Melissa of The Traveler's Lunchbox posted a recipe for Georgian spinach pkhali last week and I got an immense craving for Georgian dishes again. I've been cooking quite a few of them for various reasons - there were some Georgian cooking classes I gave back in 2008 and 2009, there have been Georgian midweek feasts at our home, there are recipes to re-test and re-write for yet another cookbook project ;) But apparently while I've been cooking all those delicious Georgian dishes, I've failed to share the recipes with you, dear readers. I'll try to rectify that shortcoming a.s.a.p., starting as of today. To start with (and that is a 6th Georgian recipe @ Nami-Nami), I'll give you a recipe for a really lovely and unusual chicken dish.
Georgians love walnuts - they are one of the few people who use walnuts as a main ingredient in the kitchen, not just as a garnish here and there - and they do that pretty much on a daily basis. One of the most well-known and popular uses for walnuts is in satsivi sauce, which can be served with chicken, fish and vegetables (aubergine/eggplant satsivi is another very popular dish). There is no one recipe for satsivi - apparently there are at least 20 different versions - and that does not count the secret versions of all individual Georgian cooks! The name 'satsivi' comes from the Georgian word 'tsivi', meaning 'cold/cool' - and it illustrates the fact that a warm satsivi sauce is spooned over a cooked chicken and left to cool and marinate the chicken. Because of that, it's strictly a cold-weather dish. Nobody would pour hot sauce over cold chicken and leave it like that on a hot summer day - it's a health hazard. For hot summer days there are other chicken and walnut dishes (you'll find a recipe both for katmis bazhe and chkmeruli in Darra Goldstein's Georgian cookbook). If you're interested in the fish satsivi, look out for it in Claudia Roden's excellent book on Jewish cuisine.
Trust me - it's a lot easier to make than it sounds - and the end result is totally worth it!
Georgian Chicken in Walnut Sauce
(Kana-satsivi ehk Gruusia-pärane kana kreeka pähkli kastmes)
Serves six to eight
1 large free-range chicken
1 onion, peeled
2 bay leaves
some parsley stalks
salt
about 1.5 litres of water
Satsivi-sauce:
3 Tbsp sunflower oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
250 g walnuts
6 garlic cloves
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground cloves
1.5 tsp ground coriander seeds
2 tsp dried marigold leaves
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika powder
0.5 to 1 tsp Cayenne'i pepper or chilli flakes
a pinch of dried savory
0.5 to 1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp white wine or cider vinegar
about 1 litre chicken stock
Heat the oven to 200 C/400 F.
Place the chicken into a saucepan, pour over enough water to cover. Bring into a boil, removing all the froth that appeares on the surface. Then add the peeled onion, bay leaves and some salt. Reduce heat and simmer on a low heat for about 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the saucepan and place onto a deep oven dish, "face down". Add half a cup of boiling liquid. Roast in the middle of a 200C/400F oven for about 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.
Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes.
Then you've got two options. Traditionally the chicken is cut into about 8-10 pieces and these are arranged on a serving tray. I've served this dish to a larger group of people and then it's more convenient (for the eaters, that is) to remove the flesh from the bones and cut into large bite-sized pieces, like this:
While the chicken is cooking in the oven, you should
1) Reduce the chicken stock - you'll need about 1 litre
2) Prepare the satsivi-sauce:
Chop the walnuts and garlic cloves in the food processor - you'll want small crumbs, but not a powder!!
Heat oil on a heavy frying pan. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 7-8 minutes.
Add the walnut mixture and fry, stirring all the time, for 3-4 minutes.
Return it all to the food processor and process into a thick coarse paste.
Now - return it to the pan again and add all the seasoning (except wine vinegar):
Fry for a few minutes, stirring carefully. Now start adding the chicken stock, ladleful at the time (you may not need all the stock - it depends on the thickness of your walnut paste - I've used anything from 3 to 4 cups). Let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes over a low heat, until it thickens.
Season with wine vinegar and again with some salt and pepper, if necessary.
Pour the satsivi sauce over the chicken pieces and let cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature, garnish with pomegranate seeds or parsley or cilantro leaves.
My Estonian Nami-Nami site is currently hosting a Chinese food Cook-Off, and this crispy chicken in sweet and sour sauce has proved immensely popular. I won't give you a recipe here, but send you to my dear friend, the very passionate Johanna, who blogged about Crispy chicken balls with home-made sweet & sour sauce exactly three years ago.
The only changes I made to Johanna's recipe was to use 2 large chicken breasts (about 500 g) instead of four to feed four people, and I doubled the amount of sauce. Excellent - K. had a whopping three helpings and our daughter loved the sauce-covered crispy chicken pieces a lot as well.
Thank you, dear Johanna! Who knows, perhaps we can cook some Chinese food in your Singapore kitchen together one day ;)
Eestikeelne retsept: Krõbe kana magushapus kastmes
When planning the menu for the Midsummer's Eve, I knew I wanted something more unusual in addition to the traditional pork shashlik. I ended up making this simple grilled chicken liver dish, which was much liked by everyone. Such a quick dish to throw together and cook, ideal for those quick (yet leisurely) summertime meals in your backyard.
Serve with a green salad or a watermelon & feta or melon & blue cheese salad.
Grilled chicken livers
(Grillitud kanamaksavardad)
Source: Finnish magazine Apu (14.3.2004)
Serves 4
450-500 g chicken livers
Marinade:
2 garlic cloves, minced
a bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 Tbsp dry sherry
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp runny honey
salt and pepper to season
If you're using frozen chicken livers, then transfer them to the fridge night before.
Drain the defrozen chicken livers carefully. Cut each liver into two large pieces.
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl, add chicken liver. Leave to marinate for about 2-3 hours.
Pierce the chicken livers onto a wooden sticks* and grill over hot coals or under a hot grill for about 5 minutes, turning them every now and then.
Season with salt and pepper and serve.
* Soak the sticks in cold water for at least 30 minutes before - then they won't burn as quickly.
Chicken drumsticks are a really affordable cut of meat that can be made into a number of delicious dishes. I'd call it a perfect recession dish, if it weren't for the maple syrup - hardly a cheap ingredient, at least here in Estonia (and I doubt that the proper stuff is cheap anywhere). Maple syrup lends these drumsticks a lovely sweet flavour, the potatoes add the bulk and roasted cherry tomatoes cheer the whole dish up with their lovely colour.
You could obviously use chicken thighs or even breast fillets instead of drumsticks.
Maple-glazed roasted chicken drumsticks and vegetables
(Vahtrasiirupis röstitud kanakoivad)
Serves three to four
8 chicken drumsticks
4-6 large garlic cloves
6 Tbso maple syrup
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 fresh rosemary sprigs, leaves only
juice of half a small lemon
500 g small potatoes
250 g cherry tomatoes
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Mix maple syrup, olive oil mustard, rosemary leaves and lemon juice in a medium-sized oven tray, season generously. Add the drumsticks and stir them in the mixture to cover. Add the garlic cloves (we LOVE oven-roasted whole garlic cloves over here. If that's not your favourite thing, then simply add 2-3 crushed garlic cloves to the maple glaze).
