Persian Style Chicken...

 I did lift this straight from a post I did on Simple Savings... Tasted so good I wanted to include it with Pictures...

Persian style Chook...
Spice blend
1tsp each of Cardamom pods, Coriander seeds, ground Cumin, ground Nutmeg, ground Cinnamon
2tsp of Sesame seeds
1/2tspof black pepper
3 Star Anise
5 Cloves

Whiz up the above in a small processor... I use a little "Rocket" blender...
Other Bits...
2Tbsp butter
2Tbsp Rice bran oil
1/2Tbsp Frozen Ginger
1Tbsp Frozen Turmeric
1Tbsp minced Garlic
1 large Onion, diced into large pieces
500g diced Chook
2 x 400g tins of diced Tomatoes
1 x 400g tin Chickpeas


- I heated the oil in a Med size enamel Casserole pot then fried the spice blend, Ginger, Turmeric & garlic for about a minute & a half then added the onions.
-Once the onions turned translucent the chicken was added.
-When the chicken was sealed the 2 tins of diced Tomatoes & the tin of Chickpeas was added, brought to the boil then left to simmer.
-Let it simmer for about 1/2 an hour then serve on Sultana & Sesame seed Couscous...

Sultana & Cashew Couscous...
3/4 cup Chicken stock... will make ours up with stock powder
3/4 cup of Couscous
1/3 cup of Sultanas
1/3cup of Cashews
-Pour ¾ cup of boiling water into a bowl & stir through 1 heaped teaspoon of Chooken stock, add the Sultanas & couscous then stir... Let sit until all the liquid has been absorbed then stir through Cashews...

The Sultanas could of been a tad plumper me thinks...
Next time I think I will let the Sultanas soak for a few min's in some hot water before adding them in with the stock & Couscous...


: )»

A few bits from the weekend...

This week I made up a batch of yoghurt using some Vanilla sugar as the sweetener & I must say that it was most impressive... So much so that I snipped open one of the vacuum sealed packs of Vanilla beans & made a MEGA batch of vanilla sugar for future batches of yoghurt... I am storing it in one of the EXTRA Large Moccona coffee jars we purchased from the hospice op shop in Ipswich... Should be ready by May hopefully...



We harvested the Lemongrass from the patch on Saturday so we could use the barrel it was in for a Zucchini plant... The smaller stalks were all whizzed in the processor for storage in a container... The larger stalks were just sealed in Ziplock bags & all were placed in the freezer for curry pastes & meals at a latter date...


In keeping with our Asian for a month (well, when I cook during the week at least) we had a simple Japanese Katsu style curry made with "Golden Curry" blocks...

3Tbsp Rice bran oil
1 onion, diced chunkily
1Tbsp of minced Garlic
2 medium long Chinese Eggplants, diced large
¼ of a Red Capsicum, diced large
Small head of Broccoli, chopped into "Little trees"
Stalks of 2 small Broccoli heads, slice thinly
3 cups of water with 2tsp of Chook stock powder added
½ a packet of S&B Golden Curry

-Fry Garlic & Onions in a med enamel Caserole pot until Onion is translucent
-Add Eggplant, Broccoli stalks Capsicum until they brown slightly, 3-4 min on high heat
-Stir in Made up stock & once it boils, reduce to simmer for 5-10 min  (I like my veg to have some crunch so normally only leave it 5 or so min)
-Add ½ a packet of Curry blocks & stir until dissolved then serve over Favourite crumbed meats or just eat as is... I like it over Crumbed Chooken but have purchased it from resturants served over Crumbed Pork & loved it just as much...

Last night B☼ & I went out to a Mexican restaurant (well known & established Brisbane restaurant) & blew $50 on what I can only call Tomato flavoured mince wrapped in tortillas with grilled cheese on top... No heat or spice flavourings you would expect like Chilli, Cumin or Coriander... Most disappointing...  I think I may have spoiled us by cooking all our meals from scratch me thinks... I think Mexican is the next Cuisine that I shall be delving into further after watching some clips on a Gardening YouTube channel I subscribe to...
MMmmm, Enchiladas !!!!

: )»

Thai Satay Chicken strips...

Have had a few problems trying to find the frozen spice roots that we  vacuum sealed & stored in the freezer from last years crops... While trying to dig the Turmeric & Galangal out today I was assaulted by 4 rounds of frozen Brie & a small container of frozen lemon cubes... I decided something had to give... I pulled out the Turmeric, Ginger & the mini processor then away I whizzed... Going from left to right there is Galangal, Turmeric & Ginger.... It will make it a lot easier when it comes to cooking... I figure that 1 Dessert spoon = 1 cm of whole root...
I don't know about freeing up much space as I was still assaulted by a round of Brie when I was getting some meat out for tomorrow night..

On to tonight's meal... I am not going to post every nights meals just ones I like & I can see a future for this or a recipe very similar in my coming menus... I don't think it really needed the sauce & could of stood alone quite proudly on the plate...

 It was based on this recipe with a few alterations...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBKxWpzwYw0

Thai Satay Chooken strips

3 Chicken breasts cut into strips lengthways

Marinade

2Tbsp of grated Galangal

2Tbsp of grated Turmeric (1Tbs of powdered)

5cm of Lemongrass stalk end, chopped finely

1Tbsp pan fried Coriander seed (1 tsp of powdered would do I think)

2tsp ground Cumin

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp raw Sugar

200ml Coconut cream (was ½ a can, other ½ to be used in sauce)

Pepper to taste

- I mashed the Galangal, Turmeric, Lemongrass & Coriander together in a Mortar (Next time I will do it in a mini processor)

- Add the rest of the ingredients & mix well for a few minutes, add pepper to taste

- Add to Chicken strips & refrigerate for half an hour minimum... (Ours were in the fridge for 2 ½ hours...)

Marinated strips can be skewered if desired but I cooked them without on a frypan brushing on marinade in between turning the strips...

Satay Sauce

½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped

1 Tbsp heaped Crunchy peanut butter

2Tbsp Red Thai Curry paste (1 more will be added after the kids have been served for B☼ & I)

200ml Coconut cream

1Tbsp raw Sugar

1Tbsp Fish sauce

1Tbsp Soy sauce

- Add Coconut cream, paste, Peanut butter & nuts to a saucepan.

- Bring to the boil, add remaining ingredients & reduce to simmer for 2-3 minutes.

- Serve over Chooken strips, skewers...

The sauce went great with the nice crunchy salad as well but I have

had better ones made by B☼ so might find out her secret for next time...

RB