The Hubby and I LOVE Indian food. There is a hole in the wall that we frequent in Provo that has great Indian food (Bombay House). The only problem is, it is pricey when we eat there, so we try to save it for special occasions.
The Orem Library has I think two whole rows of cookbooks, Wow! What a resource. So I went there for an Indian cookbook and inspiration. What I found was Curries Without Worries: An Introduction to Indian Cooking by Sudah Koul. I flipped through the book, and decided on Tandoori Chicken. I did have a frozen bird in my freezer. Into the fridge it went to thaw while I made the other ingredients, with some level of moderate success, but well get to that later.
I had to make three ingredients, garam masala, ghee, and yoghurt. I stated with ghee.
Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian (Indian, Bangladeshi, Nepali and Pakistani) cuisine.
To make ghee, melt and simmer a pound of butter in a very heavy sauce pan at the lowest possible heat until a clear, yellowish liquid forms on top and almost all the sediment form the butter has settled to the bottom. This should take about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Strain, and pour into a jar that can be sealed tightly. Any foam still floating at the top can be removed by straining. The main point is that when a clear, yellowish liquid has formed from the butter, and some sediment has settled at the bottom, the ghee is ready. Any further simmering may cause the ghee to burn and turn into a brown liquid, which is not what you want. The ghee should keep for many months.
Yoghurt
Yogurt or yoghurt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as "yogurt cultures". Fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and its characteristic tang.
Making yoghurt was a more involved process for me. I put a quart of whole milk into a large pot and brought the milk to a boil. Once it did, it started to over flow. I whisked hard, and turned the heat down. (side tangent: I hate my stove top. It is not very responsive. I wish I had gas.) Once I got it to a simmer, I let it simmer for 10 minutes. Then I reached the critical part of the recipe, it read: Allow milk to cool for about half an hour. It should be very warm when you put your finger in to test it, but not so hot that you cannot out your finger into it comfortably. I put my finger in, it was warm, but not as warm as I think the author wanted it. I put the pot back on the stove to heat a little and added my culture. I chose plain greek yogurt. Then I covered it with a lid and wrapped it in a table cloth and put it on top of the dryer overnight.
In the morning I looked at my yoghurt. It looked watery. The author offered this advise. If the yoghurt turns out watery or sour it means the milk was too hot when you mixed in the culture. If the yoghurt does not form, the milk was not warm enough or the culture was too mild.
Darn it! I was annoyed. I had wasted so much time. As I dumped my yoghurt water into the sink, I noticed that it was not all water. There was yoghurt in there, but it was at the bottom. Okay, so my venture was not a total failure. I scooped my yoghurt into a glass bowl and turned my attention to the spices.
Garam Masala
Garam masala garam ("hot") and masala ("mixture")) is a blend of ground spices common in North Indian and other South Asian cuisines.[1] It is used alone or with other seasonings. The word garam refers to intensity of the spices rather than capsaicin content. Garam masala is pungent, but not hot in the same way as a chili pepper.
The recipe I had called for cinnamon sticks, whole cumin seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cardamon seeds, colves, fennel seeds and some grated nutmeg.
I had all these spices, but not in whole form. The recipe then wanted me to put them in the oven for twenty minutes. I did, but after five, a string of pungent smoke was escaping the confines of the oven. It reminded me of a roommate in college who liked to burn incense. It always gave me a headache.
I pulled the spices out of the oven and dumped them in the blender and turned it on. Volia' garam masala.
Now finally I am ready to make tandoori chicken. Most people would not be willing to go through all that prep work for one meal. But that is why you are reading this blog and I am writing it.
Skinning A Chicken
I had never done this before. I took a peering knife and started with the breasts. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. After the chicken was skinned I put some of the yoghurt and garam masala, onion, garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, and lemon juice together and smeared it all over the chicken. Then it went back in the refrigerator for overnight marinating. The next day, I heated my oven to 500 degrees, and put the chicken in the oven. The high heat singes and seals the chicken to prevent the juices from escaping. It makes it crisp also. Then I turned down the heat to 400 degrees. and cooked it for an additional 50 minutes. In the interim, I made brown rice.
