Re: Cooking | Fire and Steel and Olive Oil
- Page 1 of 1
Not sure why I haven't posted this before as I make it quite often.
Chicken Masala
2 lbs. Cubed chicken thighs or breast (prefer thighs for this but I had breast at the time)
1 tbsp. Garam masala
1 tsp. Curry powder
Salt & pepper
Coat the chicken and set aside for a few minutes. This is when I clean and prep the side veggies.
One head of cauliflower (potatoes work here too)
3-4 carrots & celery stalks
1 large onion
I cut these into a fork size pieces (carrots & celery on the bias; onion in chunks) and toss to coat with about a tbsp or two of olive oil in a roasting pan. Then sprinkle on the exact same masala and curry mixture ratio used on the chicken and toss again.
Splash this down with 1/2 a cup of chicken stock and then cover tight with tin foil.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and place the roasting pan in the center rack when the oven is up to temp.
While you're waiting for the oven to heat, ready a pan to sear the chicken on the stove top.
On medium-high, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of your pan.
Brown the chicken on all sides (in batches if necessary) monitoring your heat as to not smell the spices burning or seeing smoke or black on the bottom of the pan. Should take no more than 5-6 minutes. Don't worry if you're not sure if the chicken is completely cooked through. Just brown on all sides making sure not to burn any bits. The last thing you want is tough dried out chicken meat. We'll finish cooking any under cooked bits of meat in the sauce later.
While the chicken is browning prepare the ingredients for the sauce:
1 Large onion chopped
1 6 oz. tin of tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 12 oz. tin of coconut milk
Handful of fresh coriander chopped
I'm going to serve rice too, so it's at this point I would have heated 3 cups of seasoned water to a boil and have 2 cups of jasmine rice measured ready to drop and cover. Or press the button on the rice cooker or whatever.
Once all the chicken is browned, remove, set aside and lower the heat to medium. Take a look at the pan.
This is now the spice and protein base to build the sauce. There's more oil in the pan right now than it appears in the photo, but that's good.
Add the onion and saute on medium heat for 3-4 minutes stirring to keep the onion moving and soaking up the oil and brown bits.
Add the tomato paste and combine.
We're cooking the tomato paste until it thickens and takes on a darker color.
I like more tomato paste than most traditional recipes call for. I think the fruity flavor balances the spices better for my taste. You could certainly use half as much paste here (3 oz) and still get a good result.
Check the oven, remove the foil and turn the oven up to 400 F.
Add the 1 cup of chicken stock to the pan and bring to a simmer.
Cook the stock down--scrapping the bottom of the pan clean--until everything comes together.
Add the can of coconut milk, stir and bring to a simmer.
It's at this point we're going to check our seasoning. Does it need more salt? Is it spicy enough? Is it too spicy? Is it too tomatoey?
Need more spice? Stir in more masala a teaspoon at a time and continue checking until it's to your liking.
Too spicy or the tomato paste too strong? Add more liquid to thin and try to cook it out. Ideally more cream, even evaporated milk works, but anything will help, even water if that's all you have.
The quality of your spice is really going to determine a lot. If you're using stuff you've had on the shelf for a while the flavor is going to be greatly reduced compared to new or even freshly roasted and milled spices. You can always add more spice to any dish but it's a lot trickier if you've added too much or if it's too strong for you or your guests.
Once the sauce is to your liking, add the chicken back to reheat/finish cooking and to meld the flavors together (3-4 minutes).
Pull the veg from the oven, toss 2/3's of the fresh coriander into the cooked rice and the rest on the plated chicken with sauce.
That's it. Not a lot of ingredients or steps, but a huge flavor payoff and one that get's even better the next night out of the fridge for leftovers.
Chicken Masala
2 lbs. Cubed chicken thighs or breast (prefer thighs for this but I had breast at the time)
1 tbsp. Garam masala
1 tsp. Curry powder
Salt & pepper
Coat the chicken and set aside for a few minutes. This is when I clean and prep the side veggies.
One head of cauliflower (potatoes work here too)
3-4 carrots & celery stalks
1 large onion
I cut these into a fork size pieces (carrots & celery on the bias; onion in chunks) and toss to coat with about a tbsp or two of olive oil in a roasting pan. Then sprinkle on the exact same masala and curry mixture ratio used on the chicken and toss again.
