.

Sometimes the thicker milk is added first which then curdles creating a thicker consistency which come prefer. I prefer not to do this since I use tinned coconut milk which tastes a little weird when it curdles.

You can also make this curry vegetarian by substituting the chicken for potatoes and adding some hard boiled eggs at the end. I also make this with channa beans, capsicum  and potato during lent time. It is also made with beef.

If you like this, try out the much easier chicken curry in a hurry which tastes a lot like this but takes much less time since you just add everything to the pressure cooker and let it cook- no frying

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