Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

The combination of spices plus a hint of citrus goodness make this Butter Chicken totally delicious!  Easy, simple, tried and tested recipe made in your slow cooker!

Every time our friend Samuel comes to the US for a visit he brings with him some delicious spices from his beloved country India!! One time he brought back with him nearly a kilo (2+ pounds) worth of authentic and homemade curry powder made by his mom. Wow! That was and still is, for me, the best curry powder ever, It was vibrant, spicy and made everything I add it to totally yummy! As a result, I have been cooking curry a lot and, as you can imagine, using it a lot, too. What I love about it is that it's so robust in flavor that even a mere teaspoon can truly do wonders to any dish that needs curry powder.

Whole Roast Masala Chicken (Indian-style)

Flavored with aromatic spices, this whole roast Masala Chicken (Indian-style) comes out so yummy! The skin is deliciously crisp and the meat is tender and moist. This roast is very easy and quick to prepare, too.

When I was pregnant for the first time 10 years ago with our eldest son, the main food I craved was roast chicken. I had a really bad "morning" sickness (of course, it could be anytime of the day!) for the first 4 months or so and nothing seemed to calm my stomach and made me happier than roast chicken! I don't know why that was but I guess I should just be happy my cravings were not too "exotic" or hard to find!

Keema Beef Curry

As you know, I am always trying new recipes, not only for my blog but so that my family doesn't get tired of the same old ground beef recipes that I seem to recycle many times over. I found this delicious Keema Beef Curry and thought I'll give it a try and give it our own spin as usual. My dear hubby, who is a huge curry fan, loved  it. We had an unexpected guest last night too so I served this to him as well. He confessed he ate a few servings and totally enjoyed it, too.

Chicken Rogan Josh

Last December 2013 my hubby had the opportunity to visit India! Of course, he was excited as he'd always wanted to travel to India to see this amazing country, taste his favorite curry and experience its culture. He was invited by a friend to speak and help out in their annual church conference and he readily said yes. Of course, I was excited for him but nonetheless, because he would be absent for 2 weeks, I was kind of scared, too. I told him to make up for it - he'd better bring me home some of India's best spices!!! :)

Coconut Chicken Curry

Having grown up surrounded by coconut trees in our little island, called Marinduque, in the Philippines I love anything with coconut flavors. And we do use coconuts (tree and fruit) for everything that you can imagine. I don't know how our country will survive without this towering plant from the Palm family. We use its logs to build houses, leaves for roofing, oil for cooking and making our hair shiny, coconut husks for charcoal and of course it's meat for snacking, baking and plain eating. In the midst of a heatwave in the Philippines, nothing can be more refreshing than fresh coconut juice from a freshly opened young coconut! The possibilities are truly endless and I haven't even mentioned coconut milk!

Ginger Cinnamon Cream Chicken Curry

If you follow our blog regularly, you probably already know that we love Chicken Curry! I have a few curry recipes in our blog as you may have noticed. Now, this particular recipe was inspired by an Indian and Pakistani dish called "Pasanda"- a mild and creamy curry dish which I have discovered through one of my cookbooks. However, this recipe has evolved so much that I cannot in good conscience call it a Pasanda Curry when this version is so far remote from what the original version is. For starters, a pasanda would never have fruits in it though it always has almonds and that I retained. Also, in a Pasanda the meat is marinated in yogurt with spices and then fried. I do neither and I use cream instead of yogurt. Besides, curry is not really the main ingredient here though it can be used. It's Cinnamon, Ginger and Coriander that really give the chicken its lovely flavor though the curry powder (or chili powder) along with paprika, ginger and turmeric give the dish a lovely glowing yellow color once everything is mixed in. Hence, the birth of this Ginger Cinnamon Cream Chicken with Pineapple and Raisins. I love this dish and am proud of this. I have served this to many guests and they have loved it. Think of this dish as a great introduction to someone who is scared to try a real hot curry. This is pretty mild but since it's cooked with many spices - it is surely full of flavor. The addition of the fruits is what sets this apart - you bite into the savory creamy chicken and then suddenly your taste buds get acquainted with the sweet flavor from the raisins and pineapple and all these contrasting flavors just marry so well. I encourage you to try this and let me know if you like it. Most of all, it's such an easy dish to do. If you know Manila Spoon, we like dishes that are easy to make but does not compromise on taste. Enjoy!

