Chicken Jalfrezi recipe

Chicken Jalfrezi

this is actually a Northern Indian food that is actually very famous in the UK. My batch mates once told me like tikka masala, this too is considered as the Brit's national dish... Since my husband and I was educated in the UK there will be a time where we would reminisce our student days *day dreaming* sigh~
anyway...this dish does reminds us of the UK so perhaps its true that its their national dish...
This dish is very simple and easy to make. Your KEY ingredients are natural yogurt, masala spice and bell peppers. The yogurt give the dish its sour note and at the same time tenderized the chicken meat. Masala spice is a must and so does the bell peppers as both will give the dish the wonderful aroma. The coriander leaves are optional but i love to have loads of it coz its so fragrent - i simply LOVE it.

anyway here's the recipe:
3-4 large chicken breast meat - cubed
1 small tub of 200ml natural yogurt
1 green bell peppers - cut in chunks - you can use combination of yellow and red for some colors
1 large bombay onion
2 clove of garlic - just crack it but basically keep it whole
salt to taste
3tbsp tomato puree
2large ripe tomatoes - cut into cube
coriander leaves for garnishing
**some bird's eye chili-mashed*** this is optional, but frankly i think this dish taste best HOT!
for marinade:
1/2 of the yogurt
masala spice - store bought at supermarket
salt to taste
1tsp sugar
2tsp paprika

>>>Mix all the marinade ingredients and marinade the chicken for about 15 minutes or so. set a side.
>>>Then mix all veges with the other 1/2 of the yogurt , set a side.
>>>You can use ghee for a more fragrant feel but olive oil or what ever oil you have is just fine too. heat the oil then saute the cubed tomatoes and tomato puree. keep cooking it until it become some what like a paste (naik minyak kot) then add in the marinated chicken. cook until the chicken almost cooked through then add in the veges. keep cooking until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

TIP:
what i would do..
>>>>I would separate the coriander leaves and its stick (batang) then i'd add in the stick in the dish while i'm still cooking it.
>>>You can actually substitute yogurt with sour cream.
>>You can eat this with a nice steamy hot rice of with naan bread
> You can actually make your own blend of garam masala spice if you can't find the pre mixed.

Caesar salad with poached chicken

made Caesar salad with poached chicken for my dinner last night (actually for lunch too) but i have to say the instructions from youtube above is the easiest, tastiest way to poach your chicken!

and the broth is wonderful too its full bodied and so tasty that you save it for future use as your soup base or for noodle soups whatever coz its great! I love it...i made 4poached chicken breast that gave me about a tub of cubed chicken that you can throw in your salads or for sandwich...its just wonderful and the best part is that you can make ahead and save a lot of time preparing a quick snack.

I'm very busy lately with everything that is going on in my life...i can barely blog :} so this type of make ahead recipes are sure a saver....sooooo
i love it and its definitely a keeper!

*by the way, you can replace anchovies with a bit of 'kiub ikan bilis'/anchovies stock or 1/2 a teaspoon of fish sauce.

Southern Crispy Fried Chicken My style!

I know that i haven't been uploading new entries lately...I've been busy...busy studying yea yea yea I'm back 'to school' Ive decided to further my studies in MBA. Last week was our first week of school and yesterday was our first exam...crazy huh? we had a FULL days and week then exam its really crazy cramping everything...yesterday's exam? i don't think that i do that well. They asked about grafts which there were a lot of it and naturally i got confused. I know the answers but just don't know for which hahaha does it make any sense? that is being confused all about.


I think if the exam was next week instead of yesterday i think i'd do better and i am confident that i can score it too but....*long sigh~* anyway what's done is done now have to focus on assignment...my hands are full with work and then i found out this morning that my daughter have bleeding gum and she was in pain. Brought her to the dentist (to be honest I'm not sure where to bring her dentist or GP?) then the dentist said its probably because she's about to get chicken pox. and i was like WHAT???

no kidding i don't have time for chicken pox baby sitting....but she said its just a possibility coz children often have bleeding gum no biggie. I am not sure if that is even any consolation for me...I'm just hoping that thats just it and not chicken pox or anything related to it.

