paprika

Hello everybody.

No escape from cooking today I guess,though I was confused what to do after grocery shopping,I bought many vegetables and stuff so I have many options.

After family discussions I decided to do this recipe sent to me by my friend’s niece Hanin whom I saw the other day and everybody in her family recommended it, so chicken masala it is,since I have all ingredients which is the most important thing,sometimes I do cancel the whole dish cause one ingredient is missing,don’t you?

This is an Indian recipe of course,most Indian food is usually hot and spicy,well today I made it medium so that all can eat with comfort,it turned out very delicious and easy.

Ingredients and method:

* 2 large chicken breasts ( original recipe says thighs but nobody in my family loves them,but breasts were good also),cut to big chunks.

* marinate for chicken:

* 1 cup yogurt.

* ginger garlic paste ( 1 tablespoon fresh ginger with 3 cloves garlic pressed or finely chopped together)

* 1 tsp salt.

* 1/2 tsp pepper.

* marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you can.

*Sauce:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil.

* 2 tablespoons butter.

*1/3 cup ginger garlic paste.

* 2 hot peppers (didn’t have any so I used hot dried chili )

* 2 tablespoons tomato paste.

* 1 tablespoons gram masala spices ( Indian spices bought ready or homemade by mixing special spices including : 2 tablespoons cumin seeds,2 tablespoons coriander seeds,1 tsp pepper seeds,2 tsp cardamon seeds,1 tsp cloves,1 tsp fennel seeds,1 cinnamon stick,3 bay leaves,1/2 tsp fenugreek (حلبه) ,pinch of nutmeg. you roast all seeds except nutmeg very well then grind then to fine powder and add nutmeg)

* 2 tsp paprika.

* 8 small tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes.

* 1 1/2 tsp salt.

* 1-2 cups water.

* 1/2 cup heavy cream.

* minced fresh cilantro for garnish.

* cooked rice or naan bread for serving.

* making sauce and cooking:

* heat oil and butter then add ginger garlic paste and stir,then add hot peppers.

* add tomato paste and cook till brownish then add masala,paprika and saute for 3 minutes.

* add tomatoes,saltand water and simmer till sauce is thickened,you may need more water if it dries.

* meanwhile grill the chicken in some hot oil,try to shake excess marinate .

* cook till golden on all sides.

* now blend the sauce with hand mixer or blender.

* add chicken pieces to sauce and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

* add cream and stir then at the end add chopped coriander.

* serve with rice or bread.

Very tasty savory dish,not a piece left ,thank you dear Hanin,now it’s officially Hanin’s Chicken in my cook book 🙂

Hello everybody.

Been searching for a recipe for hot spicy chicken all morning cause upon my son’s request he wants something spicy hot for lunch. Came across this one in BBC food magazine, it’s originally for wings but I did it with a whole chicken.

Ingredients:
* 1 whole chicken.
* 1 big spoon soysauce.
* 2 big spoons ketchup.
* 1 big spoon white or brown sugar.
* Tabasco as desired.
* 2 cloves garlic.
* some olive oil.
* 1 small onion.
* salt.
* baking bag.

Mix all ingredients with chicken, put them in bag, add 1 spoon flour then close and bake for 1 hour.

I also made a new potato recipe called gnocchi with burnt butter and sage.(ميرميه ) This is an Italian dish, though recipe looked easy but to tell you the truth I won’t make it again, it took time and potatoes stayed sticky and not easy to handle. Though they tasted great but final result wasn’t like supposed to. Mashed potatoes would have been as good and easier to make.
But i’ll write the recipe nevertheless.

Ingredients:
* 3 large potatoes.
* 1 clove garlic.
* 2 tsp milk.
* 2 egg yolks.
* 1/3 cup parmesan cheese.
* 1 cup flour.
* 3 spoons butter.
* 12 fresh sage leaves.
Method:
* boil potatoes till tender, peel and mash.
* add garlic, milk, yolks, parmesan and enough flour to make firm dough.
* roll over floured surface and cut to oblong shapes.
* press with floured fork to flatten.
* keep in fridge for 1 hour.
* cook gnocchi in large pan of boiling water until they float.remove.
* heat butter until browned. Add sage then drizzle over potatoes.
* sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving.