This week was a travesty. Work destroyed me by reneging on a verbal agreement they made regarding maternity leave. But I'm not going to dwell on the negative. As Rooster says, for every bad thing that happened, think of two good ones to cancel it out.
Last night Rachel "Princess" W came to town from SF. She's here to visit her grad-school girlfriends. Four of them flew in from different points across the country to spend time with each other. That's how you make friendships last-- you try. I got to see Princess and one of her pals last night. We tromped through the neighborhood picking up groceries and I didn't have to carry a single bag, although I certainly tried. Pregnancy has some serious advantages.
So that's one good thing: excellent company at dinner. Princess, her pal, our Chicago pal Berthy, and of course me and Rooster. The other good thing was the meal. I used a cookbook that I
haven't used much before: The Indian Spice Kitchen. On principle I'm not a big cookbook recipe user, but my Indian food has always been dull, so I decided to go straight to the pros.
I revised the cooking technique on both almost completely, but the ingredients (although not the amounts) are from The Indian Spice Kitchen. Thanks, Monisha Bharadwaj!
Chicken Biryani
Rice:
2 tablespoons corn oil
8 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
12 whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon peeled, minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 2/3 cup jasmine rice
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Chicken:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 cup plain (not fat-free) yogurt
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon peeled, minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons corn oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
4 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped tomato
2 teaspoons garam masala
Garnish:
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Directions:
To make the rice, heat oil in a pan until hot but not smoking. Stir fry cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon until cinnamon expands. Stir in ginger and garlic. When fragrant, add rice and stir until coated. Add water, bring to boil. Turn heat down to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes. Turn off heat and reserve. The biggest pain in the butt about this recipe is picking out the whole spices after the rice is cooked. Luckily they rise to the top so it's not that bad-- but there must be a better way.
Preheat oven to 375-degrees. To make the chicken, in a large bowl mix the chicken, yogurt,
cream, ginger, garlic, cumin, turmeric, cayenne and salt until blended. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-sided pot. Add the onion and cook until brown. Add garam masala and tomato. Saute quickly and add chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 10 minutes until chicken is barely cooked through.
When ready to eat, transfer rice into a 9x13 baking dish. Pour chicken over top. Bake in oven 5-10 minutes until heated through. Garnish with pomegranate and cilantro. Serves 8.
Coconut Cauliflower and Chickpeas (this is a combo of two different recipes)
4 tablespoons corn oil, divided
10 whole peppercorns
2 sticks cinnamon
8 whole cloves
1 1/2 cups onion, diced
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 head cauliflower, divided into florets
1 can garbanzo beans (15-ounces), drained
1/4 cup cashews
3 cups diced tomatoes
3/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup cilantro to garnish
Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan. Add peppercorns, cinnamon and cloves. Saute until cinnamon expands. Add onion and saute until brown. Add coconut and saute until brown. Transfer to a bowl and reserve until later. Wipe out saucepan. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons corn oil in saucepan. Add cumin seeds and saute until fragrant. Add cauliflower florets and garbanzo beans. Stir. Add cashews and tomatoes. Stir. Add cayenne powder, turmeric and garam masala. Stir. Add frozen peas and water. Turn heat to medium low and cover with lid. Cook 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 6.