Anyway....today I made crispy fried chicken southern style...well my style too heheeh here's the recipe

Chiken (cut, cleaned and pat dry)
1tsp paprika
1tsp blackpepper
1/2tsp cumin
3clove of garlic grated or mashed finely.
1c self rising flour
2 egg white

salt to taste

Flour mixture:
just mix everything together except for egg whites and garlic and milk.

rub chicken with a bit of salt and garlic careful with the salt coz in the flour mixture you're putting some salt too. set aside.

then pat the chicken dry for abit (coz at this point the chicken may be a bit watery)
then dip it into the flour mixture, dust off excess flour then dip it into egg white then dip it again into the flour mixture and coat it well. let it sit just for about 3-5minutes then deep fry them until golden...

Boxing Chicken

This is probably one of my many first 'Gourmet' attempt back when i was 12 hahahah yes 12 that young! =p
My mom used to make this cute little 'boxing gloves' all the time and we (me and my siblings) were always amazed by the it...a simple 12 year old kid mind wondered above and beyond on how the hell did this drummet be like this, perfectly rounded at a top just like a boxing glove...i used to snack on these alone (mom would do a lot of these boxing chicken then frozen it, much like nuggets and roti canai) wondering and imagining stuff about the drummets....ahhh the blissful mind of a 12 year old...

anyway since i was REALLY amazed and intrigued by it finally mom asked " you wanna know i make these?" and i was like YEAH! then she thought me how to box up the drummet.

this dish is so simple all you need to do is just box up the drummets then breaded them like you would with chicken shop SO EAZY... then you can dress it up with what ever gravy you fancy, which in this case (picture) we made a simple marinara gravy or you can just serve it as it is.

Its so crafty looking, kids loves this...if they don't something is wrong with their creativity side of the brain...or maybe you're doing it wrong = /

ok i didn't do a step by step because this is in one of my recipes in me Gourmet class so if you want to know in detail you'll have to come to my class, i can't tell you all here or my students will be angry with me heheheh~

but this much i can say, box the chicken up, then season it, then bread it then fry then serve....mmmm this is no fun isn't ? i know and i'm sorry at least this post can be a preview to those who wanted to learn cooking.

Class :
BUFFALO CHICKEN WITH DIPS/DRESSINGs
BOXING CHICKEN
SALTED EGG CRAB/KETAM TELUR MASIN

Fees: RM230/Person

Time: 1pm - 5pm
Vanue: Bandar Baru Bangi
Date: 21st Jan2011

anyway HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! may this year be the best year than the last!

Authentic Pandan chicken

Pandan Chicken is one of the popular Thai dish aside from the classic 'tom yam' or the 'green curry' infact i think its the most ordered dish in a Thai restaurant. this dish will get our tummy grumbling even when you are still frying it! its tasty and presentable and its sooooo fragrant that it'll arouse your palate.

Although i think that this dish has so many version to it as if as long as its wrapped in a 'pandan leaf' then it'll called pandan chicken. is that so?hmmm...i've seen ones with pandan juice in the marinade, ones that actually use soy sauce and many more variations....but i prefer the more authentic version of it.

ok this recipe was given to me by my Thai friend during my Uni days. I can't remember her full name ( i can't pernounce it either) but we called her Mai. So i'm sharing her family recipe here and she don't mind as long as i 'mention' her heheheh~

ok then...here's what you need

AUTHENTIC PANDAN CHICKEN

some chicken meat (boneless)

blended marinade:

1" of galangal / laos (lengkuas)
1/2" ginger
1/4" tumeric
2clove garlic
2-3 lemon grass
1 tsp coriander seeds/powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/powder
salt to taste
sugar to taste (don't use too much though)

and some pandan leaves and tooth picks for wrapping

cut chicken into strips for easy folding and wrapping.
then mix all ingredients together and let it sit just for a while say about 20 minutes. you don't need to marinade for so long because the spice is rather strong so a mere 20 minutes or less would do.
then you can start wrapping the chicken into a nice little parcels then deep fry them in a med fire until done. you know when its done when you see that the pandan leaf turned almost golden and some caramelized (due to the sugar) chicken bits. then ready to serve as appertizers with thai cili dip or serve it with rice.

