Mr. B and I were, in times past, great fans of the South Beach Diet and the low-carbohydrate lifestyle. I love carbs, and have never met a carb I didn't love, but there's a reason farmers feed cattle grains. Before our wedding, Mr. B and I both lost copious amounts of weight by cutting out virtually all carbs, and amassed a gigantic folder full of low-carb recipes that we printed out from various websites and blogs. One of these was a brilliant recipe for butter chicken that we loved and ate again and again.
The main problem with this recipe was that you can only really eat it if you aren't having carbs. It had an entire stick of butter in it, as well as peanut oil and a cup of cream. As part of a South Beach/Atkins/whatever lifestyle, it was perfectly fine; with sides of rice and naan, it was belt-splitting.
Now that we're too broke to restrict carbs (all those bacon-and-eggs breakfasts and hunks of meat for lunch and dinner really do add up), we wanted to have butter chicken again, in perhaps a more healthful manner. So I devised a lightened-up recipe which still tastes great, if less creamy, and makes wonderful leftovers.
It's true that there are lots of ingredients, and I promised you that I wouldn't give you any recipes that had a million ingredients that you didn't necessarily have. I tend to have a lot of spices in my kitchen, because I can get them cheaply at a local Asian market. However, not everyone has a useful shop like this, and spices can be terribly expensive if you buy them in those little jars from the supermarket. So if you don't have all the things I've listed, it's fine to skip them all but the cinnamon, and replace the others with 2-3 teaspoons of curry powder and a modest shake of cayenne pepper.
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped medium
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger*
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped finely
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper**
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or 4-6 skinless, boneless thighs if you prefer dark meat)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can coconut milk (I used reduced fat)
Salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 cup plain unsweetened yogurt, to taste (I used fat free)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
Slice the chicken into small bite-sized pieces, and cook them in a little oil in a large pan over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, or until it is cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Place 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and the butter in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook it, stirring often, until it's soft and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
Add all spices, the garlic and the ginger and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk, and cook, stirring occasionally, for around 20 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the chicken to the sauce and cook, stirring, until the chicken is heated through. At the last minute, stir the yogurt, season again if necessary, then stir in the cilantro.
Serve over brown basmati rice with a side salad.
Serves 6 (or 2, with leftovers for a couple more meals)
*I keep a piece of fresh ginger in the freezer and grate bits off when I need it. You don't even need to peel the ginger when it's frozen, because the skin sort of sloughs itself off when you grate it.
**I tend to like curries hotter than this, but I tone things down these days because my toddler can't handle the sort of spices that make your scalp break into a sweat.
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Almost-Foolproof Roast Chicken
I used to think roasting an entire chicken was this mysterious and extremely difficult thing that a dolt like me couldn't manage. Then I discovered meat thermometers, and they changed my life. I acquired one by marrying Mr. B so I've never had to buy one, but I've seen second-hand ones for a dollar at thrift stores. Or you can get new ones for around $5. I wouldn't bother with the fancy $30 ones. I dislike spending $30 on anything that can't perform magic tricks.
I know there's supposed to be some formula about minutes in the oven per pound of chicken, but I have never mastered this. Here's what I do.
Preheat your oven to 425 Fahrenheit (220 Celsius). Position the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
Take one medium-sized chicken. Not one of those giant, genetically-engineered monstrosities,* but not a titchy little one either. Lay it, breast side up, in a large roasting pan. Pull out the giblets and add them to your stock pot. (Or just throw them out. I won't tell.) Season the chicken with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and perhaps a sprig of fresh rosemary or a few good pinches of the dried stuff. That's it. That's all you have to do to it while it's raw.
Optional extras:
1. Some people coat the chicken in oil or melted butter before seasoning it. I don't think this adds anything amazing to the flavor, and it's more fat. But do it if you like it.
2. Some people get a lemon or lime, make four or five deep cuts in it, and stuff it in the chicken's cavity. It's supposed to make it tenderer. I'm not sure if this is true, but it certainly gives it a nice lemony taste.
3. Some people put stuffing in the cavity. I don't much like stuffing, so I don't bother. Mr. B likes stuffing, but he doesn't like the sort that comes out of chicken cavities, so he makes it in a dish. I do not have a recipe for this.
4. If you prefer the skin crisper and the overall texture less fatty, you can put a shallow rack inside the roasting pan and lay the chicken across it so the fat all drips down. You could, if you felt particularly enterprising, put some cut-up potatoes under this rack, which would then cook deliciously in chicken fat and juices.
5. You can more or less roast any vegetable you like alongside your chicken. Some ideas: cauliflower, cut into large florets; big chunks of zucchini; cubed butternut squash; sweet potatoes and yams; quartered onions; etc. Spray them with a little cooking spray and sprinkle some salt, pepper and/or dried herbs on them if you wish.