Splash this down with 1/2 a cup of chicken stock and then cover tight with tin foil.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and place the roasting pan in the center rack when the oven is up to temp.
While you're waiting for the oven to heat, ready a pan to sear the chicken on the stove top.
On medium-high, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of your pan.
Brown the chicken on all sides (in batches if necessary) monitoring your heat as to not smell the spices burning or seeing smoke or black on the bottom of the pan. Should take no more than 5-6 minutes. Don't worry if you're not sure if the chicken is completely cooked through. Just brown on all sides making sure not to burn any bits. The last thing you want is tough dried out chicken meat. We'll finish cooking any under cooked bits of meat in the sauce later.
While the chicken is browning prepare the ingredients for the sauce:
1 Large onion chopped
1 6 oz. tin of tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 12 oz. tin of coconut milk
Handful of fresh coriander chopped
I'm going to serve rice too, so it's at this point I would have heated 3 cups of seasoned water to a boil and have 2 cups of jasmine rice measured ready to drop and cover. Or press the button on the rice cooker or whatever.
Once all the chicken is browned, remove, set aside and lower the heat to medium. Take a look at the pan.
This is now the spice and protein base to build the sauce. There's more oil in the pan right now than it appears in the photo, but that's good.
Add the onion and saute on medium heat for 3-4 minutes stirring to keep the onion moving and soaking up the oil and brown bits.
Add the tomato paste and combine.
We're cooking the tomato paste until it thickens and takes on a darker color.
I like more tomato paste than most traditional recipes call for. I think the fruity flavor balances the spices better for my taste. You could certainly use half as much paste here (3 oz) and still get a good result.
Check the oven, remove the foil and turn the oven up to 400 F.
Add the 1 cup of chicken stock to the pan and bring to a simmer.
Cook the stock down--scrapping the bottom of the pan clean--until everything comes together.
Add the can of coconut milk, stir and bring to a simmer.
It's at this point we're going to check our seasoning. Does it need more salt? Is it spicy enough? Is it too spicy? Is it too tomatoey?
Need more spice? Stir in more masala a teaspoon at a time and continue checking until it's to your liking.
Too spicy or the tomato paste too strong? Add more liquid to thin and try to cook it out. Ideally more cream, even evaporated milk works, but anything will help, even water if that's all you have.
The quality of your spice is really going to determine a lot. If you're using stuff you've had on the shelf for a while the flavor is going to be greatly reduced compared to new or even freshly roasted and milled spices. You can always add more spice to any dish but it's a lot trickier if you've added too much or if it's too strong for you or your guests.
Once the sauce is to your liking, add the chicken back to reheat/finish cooking and to meld the flavors together (3-4 minutes).
Pull the veg from the oven, toss 2/3's of the fresh coriander into the cooked rice and the rest on the plated chicken with sauce.
That's it. Not a lot of ingredients or steps, but a huge flavor payoff and one that get's even better the next night out of the fridge for leftovers.
By GQman2121 Go To PostNot sure why I haven't posted this before as I make it quite often.Thanks for the recipe I wanna try to make this but my wife is allergic to coconut, any ideas on a substitute? Would regular milk or cream work?
Chicken Masala
2 lbs. Cubed chicken thighs or breast (prefer thighs for this but I had breast at the time)
1 tbsp. Garam masala
1 tsp. Curry powder
Salt & pepper
Coat the chicken and set aside for a few minutes. This is when I clean and prep the side veggies.
One head of cauliflower (potatoes work here too)
3-4 carrots & celery stalks
1 large onion
I cut these into a fork size pieces (carrots & celery on the bias; onion in chunks) and toss to coat with about a tbsp or two of olive oil in a roasting pan. Then sprinkle on the exact same masala and curry mixture ratio used on the chicken and toss again.
Splash this down with 1/2 a cup of chicken stock and then cover tight with tin foil.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and place the roasting pan in the center rack when the oven is up to temp.
While you're waiting for the oven to heat, ready a pan to sear the chicken on the stove top.