NOTE:
Chicken Meat: i personally think that using thigh or drumstic meat is more tasty or you can actually combine both breast and thigh meat together for that soft and hard texture. with this dish, its all about the spice. the Thais love to cook their dish with galangal/laos (lengkuas) its basically their 'must have' ingredient so you know that its one of the most important ingredient then its the lemon grass and coriander seeds with out these ingredients it would taste ......hmmm how shall i put it?...authentic? the amonunt of ingredients is on estimation but the portion of each is about that.

For you whos never tried pandan chicken, the taste is wonderfully spiced savory yet with a hint of sweetness in it due to the sugar and the pandan leafs wraps that had drawn out it essence into the chicken...thinking about this dish already makes me hungry...

homemade chicken nuggets FOR KIDS

i'm actually quite lazy today but i'm expecting my son to come home today (he's been sent away @ grandma's house due to my daughter's "suspected chicken pox" well at least according to the doctor although i'm not sure if it really is) so i have to cook. lately i don't really feel like eating rice (we asian can't live without rice so this is a BIG deal =p ) i wonder why...

anyway...even with my lazy bug, i manage to make a delightfully delicious chicken nuggets, grilled fish (althought its not my choice of fish but its all i have in the fridge sooo lazy to go to the wet market) and chicken soup. but for the purpose of this entry i'll post the nugget recipe and i shall post another for the fish recipe alright?

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NUGGETS FOR KIDS

what you need

2 large chicken breast meat - chopped finely 1 med onion - blended or use pastle & motar a dash of blackpepper (not too much coz kids usually don't like it...well at least mine doesn't) 2 clove of garlic - blended or use pastle & motar 2tbsp breadcrumbs 1/4 sprig of celery - blended or use pastle & motar salt to taste 1tsp olive oil some parmesan cheese

just mix all the ingredients together except for parmesan cheese. mix well. then mold it into any shape you like eg. round, oval, etc... then drizzle/sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and back of the nuggets we don't want to cover everything with it or it'll be too salty so just the front and back. let it rest and chill in the freezer so that it'll be eazier to handle. fry as you would with nuggets. enjoy!

NOTE:
you'd want to chop the chicken meat the old fasion way aka with your trusty knife rather than blend it. reason is so that you have some chicken texture in the nugget.

i blend the seasonings (onion, garlic,celery etc) is so that kid can enjoy without worrying about veges. its subjective you can simply finely chop them if you like.

you may add chopped carrots or some corn for variations.

dim sum: chicken dumpling

this is the fried version....

with soup version....

as promise this is the dumplings that i've made and of course i've also tweeked the recipe from saturday's cook to suit my taste...

What you need:-

some chicken breast

some shelled prawns ---------> divide both prawns and chicken meat into 2 portions and finely minced 1 portion.( i put it in a food processor and put on pulse) and the other half portion corsely minced

a table spoon of grated ginger

1 clove of grated garlic

1 tbsp light soy sauce

a dash of sesame oil

a dash of white pepper

1 tsp of corn starch for binding

1 pack wonton skins

optional:

finely chopped carrots (portion as much or little as desired)

finely chopped red chili with out the seeds. (also as desired)

-> just add in all the ingredients together, put on the wonton skin and wrap it as you will...

the you may steam it or fry it or put it in a soup as i did...

the soup? i just make my usual chicken broth and add a dash of white pepper and sesame oil and loads of chopped coriander leaves ^_^

Best Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

I've always wondered what makes a good stew...have you? i've eaten a lot of stew in my life and i basically love them all except that if you had bland stew then that's different...

if you ask me, a good stew must have good ingredients i mean it has to be fresh...mmm well actually having leftovers and turn it into stew also makes good stew but my point is that the initial ingredient must start fresh..i know what i mean? anyway the spice must not be too overwhelming that you can't even taste the main ingredient which in this case would usually be either beef or chicken of fish or other seafood...i always have this at the back of my mind when cooking " the main 'cast' must always be in the limelight "

apart from that it has to be serve hot or at least warm and to be honest...i love having a big bowl of hot stew just on its own or with lightly toasted home baked bread with butter on a rainy day or night...i think soups and stew taste their bestes during those time or if you're in a 4 season country during winter, its warm you up on no time.

made this last night with a high fiber loaf (which i'll post my recipe later)...ohh its healthy and tasty...

since we are using slow cooker then if you're making it fo dinner then you'd need start cooking at 2pm but if you're working then you can do this before you go to work its fine.


