Chicken Jalfrezi

I have so much love for Indian food I don't even know where to start.  The Indian style of cooking is exactly what I crave. Sauces with a variety of perfectly blended spices, unique tastes, a range of colours, sweetness, and heat. Made with either beef, lamb, chicken, veggies, etc. Served with rice and Naan bread. I love a dish with lots of fixings so I prefer to have some pickled chilies (or pickled mangoes) as a side. You really have to cook from the heart when making Indian food, it can't be rushed, it's all about FLAVOR! ..and for me SPICE!

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breast (cubed and made into Tandoori Chicken Skewers)

a few glugs of olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 inch piece of minced fresh ginger

1 green bell pepper cut into strips

1 red bell pepper cut into strips

1 green chili (whole)

2 cardamom pods

1/2 jar of "Patak's Mild, Medium or Hot Curry Paste"

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp paprika

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup of whipping cream

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

salt & pepper

Directions:

Prepare Tandoori Chicken (see link above).

Heat a large pot to medium heat.  Add a good amount of olive oil.  When the oil is heated add the onion, bell peppers, ginger and cardamom pods and a dash of salt. Once the onions are translucent and the peppers soften, add the garlic. 

Continue cooking for another minute then add the curry paste, turmeric, garam masala, paprika and the green chili pepper. Mix together and let the oils release from the curry paste and the spices blend together.

 

Cook for a few minutes then add the diced tomatoes, some salt and pepper.  Wait for the sauce to start bubbling then turn the heat down low and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stir in the whipping cream, add the BBQ Tandoori Chicken, wait a few minutes then turn the heat off. Stir in the cilantro.

Serve with Basmati Rice and/ or 

Naan Bread with a side of "Patak's Chilli Pickle" (my absolute favorite)

 

Chicken Mole ("Mole-eh!")

This recipe is for one of the most authentic and complicated Mexican dishes you can find. Chances are, if you haven't traveled to Mexico...and really experienced the true Mexican lifestyle, you probably have never heard of a Mexican Mole. A Mole is basically a sauce with a crazy amount of ingredients, including dark Mexican chocolate. It can be used in a variety of dishes, but traditionally served over chicken pieces, with rice or beans.
There's a lot of preparation, I was always really intimidated by this recipe. It's pretty complex. Finally I decided to just go for it, test my skills! I found a great version online, translated it from Spanish to English and made a couple additions and subtractions, just to make it my own. It took a few hours, but the result was perrrrfect! Don't shy away from the amount of chili's that are used here, these types of chilies are more for flavor and don't hold much heat. In fact if you wanted it to be spicy you should add something else to it like Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce.


Ingredients:

2 kilos of chicken pieces (skin on)
white rice or re-fried brown beans with cooked with minced garlic, as a side.

For the Mole:

7-9 Mulato Chilies
5-7 Pasilla Chilies
4-6 Ancho Chilies
1 cup plus 9 tbsp Vegetable oil
4-5 Tomatillos (mexican green tomatoes)...I prefer the canned version, otherwise you will need to remove the husks and boil them until soft.
4 cloves of Garlic
20 Black Pepper Corns
5 Cloves
1 Cinnamon stick
1 tsp roasted Chili seeds (use the seeds that will be removed from the Ancho, Pasilla and Mulato Chilies in this recipe)
3 tbsp of Raisins
1/4 cup Pumpkin Seeds (look for the seeds without the shells)
1/4 cup Almonds (sliced or whole)
2 dried-out Corn Tortillas , torn into pieces.
6-7 cups of Chicken Broth (saved from when you boil the chicken pieces from this recipe)
50 grams (or more to taste) of Mexican Chocolate


Directions:

First, season chicken with salt and pepper.
Second, Cook the chicken in about 10 cups of water.
Third, prepare the mole:

step 1: Cook the chilies in 2 tbsp of oil until crispy, not burned. make sure to flip them. They will start to puff a bit.
step 2: While the chilies are soft after cooking on the stove, remove the seeds and stems (reserve 1 tbsp of the seeds)
step 3: Soak the chilies in warm water for 30 minutes
step 4: Make a paste with the chilies using some of the water they soaked in with either a mortar and pestle or a food processor.
step 5: Grind the pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and chilies together, and set aside in a separate bowl.
step 6: Blend tomatillos with garlic, add the ground spices and set aside.
step 7: Heat a non-stick frying pan. Add the following ingredients (without mixing) and until: raisin are puffed, almonds are golden, pumpkin seeds slightly golden, broken-up tortilla piece slightly heated. Add a bit of oil if needed.
step 8: (Except for the chili paste) Add all the mole ingredients (the raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds, tortilla and tomatillo sauce with the spices together in a food processor. Use some of the chicken stock to keep the right saucy consistency.
step 9: Heat a large pot to medium heat. Cook the chili paste for about 15 minutes in the remaining oil. This will really bring out the flavor and smokiness of the chilies. Mix frequently. Lower the heat.
step 10: Add the rest of the blended ingredients into the pot with the chili paste and the rest of the vegetable oil (it seems like a lot of oil but it gives the sauce a great texture and shine). Add the chocolate and cook for 15 minutes over high heat.
step 11: Add the remaining chicken broth and simmer for an additional 45 minutes.
step 12: In the last 15 minutes add the chicken pieces to the pot.

Serve with fresh corn tortillas, rice, and re-fried beans or rice.


*Gluten free