Once you've done everything to your chicken that you need to do, put it in the oven for between 1 1/4 hours and 1 1/2 hours. Start checking after one hour with your meat thermometer. When the thermometer reads about 170 degrees Fahrenheit, you're done. If you don't have a meat thermometer, you're supposed to be able to tell that it's cooked by stabbing it with a skewer and observing whether the juices run pink (not cooked) or clear (cooked). However, I have had results ranging from raw and bloody to revoltingly dried-out when I did this, so I love my thermometer.
Carve (look this up on YouTube, I'm not going to tell you how to do it because I lack both skill and the powers of description) and serve to your grateful family, with sides of roasted vegetables and/or a green salad. I like the thighs and drumsticks. Mr. B will only eat the white meat. Baby B eats whatever I give her, and sneakily feeds anything she doesn't want to to the dog.
*Since I can't stop this middle-class urge I've got, now's the time I'm supposed to tell you to get an organic or free-range bird, because not only is it kinder to animals, it's supposed to taste better. I admit, I can't tell the difference in taste when it comes to chicken. (Grass-fed beef vs. corn-fed, definitely. Chicken? No clue.) The bit about humane treatment of animals is, however, undeniable. I can get a $6 chicken that claims to be "cruelty free," whatever that means, from my local budget supermarket. I can get an organic one the same size for three times more from the health food co-op we belong to. I have my doubts about the provenance of the budget bird, but we simply can't afford to eat organic chicken very often, and I want Baby B to get her protein, and chicken is incredibly cheap and nutritious. I hope to atone for this some day when we are richer.
This said, I recently observed that you can buy one of those rotisserie chickens for about $5 at the same budget supermarket. The chicken is the same size as an uncooked one, but you save a dollar and the money you'd have spent running the oven. The only problems are (1) that it might be a battery chicken that's full of rubbish and has lived a miserable life, and (2) that it's covered with unhealthy additives and preservatives. Full disclosure: sometimes I buy these on hot summer days when I want chicken but the thought of roasting one makes me feel quite ill, or on cold winter nights when I'm tired and hungry and can't be bothered.
I know there's supposed to be some formula about minutes in the oven per pound of chicken, but I have never mastered this. Here's what I do.
Preheat your oven to 425 Fahrenheit (220 Celsius). Position the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
Take one medium-sized chicken. Not one of those giant, genetically-engineered monstrosities,* but not a titchy little one either. Lay it, breast side up, in a large roasting pan. Pull out the giblets and add them to your stock pot. (Or just throw them out. I won't tell.) Season the chicken with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and perhaps a sprig of fresh rosemary or a few good pinches of the dried stuff. That's it. That's all you have to do to it while it's raw.
Optional extras:
1. Some people coat the chicken in oil or melted butter before seasoning it. I don't think this adds anything amazing to the flavor, and it's more fat. But do it if you like it.
2. Some people get a lemon or lime, make four or five deep cuts in it, and stuff it in the chicken's cavity. It's supposed to make it tenderer. I'm not sure if this is true, but it certainly gives it a nice lemony taste.
3. Some people put stuffing in the cavity. I don't much like stuffing, so I don't bother. Mr. B likes stuffing, but he doesn't like the sort that comes out of chicken cavities, so he makes it in a dish. I do not have a recipe for this.
4. If you prefer the skin crisper and the overall texture less fatty, you can put a shallow rack inside the roasting pan and lay the chicken across it so the fat all drips down. You could, if you felt particularly enterprising, put some cut-up potatoes under this rack, which would then cook deliciously in chicken fat and juices.
5. You can more or less roast any vegetable you like alongside your chicken. Some ideas: cauliflower, cut into large florets; big chunks of zucchini; cubed butternut squash; sweet potatoes and yams; quartered onions; etc. Spray them with a little cooking spray and sprinkle some salt, pepper and/or dried herbs on them if you wish.
Once you've done everything to your chicken that you need to do, put it in the oven for between 1 1/4 hours and 1 1/2 hours. Start checking after one hour with your meat thermometer. When the thermometer reads about 170 degrees Fahrenheit, you're done. If you don't have a meat thermometer, you're supposed to be able to tell that it's cooked by stabbing it with a skewer and observing whether the juices run pink (not cooked) or clear (cooked). However, I have had results ranging from raw and bloody to revoltingly dried-out when I did this, so I love my thermometer.
Carve (look this up on YouTube, I'm not going to tell you how to do it because I lack both skill and the powers of description) and serve to your grateful family, with sides of roasted vegetables and/or a green salad. I like the thighs and drumsticks. Mr. B will only eat the white meat. Baby B eats whatever I give her, and sneakily feeds anything she doesn't want to to the dog.