Peel the potatoes and cut into thin wedges. Add to the oven dish and give them a quick stir.
Roast in the middle of a pre-heated 200 C/400 F oven for about 20 minutes.
Scatter the cherry tomatoes on top and roast for another 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked and chicken is done.
No, I'm not talking about Madonna's 2008/2009 concert tour, but about Sticky & Sweet Chicken Wings. I've only discovered the pleasures of chicken wings (very) recently and was surprised to find that there is actually some meat and not just bones and skin involved :) I've been trying out various recipes now - three different ones just during the last week (garlickly Lebanese ones, Teriyaki wings and these sticky and sweet ones), and have bookmarked a number of other recipe ideas (Blake Royer's Baked Buffalo Wings and Susan Russo's Maple-Beer-Chili Chicken Wings, for example). I bet there will be more chicken wing recipes coming up on Nami-Nami as well.
This particular recipe is a slight adaptation of a recipe by the beloved British author, Nigel Slater. The tanginess of the mustard and sweetness of honey make these deliciously sticky and sweet indeed.
Sticky & Sweet Chicken Wings
(Kleepjad magusad kanatiivad)
Serves 3-4 as appetizers, can be easily multiplied to serve a crowd
about 600 g of chicken wings
2 heaped Tbsp grainy French mustard
1 heaped Tbsp runny honey
about 5 Tbsp lemon juice (one medium-sized lemon)
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
First, you need to prepare you chicken wings. Using poultry shears or a sharp chef's knife, cut the wings into three parts, as shown on the photo below. Discard the wing tips. Susan mentions in her post that you can buy something called "party wings" in the States - that is chicken wings that have already had their tips removed. No such produce over here, but removing the tips is actually easy.
Sticky & Sweet Chicken Wings
(Kleepjad magusad kanatiivad)
Serves 3-4 as appetizers, can be easily multiplied to serve a crowd
about 600 g of chicken wings
2 heaped Tbsp grainy French mustard
1 heaped Tbsp runny honey
about 5 Tbsp lemon juice (one medium-sized lemon)
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
First, you need to prepare you chicken wings. Using poultry shears or a sharp chef's knife, cut the wings into three parts, as shown on the photo below. Discard the wing tips. Susan mentions in her post that you can buy something called "party wings" in the States - that is chicken wings that have already had their tips removed. No such produce over here, but removing the tips is actually easy.
Combine mustard, honey, lemon juice, crushed garlic in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken wings and move them around, so they're evenly covered with the mixture. Cover the bowl with a cling film and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Line a smallish oven dish with foil, place the chicken wings and any marinade in the tray. Roast in a pre-heated 220 C oven for about 30 minutes, turning once, until the kitchen wings are fully cooked (yet moist inside), gorgeously dark golden brown and very sticky.
Serve with a fresh salad and provide plenty of wet napkins.
Here's a dish that I made several times during last year - and hope to make again as soon as the fresh, new season's garlic appears on the market stalls in a couple of months. It's a dish that I had been intrigued by for ages - imagine, 40 whole garlic cloves to season just one chicken! - and when I finally made it, I fell instantly in love with it. When researching the dish, I came across several and very different versions. After making it several times, I've settled for this minimalist one. Just chicken, olive oil, lots of garlic and some salt'n'pepper. If you like your chicken with crispy skin and sticky, browned bits, then this version isn't perhaps for you, though you can always brown the chicken on a frying pan first and give it a short blast under the grill at the end.
The dish originates in Southern France, Provence, which is famed for its excellent olive oil and large, rosy-tinged garlic cloves. I love making this with young fresh garlic (see photo here), but it works with any garlic. Although the amount of garlic sounds somewhat over the top, then trust me and don't be tempted to choose some tiny garlic cloves. The bigger, the better here. Also, I'm sure the French would use a good extra virgin olive oil here, but if price is the issue, then any good olive oil works here.
Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
(Kana 40 küüslauguküünega)
Serves 6
1 whole chicken, preferably free-range (about 1,5 kg)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
40 large garlic cloves (from 4-5 whole heads of garlic)
250 ml (1 cup) olive oil
fresh herbs of your choice (rosemary, sage, thyme, bay leaves)
First, prep your garlic cloves. When making this with fresh and young garlic cloves, then there's no need to peel them. During winter you should first blanch your garlic cloves in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and remove the softened papery skins.
Using a kitchen paper, pat the chicken dry. Season generously with salt and pepper, both inside and out. Place the chicken, breast-side up, into a Dutch oven or heavy casserole dish where the chicken fits snugly (the better the fit, the less oil you need).
Push the garlic cloves and herbs around the chicken, pressing them down between the chicken and the dish.
Pour over the olive oil - check that all the garlic cloves are covered with oil.
Cover the saucepan and place into a preheated 180 C/360 F oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.
To serve, carve the chicken into suitably large chunks. Serve with fresh green salad leaves and some wholemeal bread to mop up the delicious garlicky juices. Don't forget the softened and mellowed garlic cloves - these are the extra bonus of the dish. I love pressing them onto piece of bread.
* You can use the leftover garlicky olive oil to dress up a salad or serve as a seasoned frying oil during the next few days.
Here's a lovely, and rather fiery, chicken couscous that I made on several occasions earlier this year. The chicken is first marinated in a yogurt-harissa mixture, then gently cooked in the same marinade, before mixed with couscous and some additional ingredients. It's got plenty of taste, good texture and it's definitely not dry - a problem I find with so many couscous dishes and couscous salads.
I used Belazu's Rose Harissa - a rather expensive, but very tasty British harissa paste available in deli shops. But I'm sure your regular harissa would work, too.
Spicy Chicken Cous-Cous with Rose Harissa
(Maitsev kanakuskuss harissaga)
Serves 6
500 g chicken breast or thigh fillets
200 g plain yogurt
1 heaped tsp Rose Harissa paste
CousCous:
300 ml water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
250 g medium-grain couscous
2-3 Tbsp butter
In addition:
250 g cherry tomatoes
handful of spring onions (white and light green parts only)
handful of fresh coriander/cilantro
Cut the chicken pieces into small strips (about an inch long and 1 cm wide). Fold harissa into the yogurt, then throw in the chicken pieces, stirring, so all chicken pieces are covered with marinade. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour.
Prepare the couscous. Heat the water, salt and oil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk in the couscous. Cover the saucepan and leave for 2-3 minutes. Return to the heat, add the butter and heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and keep covered.
