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elfsDinner Friday night was roasted Tandoori chicken, broccoletti stufati con cipolle, and Basmati rice. I've been hitting used bookstores and garage sales, picking up cookbooks that have fallen out of someone's love. One that I adore is a ratty Italian cookbook that's all post WWII recipes, before the farming industry fully recovered, so it's all vegetable combinations, perfect for Primal or Paleo diets.
The Tandoori chicken recipe is a hash of three recipes I had (from Bittman's How to Cook Everything, I got the idea of using a skillet; from 1000 Indian Recipes I got the basic Tandoori recipe, and took suggestions from the family for making my own garlic-ginger paste and cutting out the cayenne.)
Tandoori Chicken:
Cooking time: Overnight. Hands-on time: about 1 hour. Oven: about 45 minutes.
This recipe requires that you start around lunchtime the day before. Each stage requires only about fifteen minutes of care, but there are four stages.
Mash the garlic and ginger into paste, adding a few drops of oil. The recipe calls for peanut oil; I used macadamia nut oil, which is sweeter and has a buttery taste, but is expensive and hard to find. Mix the paste with the yogurt, whipping cream, 1 tbsp oil (again, I prefer the macadamia), garam masala and cumin. (It is possible to add up to ¼ tsp cayenne pepper here, if you like, but I was making this for Kouryou-chan and skipped it.)
In a small pan, heat a teaspoon more oil until it's just barely smoking, turn off the heat, add paprika and turmeric and stir. This brings out the color. Let cool about ten minutes, then add to the yogurt mixture. The result will be a thick yellowish sauce. Take out the chicken and slather this mixture under the skin, everywhere, top bottom, the whole bird. Try to get some into the cuts. Put back in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.
The next day, heat the oven to between 375°F and 400°F. If you have a cast-iron skillet, heat it in the oven, wrapping the handle in aluminum foil. (Aluminum foil transfers heat much slower than iron; if you happen to grasp the handle by accident, this will prevent serious burning, and also allows you to handle the skillet safely with an oven mitt when transferring the pan to/from the oven.) If not, a standard roasting pan will do. When the oven is hot, put the bird into the skillet or pan, and cook 35-50 minutes, until a quick-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160°F. Remove from the oven, let rest 5 minutes, and eat.
It will not be the red of restaurant Tandoori. It will be a dark reddish-orange color from the paprika and turmeric. The red you get is mostly food dye, and if you want that, add three to five drops to your yogurt marinade but... please don't. It's not necessary.
Broccoletti stufati con cipolle:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Melt the butter in a non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Slice the onions very thin. Clean and trim the rabe. When the butter is melted, put the onions in and cook very slowly-- this may take up to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the rabe stems into 1 inch pieces and pull the leaves off. When the water boils, boil the rabe, leaves and all, for 5-7 minutes, then quickly drain and toss in with the onions. Stir until everything is covered with butter, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.
The Tandoori chicken recipe is a hash of three recipes I had (from Bittman's How to Cook Everything, I got the idea of using a skillet; from 1000 Indian Recipes I got the basic Tandoori recipe, and took suggestions from the family for making my own garlic-ginger paste and cutting out the cayenne.)
Tandoori Chicken:
Cooking time: Overnight. Hands-on time: about 1 hour. Oven: about 45 minutes.
This recipe requires that you start around lunchtime the day before. Each stage requires only about fifteen minutes of care, but there are four stages.
- 1 whole chicken, approximately 3 lbs
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp whipping cream
- peanut oil
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 1/8th tsp ground turmeric
Mash the garlic and ginger into paste, adding a few drops of oil. The recipe calls for peanut oil; I used macadamia nut oil, which is sweeter and has a buttery taste, but is expensive and hard to find. Mix the paste with the yogurt, whipping cream, 1 tbsp oil (again, I prefer the macadamia), garam masala and cumin. (It is possible to add up to ¼ tsp cayenne pepper here, if you like, but I was making this for Kouryou-chan and skipped it.)
In a small pan, heat a teaspoon more oil until it's just barely smoking, turn off the heat, add paprika and turmeric and stir. This brings out the color. Let cool about ten minutes, then add to the yogurt mixture. The result will be a thick yellowish sauce. Take out the chicken and slather this mixture under the skin, everywhere, top bottom, the whole bird. Try to get some into the cuts. Put back in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.
The next day, heat the oven to between 375°F and 400°F. If you have a cast-iron skillet, heat it in the oven, wrapping the handle in aluminum foil. (Aluminum foil transfers heat much slower than iron; if you happen to grasp the handle by accident, this will prevent serious burning, and also allows you to handle the skillet safely with an oven mitt when transferring the pan to/from the oven.) If not, a standard roasting pan will do. When the oven is hot, put the bird into the skillet or pan, and cook 35-50 minutes, until a quick-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160°F. Remove from the oven, let rest 5 minutes, and eat.
It will not be the red of restaurant Tandoori. It will be a dark reddish-orange color from the paprika and turmeric. The red you get is mostly food dye, and if you want that, add three to five drops to your yogurt marinade but... please don't. It's not necessary.
Broccoletti stufati con cipolle:
- 1 small bunch broccoli rabe (also known as rapini)
- 2 medium yellow onions
- 4 tbsp butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Melt the butter in a non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Slice the onions very thin. Clean and trim the rabe. When the butter is melted, put the onions in and cook very slowly-- this may take up to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the rabe stems into 1 inch pieces and pull the leaves off. When the water boils, boil the rabe, leaves and all, for 5-7 minutes, then quickly drain and toss in with the onions. Stir until everything is covered with butter, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.