The chicken didn't taste the same as it would have a the restaurant, but I thought it was still good.
The Orem Library has I think two whole rows of cookbooks, Wow! What a resource. So I went there for an Indian cookbook and inspiration. What I found was Curries Without Worries: An Introduction to Indian Cooking by Sudah Koul. I flipped through the book, and decided on Tandoori Chicken. I did have a frozen bird in my freezer. Into the fridge it went to thaw while I made the other ingredients, with some level of moderate success, but well get to that later.
I had to make three ingredients, garam masala, ghee, and yoghurt. I stated with ghee.
Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian (Indian, Bangladeshi, Nepali and Pakistani) cuisine.To make ghee, melt and simmer a pound of butter in a very heavy sauce pan at the lowest possible heat until a clear, yellowish liquid forms on top and almost all the sediment form the butter has settled to the bottom. This should take about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Strain, and pour into a jar that can be sealed tightly. Any foam still floating at the top can be removed by straining. The main point is that when a clear, yellowish liquid has formed from the butter, and some sediment has settled at the bottom, the ghee is ready. Any further simmering may cause the ghee to burn and turn into a brown liquid, which is not what you want. The ghee should keep for many months.
Yoghurt
Yogurt or yoghurt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as "yogurt cultures". Fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and its characteristic tang.Making yoghurt was a more involved process for me. I put a quart of whole milk into a large pot and brought the milk to a boil. Once it did, it started to over flow. I whisked hard, and turned the heat down. (side tangent: I hate my stove top. It is not very responsive. I wish I had gas.) Once I got it to a simmer, I let it simmer for 10 minutes. Then I reached the critical part of the recipe, it read: Allow milk to cool for about half an hour. It should be very warm when you put your finger in to test it, but not so hot that you cannot out your finger into it comfortably. I put my finger in, it was warm, but not as warm as I think the author wanted it. I put the pot back on the stove to heat a little and added my culture. I chose plain greek yogurt. Then I covered it with a lid and wrapped it in a table cloth and put it on top of the dryer overnight.
In the morning I looked at my yoghurt. It looked watery. The author offered this advise. If the yoghurt turns out watery or sour it means the milk was too hot when you mixed in the culture. If the yoghurt does not form, the milk was not warm enough or the culture was too mild.
Darn it! I was annoyed. I had wasted so much time. As I dumped my yoghurt water into the sink, I noticed that it was not all water. There was yoghurt in there, but it was at the bottom. Okay, so my venture was not a total failure. I scooped my yoghurt into a glass bowl and turned my attention to the spices.
Garam Masala
Garam masala garam ("hot") and masala ("mixture")) is a blend of ground spices common in North Indian and other South Asian cuisines.[1] It is used alone or with other seasonings. The word garam refers to intensity of the spices rather than capsaicin content. Garam masala is pungent, but not hot in the same way as a chili pepper.The recipe I had called for cinnamon sticks, whole cumin seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cardamon seeds, colves, fennel seeds and some grated nutmeg.
I had all these spices, but not in whole form. The recipe then wanted me to put them in the oven for twenty minutes. I did, but after five, a string of pungent smoke was escaping the confines of the oven. It reminded me of a roommate in college who liked to burn incense. It always gave me a headache.
I pulled the spices out of the oven and dumped them in the blender and turned it on. Volia' garam masala.
Now finally I am ready to make tandoori chicken. Most people would not be willing to go through all that prep work for one meal. But that is why you are reading this blog and I am writing it.
Skinning A Chicken
I had never done this before. I took a peering knife and started with the breasts. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. After the chicken was skinned I put some of the yoghurt and garam masala, onion, garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, and lemon juice together and smeared it all over the chicken. Then it went back in the refrigerator for overnight marinating. The next day, I heated my oven to 500 degrees, and put the chicken in the oven. The high heat singes and seals the chicken to prevent the juices from escaping. It makes it crisp also. Then I turned down the heat to 400 degrees. and cooked it for an additional 50 minutes. In the interim, I made brown rice.
The chicken didn't taste the same as it would have a the restaurant, but I thought it was still good.
Is that your chicken? Sounds tasty to me. Abu is jealous!
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