An Indian (British) Dinner

On occasion I do actually post things that aren’t baked (or desserts). This week for dinner I decided to take a crack at making myself some Indian food. But, I made Chicken Tikka Masala, which an Indian friend told me really is British food. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed making it, and eating it. Alongside I made some curried cauliflower, and I had palak paneer and naan from Trader Joes. All in all a full quasi-Indian feast.

For the chicken I used a marinade from Mike’s Table. I thought it was excellent, even by itself it made for a very moist, flavorful chicken thigh. After that I made a sauce based on that from All Recipes, I made a fair number of changes to it though. Finally, I made this curried cauliflower from epicurious, which I thought was only so-so. The flavors weren’t as strong as I was expecting, and some of it burnt, if I were to do it again I might cook it at a slightly lower temperature.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Makes 4 servings

For Marinade:

1 ½ - 2 lbs chicken thighs, skinned, deboned, with excess fat removed

2 T ginger paste

2 T garlic paste

½ tsp salt

¼ cup plain yogurt

½ T chili powder (more if you want it spicier)

1 ½ T vegetable oil

For Sauce:

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno chili, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped

3-4 green cardamom pods

1 t whole coriander seeds

1 T butter

2 ½ tsp ground cumin

2 tsp hot paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

½ cup plain yogurt

Salt to taste

1. Place the chicken, ginger, garlic, and salt in a bowl. Rub the chicken with the mix, trying to get even coverage.

2. In a separate bowl whisk together the yogurt, chili powder, and 1 T of the oil.

3. Toss the chicken with the yogurt mixture. Mix in the rest of the oil.

4. Seal the chicken and marinade in an airtight container, refrigerate for at least an hour, or over night.

5. Spread the chicken with the marinade in a roasting pan, and place under a broiler at 450. Broil for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through but moist.

6. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, jalapeno, cardamom pods, and coriander seeds. Saute for a minute.

7. Add the cumin, paprika, some salt, the tomatoes, and the yogurt.

8. Use an immersion (stick) blender to puree the sauce, if you don’t have one you can pour the sauce into a regular blender, just be careful, because it’s hot. You might remove the cardamom pods before this, but I didn’t, and they stayed pretty much intact.

9. Cook the sauce until heated through. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. Add the chopped chicken to the sauce and cook for five minutes.

10. Serve immediately over basmati rice

Curried Cauliflower

12 cups cauliflower florets (from about 4 pounds cauliflower)

1 large onion, peeled, quartered

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

3 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 tablespoon Hungarian hot paprika

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place cauliflower florets in large roasting pan. Pull apart onion quarters into separate layers; add to cauliflower.

2. Stir coriander seeds and cumin seeds in small skillet over medium heat until slightly darkened, about 5 minutes. Crush coarsely in mortar with pestle. Place seeds in medium bowl. Whisk in oil, vinegar, curry powder, paprika, and salt.

3. Pour dressing over vegetables; toss to coat. Spread vegetables in single layer. Sprinkle with pepper.

4. Roast vegetables until tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

I know this is a little overdue, and the picture's not great, but I’ve finally got the time to post the main course I served at my dinner party the other night. I honestly didn’t think this was that great. Part of it was my fault, as I undercooked the fish. The crust was also a little lacking though. The mixture was too thick to really spread onto the fish, and so it was really more of fish covered by lumps. After it had gone back under the broiler it was spreadable, and if I had put it back under the broiler, it probably would have turned it into more of a crust, which is what I would recommend if you do this. As for the potato pancakes, I used this recipe. The centers of the pancakes were good, but the edges became blackened and charred. I don’t know if the cooking temperature should have been lower, the cooking time shorter, or if there just should have been thicker edges. I doubled the pancake recipe when I made it, but provided the original here. I also served steamed broccoli, but I won’t bother providing a recipe for that.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Makes 5 filets

5 tilapia filets 

1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese 

1/3 cup bread crumbs 

2 ½ T unsalted butter, softened 

2 T low-fat mayonnaise 

4 t lemon juice 

¼ tsp smoked paprika 

¼ tsp garlic powder 

1/8 tsp onion powder 

1/8 tsp celery salt 

1/8 tsp dried basil 

Pinch black pepper 

Pinch salt 

Pinch cayenne pepper

1. Set your oven to broil. Whisk together everything that’s not the tilapia. Grease a broiler pan and place the tilapia in the pan.

2. Put the tilapia under the broiler, cook for three minutes, flip the tilapia over and bake for another 2 minutes. Take the tilapia out of the oven and spread the topping evenly over each piece of fish (I had trouble spreading it, so I more lumped it, if you have this problem take the tilapia out with a minute left and spread the topping better). Put the tilapia back under the broiler, and cook until it flakes, and is fully cooked.

 

Hashbrown cakes

Makes 4

1 1/2 cups paper-thin onion slices 

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, coarsely grated on large holes of box grater or in processor (about 2 1/2 cups) 

1 teaspoon salt, divided 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Put the potatoes in a medium bowl with half of the salt. Let sit for 5 minutes. Place the onions in a large bowl. Squeeze the water out of the potatoes, and mix them with the onions. Toss with the butter and remaining salt.

2. Place 4 mounds of the potato mixture onto a buttered baking sheet. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Take the baking sheet out of the oven, and turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Use a flat spatula to press down each pancake until flat. Flip each pancake over, and place back in the oven. Bake for another 45 minutes, or until cakes are golden and crisp around the edges.

 

Salsa Verde

I made this salsa to accompany the empanadas I made. People really ate this up, and I thought it was really good. When I first made it, it was a little on the oniony side, but the onion mellowed a little with a night in the fridge.

Salsa Verde

Makes 3 -4 cups

1 ½ lbs fresh tomatillos, husked 

1 medium white onion, coarsely chopped 

3 green onions 

2/3 cup cilantro leaves 

1 ½ T fresh lime juice 

5 cloves garlic 

¼ tsp sugar 

2 jalapenos deveined and seeded 

1 Serrano, deveined and seeded 

Salt to taste

1. Turn on your oven’s broiler with a rack directly under it and let it heat up. Cut the tomatillos in half, and place them cut side down on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Broil them for 5-7 minutes, until the skins are just starting to blacken.

2. Place the roasted tomatillos and all the other ingredients into a food processor and blend until fully mixed.