Take a small frying pan, add a splash of oil, rinsed cherry tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the cherry tomatoes are hot. Add to the prepared couscous and cover again. /No need to stir at this point/.
Take a large frying pan and dip in the chicken strips with the marinade. Heat over a moderate heat for 7-8 minutes, until chicken pieces are cooked through and the marinade hot. Pour over the couscous.
Stir the whole lot gently with a large spoon, then scatter chopped spring onions and coriander leaves on top.
Serve.
Ruth Van Waerebeek describes this famous Belgian dish in her book Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook as "a confusion of a soup with a stew, chock-full of herbs and vegetables". Julia Child names this as 'the most interesting recipe she's clipped'. Originally made with fish (perch, preferrably), this dish from the Ghent area of Belgium is now more commonly made with chicken. The chicken is poached alongside julienne of vegetables in a mixture of stock and vermouth, and thickened at the end with heavy rcream and egg yolks. When researching the recipe, I did come across recipes for waterzooi using lemon juice instead of vermouth, but vermouth - as used by Julia Child - sounded so much better :) Eventually I settled for Julia Child's recipe (available here), but adapting it slightly. We thought it was really delicious and rather elegant, and wouldn't look out of place on a slightly more special dinner party.
Now, I wonder what the most famous Belgian of all times, Hercule Poirot, thought of Waterzooi. :D
I used a packet of chicken fillet strips, but sliced chicken fillets or boneless chicken thighs would work as well. You can obviously play around with vegetables, but leeks and carrots are a must here - one for the flavour, the other for the colour.
Belgian Chicken Stew Waterzooi
Serves 4
3 large carrots
1 large leek (white and tender green part only)
1 medium sized onion
4 celery ribs/sticks
1 tsp dried tarragon
50 g butter (2 Tbsp)
0.5 tsp salt
450-500 g chicken filet strips (1 pound)
250 ml (1 cup) extra dry vermouth (I used Italian Filipeti)
250 ml (1 cup) light chicken or veal broth
100 ml (just under 1/2 cup) heavy/whipping cream
2 large egg yolks
2 tsp cornstarch
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a large handful of finely chopped fresh parsley
Trim and wash the vegetables. Cut carrots, leek and celery ribs into 4-5 cm (2 inch) julienne matchsticks. Peel and halve the onion, then cut into thin slices.
Heat the butter in a heavy casserole dish, add the vegetables, half a teaspoonful of salt and dried tarragon. Sauté for about 5 minutes, without browning! Transfer 2/3 of the vegetables into a bowl.
Layer the sautéed vegetables and chicken strips into the casserole dish in this order, starting from the bottom: a third of vegetables, half of chicken strips, a third of vegetables, half of chicken strips, a third of vegetables.
Pour over the vermouth and chicken or veal broth, so the chicken and vegetables are just covered (you may need a bit more broth). Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and chicken cooked through.
Now strain the cooking liquid into a bowl. Whisk egg yolks, cream and cornflour until combined, then add the hot cooking liquid, spoonful at the time in the beginning ('to temper' the egg yolk mixture). Pour the sauce back into the casserole dish over the chicken and vegetables, stir in most of the parsley and heat until the first bubbles appear. Remove immediately (overheating will cause the egg yolks to curdle).
Divide into hot soup bowls and serve with boiled new potatoes, gnocchi, noodles or good French bread.
I'm not doing much cooking these days. It's too hot, I'm not in the mood, and I'm taking it easy on my summer vacation. Of course I do cook - and I've already made quite a few nice jams for the winter - but it's mostly tried-and-tested old favourites of mine, so there's not much to blog about. However, here is one of those old favourites that I do need to tell you about. The recipe is based on this Swedish Arla recipe. I remember making it quite regularly about a decade ago, and was happy to rediscover this dish again. A whole chicken breast with cheese topping is a bit too much for us, so we've split the fillet sideways (?). If you've got a mightier appetite, then feel free to use a whole chicken breast per person and extending the baking time by 10 minutes.
Oven-baked Chicken with Feta Cheese
(Ahjus küpsetatud kanafilee fetaga)
Serves 4
2 large or 4 small chicken breast filets (ca 600 g)
100 g feta cheese, crumbled
200 ml sour cream or creme fraiche or plain yogurt
a pinch of dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of salt
If using large chicken breasts, then cut them into two layers and gently pat and form into filets again (or simply use four small chicken breasts and pat thinner).
Season with pepper and just a little bit of salt. Place into a oiled oven-proof dish.
Mix feta cheese with sour cream, season with oregano. Divide the mixture on top of chicken fillets.
Bake in the middle of 200 C oven for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and feta topping is golden.
Serve either with baked potatoes and vegetables, or a light summer salad.
BBC Good Food was my favourite food magazine during my first few years in Scotland. I must admit that these days I subscribe to Delicious and only buy Good Food occasionally, as I find the former visually more attractive and the recipes more intriguing. However, many of my favourite recipes are still from the BBC Good Food magazine. Take this Spanish-influenced tomato and olive chicken that was first published in the March 1999 issue and then again in February 2001 issue. I've made it many, many times over the last nine years, and the combination of tomato sauce and salty olives makes this a true winner. Not many ingredients, plenty of flavour and character, and on your table in 30 minutes. Got that?
Tomato and Olive Chicken
(Tomati-oliivikana)
Serves 4
4 skinless chicken breasts (or mini fillets)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 Tbsp concentrated tomato puree/paste
300 ml (just over a cup) of chicken stock/bouillon
a handful of black olives (I used dry-cured olives)
plain/all-purpose flour
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
Mix flour, salt and pepper in a deep plate. Dust chicken fillets in the flour mixture, shake off any extra flour.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan/skillet over medium heat. Add chicken fillets* and fry them on both sides until brown - about 10 minutes in total. Remove the chicken fillets from the pan, keep warm.
Add garlic to the pan, fry for a minute.
Add tomato paste and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then add the chicken pieces and olives. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, turning the chicken half way through. The dish is ready when the chicken is cooked and the sauce slightly thickened.
Taste, season with salt if necessary.
Serve with steamed rice and a green salad.
* For quicker cooking, you may want to use mini fillets, or then place the chicken fillets between two sheets of clingfilm and gently pound them with your hand to flatten them.
Tomato and Olive Chicken
(Tomati-oliivikana)
Serves 4
4 skinless chicken breasts (or mini fillets)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 Tbsp concentrated tomato puree/paste
300 ml (just over a cup) of chicken stock/bouillon
a handful of black olives (I used dry-cured olives)
plain/all-purpose flour
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
Mix flour, salt and pepper in a deep plate. Dust chicken fillets in the flour mixture, shake off any extra flour.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan/skillet over medium heat. Add chicken fillets* and fry them on both sides until brown - about 10 minutes in total. Remove the chicken fillets from the pan, keep warm.
Add garlic to the pan, fry for a minute.