  

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Oil

3 Tbsps Butter

5 Garlic cloves, crushed

1 Medium Onion, chopped

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)

1 ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Coriander

½ tsp each Paprika, Turmeric, Curry or Chili powder

1 Lb Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large pieces), cubed

1 cup Heavy cream

½ cup Water

¾-1 tsp Salt or to taste

½ cup sliced Almonds, divided

¾ cup Raisins 
¾ cup Pineapple Chunks (drained)

Garam Masala, for sprinkling (optional)

Procedure

Heat the oil in a deep pan. When the oil gets warm, melt the butter in it.

Sauté the garlic in the melted butter briefly until aromatic. Add the onion and fresh ginger and cook for about 3 mins or until the onion begins to soften. If using ground ginger, just add it with the other spices.

Lower the heat and add the spices. Let the spices sizzle for a few seconds then add the chicken and coat with the spices. Once the chicken is fully coated/glazed add the cream, water, salt and half the almonds. Stir. Raise the heat to bring it to a high simmer. Cover then gently simmer for about 20 minutes.



During the last 5 minutes, add the raisins and the drained pineapple chunks. Cook until the 20 minutes are completed or until chicken is tender and the pineapples and raisins are fully heated through. Sprinkle with Garam Masala (optional). 

Just before serving, garnish with the remaining almonds. Enjoy with rice. While this is great on the day it is made, it is even better the next day so if you can wait, refrigerate it overnight and have it the next day. The recipes doubles easily. Have this with rice, naturally!

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Almond, Coconut and Choco Chip Cookies (Gluten and Egg Free)

These gluten-free and grain-free cookies were inspired by the Indian ball-shaped sweet treats called Laddoo/Laddu. When I looked at the ingredients for this - Almond Chocolate Laddu - I was thrilled to discover that they were gluten-free. Perfect! My hubby is on a gluten-free diet and to ensure that he doesn't miss out on sweets (which are almost always a gluten-fest) I always try to experiment on new gluten-free desserts! 

So I made the Almond Laddu based on the recipe and I actually fell in love with it! It was really yummy! Looking at these sweet balls they reminded me of cookie dough (although these ones you can eat right away) so, guess what? That gave me the idea of baking them and treat them like a true cookie dough and then see what happens.

I was not very optimistic at first. After all, there was no flour in it, not even eggs! How can this work? Yet, it was chewy and gooey enough and I thought it may be worth a try!

Boy, am I glad I tried it - it was even better cooked! Most of all - it's not only gluten-free, it's grain-free too! My hubby was very pleased and this has become one of his favorite treats - how can you not like it - almonds, coconuts and chocolate chips all rolled into one delicious treat! I can have this anytime!

By the way, the inspiration came from this lovely site - Simply Delicious - Almond Chocolate Laddu. I converted her measurements to American and used ingredients that I had available. I used almond meal and didn't make it from scratch. I can't remember exactly how many cookies I made 'cause half of them I made into Laddus while the other half I baked into cookies. I will note next time. I just know they are cute little nibbles that are oh so delicious! I will probably increase the measurement too so I can get more cookies out of it. In the meantime, here's the basic recipe which you can tweak to your heart's content! :-) 


Ingredients

3/4 cup  Almond flour/meal  (like Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I like the dark chocolate variety)*
1 /4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp regular milk

1/2 cup grated coconut (I used the unsweetened variety)

A few extra choco chips

*Use a gluten-free brand if you wish a completely gluten-free version otherwise, regular chips will do.


Procedure

 

Place the almond flour into a mixing bowl. Add the grated coconut and mix well.  Set aside.

In a small sauce pan combine the chocolate chips, condensed milk and regular milk. Melt the chocolate and mix well with the milk on low heat. Stir constantly until the chocolate melts.

