Buttermilk Fried Chicken

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (3 pound) fryer (see Wikipedia on the difference between broilers, fryers, and roasting birds), cut into pieces
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (parsley, tarragon, thyme) or a teaspoon each of the dried herbs.
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups canola oil, rice bran oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil or other high smoke-point oil

METHOD

1 Soak chicken overnight (at least 8 hours and up to two days) in buttermilk with onions, herbs, paprika, and cayenne pepper. (Regarding the use of buttermilk, my mother has had good results from soaking chicken in plain yogurt instead of buttermilk.)

2 Drain in a colander, leaving some of the herbs on chicken. In a large paper or plastic (sturdy) bag, mix flour with seasonings. Meanwhile, heat 2 cups of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (cast iron, stainless steel, or anodized aluminum – something that can take the heat) on medium high heat until a pinch of flour starts to sizzle when dropped in the hot oil (but not so hot that the pan is smoking). Remember when working with hot oil, always have a pan lid close by.

3 Place chicken pieces in bag with flour and shake until thoroughly coated. Add chicken to hot pan and fry on 1 side for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown, and then use tongs to turn the pieces over and fry for another 10-12 minutes, again until golden brown.

Be careful to keep the oil hot enough to fry the chicken, but not so high as it burns the chicken. To do this on our electric stove we have to alternate the settings between high to medium high several times while we are cooking.

4 Use tongs to remove chicken from pan. Place on a rack over a cookie sheet or broiling pan for the excess oil to drain. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Beer Braised Chicken and Onions

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 2 hours
• Yield: Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 chicken thighs, about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds
• Salt
• 3 pounds yellow onions, sliced 1/4-inch thick, root to stem, about 6-8 cups sliced
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 Tbsp smooth Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups dark beer
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 Melt the butter in a large, heavy pot with a lid, such as a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and set them skin side down in the butter. Salt the meat side lightly. Brown the chicken on both sides well. Remove the browned thighs from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

2 The chicken skin has likely rendered quite a bit of fat. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan, taking care to not discard any of the tasty browned bits. (Note, do not discard the fat down the drain, you may clog your plumbing. Pour off into a jar.) Lower the heat to medium and add the sliced onions to the pan. If you want, sprinkle brown sugar over the onions. This is optional. The added sugar will intensify the natural sweetness of the onions. Cook the onions slowly, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes.

3 Add the bay leaves, thyme, mustard, 2 teaspoons of salt, and beer to the onions. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken thighs and the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

4 Cook covered for 45 minutes, then uncover the pot and simmer well until the liquid is greatly reduced and the meat wants to fall off the bone, between 45 minutes and 1 hour. If you are using unsalted or low sodium stock, you will likely need to add more salt. Add freshly ground black pepper and more salt to taste.

Serve over egg noodles or with rice or potatoes.

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• A small pinch of ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 large onion, sliced root to tip
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
• 2 Tbsp canola oil, rice bran oil or Indian ghee
• 1 14-oz can coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp lime juice, or to taste
• 12-20 fresh basil leaves, torn roughly
• Hot cooked rice for serving

Method

1 In a small bowl, mix together the salt, ground coriander, cumin, ground cloves, cinnamon, ground cardamom, black pepper, cayenne and turmeric. Set aside.

2 In a wok or deep sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat. The moment the oil begins to smoke, add the onions and jalapeños and toss to coat in oil. Sear the vegetables for 3 minutes, stirring only enough to keep them from burning, but still allowing the onions to sear.

3 Add the ginger, garlic and spice mixture and toss to combine, cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and chicken. Stir the mixture so that the chicken pieces are coated in the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

4 When the chicken is tender, turn off the heat and add the basil and lime juice. Add more lime juice and salt to taste and serve over rice.

Barbecued Buffalo Wings

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 1-12, depending on your appetite.

We like to make our own wing sauce, but you could use a store-bought one if you are pressed for time.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds chicken wings
• Salt
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp or 1 stick) unsalted butter
• 12 Tbsp hot sauce (Crystal, Texas Pete, Tabasco, etc)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Method

1 To make the sauce, mix all of the ingredients together in a small pot set over low heat and stir constantly until the butter melts. Once the butter melts, whisk the sauce vigorously off the heat and set aside. It should remain liquid throughout the cooking process. If it starts to solidify, heat it up just enough to melt it, whisking all the time. You don’t want this sauce to boil.

2 Using a sturdy chef’s knife or poultry shears, cut off the wing tips and either discard or reserve (we usually freeze) for making chicken stock. Use the knife or sheers to separate the drumettes from the flats (the mid-joint wings).

3 Toss the wings with the vegetable oil and the salt, and arrange in one layer on the grill set over low heat. If you are using charcoal or wood, it will be very difficult to do this, so set your fire on one side of the grill and arrange the wings on the other side, away from the direct heat. You want them to cook slowly, with little or no sizzle. Cover the grill and cook like this for 30 minutes.