Add tomato paste and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then add the chicken pieces and olives. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, turning the chicken half way through. The dish is ready when the chicken is cooked and the sauce slightly thickened.
Taste, season with salt if necessary.
Serve with steamed rice and a green salad.
* For quicker cooking, you may want to use mini fillets, or then place the chicken fillets between two sheets of clingfilm and gently pound them with your hand to flatten them.
Somebody somewhere commented that my blog is very nice, but a bit baking-heavy. Well, I cannot help it. I consider myself to be a much better baker than a cook. And with Christmas around the corner, I'll be baking and baking and baking. According to the traditions, one must have seven different types of cakes and cookies on the Christmas table, so I must obey - and keep up a certain reputation I've acquired among my family and friends:)
But just to show I can cook as well, I'm going to post a non-baking recipe today and tomorrow. Tonight I start off with a very easy supper recipe for Sesame and Lemon Chicken. I discovered the recipe from a tiny cookbook by Tami Lehman-Wilzig & Miriam Blum, called "The Melting Pot: A Quick and Easy Blend of Israeli Cuisine" - a gift my friend Hille brought me back from her trip to Israel few years ago. I've made this dish couple of times, and can really recommend it. Again, I love the easiness of this dish, the subtle lemon flavour and the crunch of sesame seeds in my mouth. And I know that kids like this, too - I've checked!
Aitäh raamatu eest, Hille!
Sesame and Lemon Chicken
(Sidruni-seesamikana)
Serves 4
4 small to medium chicken fillets
half a lemon
0.5 tsp salt
0.25 tsp black pepper
1 egg
6 Tbsp plain flour
3 Tbsp sesame seeds
3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for frying
Flatten the chicken fillets slightly by placing them between two sheets of clingfilm and gently beating them with a rolling pin. Place in a large shallow dish, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice on all sides. Cover and leave to marinate for half an hour in a fridge.
Break the egg into a soup plate, whisking it a little.
Place flour into another plate.
Mix sesame seeds and breadcrumbs on the third plate.
When ready to cook, toss the chicken fillets, one after another, in the flour, then quickly dip into the egg, and finally press into the sesame seed mixture, to ensure they're covered evenly.
Heat oil in a large skillet/frying pan over moderate heat, and cook the chicken fillets on both sides until golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with lemon slices, steamed rice and some steamed broccoli or other vegetables. Or simly with some dressed salad leaves.
But just to show I can cook as well, I'm going to post a non-baking recipe today and tomorrow. Tonight I start off with a very easy supper recipe for Sesame and Lemon Chicken. I discovered the recipe from a tiny cookbook by Tami Lehman-Wilzig & Miriam Blum, called "The Melting Pot: A Quick and Easy Blend of Israeli Cuisine" - a gift my friend Hille brought me back from her trip to Israel few years ago. I've made this dish couple of times, and can really recommend it. Again, I love the easiness of this dish, the subtle lemon flavour and the crunch of sesame seeds in my mouth. And I know that kids like this, too - I've checked!
Aitäh raamatu eest, Hille!
Sesame and Lemon Chicken
(Sidruni-seesamikana)
Serves 4
4 small to medium chicken fillets
half a lemon
0.5 tsp salt
0.25 tsp black pepper
1 egg
6 Tbsp plain flour
3 Tbsp sesame seeds
3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for frying
Flatten the chicken fillets slightly by placing them between two sheets of clingfilm and gently beating them with a rolling pin. Place in a large shallow dish, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice on all sides. Cover and leave to marinate for half an hour in a fridge.
Break the egg into a soup plate, whisking it a little.
Place flour into another plate.
Mix sesame seeds and breadcrumbs on the third plate.
When ready to cook, toss the chicken fillets, one after another, in the flour, then quickly dip into the egg, and finally press into the sesame seed mixture, to ensure they're covered evenly.
Heat oil in a large skillet/frying pan over moderate heat, and cook the chicken fillets on both sides until golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with lemon slices, steamed rice and some steamed broccoli or other vegetables. Or simly with some dressed salad leaves.
I've got quite a few Estonian recipes lined up for you during the next few weeks - so much so that I thought it might be a good idea to post something exotic for a change. Although while I certainly do want you to come here whenever you want to read about and cook something Estonian, I don't want to be typecast as 'that Estonian blogger who only posts about Estonian salted broad beans, nettle soup, beef liver gravy, and desserts made of kama.
I can do more than that :)
Here's a recipe for a Coconut Chicken Curry adapted from Globetrekker TV I made last weekend. We both enjoyed this mellow and fragrant curry, and will be making it again when we fancy something more exotic.
Coconut Chicken Curry, Trinidad style
(Trinidadi kana-kookoskarri)
Serves 4
500 grams chicken breast or thigh fillets (I used the latter)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 lemongrass stalks, inner parts finely chopped
2 Tbsp rum*
2 Tbsp oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp curry powder**
250 ml coconut milk
1 red chilli pepper
a small bunch of fresh coriander/cilantro, finely chopped
boiled rice or quinoa to serve
Cut chicken pieces into bite-sized chunks. Mix rum, finely minced garlic and lemongrass stalk in a small bowl, add chicken chunks, toss, cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge to marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan, add onions and sauté for 5 minutes on a low heat. Increase heat, add chicken pieces and fry until the colour has changed, stirring to enable even browning (about 8 to 10 minutes).
Add curry powder, stir for a few seconds, then add coconut milk and finely chopped chilli pepper.
Simmer on a low heat for another 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens and chicken cooks through. Remove from the heat, stir in chopped coriander/cilantro and serve with boiled rice or quinoa.
* I used Havana Club Añejo Reserva rum
* I used Caribbean Poudre de Colombo Curry Spice Blend from Seasoned Pioneers, which contains cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek, black peppercorns, turmeric and cloves. My dear foodblogging friend Johanna gave it to me as a gift this summer.
I can do more than that :)
Here's a recipe for a Coconut Chicken Curry adapted from Globetrekker TV I made last weekend. We both enjoyed this mellow and fragrant curry, and will be making it again when we fancy something more exotic.
Coconut Chicken Curry, Trinidad style
(Trinidadi kana-kookoskarri)
Serves 4
500 grams chicken breast or thigh fillets (I used the latter)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 lemongrass stalks, inner parts finely chopped
2 Tbsp rum*
2 Tbsp oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp curry powder**
250 ml coconut milk
1 red chilli pepper
a small bunch of fresh coriander/cilantro, finely chopped
boiled rice or quinoa to serve
Cut chicken pieces into bite-sized chunks. Mix rum, finely minced garlic and lemongrass stalk in a small bowl, add chicken chunks, toss, cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge to marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan, add onions and sauté for 5 minutes on a low heat. Increase heat, add chicken pieces and fry until the colour has changed, stirring to enable even browning (about 8 to 10 minutes).