*Since I can't stop this middle-class urge I've got, now's the time I'm supposed to tell you to get an organic or free-range bird, because not only is it kinder to animals, it's supposed to taste better. I admit, I can't tell the difference in taste when it comes to chicken. (Grass-fed beef vs. corn-fed, definitely. Chicken? No clue.) The bit about humane treatment of animals is, however, undeniable. I can get a $6 chicken that claims to be "cruelty free," whatever that means, from my local budget supermarket. I can get an organic one the same size for three times more from the health food co-op we belong to. I have my doubts about the provenance of the budget bird, but we simply can't afford to eat organic chicken very often, and I want Baby B to get her protein, and chicken is incredibly cheap and nutritious. I hope to atone for this some day when we are richer.
This said, I recently observed that you can buy one of those rotisserie chickens for about $5 at the same budget supermarket. The chicken is the same size as an uncooked one, but you save a dollar and the money you'd have spent running the oven. The only problems are (1) that it might be a battery chicken that's full of rubbish and has lived a miserable life, and (2) that it's covered with unhealthy additives and preservatives. Full disclosure: sometimes I buy these on hot summer days when I want chicken but the thought of roasting one makes me feel quite ill, or on cold winter nights when I'm tired and hungry and can't be bothered.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Chicken broth
My love of free things is surpassed only by my love of making huge amounts of money. The latter doesn't happen very often, so I must content myself with the former. Homemade chicken broth is one of those things that's not only economical, but much better than the bought version. I make mine in a slow cooker, but you can easily make it in a large pot over low heat, as long as you keep an eye on it to make sure it isn't drying up.
You can add pretty much anything you like to this recipe. My thrifty refusal to throw out vegetable scraps* leads me to keep a large bowl full of them in my freezer, alongside chicken carcasses and those giblet things you pull out of the cavity of a chicken before you roast it.** After we've eaten roast chicken or some other chicken dish involving bones, I take the bones off people's plates and put them in the bowl too--boiling them will kill the germs. I usually wait until I have three Ghosts of Chickens Past piled up in the bowl before I pull out the large of my two slow cookers and dump everything in. The mixture usually includes onion skins, celery leaves and ends, carrot peelings, mushroom stems, and bunches of parsley and other fresh herbs that were about to go bad and needed using up.
There is no strict recipe or ingredient list to this. Simply get your chicken carcass(es) and your vegetable scraps (no matter if your broth doesn't have vegetables, by the way--the carcass on its own will make a perfectly good broth) and place them in the slow cooker. Cover them with boiling water, and cook all day (or all night) on low until you have a lovely rich broth. Let it cool inside the slow cooker, then strain the broth into a large bowl. Discard the bones and vegetable scraps.
Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator to chill. After a while, all the fat should rise to the top. Skim it off and discard it. Then again, some people love fatty broth for its richer taste, so by all means leave it in if you prefer.
The broth will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, but if you like, you can decant it into little containers and freeze it. Some people use ice trays so that they can easily throw a cube or two of broth into a recipe.
*I would love to have a compost heap, but Mr. B has begged me not to on account of the wildlife problem in these parts. He detests raccoons and all their furry friends. I tried to negotiate a worm bin or a Bokashi, but he wouldn't budge.
**You can get giblets and things like chicken hearts and so on for mere pennies in some supermarkets, and you could add these to your stock pot. I stand by my motto that "offal is awful," but it makes good broth.
You can add pretty much anything you like to this recipe. My thrifty refusal to throw out vegetable scraps* leads me to keep a large bowl full of them in my freezer, alongside chicken carcasses and those giblet things you pull out of the cavity of a chicken before you roast it.** After we've eaten roast chicken or some other chicken dish involving bones, I take the bones off people's plates and put them in the bowl too--boiling them will kill the germs. I usually wait until I have three Ghosts of Chickens Past piled up in the bowl before I pull out the large of my two slow cookers and dump everything in. The mixture usually includes onion skins, celery leaves and ends, carrot peelings, mushroom stems, and bunches of parsley and other fresh herbs that were about to go bad and needed using up.
There is no strict recipe or ingredient list to this. Simply get your chicken carcass(es) and your vegetable scraps (no matter if your broth doesn't have vegetables, by the way--the carcass on its own will make a perfectly good broth) and place them in the slow cooker. Cover them with boiling water, and cook all day (or all night) on low until you have a lovely rich broth. Let it cool inside the slow cooker, then strain the broth into a large bowl. Discard the bones and vegetable scraps.
Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator to chill. After a while, all the fat should rise to the top. Skim it off and discard it. Then again, some people love fatty broth for its richer taste, so by all means leave it in if you prefer.
The broth will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, but if you like, you can decant it into little containers and freeze it. Some people use ice trays so that they can easily throw a cube or two of broth into a recipe.
*I would love to have a compost heap, but Mr. B has begged me not to on account of the wildlife problem in these parts. He detests raccoons and all their furry friends. I tried to negotiate a worm bin or a Bokashi, but he wouldn't budge.
**You can get giblets and things like chicken hearts and so on for mere pennies in some supermarkets, and you could add these to your stock pot. I stand by my motto that "offal is awful," but it makes good broth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)