Pour into the almond mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, mix again by hand and shape into balls. While you are shaping the dough into cookie balls, preheat the oven to 350F.

Place the cookie balls (I did flatten them a little bit with a fork) in a cookie sheet (greased or lined with parchment paper). You may want to place a few chocolate chips on top for that extra chocolate flavor!

Bake for approximately 6-8 minutes.They're pretty small so they don't need a lot of time to cook, depends on how chewy you want them to be. Just do not overcook it unless you want a crunchier cookie. I think it's perfect at 8 minutes but since oven heating and temps vary, adjust the time accordingly.

In fact, if you want to stick with the original Laddu concept - you don't need to bake them at all - you can eat them as is and they're so yummy too!

Enjoy!

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Chai Tea

I love Chai Tea! I was first introduced to Chai Tea in December 2003 during our honeymoon in New Zealand. A friend of Mark is married to a lovely Indian lady and we stayed with them while in New Zealand. She brought us to one of the tea shops in Christchurch and convinced us to try Chai Tea. I have been hooked eversince.

Here's a photo of myself in Christchurch in 2003 and many pounds ago!

Since then till recently, I never learned how to prepare my own Chai. So more often than not, I end up buying from Starbucks or getting a prepared mix from the grocery. While they taste ok, I find them to be so sugary.

Finally, last July our friend Samuel B. from India came to visit us. Not only did we have a lovely time with him, he taught me how to make Chai Tea! The authentic way and with only 1 major ingredient - Cardamom pods. Wow! It was the best Chai I have ever had! I think the reason why I never tried to make it was the thought of having to mix or grind many spices. I was so wrong. It is quite easy to make. Thanks to Sam I no longer need to spend money to make my own authentic Chai Tea right in our own home.

Here's what a cardamom pod looks like.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia by Sanjay Ach.

While cardamom is the most essential spice to any Chai Tea, sometimes I experiment by adding a cinnamon stick, star anise or fennel seeds to the mix. I make about 2-3 cups worth 'cause I like to have one in the morning (as replacement for coffee) and one in the afternoon, to keep me alive!

So enjoy your homemade Chai Tea! Have it with ice in the Summer and serve hot during Fall and Winter!


Ingredients

6 cardamom pods, crushed or split open
1 stick cinnamon (optional)
2 Chinese star anise  or 1/4 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
2 cups water
1/2 - 1 cup milk (use more if you want it creamy)
2-3 tsp black tea leaves (or 2-3 black tea bags)
Sugar, to taste


Procedure 

Place the cardamom pods and the other spices (if using) in the sauce pan (big enough to accomodate about 3 cups of liquid). Pour in 2 cups of water.

Using medium high heat, bring to a boil. Once it begins to boil lower the heat to medium and continue to boil for another 2 minutes to extract more flavor. Add  the milk and wait till it boils again. Once the liquid starts to boil and the milk is starting to foam well, add the black tea.

Cover and remove from the heat and brew for 3-5 minutes depending on how strong you want your tea to be.


Strain then transfer the remaining tea to a mug or tea cup. Add some sugar, to taste.

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But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 1 Timothy 6:6-7

Indian Butter Chicken

To say that we like chicken curry is an understatement. We love curry to the max! Whenever we travel, whatever country that may be - the first restaurant we always try to look for is an Indian curry house.  

Before I got married, I wasn't a major fan of anything spicy. In the region (Southern Tagalog) where I grew up, spicy dishes are not really a big thing. We usually love sweet, sour and salty but spicy, not too much. But then I met my British husband who is into everything spicy. I was converted by him. He loves chicken curry. When we were still in England we used to visit Brick Lane in East London for some curry therapy. If you are ever in London, this is the place to go if you want to get curry. There are rows upon rows of curry houses there. I miss this place!