Add curry powder, stir for a few seconds, then add coconut milk and finely chopped chilli pepper.
Simmer on a low heat for another 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens and chicken cooks through. Remove from the heat, stir in chopped coriander/cilantro and serve with boiled rice or quinoa.
* I used Havana Club Añejo Reserva rum
* I used Caribbean Poudre de Colombo Curry Spice Blend from Seasoned Pioneers, which contains cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek, black peppercorns, turmeric and cloves. My dear foodblogging friend Johanna gave it to me as a gift this summer.
My dad celebrated his birthday on Saturday, and my mum had asked us to bring a cake (K. made a rather wonderful tiramisu to feed 16 guests), and a salad. Any self-respecting Estonian birthday party has a large bowl of kartulisalat or potato salad (known as Russian salad in many places, which is a version of the famous Salad Olivier), so I didn't bother to do that, as my mum would make one anyway. Instead I offered to make something more exotic - a mayonnaise and sour cream based salad of rice and curried chicken. The offer was kindly accepted (and the salad quickly eaten, I'm happy to report).
In order to make that salad, however, I needed half of a curry-roasted chicken. That's why we had roasted chicken with curry rub for dinner on Friday night. Easy-peasy..
Note that I didn't baste the chicken with any liquid during roasting, nor is there any fat as such (no oil, no butter) in the marinade - indeed, it's practically a fat-free marinade. Yet the resulting chicken was moist and succulent.
Roasted chicken with curry rub
(Karriahjukana)
Adapted from Woman's Day Magazine, April 2000
3-4 pound roasting chicken, giblets (if any) removed
Curry rub:
2 Tbsp curry powder
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp freshly ground cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lemon, halved
4 Tbsp sour cream or plain yogurt
Rinse the chicken under the cold water (Delicious Days had recently an interesting post about the pros and cons of washing meat - check it out!). Dry thoroughly with a kitchen paper, as otherwise the rub won't stick. Place on a roasting tray.
Prepare the curry rub. Mix curry powder, salt, ginger and cumin seeds, add crushed garlic cloves, about 2 Tbsp of lemon juice and the sour cream or yogurt, so you'll get a thick paste.
Put lemon halves into the body cavity of the chicken.
'Massage' the curry paste all over the chicken, so it would be well covered.
Place the roasting tray into the lower part of a pre-heated oven and roast at 180C for about an hour.
To test if the chicken is cooked, insert a sharp knife into the thickest part of the thigh and check that the meat juice runs clear and not pink (if it's still pink, put into the oven for another 10 minutes and test again).
Take the chicken out of the oven, and let it rest for about 10 minutes before carving.
Serve with rice and cooked green vegetables.
In order to make that salad, however, I needed half of a curry-roasted chicken. That's why we had roasted chicken with curry rub for dinner on Friday night. Easy-peasy..
Note that I didn't baste the chicken with any liquid during roasting, nor is there any fat as such (no oil, no butter) in the marinade - indeed, it's practically a fat-free marinade. Yet the resulting chicken was moist and succulent.
Roasted chicken with curry rub
(Karriahjukana)
Adapted from Woman's Day Magazine, April 2000
3-4 pound roasting chicken, giblets (if any) removed
Curry rub:
2 Tbsp curry powder
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp freshly ground cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lemon, halved
4 Tbsp sour cream or plain yogurt
Rinse the chicken under the cold water (Delicious Days had recently an interesting post about the pros and cons of washing meat - check it out!). Dry thoroughly with a kitchen paper, as otherwise the rub won't stick. Place on a roasting tray.
Prepare the curry rub. Mix curry powder, salt, ginger and cumin seeds, add crushed garlic cloves, about 2 Tbsp of lemon juice and the sour cream or yogurt, so you'll get a thick paste.
Put lemon halves into the body cavity of the chicken.
'Massage' the curry paste all over the chicken, so it would be well covered.
Place the roasting tray into the lower part of a pre-heated oven and roast at 180C for about an hour.
To test if the chicken is cooked, insert a sharp knife into the thickest part of the thigh and check that the meat juice runs clear and not pink (if it's still pink, put into the oven for another 10 minutes and test again).
Take the chicken out of the oven, and let it rest for about 10 minutes before carving.
Serve with rice and cooked green vegetables.
Any self-respecting Burns Supper begins with a proper Scottish soup - either Scotch Broth or Cock-a-Leekie. As the latter is a) considerably cheaper and b) considerably easier, then that's what I made for our Burns Supper last weekend. Amazingly, so few ingredients (a chicken, some leeks and some juicy prunes) can result in such a flavoursome soup. I did dig out my Marigold bouillon powder - you know, just in case - but didn't have to touch it after all.The amounts given below are the ones I used. If you want to follow the exact amounts given by the Scottish foodwriter Sue Lawrence, then click on the photo above.
Cock-a-leekie
(Cock-a-leekie supp ehk šotlaste kana-porrusupp)
Adapted from Scots Cooking: The Best Traditional and Contemporary Scottish Recipes
by Sue LawrenceServes 10 as a starter
1 chicken (1.5 kg)
3-4 large leeks (1 kg)
20 black peppercorns
about 2 litres water
20 juicy prunes, stoned
fresh parsley, chopped
Place the chicken in a large saucepan. Halve the leeks lengthwise, wash them well, then cut off the green parts. Chop these roughly and add to the pan with the peppercorns and enough water just to cover. Bring slowly to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover tightly and leave for about an hour.
After an hour, take out the chicken and remove the leeks, either with a slotted spoon or by draining the soup through a colander. Discard the cooked leeks. Now chop the white part of the leeks, add to the pan with the prunes and bring to the boil again. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the leeks are just done.Remove the chicken flesh from the bones, chop it into pieces and add these to the soup. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and serve with chopped parsley on top.
My parents finally came over for the housewarming visit on Wednesday, or soolaleivale (salt & bread), as it's known in Estonian. They brought us some rye bread, salt and a fancy marzipan tart. We treated them to a choux pastry roll with smoked chicken (a chicken version of the choux pastry roll with smoked fish that I wrote about last week) and chocolate and cherry cake (the cherry version of Nigella's chocolate and orange marmalade cake I wrote about exactly a year ago). As Wednesday is a weekday night, it wasn't a long sit-down meal. That'll come later. But I think my parents approved, both of my new home as well as the food:)
The good thing about this roll is that it can be made night before and kept wrapped in foil in the fridge.
Choux pastry roll with smoked chicken
Serves 6
For the choux pastry follow the recipe and instructions here.
Filling:
2 smoked chicken breast fillets, finely diced
100 grams soured cream/creme fraiche/thick plain yogurt
100 grams good-quality mayonnaise
2 tsp curry powder or paste of your choice
lots of chopped fresh parsley
Mix all ingredients, spread on the choux pastry sheet and roll up from the long end.