4 Turn the wings and paint with the Buffalo wing sauce. Close the grill and cook for another 30 minutes. Repeat the process, until the wings are done to your liking, this time painting the wings every 15 minutes or so. Make sure you have a little leftover sauce to toss the wings with at the end.

Apricot Chicken

Yield: Serves 6.

If you don’t have fresh apricots, you can use a combo of dried pitted apricots and apricot jam. Chop up about a dozen dried apricots and add them, with a half cup of apricot jam, to the stock in step 4 (skipping steps 1 and 5).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds apricots, roughly chopped, pits removed and discarded
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 pounds skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces
• Salt
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (can sub olive oil)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cups chicken stock or broth (use gluten-free stock if you are cooking gluten-free)
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco or other hot sauce (you can add more if you like)
• Black pepper

Method

1 Place the chopped apricots in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and the vinegar. Let sit while you brown the chicken in the next step.

2 In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, place chicken pieces in the pan, without crowding the pan, and brown them on each side. As the chicken cooks, sprinkle salt over it. Once the chicken is browned, remove the pieces from the pan to a bowl and set aside.

3 Add the remaining oil to the pan and sauté the onion until it begins to brown. As the onion cooks and releases moisture, use a flat edged spatula or wooden spoon to scrape off the browned bits from the chicken (called fond) from the bottom of the pan.

4 Once the onions have browned a bit, add the chicken stock and lower the heat to medium.

5 Put about 2/3 of the apricots, along with any juice they have given up, into a blender and blend into a purée. Pour the purée into the pan with the chicken stock and onions.

6 Add the cinnamon, rosemary and Tabasco and taste. You may need to add some salt. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and gently simmer for 10-20 minutes.

7 When you are ready to serve, put the chicken and the remaining apricot pieces into the pan and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with rice.

Beef Kebabs

• Prep time: 45 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4 to 6.

Using bamboo or wooden skewers instead of metal will help keep the steak from getting overcooked on the inside. Metal transfers heat, so is useful to use for chicken, or a meat that you want to cook all the way through, but not so useful for steak that you want done rare or medium rare.

Ingredients

Marinade Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Kebab Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs top sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large bell pepper
• 1-2 medium red onions
• 1/2 to a pound button mushrooms

• About 20 bamboo or wooden skewers

Method

1 Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and add the meat. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably several hours or even overnight. (Heck, I’ve kept the meat marinating for a couple days, still great.)

2 Soak the skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling. This will help prevent them from completely burning up o the grill.

3 Cut the vegetables into chunks roughly the width of the beef pieces. Taking care not to poke yourself, thread the meat and vegetables onto double bamboo skewers. One way to do this safely is to put the piece that you are trying to pierce on a cutting board, and then push the skewers through the piece to the board. Using double skewers will help you turn the kebabs on the grill. If you keep a little space between the pieces, they will grill more evenly. Paint the kebabs with some of the remaining marinade.

3 Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. Grill for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is, and how done you would like your meat, turning occasionally. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Achari Murg

Ingredients

Chicken – 1 kg (cut into small pieces)
Dry red chillies – 8-10
Carom Seeds (Ajwain) – 1/2 tsp
Onion – 3 (chopped)
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tblsp
Tomatoes – 3-4 (pureed)
Green Chillies – 5-7 (You could use bell peppers or jalapenos instead.)
Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
Yogurt – 1/2 cup (use more if needed)
Lemon Juice – 2 tblsp
Salt – to taste
Pickle with it oil – 2-3 tblsp (I use mango pickle or garlic pickle)
Cilantro – handful

For seasoning (Paanch Pooran)

Mustard Oil – 2-3 tblsp
Mustard seeds (Rai) – 1 tsp
Onion seeds (Kalonji) – 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds (Methi dana) – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (Jeera) – 1 tsp
Fennel seeds (Saunf) – 1 tsp

Method
1. Wash the chicken pieces nicely. Add some salt, lemon juice and slit green chillies to the chicken. Let this marinate while we get the other things ready.
2. Heat oil in a kadai and add the seasoning ingredients (paanch pooran).
3. Add the dry red chillies and carom seeds.
4. Add the chopped onion and saute till it turns golden brown.
5. Next fry the ginger garlic paste. Add the pureed tomato.
6. Add the red chilly powder, salt, turmeric powder, pickle and let it cook till oil seperates from the masala.
7. Add the chicken pieces and saute till the masala coats the chicken and the outside of the chicken is cooked.
Tips : – You can use any brand of pickle of your choice – home made or store bought. This is not part of the traditional recipe but adding the pickle takes the dish to a whole new level.
– If you want some gravy, add the yogurt at this stage. If you like it dry, scale down and add less curd or skip it all together.
8. Cover and reduce the flame. Let the chicken cook in its own juices for 15-20 minutes. Splash some water only if the chicken sticks to the bottom of the pan.
9. Check for seasoning. Adjust salt, chilly powder and lemon juice according to your taste.
10. Garnish with cilantro and switch off. Serve with any roti or white rice.

The best part about the dish is the red and green chillies. They are so much flavoured with the spices in Achari Murg that you could eat them too.

