Recipe: Butter Chicken

I have been asked for this recipe numerous times so, at long last, I decided to post it since I made a batch last week. However, because I'm not used to taking pictures for recipes, I forgot to take a photo, so the only picture I have is from the very first time I made this dish. Butter chicken isn't the most appetizing looking dish but it sure does taste good. Enjoy!

Butter Chicken

 Adapted from Trish Magwood's Butter Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 mL) yogurt, fat-free Greek style
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (10 mL) cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) ground turmeric
• 2 tablespoons (10 mL) minced fresh garlic
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) minced fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) kosher salt
• 3 pounds (1.5 kg) chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
• Fresh lime wedges
• 3 tablespoons (50mL) butter or ghee
• 1 cup (250 mL) cashews, ground to a paste
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) cumin seeds, whole
• 1 serrano chili, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can - 213mL tomato sauce
• 2 cups (500 mL) heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) fresh cilantro, chopped roughly

Directions

1. Combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, cayenne, garam masala, turmeric, garlic, ginger and salt (to taste) in a medium bowl. In a re-sealable bag, add chicken and cover with yogurt marinade and squeeze juice from half a lime over top. Seal bag and toss to coat chicken. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
2. In a high-sided sauté pan, heat butter or ghee over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic, cumin seeds and minced chili and cook until fragrant. Add tomato purée and cashew paste. Season with salt, stir and lower heat to a simmer. Add cream and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth (an immersion blender is handy here).
3. Add the chicken and all of the yogurt marinade to the sauce. Stir to coat chicken with sauce and simmer on medium for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves. Serve with basmasti rice and naan.
4. You can also cook this in a slow cooker on high for 5-6 hours.

Mushroom arugula pizza

Yesterday I was at home with M. (for a variety of reasons, not least of which it was -30 C without wind chill!) and needed something quick and relatively healthy for lunch. I'm a big fan of the white mushroom pizzas from places like Without Papers, Una, and Double Zero but I didn't want to make dough, don't have truffle oil, and oh yeah, I don't have a pizza oven in my kitchen. So, in the spirit of using what I have, here is what I came up with.

Mushroom Arugula Pizza

1 plain naan or thick pita shell
Olive Oil
Black truffle salt
Mushrooms, chopped
8 year aged cheddar
Arugula

Preheat oven to 350. Place naan on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil on your naan, brush all the way to the edges and sprinkle some black truffle salt on top. Put a couple slices of 8 year aged cheddar down and then sprinkle your chopped mushrooms on. Slide into the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. Broil for a couple minutes to get some colour on the cheese. Toss some arugula on the pizza and let sit for a couple minutes. Enjoy!

The aged cheddar is quite strong so if you aren't a fan of the flavour, use a milder cheese. However, because the pizza as a whole is pretty mild, the cheese really adds some kick.

What is your favourite homemade pizza?

Rullupylsa & Molasses Brown Bread

Every Christmas for as long as I can remember, my Amma made two things that were essential to the Walker family Christmas - rullupylsa and molasses brown bread. Rullupylsa is an Icelandic cured meat dish that is traditionally made with lamb flank (we use beef flank and always have). It is seasoned and tenderized and then left to cure in the fridge for a week. You then boil it for several hours and store it in the fridge. It will last for weeks - if it doesn't get eaten first.

My Amma passed away in 2003 so the responsibility for making this traditional food went to my Dad. My sister learned to make it a couple of years ago but strangely, it took until this past Christmas for me to learn (and cross an item off my life list!). Aside from loving to eat rullupylsa, I'm really happy that I can now carry on this tradition and introduce my own family to the delights of rullupylsa.

At the beginning of December we went out to my Dad's for a lesson and marathon assembly session (I think we made 11 total). I took some pictures to show the basic process and will also include the recipes for anyone wanting to try their hand at making it.

Rullupylsa

2 lb. flank steak, beef or lamb
3Tbsp Morton's Tender Quick meat cure salt
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped fine (almost pulverized)

Heavy thread
Heavy duty needle
Kitchen string
Plastic wrap
Tin foil

Lay the flank out flat. There is a thin membrane on one side of the flank - lay that side down so that when you roll the flank it is easier to sew closed. Mix the salt and spices and rub 3/4 of the mixture all over the flank. Spread chopped onion over 2/3 of the flank.

Roll the flank up starting from the end with onions - rolling will push the onions over the whole flank. Using the heavy thread and needle start sewing from the middle down to one end. Tie it off and return to the middle to sew the other side. Rub the remaining spices over the outside of the flank. Wrap your cylindrical flank tightly with kitchen string.

Wrap in two layers of plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 5 to 7 days, turning daily.

Boil for 2-3 hours, continually replenishing the water to keep the flank covered. Press with a pile of books or other heavy objects until cooled. Wrap with plastic and tin foil and freeze until needed.