Leave in the fridge for at least half an hour, so the flavours could develop.
Serve with salad leaves.
The good thing about this roll is that it can be made night before and kept wrapped in foil in the fridge.
Choux pastry roll with smoked chicken
Serves 6
For the choux pastry follow the recipe and instructions here.
Filling:
2 smoked chicken breast fillets, finely diced
100 grams soured cream/creme fraiche/thick plain yogurt
100 grams good-quality mayonnaise
2 tsp curry powder or paste of your choice
lots of chopped fresh parsley
Mix all ingredients, spread on the choux pastry sheet and roll up from the long end.
Leave in the fridge for at least half an hour, so the flavours could develop.
Serve with salad leaves.
Here's a simple recipe I cooked few weeks ago, when I had some Estonian visitors from Cambridge. Trying to stay close to our Nordic roots, I boiled some potatoes (the staple back home) and scoured the Swedish Arla site for recipes. This recipe for Classic Summer Chicken caught my eye and, with small adaptations, was served to my friends. They liked it, as did I. The creamy-mustardy sauce was especially delicious, and dill added a very summery touch indeed.
I, on the other hand, overcame my deeply rooted & irrational fear of combining chicken and bacon. I think I'm almost ready to experiment with swordfish and prociutto next...
Chicken with creamy mustard and dill sauce and crispy bacon
(Suvine kanaroog koore-sinepikastmega)
Serves 4
4 chicken fillets (ca 500 grams)
butter for frying
250 ml double cream
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2-3 cloves of young garlic, skins off & slightly crushed
100 grams of smoked bacon rashers, chopped
3-4 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
To serve:
500-750 grams of new potatoes, boiled (I used Jersey Royals again)
sliced cucumber
Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Add chicken fillets and brown on all sides (7-8 minutes in total).
Pour over the cream, add garlic cloves and mustard. Cover the pan and simmer on a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Add the chopped dill, season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, fry chopped bacon on a dry non-stick pan until golden brown and crispy.
To serve, place chicken fillets on heated plates, pour some sauce on top and sprinkle with crispy bacon.
UPDATE 12.8.2006
Kalyn has included this recipe in her weekly round-up of South Beach Diet friendly recipes. Thank you, Kalyn!
I, on the other hand, overcame my deeply rooted & irrational fear of combining chicken and bacon. I think I'm almost ready to experiment with swordfish and prociutto next...
Chicken with creamy mustard and dill sauce and crispy bacon
(Suvine kanaroog koore-sinepikastmega)
Serves 4
4 chicken fillets (ca 500 grams)
butter for frying
250 ml double cream
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2-3 cloves of young garlic, skins off & slightly crushed
100 grams of smoked bacon rashers, chopped
3-4 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
To serve:
500-750 grams of new potatoes, boiled (I used Jersey Royals again)
sliced cucumber
Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Add chicken fillets and brown on all sides (7-8 minutes in total).
Pour over the cream, add garlic cloves and mustard. Cover the pan and simmer on a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Add the chopped dill, season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, fry chopped bacon on a dry non-stick pan until golden brown and crispy.
To serve, place chicken fillets on heated plates, pour some sauce on top and sprinkle with crispy bacon.
UPDATE 12.8.2006
Kalyn has included this recipe in her weekly round-up of South Beach Diet friendly recipes. Thank you, Kalyn!
Chicken liver featured pretty often in our kitchen when I was younger. One of my aunties worked in a chicken factory (abattoir?), and was able to smuggle us various cheap chicken bits and pieces during the food-poor and rationed last years of the Soviet era. Some of these chicken parts I hated, some I didn't mind, some I rather liked. Chicken necks will remain my pet hate until I die (my mum used them in soups); chicken wings haven't got enough meat on them, however juicy and flavoursome it is; chicken gizzards and chicken liver - in stews and patés, respectively - I find rather good.
Ever since I saw the recipe and pictures for paté ai fetatini over at Delicious Days few months ago, I've been longing to have some home-made chicken liver pâté again. The opportunity came when I spotted some chicken livers at Edinburgh Farmers' Market. I will try paté ai fetatini recipe soon, but first I had to try my Mum's version..
Chicken liver pâté
(Kanamaksapasteet)
500 grams chicken liver, cleaned
100 grams butter, at room temperature
1 onion, finely chopped
salt
finely crushed black pepper
2-3 Tbsp brandy or cognac
3-4 Tbsp chicken stock
Melt about 25 grams of butter on a frying pan, add the chopped onion and fry gently for 5-10 minutes, until the onion softens a little.
Add the chopped chicken liver and fry on medium heat, turning regularly, for about 5 minutes, until the liver is cooked & no longer pink inside, but is still on the soft side. Let it cool.
If you have an old-fashioned mincer, then mince the fried livers twice (gives a smoother paté). Alternatively, mince the fried livers and onions in a food processor, add soft butter, seasoning and brandy and process until smooth. If the mixture is too dry, then add a bit of chicken stock.
Keeps for a few days in the fridge, covered. To serve, either spread on toast or form into small balls with a warm teaspoon and roll in grated hard cheese - this is a popular way of serving any liver pâté back home.Now - next time I must ask for some chicken gizzards then..
PS For a slightly fancier take on the chicken liver pâté you can also check out Becks&Posh's recipe for chicken liver crostini, or pictures of it over at Spittoon Extra.
I started this foodblog back in June and if I remember correctly, then one of the first comments I left on another blog was avidly defending Georgian cuisine. It's not that I'm an expert on that particular cuisine, but I happily visit the few Georgian (and other Caucasian) restaurants in Tallinn when I have a chance. During my teenage years I lived in a block of flats where our next door neighbours were a stern Russian physics professor (he) and an extremely lively and charming Georgian journalist and theatre critic (she). She was a good cook. I can almost say that I grew up smelling the delicious aromas of Georgian cuisine on a daily basis...
Not sure why, but the recent avian flu scares - which in theory should make me not to want to eat poultry - have had exactly the opposite effect on me. I've been craving chicken for weeks, and last weekend had a go. I did make sure my chicken came from a reputable local organic source and I cooked chicken two days in a row - a Georgian chicken stew on Saturday (to precede the yummy fig tarts) and a somewhat disappointing Caribbean coconut chicken on Sunday (I'm still trying to figure out whether it was me or the recipe).
The following recipe for a Georgian chicken stew is based on quite a few sources, including Clarissa Hyman's The Jewish Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Around the World, as well as various Estonian sources. Clarissa Hyman's recipe was probably most useful in terms of which seasonings to use, although the way she included potatoes in her stew was ubiquous, to say the least. I compared, combined and tweaked the various recipes to what I had on hand. Traditionally a whole cut-up chicken is first dry fried in the saucepan before other ingredients are added. I used chicken breasts. To boost the chicken flavour that would have otherwise come from the bones and skin, I added some fresh chicken gravy. The resulting stew was really flavoursome and tasty, and seemed pretty authentic - though adapted - to all eaters. And I think Eteria, my neighbour, would have approved.
