Sunday, May 4, 2008

Indian Night....

Friday afternoon I had worked on this post for a long time, only to find that somehow or another, it didn't get saved and landed somewhere in computer heaven. So, I've cooled off and gotten over my blogger rage, and I'm ready to make another attempt at telling you about the delicious dinner we had this past Thursday.

I'm a big fan of curries and all things Indian, and this meal did not disappoint. For a main course we had Tandoori-Spiced Chicken Thighs. The marinade is TO DIE FOR! And really, it's pretty healthy too - the only fat in the whole dish is from the plain yogurt and the chicken itself. The recipe calls for marinating the chicken for a good eight hours, but I only had three. Honestly, the recipe did not suffer from missing those five extra hours -- the flavor was amazing! I think it would be fun to play around with this next time; maybe skewer chunks of chicken along with peppers, onions, etc. for a great summertime grill menu.



Alongside the chicken we had a delicious Indian-inspired Curried Rice Pilaf with Peanuts & Cilantro. I've never made a pilaf-style dish in my rice cooker before, but that worked like a charm! Of course I did the saute steps on my cooktop, but then slid the whole she-bang in the cooker and 25 minutes later, I had a perfect pilaf. I'll be using this method again, it's foolproof! I only tinkered with the recipe slightly, by using roasted peanuts instead of the cashews that were called for. Here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/238405


Our veggie course was a gorgeous yet simple saute of carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, broccoli, and asparagus - no recipe, just a few simple steps. First I parcook the harder veggies in the microwave for three minutes or so. Then I heat up my biggest saute pan and add equal parts butter and olive oil. When the foaming subsides, I throw in the squash, zucchini, and red onion and let those work for a few, then add the parcooked veggies and give them a good toss. Season up with some sea salt, ground pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder and voila...a perfect and pretty saute!
Dessert cooled things off with Key Lime Parfaits, which were embarrassingly simple, but so pretty that I would serve them to company! Since I didn't futz with the recipe at all, I'll just give you the link to it. Here it is: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/102201

This dinner went over well with the whole Dam'Fam (well, with the exception of my oldest, and we all know by now that he doesn't like anything!). I kept everything pretty mild for the kiddos, but of course the marinade and the pilaf's seasonings could be easily adjusted depending on your tolerance for heat and spice. I'll definitely kick those up next time!


TANDOORI-STYLE CHICKEN THIGHS
Serves: 6
Source: The Gourmet Cookbook, p.

1 small onion, quartered
2 cloved garlic, smashed
1 (2") piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. salt
1/2 t. tumeric
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1/4 t. cayenne
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground coriander
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (3 1/2 lbs. total), rinsed and patted dry
Garnishes: lime wedges and cilantro leaves

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a blender. Pour over the chicken; cover and refrigerate for eight hours. Preheat broiler. Broil chicken 5-6 inches from heat source for 4 minutes per side. Place on serving platter; garnish with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs.






10 comments:

Peter M said...

Leah, this dinner sounds wonderful and I'm bookmarking it to try. Question, was this meal also enjoyed my your kids? If so, I'm impressed with them and you for feeding them good food and they for being so open.

RecipeGirl said...

I've been lucky with blogger- no problems so far. But I'm in the process of switching everything over to wordpress via a re-design so hopefully that will be even better! I am happy that blogger finally figured out how to post-date postings. That's helpful.

I need to experiment more with Indian food. I don't fix it hardly at all. Your choices look great. My kid would probably eat them too.

Vicarious Foodie said...

Glad to see this post has finally survived blogger! I'm not the hugest fan of Indian food, but my bf really likes it so I try to find dishes we'd both enjoy. I can be pretty picky, but this one looks great! Thanks for the recipe.

Obsessive Foodie or Food Addict....You Decide said...

Looks divine. I cooked Indian for the 2nd time about a month ago. I haven't posted it yet. It was chicken tikka masala...I loved it. Didn't make it as spicy because of the kids. I love spicey though. Is it spicy or spicey??? I have been out of school too long. How about Spice-Y.

Tanya said...

This looks really good. I haven't attempted Indian food and will have to try this one!

amycaseycooks said...

I have a grilled Moroccan chicken recipe on my menu for this week. glad to hear your meal went well.

Leah said...

Peter - yes, my girls loved both the chicken and the rice! My son hated the entire meal but that's just par for the course with him. I don't get my hopes up anymore.

RG - I can't believe you're re-designing your blog, it's awesome already! You're so lucky to know so much about computers...I should take a class.

Vicarious - thanks for stopping by, I LOVE your blog! I am still dying to try your oven fries with pesto ... that gorgeous green is still stuck in my mind.

Obsessive - please send me your Chicken Tikka recipe - I'd love to have it. I can't believe my kids (well, 2/3 of my kids) groove on curry....I'm thrilled 'cause I can't get enough! I swear I'd eat it every day.

Tanya - the great thing about Indian flavors is you can keep them as tame or as wild as you like! Try this recipe, your kids might surprise you.

EAT - I'll be cruisin' your Moroccan menu this week - I always get great ideas for dinner from your blog. ;-)

Sylvia said...

What a night !!1 This chicken had a wonderful golden color and the pilaf rice looks delicious

Jan said...

Wow! That looks so good. I'm going to follow your advice and try it on the grill.

We had an Indian night on Sunday, so if you're in the market for a chicken tikka masala, check out my blog.

Jaime said...

yum! this meals looks delicious! i love indian food. and i think i might know what i'm making w/some leftover key limes now ;)