Brown Bread

Makes 3 medium sized loaves

1 Tbsp yeast, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar
6 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup cooking or blackstrap molasses (NOT fancy)
3 cups warm water
4 to 5 cups white flour
4 to 5 cups whole wheat flour

Place the liquid in a large bowl with the sugar, salt, oil and molasses. Stir in 2 cups of flour and beat to form a smooth batter. Stir the yeast mixture well and stir into batter. Beat until mixture is very smooth and elastic. Work in remaining flour (you may not need it all) and knead until smooth, springy, and slightly sticky. Cover and let rise to double its size. Knead and let rise again. Shape into 3 medium sized loaves, place on parchment paper covered baking sheet, cut slits in the tops, and let rise for a final time. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Turn temperature down to 325°F and bake for another 30 minutes, depending on size of loaves. Loaves should be a nice golden colour.

This is quite a dense bread with the nice molasses flavour. Cut off a slice, butter it, and serve with a slice of rullupylsa on top. (We ate all the rullupylsa before I remembered to take a picture.)

Enjoy!

Is there something your family eats every Christmas?

Sunday pancakes

Growing up, pancakes on Sunday mornings were something of a tradition. Every Sunday morning I would get up with my dad and help make pancakes. Plain, banana, berry or cheese - we liked them all! When my Dad moved to Yellowknife ahead of us to find a house and start his job I took over the pancake making role at the ripe old age of ten. There was a period of time in my teens when I went off pancakes. I'd simply had too many of them and was sick of pancakes. Now that I have my own family, pancakes are making a comeback as a Sunday tradition. And, without fail, my husband requests cheese pancakes. Cheese pancakes may sound weird, but I promise you, they are the perfect blend of sweet and savoury.

The recipe that I have been faithfully following for the past 20+ years comes from my Mom's old Five Roses cookbook. It produces a flavourful and, most importantly, fluffy pancake.

Click to see the larger image.

Some pancake cooking tips:

• make sure your baking powder is fresh. You should hear a fizzing sound when you mix the wet ingredients into the dry. If you don't, your baking powder is too old and the pancakes won't be light and fluffy.
• I reduce the sugar by 1 tablespoon. I don't like overly sweet pancakes. Plus, if you add fruit that will make up for the missing sugar.
• Flip the pancakes when bubbles stop forming on the surface and when the edges are starting to solidify and look cooked. After 20 years I can also tell they are ready to flip by smell. They smell like cooked pancakes. :)
• Without a doubt, I have had best results using my electric frying pan. I get consistent heat and know what the product will end up like every. single. time. I set mine to 350 F and always get perfect pancakes.
• To make cheese pancakes I add a good handful of grated old cheddar - about 1 cup.

 

Bubbles have stopped forming and the edges are looking cooked. Ready to flip!

 

Deeeelicious!

My favourite part of being designated pancake cook? Chef's choice! I always reserve the last bit of batter to make a pancake of my choosing. Today I made several mini pancakes.

Enjoy!!

Does your family have a Sunday breakfast tradition?

Thai Chicken Pizza

So, in order to generate more content, I decided to take pictures and post the recipe for one of A's favourite dinners. As you will see, I need to practice taking pictures for recipes, but here is what I have. :)

Thai Chicken Pizza

This is adapted from a pizza served in a Vancouver restaurant. Emma and Laurel first introduced me to it and I have since adopted it as my own.



What you need:
- Chicken, diced (My rule of thumb is approx. 1/2 breast per person. 2 breasts is enough for 4 pita bread rounds. If I'm making a big pizza, I'll try to use three breasts. We like a lot of chicken. I usually use fresh chicken breasts but I was lazy this time and used the pre-cooked chicken. I really like the Grillhouse strips.)
- Peanut sauce (I use Asian Family Satay Peanut Sauce, it's nice and spicy.)
- Peanut butter (Optional. A. likes it mixed with the peanut sauce for the base.)
- Mozzarella (Fresh is best.)
- Bell pepper (Whichever colour you like.)
- Bean sprouts
- Cilantro
- Pizza crust (I like the recipe for basic pizza crust from The Pioneer Woman.) or whole wheat pita shells
- Sheet pan aka cookie sheet
- Olive oil
- Kosher or sea salt
- Sriracha (Optional. This is a HOT chili sauce. Use sparingly! Unless you want to sear off all of your taste buds.)



What to do:
1. Preheat over to 375 degrees F.
2. Make your crust ahead of time or use a store bought crust. We also use whole wheat pita bread for individual pizzas.
3. Cook your chicken and toss with some of the peanut sauce.



4. Drizzle some olive oil onto your sheet pan and spread around. Roll or stretch out your dough and put on pan. Lightly sprinkle some salt on the dough.
5. Slather your peanut sauce/peanut butter concoction on the dough as your base.



6. Put your mozza on top of the sauce base.



7. Toss on your bell pepper, bean sprouts and cooked chicken. Finally top off with your chopped cilantro.
8. Put in your preheated oven and bake for 15-17 minutes until the crust is golden brown.



9. Drizzle on the Sriracha and enjoy! Have a cold drink handy.