dholl puri ( to go with rice pudding or curry ) Indian split peas breads :)

• FILLING:
• 1 cup yellow split peas, soaked overnight
• Salt to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Hot pepper to taste, chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 
  
• DOUGH:
• 1 pinch of yellow food coloring (optional)
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (a little more or less may be needed)
• 
  
• COOKING:
• Vegetable or Canola oil

Preparation:

FILLING:

1. Drain water from peas that has been soaking overnight. Rinse peas a few times until the water runs clear. Transfer peas to a pot along with water to cover the peas and bring to a boil on high heat. When the peas comes to a boil, add salt to taste and cook until the peas has a slight bite to it. Drain thoroughly and spread out on a large baking sheet to air dry.
2. Add garlic and pepper to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mince. Scrap down the sides of the bowl. Add peas and pulse until the mixture is very fine, like cornmeal. The mixture should not be like it paste. Transfer to a bowl and fluff with a fork.
3. Add cumin, mix and fluff. Set aside.
   
   
   DOUGH:
   
   1. Meanwhile, add flour, baking powder, yellow coloring, sugar and salt to a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Drizzle in oil and incorporate into mixture.
   2. Add lukewarm water to make a dough. Once the dough comes together, knead for 3 minutes. Rub oil all over the dough and place in bowl and let rest for at least 1 hr.
      
      ASSEMBLING:
      
      
      1. Knead rested dough for 1 - 2 minutes and then cut into 10 - 12 equal pieces.
      2. Working with one piece of dough at a time, pat each piece into a round disk, about 3 inches wide. Place the dough in one hand and form a cup. Using a tablespoon, add the filling to the dough (do not over stuff). Pinch the ends of the dough together to seal in the filling.
      3. Place the stuffed dough, seam-side down on an oiled baking sheet. Pat each stuffed dough-ball with a little oil to prevent a skin from forming.
      4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all the dough is stuffed. Cover the stuffed dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

COOKING:

1. Heat a flat iron griddle or a 10 - 12 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, flour work surface and rolling pin. Take one of the stuffed dough-balls and flatten with your hand; working from the center, start rolling the dough back and forth, turn the dough to a 90-degree angle and keep rolling and turning until you have a round, thin, flat dough (it may be necessary to dust the rolling pin or work surface with a little extra flour as you work).
3. Dust off any excess flour and transfer the rolled dough to the griddle or cast iron skillet. Let cook until parts of the dough start to puff up with little bubbles; immediately flip the bread, brush with oil, let cook for 30 seconds then flip and brush the other side, cook for another 30 - 45 seconds and then remove from heat with a flat spatula. Reduce heat if the bread is browning quickly and not cooking through.
4. Place in a basket lined with a tea towel and kitchen paper.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all the dhal puri is cooked. To prevent the puri(s) sticking together, place a 4-inch piece of wax paper between each dhal puri as it is added to the basket.
   
   
   serve with hot curry or rice pudding !!!!

ipunjabi bread (bhature)

Ingredients

• Refined flour (maida) 4 cups

• Fresh yeast 3 teaspoons • Salt 1 teaspoon • Sugar 1 teaspoon • Yogurt 1/2 cup • Milk 1 cup • Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto) 2 teaspoons

Method

 Preheat oven to 200°C. Take refined in a bowl. Add fresh yeast dissolved in a little water, salt, sugar and yogurt and mix. Add milk and sufficient water and poppy seeds and knead into a soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth and set the dough aside to ferment. Divide into lemon sized portions and roll into oval shaped bhatures. Place them on a greased baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for fifteen minutes. Serve hot with chole( fried beans). 

tandoori chicken :)

Preparation : 30 minutes + marinating time ; Cooking Time : 25 minutes @ 550 F

Ingredients

• Chicken – 1.5 lb / 680 gm / 5 leg piece

Marinade:

• Low fat Yogurt / Curd – 1 cup
• Onion – 1 (small around 57 gm)
• Lime – 1/2
• Garlic – 1 clove
• Ginger – 1/2 inch (size of garlic), peel the skin off
• Green Chili – 2
• Garam Masala – 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp or as per taste
• Red food color + Orange Food Color (kesari powder) – few large drops

For Baking

• Jelly roll pan or cookie tray.
• Aluminium/Aluminum Foil
• Pastry brush (optional)