Ingredients:
1/2 chicken
1ltr chicken stock (preferably home made if not store bought is fine)
2celery sticks cut into rough chunks
1-2 carrots cut into large cubes
3-4 potatoes but into large cubes (you can adjust teh amount to your liking)
2 large onions cut into large chunks
2clove garlic crushed

for thickening the stew:
1.5tbsp corn flour

seasonings:
salt to taste
1tsp black pepper
1/2tsp white pepper
1tsp sugar

methods:

simply dump in all the vegetables in the slow cooker then put the chicken on top. pour in the chicken stock.

if you are making this at 2pm then set the slowcooker on high and let it do its thing. around 6:30pm or so you make go and have a looksie and see if the chicken is cooked and tender. it should be very tender by now, take out the chicken and set a side to cool. then shred the chicken for easy consumption. then put the shreded chicken back in the stew.

in a small bowl, take some of the stock from the slow cooker and dissolve the corn starch to thicken the stew. stir the stew and see it thickening if the stew is too thick to you liking then you can adjust it by adding more water. then let it simmer just for a bit say for another 5 -10 minutes on low heat. don't forget to have a taste before you serve do the final 'touch ups' (adding additional seasoning to taste if necessary). then ready to serve.


p/s: if you are making this before going to work then set the slow cooker on low heat the rest is about the same.

if you have left overs which i doubt you can use it to make chicken pie or chicken pot pie all yo need is the short crust or puff pastry and some remikins...

Honey glazed chicken / ayam masak madu

yesterday we had nasi minyak literally translated to "oil rice" what an odd name for food!
anyway...one of our menu to be eaten with this nasi minyak is the honey glazed chicken or Ayam masak madu or Ayam madu...

i learn how to make this when i was studying in the UK ...because i was craving for Ayam madu and one of my friend so happened to know how to cook this dish and using short cut too!

But for this recipe i have tweeked the original recipe to suit the taste buds of my ever so picky family...so here it is

what you need:
2 chicken thigh or any other parts of chicken you like
1 orange
3tbsp honey or as much as you want
1 tsp blended dried chillies /chillie Boh /dried chilie paste (boiled dried chillies then blended to a paste)
2tbs chillie sos
2tbsp tomato sos
1 tomato - sliced into wedges *optional
fresh chopped coriender

blended items:
1 bombay onion
1 clove garlic
2" ginger

Spice:
1 anise star
1 piece of cinnamon
4 coriender pods
4

Chicken pot pie

last week was a lazy weekend and i mean LAZY weekend! i'm on diet so when you are on diet, you'll feel extremely lazy to cook the whole complete meal (fyi i always cook at least 2 dishes to eat with a vege dish and a fish or chicken dish) to be eaten with rise...hubby haven had a decent dinner since i started my diet *giggles* he plead to me to cook something as he's bored eating outside.

so i reluctantly defrost chicken meat, dice manually the carrot, scrape my leftover sweet corn from the cob, celery sticks onions etc...actually i intended to make noodle soup then i remembered that i still have some puff pastry left in the freezer...Pot pie came to mind instantly...

so what you need is:
sufficient puff pastry
1 clove garlic
1 celery stick cut finely
1 bombay onion diced
1 small pack mix vege (i dun have one thats why i manualy dice everything)
2 piece chicken breast de bone and dice
1/2 can button mushroom (i dun have any so i didnt put any)
1/2c half and half cream
salt and sugar to taste
1 pc chicken stock cube
1tsp black pepper freshly ground
1tsp flour (+-) this is to thicken the gravy
1 egg lightly stired
500ml water/chicken stock (+-) - reserve a little and mix it with flour then set aside
2tsp olive oil for frying
1 bay leaf

1. heat oil and gently saute garlic until fragrant then add in the chicken meat
2. add in diced onion keep frying until fragrant
3. add in bay leaf and other veges.
4. fry until soft and tender then add in cream + water + chicken cube+black pepper
   