Butter Chicken

Ingredients

Turkey/Chicken – 1 lb (boneless, skinless)
Onion – 1 (chopped)
Tomato – 3-4 (chopped)
Cashews/Almonds – 5-6
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Green chilly – 1 (chopped)
Kasoori Methi –  1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp
Fresh Cream ( or Heavy cream) – 1/4 cup
Chilly powder – 1/2 tsp + 1/4tsp
Corriander cumin powder – 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam masala – 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cilantro – for garnish
Butter – 2 tblsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tblsp

Method
1. Wash the turkey/chicken and cut it into 1 inch thick cubes.
2. Apply little salt, chillipowder, corriander powder, kasoori methi and ginger garlic paste. Shallow fry in little oil and keep it aside. You can also put it in skewers and bake it in the oven.
Tip :- To keep things simple, use 2 tblsp of tandoori chicken masala powder instead of all the individual spices (any brand is fine).
3. Heat some oil/butter in a pan and saute the onions followed by ginger garlic paste, green chilly and tomatoes.
4. When all these are nicely sauteed, remove from stove and let it cool a bit.
5. After it is cool enough to handle, grind everything in a blender/ mixie with the cashew nuts to make a paste.
6. Melt the butter in a pan, splutter some cumin seeds. Add this groud mixture and cook it for few minutes until the nuts gets cooked.
7. Next add the fried turkey/chicken pieces, with all the dry spices like chilly powder, corriander powder, turmeric powder, kasoori methi, garam masala and salt.
8. Cover and let it cook for 10-15 minutes in medium low flame so the flavours combine nicely.
9. Add the heavy cream, mix everything and let it simmer for few minutes.
10. Garnish with chopped cilantro or some cream and serve with pulav, naan, roti. It goes well with anything.

Tips
1.If you do not have heavy cream on hand, substitute with whole milk and butter/cheese.
2.In restaurants one spoon of sugar is usually added to the butter chicken gravy. I prefer without the sugar. You can add it to get the restaurant flavour.

Almond Chicken

Ingredients    

Chicken – 1 whole chicken (2 lbs cut into small pieces)
Almonds – 10
Cashew nuts – 10
(You can also add all almonds too)
Onion – 4-5 (finely chopped)
Yogurt – 1 cup
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tblsp
Whole Garam Masala – ( 1 piece cinnamon, 4 cloves, 2 cardomon)
Coconut Milk/ Cream – 1 cup
(Adding coconut milk gives a south indian flavour)
Green Chillies – 5 (or as needed)
White Pepper – 2 tsp
Corriander-cumin powder – 1 tblsp (optional)
Fennel Seeds – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Cilantro – for garnish
Toasted sliced almonds – 2 tblsp (for garnish)

Method
1. Soak the almonds, cashews and green chillies for 5-10 minutes and make a paste of it along with the soaked water. Keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the garam masala and fennel seeds.
3. Fry the chopped onions till it sweats. Next fry the ginger garlic paste.
4. Add the ground almond-cashew-chilly paste.
5. Next add the corriander-cumin powder and 1/4 cup of water to prevent the masala from getting burnt.
6. Cover and cook this paste for 15 minutes till oil seperates from the masala.
7. Now add the yogurt and chicken pieces and saute for 5 minutes.
8. Add the coconut milk/cream, required salt, white pepper powder and more water as needed. Cover and let the chicken cook till it is completely cooked.
9. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro and sliced almonds and serve with pulav or roti varieties.

Tips 
Since we have added corriander cumin powder, the gravy will be light brown in colour. If you want a nice white gravy, do not add it.

Shahi Mutton

Ingredients

Mutton – 1 kg
Onions – 2 (chopped)
Brown Onion Paste – 1/2 cup
Tomato – 3 (pureed)
Yogurt – 1 1/2 cup
Potatoes – 2 (each cut into 4 pieces)
Ginger Paste – 2 tblsp
Garlic Paste – 2 tblsp
Corriander leaves & Mint leaves paste – 3 tblsp
Cashew nut Paste – 2 tblsp
Bay Leaf – 2
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly Powder – 1 tblsp
Garam Masala Powder – 2 tblsp
White Salt & Black Salt – to taste

Method
1. Marinate the mutton with 1 tblsp. oil, yoghurt, white salt, 1 tblsp. garam masala powder, coriander/pudina paste, ginger/garlic paste, for atleast 2 hours. If overnight, cover with plastic foil & refrigerate.
2. Heat 6 tblsp oil. Add bay leaves (tejpatta) & chopped onion and fry well until onion turns pink.
3. Add mutton, fry it well. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, tomato puree and fry well until oil separates.
4. Now let mutton cook either using pressure cooker or in a vessel.
5. As the mutton is nearing to cook add the potatoes and let them cook along with mutton.
6. After mutton is cooked add brown onion paste, cashew (kaju) paste, 1 tblsp. garam masala powder and black salt.
7. Garnish with finely chopped green coriander. Serve with pav/naan/roti.