Chicken Tikka Masala and a Mid-Summer Update

photo from Bon Appetit, because I forgot

The lack of posting here is a testimony to my summer that has been bursting with sunshine and playing outside.  We have been cooking on the grill to keep the loft cool, drinking chilled wine in the grass, and playing on mountain and road bikes, mountainsides, running rivers, and rock walls.  The summer has been full of people: girls weekend, group camping, mountain adventures, house guests, and a visit home for me. The next half of summer promises more of the same with plans for many adventures. I will hopefully be better with providing you with kitchen inspiration.

This is a recipe I have been tweaking, and find to be an excellent combo of grilling and cooking.  Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala
adapted from Bon Appetit and The Pioneer Woman

• 2-3 large chicken breasts
• 1 cup whole milk yogurt
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 inch by 3 inch piece of fresh ginger
• 4 teaspoons garam masala
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 small serrano chili, small dice
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 28 ounce can of diced or whole peeled tomatoes.
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)

1. Combine yogurt, 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon coriander, and 1 teaspoon paprika in a medium sized bowl.  Salt chicken and then place in bowl turning to coat with marinade.  Cover and marinade in refrigerator for 2-6 hours.
2. Mince remaining garlic and ginger together to form a very small mince (almost turning into a paste).  Set aside.
3. Heat butter over medium heat in a large, heavy bottomed skillet.  Add 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 2 teaspoons turmeric, 1 teaspoon coriander, and 1 teaspoon paprika to the butter and stir until spices are fragrant (1-2 minutes).
4. Add onion and a little oil to make sure spices are not burning. Cook 5 minutes or until onion is beginning to soften.  Reduce heat to medium low and add 1/2 of the garlic/ginger mixture and diced chili cook 1-2 minutes.
5. Push onion mixture to one side of the pan and add about 1 tablespoon of oil in the other side.  Add the tomato paste and heat stirring constantly until paste begins to caramelize.  Stir to combine with onion mixture.
6. Pre-heat the grill to high
7. When the spices begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, add tomatoes with juice.  If using whole tomatoes, smash them with your spoon.
8. Add the bay leaf.
9. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.  Then stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 2 teaspoons garam masala, heavy cream and rest of garlic/ginger mixture.
10. Transfer chicken to grill and cook 5-7 minutes per side until interior temperature reaches 165.
11.  Allow tomato mixture to simmer while chicken is cooking, salt to taste.
12. Remove chicken from grill and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Stir into tomato mixture and serve over rice or with a side of flat bread (or both).

In Pictures: Mid-Summer Update

Sedona Girls Weekend

Teaching the girls to bike: Parris, me, Val, Catherine

Moab Camping:

Memorial Day Rafting

Mtn Biking in Aspen:

Food and Wine Classic in Aspen:

Climbing Mt. Sopris:

4th of July Climbing and Backpacking:

Mom and Dad in Town (trip to Crested Butte):

Friday Links: Halloween

Two weeks has come and gone, and I have sadly not posted any recipes.  It is not for lack of cooking, and I have an almost perfected gnocchi recipe which will be up soon.  However, I have been sticking to some old favorites like Chicken Chili and Roasted Chicken, which are already posted on this blog.  So look forward to some delightful gnocchi, and for now enjoy the Halloween links.

Healthy and festive: Quinoa Stuffed Jack-O-Lantern Peppers
Pretzels to spook you: Ladies' Fingers and Men's Toes
For a gourmet sweet: Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Meringue
A kid-friendly treat: Devil's Food Whoopie Pies, with eyes!
Beautiful and bite-sized: Mini Caramel Apples

Dutch Oven Chicken and Rice

Served with a sunflower sprout and raspberry salad.

Happy October.  The sun has been shining here this weekend, but the nights have been leaving frost on the windows.  All of the ski movies were in town for a weekend event, and we have been dreaming of winter snow and comfort food.  Chicken and rice is a classic that can be done so many ways.  When I first started visualizing this recipe, I looked to google for inspiration.  I found that to some, chicken and rice was made with cans of cream of mushroom soup.  I knew it was going to take some creativity to come up with a recipe that was delicious and healthy.  This recipe uses chicken thighs for full flavor, but there are no cans of soup around here. The dish is a little time consuming, but requires very little hands on time.

Dutch Oven Chicken and Rice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, for a lower fat version use 3 breasts cut in half
• 1 onion, cut into half moons
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 3 cups chicken stock, homemade preferred
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, I used sage and parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in large dutch oven.
3. Sear chicken until browned, about 2 minutes per side.
4. Remove chicken from pan and set aside on a plate.
5. Reduce heat to medium and add onions and a pinch of salt.
6. Saute onions until translucent, then reduce to low and allow onions to caramelize.  This should form a fond on the bottom of the pot, as seen in the photo, and the onions should lightly brown (15-20 minutes).

7. Add garlic and mushrooms and stir for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.

8. Add rice and stir for 1 minute longer until rice is becoming translucent.
9. Stir in 1/2 cup of the stock, scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.  Add the rest of the stock and nestle the chicken into the vegetables. Sprinkle the herbs on top.

10. Transfer the pot to the oven, and cook 60 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to sit covered for another 30 minutes.  Salt and Pepper to taste and serve warm.

Safaris, Chili-Lime Chicken and Uninspired Cuisine

And now we continue the South African adventures.  Warning: lots of photos at the end.

After leaving the coast we headed to Swaziland where we spent 2 days staying in the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary at Sondzela Backpackers.  We enjoyed staying in cool rondavels, seeing wildlife from a bicycle, and exploring the Swazi culture.  After that we headed to Kruger National Park, where we did self drive safaris and two guided drives.  We were fortunate to see all of the Big 5 (African buffalo, Elephant, Rhino, Lion, and Leopard), named such because of their difficulty to hunt.  We also saw many other amazing animals and birds.

The food in most of South Africa is best described as uninspired.  It wasn't particularily bad, but it certainly wasn't unique or good.  This is partially due to the country's complete lack of a national cuisine, except for a strong affinity for meat and braai.  The mix of influences (Dutch, English, Indian and French) do not meld, and leave a scattered mess.  So the recipe today is my kind of braai or barbeque, Chili-Lime Grilled Chicken.

Chili-Lime Grilled Chicken
Serves 2

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sirracha
• 1 lime, zested then juiced
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger (you could also use fresh)
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts

1. Combine oil, sirracha, lime zest, lime juice, ginger, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Whisk until combined.
3. Add chicken breasts and coat with marinade.
4. Allow to sit at least 30 minutes, but up to 5 hours.
5. Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high.
6. Grill breasts 3-5 minutes each side until cooked through but still juicy (time will vary depending on the size of the chicken.
7. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving.

Mountain Biking Safari

Zebras on the safari

Swazi Dancers

Sondzela Backpackers

View from our Rondavel

Rondavels at Sonzela

Rhino Crossing

Sunset

Lioness

Giraffe

Elephants at the Watering Hole

Kenz and I having Sundowners: Rum and Ginger Beer

Baobab

Leopard