Method

• Wash the chicken legs. Let the water drain and place them on a large plate. Do not remove the skin part, it will actually protect the flesh when you bake. Create 2 slits on each side of the leg. The knife needs to touch the bone which means the slit is nice deep and big. This will help the marinade to penetrate into the chicken.
• Squeeze 1/2 lime into a bowl. To the lime juice, add 1/2 tsp salt. Mix it well so that the salt dissolves. Now take 1 leg piece at a time, take some lime juice and massage the chicken on both sides. Using a spoon or your hand add few drops of lime juice into the slits and massage it. Repeat with other chicken piece. By the time you massage the last piece you would have very less juice, but that’s ok. Place them back on a plate and refrigerate it for 20-30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a blender/mixie, add yogurt/curd, garam masala, ginger, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, green chili, sliced onion and grind it to a smooth paste. You might want to ensure that there are no small chunks of garlic or onion. Please feel free to adjust salt as per your taste. I have added extra salt to the paste.
• Now take the chicken from the refrigerator. Remember the bowl that you used to squeeze lime, add few drops of food color and few drops of water. Using your hand or brush, rub the food color on the chicken piece. Remember to rub in between the slits as well. Now your chicken will look all red. Don’t panic
• Pour the marinade in a large bowl or a freezer bag. Add one chicken piece at a time and massage the paste into the slits and on both sides and leave it in the bowl/bag. Repeat. Now close the bowl or zip the freezer bag. Give a nice shake and keep them back in the refrigerator. Now you can forget about the chicken at least for 8 hrs or one whole day. I usually marinate it a day before and let it soak for one whole day. More you marinate better the taste.
• Next day: Clean up your oven (if you have any pots and pans in it) and preheat it to 550 F (that is the maximum I can set in my oven).  Take your cookie/jelly pan. Line it with aluminum foil generously. Take the marinated chicken out of your refrigerator, remove one leg piece and shake it up. Let the marinade drip completely. Place it on the cookie sheet/pan (ensure that the skin part covers the chicken). Repeat the same with other chicken pieces.
• Using your oven mitts, carefully place the tray into the center rack of the oven. Set the timer for 15 minutes. Let it cook. Then use your oven mitts again and pull the tray out. Baste it with marinade  using a brush or a spoon or something else but not your hand and put it back in the oven for 10 minutes. Let the juices run out. Don’t worry if the juices around the chicken starts burning. At this extreme temperature it has to.
• When the oven timer starts beeping, pull the tray out and let it cool slightly. Slowly take the chicken pieces. If it is stuck to the foil, no problem.  Remember I asked you to leave the skin part as is. So only the skin part might be sticking to it and the flesh part will still be safe Thats it, lip-smacking restaurant style tandoori chicken is ready to serve.

Serving Suggestion

Wrap the bone part with small piece of aluminum foil to give a gourmet look. Serve it with sliced onion, green chili, lime/lemon wedges and a spicy green chutney.

Variations

• You can use Chicken breast or thighs, but the cooking time will vary as the breast will cook faster than the drumsticks.

Notes

You can use the remaining marinade to make curries like Tandoori chicken masala or Paneer Masala else you can freeze it and use it to make another batch of Tandoori Chicken.

Update: Maximum temperature settings in a oven varies from place to place. I came to know that 500 F is maximum in some oven. In that case set it to maximum and you might want to bake it little longer. But watch out the chicken, you really don’t want to burn it or make it dry. Best Tandoori Chicken should be little hard on the outside (you should have a crust bascially) and soft and juicy in the inside. So when you reach that consistency, turn off the oven.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

• 3 whole (to 4) Chicken Breasts
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Coriander
• Cumin, To Taste
• 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Large Onion
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 piece (approximately 2 Inches) Chunk Fresh Ginger
• Garam Masala
• 1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes
• Sugar
• 1-1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 cups Basmati Rice
• _____
• OPTIONAL:
• Fresh Cilantro
• Chili Peppers
• Turmeric
• Frozen Peas

Preparation Instructions

Start by seasoning the chicken breasts with some kosher salt. Next sprinkle them on both sides with some coriander and cumin. Then coat the chicken breasts completely with the plain yogurt. Set the chicken on a metal cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and place it about 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes per side. Watch carefully so as not to totally char the chicken. It should have slightly blackened edges. Remove from oven.

Next dice one large onion. In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned. As the onions cook, mince your garlic. Next, cut off the outer skin and mince or grate a 1 by 2 inch chunk of fresh ginger. Add the garlic and ginger to the onions. Also throw in about 1 tablespoon of salt.

Next you are going to add about 3 tablespoons Garam Masala spice. And if you like it hot, this is also when you will add your hot chili peppers. Serranos work well. Now you are going to add your can of diced tomatoes. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add about 1 tablespoon sugar. Let this mixture simmer on medium for about 5 minutes.

To a rice cooker add 2 cups Basmati rice, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Ground Turmeric and 4 cups water. Cover, turn on your rice cooker and walk away. If you do not have a rice cooker, cook your rice as usual but make sure that you use Basmati rice.

After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a little bit, add in the 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. Now, chop up your chicken breasts into chunks and stir them into the Tikka Masala sauce. A handful of chopped fresh cilantro is a nice addition if you like cilantro. You can also throw some frozen peas into the cooked rice, give them a stir, and allow the heat of the rice to cook the peas. It tastes great and gives another nice dash of color. Serve the rice with the Chicken Tikka Masala over top. Make sure to have some Nann bread handy, too.

love nady