5. stir gently then let it simmer.
6. then add in the flour liquid. stir until the grave is lightly thickens. heat off and set aside
7. let it cool slightly then add in egg mix well
8. pour in the chicken mixture in individual remikins.
9. cut puff pastry making sure that the size it larger than the remikins.
10. wet the edge of teh remikins and stick the puff pastry on top it
11. brush pastry with egg wash
12. bake at a preheated oven at 200c

the egg is actually optional its just value added and act as thickening agent for the gravy.

chicken in ginger gravy/sauce (ayam masak halia)

lol...when i post this n3 i forgot to put the ingredients...so here it is..

Ingredients:

1clove of garlic chopped
1 inch of ginger cut in fine strips
carrots cut in strips (qty is depending on your liking)
1 red chili discard seeds and cut in strips - you can use half red chili and half green for colors
chicken cut in small pieces or chicken breast cut in strips
1 onion sliced thinly
vegetable oil for frying
1 tbsp oyster sauce
a couple of drops of sesame oil
a dash of sugar
100-150ml water (+-)

** if you notice i didn't use any salt as the oyster sauce is already salty so you won't need additional salt to it but pls do taste and adjust accordingly.

i think this is a chinese dish that somehow made its way to the malay palate... any how there are many many version of this dish but this is my version. made this the way my family likes it ^_^. its very easy to make...

first of all you need to get ready all ingredients before hand. cut all vegetables in strips, i cut it this way so that my son can eat it better. for some reason if i cut it in this manner or in some fun shapes he'll eat his veges. anyway it'll give a good presentation too. just like in the picture above. cut chicken in small pieces but you can always use boneless chicken and cut it in strips or cubes its fine. and you can substitute the chicken with any other game or seafood like squid or prawns...clean them and season with a bit of salt and pepper then set a side.

fry the chicken until cooked then set a side. with the same oil used for the chicken, take about a table spoon and heat it in a wok/pan then saute onion until fragrant then add in the garlic, ginger, chillies and carrots. stir fry until fragrant. in a bowl mix in the oyster soy sauce, sesame oil and corn flour and water about 100-150ml. then add in the vegetables stir and let it simmer for a while. it'll thickens slightly then remove from heat. arrange cooked chicken on to the serving plate and pour the gravy in. should the gravy become very thick you can always add in more water. (the consistency should be slightly loose than steak gravy). now you are ready to serve.


** as for the chillies, scrape out the seeds first then cut into strips as we want a clean chillies so it'll give a hint of heat instead a hot dish. but if you like it hot by all means...you can even add in some bird eye chillies if you want. i made this as a children friendly dish so my kid can enjoy it!

Chicken Broth/Soup

You know, mom was right when she gave you chicken soup at the first sign of the sniffles and there's logical explanation too.

Liquids, like soup, can help combat dehydration during illness. And hot soup produces steam that can help break up nasal congestion and keep your nasal passages moist. Many recipes for chicken soup also contain garlic, which has antibiotic and antiviral properties that may help fight a cold or infection.But the most powerful effect may simply be the comfort of sitting down to a bowlful of memories, and there's nothing more soothing than that.

here's a simple and heart warming chicken soup recipe:-

Chicken Soup

1 stick carrot cut into bite size or you may grate it if you like (if grated add this last)

2inch of celery finely cut

2 potatoes diced (bite size)

2 tomatoes cut into large wedges (the redder the soup the better so more tomatoes are allowed)

2pcs of boneless chicken cut into small piece (you can add more chicken if you like and please add in the carcass if you have any it'll add to the flavour)

3 cloves garlic sliced thinly

1 1/2 inch ginger sliced thinly (its ok to add more - more healing power!)

1tbs vege oil

5ooml water

salt & sugar to taste

black pepper *optional

methods:

1. heat the oil in medium heat and saute the garlic and ginger until fregrant.
2. add in water, chicken and salt to taste. let it simmer.
3. then add in all the other ingredients, occasionally stir the soup
4. let it reduce the soup a little then its ready to serve…

its like making chicken stock except that we don’t use bay leaf here.