However there is one special curry place for us and, no, it's not in India or the UK or even the USA (truth is, there is no Indian restaurant where I live).  Sad, isn't it. We found it, of all places, in Vietnam! While it may take years before we go back and eat there again, we have fond memories of Vietnam and most certainly the curry we had there. Here's a photo of myself in front of the restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City. It's not much to look at but the curry is great, if you are able to wake up its owner to cook for you! Seriously, it was great and the best we have tasted! Check this out when you find yourself in the streets of Saigon.

And for good measure, here's another photo of me and my hubby in Vietnam. Photo was taken while we were cruising the Mekong Delta. Happy Memories!

Before I get any more sidetracked, here's one of our favorite curry dish - Indian Butter Chicken. This is a mild curry so feel free to up the heat to your desired spice level. Enjoy!




Ingredients

5 pieces Roma or plum tomatoes - or 2 (14oz/410gr)  cans of diced tomatoes (fresh is better though!) 
2 Tablespoons oil and 5 Tablespoons Butter 
2.2 pounds (1 kilo) skinless but bone-in chicken thighs (boneless are fine but they tend to fall apart)
Thumb-size peeled and chopped fresh ginger or 1 tsp of ground ginger
3 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
2 teaspoon each red Curry powder, ground Cumin and ground Paprika
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ - 2 tsp salt, or to taste      
¼ - ½ cup of plain Yogurt (you can use heavy cream, if you prefer)                
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (a must for me!) 

Procedure 

If using fresh tomatoes, cut-up the tomatoes and then place in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth (puree the canned tomatoes too, if using this instead). In a deep pan, heat the oil and butter on medium to low heat until the butter melts. Stir in the spices, and let sizzle briefly, for a minute or less. Add the salt and brown sugar and stir until combined. Immediately, add the chicken pieces and coat them with the spices.

Mix in the pureed tomatoes. Though the mixture may seem thick at this point, it will thin out as it simmers. Bring to a quick boil and then cover the pan and gently simmer for about an hour or until the chicken is tender, occasionally stirring it. It is done when the chicken is tender and the sauce is medium-thick. It is already good and yummy at this point but if you like a creamier sauce, add plain yogurt or heavy cream and then squeeze some fresh lemon juice, to taste. Cook a little further without boiling just until the cream is heated. Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves. Serve hot with freshly steamed rice (basmati or jasmine are the best for this!) and some green veggies on the side. Curry heaven!

Note: While the chicken curry tastes great already on the day it is cooked, it may be done a day ahead and chilled on the fridge so the flavors continue to infuse overnight. Even better the next day!

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Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalm 34:8

Abby's Chicken Curry

I maybe Asian but I was never fond of curry dishes. The Filipino cuisine is not generally spicy compared with our other Asian neighbors. But then I married my British husband, Mark, who is so into curry. He got me into it and now I really love curry dishes and will often cook it for my family.

Here's a chicken curry recipe that we love - spicy bite with a hint of cinnamon sweetness.

Ingredients:

1 kilo / 2 lbs (about 8 pieces)  trimmed chicken thighs
1 tbsp each - butter and olive oil
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tbsp curry powder (I usually use 1 tbsp each of mild and hot curry powder)
1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

3 plum tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper

1-2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp chutney (optional)

Procedure:

Heat the oil and butter in a deep pan. Brown the chicken on both sides. If you don't like the skin you can remove it after the browning. Set aside.

In the same pan, saute the garlic and onion  in the pan drippings until aromatic about 1-2 minutes. Lower the heat and then add all the spices (curry powder, turmeric and ginger). 

Put the chicken back into the pan and coat with the spices. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the chutney). Stir. Don't worry if it seems to be dry, it will eventually create its own sauce.

Bring to a boil. Cover then simmer for about an hour or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.

Stir in the chutney (if using). At this point there would be a lot of sauce which is great to pour on rice. Adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper and a little sugar, to taste.  Serve with freshly boiled rice and thick plain yogurt (if desired).

Note: 

This dish may be prepared a day ahead so the flavor is fully absorbed by the chicken thighs. Also, you will be able to skim the fat right off if refrigerated a day before it is served.

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God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.   Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;  though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. (Selah)   Psalm 46: 1-3