Georgian chicken with herbs and wine - Chakhokhbili
(Kanatšahhohbili)
500 grams chicken breast fillets, cut into large chunks
2 Tbsp sunflower oil
2 chopped large onions
1 chopped garlic clove
400 grams chopped tomatoes (or couple of peeled fresh tomatoes)
100 ml fresh chicken stock
100 ml medium-bodied red wine
2 bay leaves
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
1 tsp crushed fenugreek seeds (optional)
salt and black pepper
a very generous cupful of fresh herbs (CORIANDER/CILANTRO, TARRAGON, mint, basil, dill, parsley - it MUST include the herbs in capital letters, otherwise it's not even remotely authentic. I used the whole lot apart from mint.)
Heat the oil in a thick saucepan. Add chicken and fry on a medium heat until slightly browned all over.
Add onions, stir for a few minutes. Add garlic and saute, until onion has softened a little.
Add the chilli flakes, coriander and fenugreek*, stir for a few seconds to release aromas. Add tomatoes, fresh chicken stock and wine together with bay leaves. Season. Bring to a simmer, cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for 30-45 minutes (or more, if you wish), stirring every now and then, until the sauce is reduced to a thick glossy sauce.
Remove the bay leaves and add the fresh herbs. Stir and cover for 10 minutes, so the flavours can infuse. Season again, if necessary.
Serve with boiled rice or potatoes, garnish with lemon slices.
* If you can get hold of the Georgian spicy relish, adjika, then use this one instead of the spices (a tablespoon or two, depending on your taste).
I cooked another dinner for the Estonian gang last week here in Edinburgh. Introducing them to the local cuisine, we feasted upon brinjal masala, chicken korma, gobi matar, strawberry shrikhard, and masala chai . Indian food is extremely popular in Scotland, and here's my version of a home-cooked Indian feast. All cooked from scratch, not a ready made curry paste or sauce on sight, although I did use a shop bought curry powder for the korma. And it was all on the table within an hour. Not bad, I think, for my first full Indian feast..
Brinjal Masala or deep fried aubergines/eggplants.
(Praetud pommuviilud)
The recipe for deep fried aubergines is from the October 2000 issue of Waitrose Food Illustrated, and I modified it only slightly. Instead of 2 large aubergines I used 6 baby aubergines (the long and thin type), which I sliced thickly and deep-fried golden brown in sunflower oil. After draining them on kitchen paper, I sprinkled them with smoked pimento powder (Waitrose prescribed chilli powder, but I wanted something smoky and not too hot) and Maldon sea salt flakes.
Mmm. It must have been good. By the time I finished cooking the rice for the main course, the bowl of brinjal masala was suspiciously empty. It was good then that I ‘tasted’ couple when making them…
Chicken korma
(Kanakorma)
This recipe comes from the World Food supplement of the September 2001 issue of Family Circle. It was the first Indian curry I made from scratch, and I was very pleased with the result. Easy to make, creamy and delicious and very mild curry. Serving a vindaloo to an inexperienced Estonian palates may result in never having to cook a curry to my fellow nationals again, as they’d avoid me like plague. And as I like to cook for friends, I reckoned it’s best to start with something safe and mild as to make sure that I won’t be dining in solitude in the future..
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized chunks)
1 chopped onion
2 crushed garlic cloves
3 crushed cardamom pods
2 tsp mild curry powder*
1 tsp turmeric
50 grams of flaked almonds
3-4 dl (low fat) crème fraiche
salt & pepper
225 grams fresh spinach (preferably baby leaf; wash and drain thoroughly and chop roughly)
paprika powder
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add chicken and cook until browned. Remove and set aside.
Add onion, garlic, cardamom, curry powder and turmeric to the pan. Cook on a low-ish heat until onion has softened.
Return fried chicken to pan, add crème fraiche and season with salt and pepper. Heat through and simmer for some 5 minutes.
Add spinach and heat through until spinach has wilted.
Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika.
* I used the Finnish Santa Maria brand that contains coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, cumin and ‘other seasonings’. Whatever that means then:)
Serve with a salad of red onions and cucumber.
Gobi matar or cauliflower and peas with cumin
(Vürtsine lillkapsaroog)
This is from October 2005 issue of Waitrose Food Illustrated. I am a great fan of cauliflower, and usually eat it either boiled and smothered with browned butter and breadcrumbs, or grated raw and mixed with sour cream and seasoned with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. This was my first ‘exotic’ cauliflower dish, and I really liked it. I imagine it would be lovely as an accompaniment to a piece of grilled meat as well.
Ingredients:
salt and pepper
4 tsp ground turmeric
350 grams cauliflower florets
200 grams of frozen petit pois
3 tbsp vegetable oil
5 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of chilli flakes
fresh coriander for garnish
Bring a pan of water to the boil, add turmeric and salt and cauliflower florets. Cook until cauliflower is almost done (like in al dente). Add frozen peas for the last minute or two. Drain (and leave to cool, if you are preparing this in advance.)
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add cumin seeds and fry, until seeds start popping and crackle. Add cauliflower and peas and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until cauliflower starts to colour.
Season with salt, pepper and chilli, sprinkle with coriander and serve hot.
Strawberry Shrikhand or spiced yogurt with strawberries
(Maasika-shrikhand)
This was the dessert, published in the Flavours of India supplement of November 2005 issue of delicious. I mixed a 500 gram tub of Total Greek yogurt with some sugar, chopped strawberries, crushed cardamom seeds from 5 cardamom pods, divided the shrikhand between glasses and decorated with chopped pistachios and strawberries. Nice and easy, but next time I’ll add a tiny amount of rosewater for an added exotic touch.
For drinks: beer, water, and finally a nice cup of Chai Masala (from The Whittard of Chelsea, seasoned with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves).
Brinjal Masala or deep fried aubergines/eggplants.
(Praetud pommuviilud)
The recipe for deep fried aubergines is from the October 2000 issue of Waitrose Food Illustrated, and I modified it only slightly. Instead of 2 large aubergines I used 6 baby aubergines (the long and thin type), which I sliced thickly and deep-fried golden brown in sunflower oil. After draining them on kitchen paper, I sprinkled them with smoked pimento powder (Waitrose prescribed chilli powder, but I wanted something smoky and not too hot) and Maldon sea salt flakes.
Mmm. It must have been good. By the time I finished cooking the rice for the main course, the bowl of brinjal masala was suspiciously empty. It was good then that I ‘tasted’ couple when making them…
Chicken korma
(Kanakorma)
This recipe comes from the World Food supplement of the September 2001 issue of Family Circle. It was the first Indian curry I made from scratch, and I was very pleased with the result. Easy to make, creamy and delicious and very mild curry. Serving a vindaloo to an inexperienced Estonian palates may result in never having to cook a curry to my fellow nationals again, as they’d avoid me like plague. And as I like to cook for friends, I reckoned it’s best to start with something safe and mild as to make sure that I won’t be dining in solitude in the future..