On medium-high, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of your pan.
Brown the chicken on all sides (in batches if necessary) monitoring your heat as to not smell the spices burning or seeing smoke or black on the bottom of the pan. Should take no more than 5-6 minutes. Don't worry if you're not sure if the chicken is completely cooked through. Just brown on all sides making sure not to burn any bits. The last thing you want is tough dried out chicken meat. We'll finish cooking any under cooked bits of meat in the sauce later.
While the chicken is browning prepare the ingredients for the sauce:
1 Large onion chopped
1 6 oz. tin of tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 12 oz. tin of coconut milk
Handful of fresh coriander chopped
I'm going to serve rice too, so it's at this point I would have heated 3 cups of seasoned water to a boil and have 2 cups of jasmine rice measured ready to drop and cover. Or press the button on the rice cooker or whatever.
Once all the chicken is browned, remove, set aside and lower the heat to medium. Take a look at the pan.
This is now the spice and protein base to build the sauce. There's more oil in the pan right now than it appears in the photo, but that's good.
Add the onion and saute on medium heat for 3-4 minutes stirring to keep the onion moving and soaking up the oil and brown bits.
Add the tomato paste and combine.
We're cooking the tomato paste until it thickens and takes on a darker color.
I like more tomato paste than most traditional recipes call for. I think the fruity flavor balances the spices better for my taste. You could certainly use half as much paste here (3 oz) and still get a good result.
Check the oven, remove the foil and turn the oven up to 400 F.
Add the 1 cup of chicken stock to the pan and bring to a simmer.
Cook the stock down–scrapping the bottom of the pan clean–until everything comes together.
Add the can of coconut milk, stir and bring to a simmer.
It's at this point we're going to check our seasoning. Does it need more salt? Is it spicy enough? Is it too spicy? Is it too tomatoey?
Need more spice? Stir in more masala a teaspoon at a time and continue checking until it's to your liking.
Too spicy or the tomato paste too strong? Add more liquid to thin and try to cook it out. Ideally more cream, even evaporated milk works, but anything will help, even water if that's all you have.
The quality of your spice is really going to determine a lot. If you're using stuff you've had on the shelf for a while the flavor is going to be greatly reduced compared to new or even freshly roasted and milled spices. You can always add more spice to any dish but it's a lot trickier if you've added too much or if it's too strong for you or your guests.
Once the sauce is to your liking, add the chicken back to reheat/finish cooking and to meld the flavors together (3-4 minutes).
Pull the veg from the oven, toss 2/3's of the fresh coriander into the cooked rice and the rest on the plated chicken with sauce.
That's it. Not a lot of ingredients or steps, but a huge flavor payoff and one that get's even better the next night out of the fridge for leftovers.
By masud Go To PostThanks for the recipe I wanna try to make this but my wife is allergic to coconut, any ideas on a substitute? Would regular milk or cream work?Regular whole milk doesn't have enough fat and would likely split apart within this sauce. You also want that richer (fatter) flavor of cream.
So heavy cream or even half and half would be best. I always have a can of evaporated milk in the pantry and that also works really well in sauces and soups.
Remember when adding dairy to anything hot, you want to have the liquid on the stove as close to a simmer as possible so that when the milk hits, it will incorporate evenly as you stir it in.
By GQman2121 Go To PostRegular whole milk doesn't have enough fat and would likely split apart within this sauce. You also want that richer (fatter) flavor of cream.So the masala was a semi success. My wife really liked it but I'm a harsher critic. I think I needed to cook things down a bit more, the sauce turned out more pinkish than the brown in your photos. Also I see what you mean about the amount of tomato paste, I felt it kind of overpowered the spices, I'll have to try less next time. Also is this dish supposed to be spicy? I was expecting the garam malasa to be really spicy but while it had a ton of flavor there was no heat at all? Anyway thanks for the recipe I'll definitely be making it again cause my wife is a big fan.
So heavy cream or even half and half would be best. I always have a can of evaporated milk in the pantry and that also works really well in sauces and soups.
Remember when adding dairy to anything hot, you want to have the liquid on the stove as close to a simmer as possible so that when the milk hits, it will incorporate evenly as you stir it in.