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized chunks)
1 chopped onion
2 crushed garlic cloves
3 crushed cardamom pods
2 tsp mild curry powder*
1 tsp turmeric
50 grams of flaked almonds
3-4 dl (low fat) crème fraiche
salt & pepper
225 grams fresh spinach (preferably baby leaf; wash and drain thoroughly and chop roughly)
paprika powder
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add chicken and cook until browned. Remove and set aside.
Add onion, garlic, cardamom, curry powder and turmeric to the pan. Cook on a low-ish heat until onion has softened.
Return fried chicken to pan, add crème fraiche and season with salt and pepper. Heat through and simmer for some 5 minutes.
Add spinach and heat through until spinach has wilted.
Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika.
* I used the Finnish Santa Maria brand that contains coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, cumin and ‘other seasonings’. Whatever that means then:)
Serve with a salad of red onions and cucumber.
Gobi matar or cauliflower and peas with cumin
(Vürtsine lillkapsaroog)
This is from October 2005 issue of Waitrose Food Illustrated. I am a great fan of cauliflower, and usually eat it either boiled and smothered with browned butter and breadcrumbs, or grated raw and mixed with sour cream and seasoned with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. This was my first ‘exotic’ cauliflower dish, and I really liked it. I imagine it would be lovely as an accompaniment to a piece of grilled meat as well.
Ingredients:
salt and pepper
4 tsp ground turmeric
350 grams cauliflower florets
200 grams of frozen petit pois
3 tbsp vegetable oil
5 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of chilli flakes
fresh coriander for garnish
Bring a pan of water to the boil, add turmeric and salt and cauliflower florets. Cook until cauliflower is almost done (like in al dente). Add frozen peas for the last minute or two. Drain (and leave to cool, if you are preparing this in advance.)
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add cumin seeds and fry, until seeds start popping and crackle. Add cauliflower and peas and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until cauliflower starts to colour.
Season with salt, pepper and chilli, sprinkle with coriander and serve hot.
Strawberry Shrikhand or spiced yogurt with strawberries
(Maasika-shrikhand)
This was the dessert, published in the Flavours of India supplement of November 2005 issue of delicious. I mixed a 500 gram tub of Total Greek yogurt with some sugar, chopped strawberries, crushed cardamom seeds from 5 cardamom pods, divided the shrikhand between glasses and decorated with chopped pistachios and strawberries. Nice and easy, but next time I’ll add a tiny amount of rosewater for an added exotic touch.
For drinks: beer, water, and finally a nice cup of Chai Masala (from The Whittard of Chelsea, seasoned with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves).
No, I'm not writing about Weekend Cat Blogging, hosted by Clare at Eat Stuff, where foodbloggers show off their adorable cuties. I managed to do quite a lot of cooking this weekend, including 2 dishes I've spotted at various foodblogs. I feel much better for it - both for cooking something nice and for finally managing to cook something other foodbloggers have suggested. There are so many tempting recipes around, and I'm keen to try them all, but there's just not enough time and energy always available.
I hosted a small casual dinner on Friday night, attended by two Edinburgh based Estonian friends and two visiting Estonian friends. We skipped the starters bit and headed straight for the chicken&greens stir-fry that I also cooked for my family in June, then with an addition of garlic scapes.
The recipe comes from February 2001 issue of BBC Good Food magazine, where it is called Chinese chicken stir fry. I guess all 5 of us thought it was a Chinese dinner enough (cooked in a wok, seasoned with soy sauce and eaten with chopsticks:) but again, am not sure whether anyone more familiar with the versatile Chinese cooking would agree, as it didn't seem to be very Chinese to me. But it's tasty and easy, very bright and colourful, and I also suspect it's reasonably light and healthy, and I have cooked it many a time since I saw the recipe few years ago.
Chinese chicken stir-fry
(Kanawok)
Serves 4 or so, depending on the amount of noodles/rice.
25 grams butter
450 grams sliced chicken fillets
3 tbsp dark soy sauce (I used Kikkoman's)
350 grams broccoli, cut into small florets
200 grams green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
a bunch of sliced spring onions
2 tsp corn flour (Maizena/corn starch)
freshly squeezed juice of 2 oranges
a handful of fresh basil
Heat a large wok, melt the butter.
Add chicken fillet strips and a dash of soy sauce. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken starts to brown.
Add broccoli florets, green beans and about half of spring onions (the whiter parts). Fry for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Mix corn flour, orange juice and rest of the soy sauce. Add to the wok and heat for another 1 minute, until the sauce thickens a little.
Add the rest of the spring onions and basil.
I served it with some egg noodles tossed with a dash of sesame oil.
Peaches Roasted With Brown Sugar and Basil
(Basiilikuvõiga küpsetatud virsikud)
There have been lots of lovely recipes using peaches recently (check out the fabulous creations at Kuidaore and another lovely peach dish on The Flying Apple blog). I then came across a very tempting and oh-so-simple peach recipe at Gluten-free Girl (originally from NY Times (25.8.2005)) and decided to go for it. This is my first copycat dish of the weekend.
A dessert simply cannot be any simpler - you halve the peaches and remove the stones, fit the peach halves snugly into a baking dish. You fill the peaches with some fresh chopped basil (I'm happily using the crops of my herb 'garden'), some brown sugar, a tiny piece of butter and sprinkle the whole lot with cinnamon:
I was even so lazy as to skip the bit where you're supposed to mix sugar, mint and butter into a paste - it worked perfectly well without that preparatory step as well.
Then you bake the whole lot in a pre-heated 225˚C oven for about 15 minutes, until the peaches have softened, the butter has melted and sugar caramelised.
I served it with my favourite ice-cream - the sticky toffee one from a Scottish organic dairy Cream O'Galloway.
Pertelote's tuna and chickpea salad
(Kikerherne-tuunikalasalat)
On Saturday morning I had another nice and hearty fry-up at Native State (well, I must introduce my visitors to the local food culture!), and thus skipped the lunch. I later attended a lovely BBQ at my friend Helen's place (another local Estonian), where I brought along Pertelote's fantastic tuna and chickpea salad. I should probably say that I made this salad again (photo above) - and this my second copycat dish of the weekend (and a recurrent one).
These lovely dishes and plenty of entertainment made me happy and kept me busy and retained me from missing people who are not around at the moment too much. As for the weekend entertainment - you can't go wrong with some salsa dancing, BBQ, shopping and a highly entertaining La Clique show. PS Aussie bloggers - I thoroughly recommend the latter show, coming to Melbourne in October!