Friday's derailment of dinner

I remembered again, too late, that I had to make the Curry Sauce before I made the Biryani for Friday's  dinner.  That derailed our dinner on Friday.  In any case, here it is.  It comes from The Encyclopedia of Asian Cooking, Octopus Books Limited, London, 1982, as does my Biryani recipe.

Curry Sauce

4 oz. ghee (clarified butter)
1 large onion peeled an sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 t. coriander powder
1 t. turmeric powder
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. ground pepper
1 1/4 c. water
1 t. Garam Masala 

Melt the ghee in a pan, add the onion and garlic and fry gently until soft but not brown.  Stir in the coriander, turmeric, chili powder, salt and pepper, then add the ingredients to be curried ~ meat, fish, poultry or vegies, etc.  Fry for 5 minutes, then add the water and bring to the boil.

Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the Garam Masala and simmer for a further 5 minutes.  Serve hot with veggies, or simply spooned over rice.  Makes 2 1/4 c.

So I'm kind of on a tape delay with this recipe.  I'm making dinner tonight (Turkey Breast and a mini Thanksgiving), but I want these frozen Biryani dinners as well.  Maybe Miss M and I will have some for lunch.  If I had the curry sauce made ahead of time, this recipe flies together in no time and you only need one serving platter.  How easy is that?

Biryani

1 1/2 c. rice
3 c. water
2 t. salt
2 c. curry sauce
3/4 lb cooked meat (beef, chicken or lamb) cut into 1" cubes
1 1/2 t. turmeric powder
1/2 t. coriander powder
Garnish with: 
1 green or red pepper cut into rings
1-2 hard cooked eggs, sliced
2-3 firm tomatoes, sliced
coriander leaves (optional)
varak, finely beaten (optional)

Wash the rice thoroughly.  Bring the water to the boil in a large pan, add the rice and salt and bring back to the boil.  Simmer exactly 10 minutes, then drain off the excess water and set the rice aside.

Put the curry sauce in a pan with the cooked meat and heat until bubbling.  Add the turmeric and coriander and cook over high heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the rice and stir thoroughly and gently until  the rice has absorbed the color of the turmeric evenly.  Cover the pan, lower the heat and cook gently until the rice is completely cooked.

Transfer the biryani to a warmed serving platter.  Garnish with the pepper rings, egg and tomato slices.  Top with coriander leaves and varak if desired.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4.

Day two...three days late...

So I'm a bit late.  But if you think about it, we've traveled pretty far.  The Pastichio was tremendous.  We had another pan left and I served it to some of our runners today.  One of our kids is of Greek heritage and she told me it smelled like her house when her Mom makes it!  (Great compliment and I'll take it!)  She settled in to a plate of familiarity and then said, " Coach, this is better than my Mom's.  Her's is much creamier and this is much better.  More cheesy!"  So glad everyone liked it!

I made Spaghetti as well today, so we had quite the Adriatic tour.  Tonight we were supposed to have Dusted Pork Chops, but we'll have them tomorrow.  We helped at a track meet and ate lunch late.  We were still full when it came time to think about dinner. I'm not complaining, we just need to shift my cooking to tomorrow.

Dusted Pork Chops come from a really yummy recipe that was an epic fail for DH.  The part he liked was the seasoning on the meat.  I mixed some up in a jar and use it from time to time to season our pork chops and chicken. And yes we do call it Chicken Dust.

The recipe comes from The Gluten-Free Bible, Publications International, Ltd., Lincolnwood, IL, 2010.  I used to work down the street from there. Talk about a small world.   The recipe is actually South American Chicken and Quinoa.  The first 3 ingredients mixed with the last 2 make our Dust.

South American Chicken and Quinoa
1 t. ground turmeric
1 t. dried thyme
3/4 t. salt, divided
1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
2 T. olive oil, divided
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. uncooked quinoa
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. unsweetened coconut milk
1 t. curry powder
1/4 t. ground ginger

Combine the turmeric, thyme and 1/4 t. salt in a shallow dish.  Dip the chicken pieces into the spice mixture coating all sides; set aside.
Heat 1 T. of the oil over medium high heat.  Add the bell pepper and onion. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.  Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon; set aside.  Add the remaining oil and the chicken to the skillet.  Cook and stir 5 minutes or until browned and cooked through.  Rinse the quinoa in  a fine-mesh strainer under cold running water; drain well.  Combine the quinoa, chicken broth, coconut milk, curry powder, ginger and the remaining 1/2 t. salt in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low; simmer covered, 10 minutes. Stir chicken and pepper mixture; cook for 5 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.  Serves 4.  

So for my version, I dust the chicken like it says in the recipe and end up with cool chicken nuggets and follow the cooking instructions for the chicken part of the recipe above.  I've also used it on chicken legs and baked them in the oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
Until tomorrow... or maybe it's just later since it's already tomorrow...

Yummy meatballs and the next recipe Dopiazah for Wednesday...

Tonight we had Curried Meatballs with Rice.  We've had that for dinner as another of our "go to" recipes for a long, long time.  It was a recipe from early in our marriage.  It never disappoints.  I boxed up 3 dinners for later and we had no leftovers.  Miss M joined us and we talked about how I should sometime make the rice by itself because it's so darn good! Mmm...a hint of ginger just makes it a stand alone with other dinners.

 Wednesday is going to be Dopiazah for dinner.  Dopiazah means double the normal amount of onions.  The recipe I use comes from The Encyclopedia of Asian Cooking, Octopus Books Limited, 59 Grosvenor St., London, WI., 1982.    

Dopiazah
3/4 c. ghee*
2 lbs. onions, peeled and sliced
2 t. cumin powder
1 t. fenugreek powder
1 T. turmeric powder
2 t. Garam Masala (recipe follows)
3 green chilis, chopped
1 lb. boneless lamb shoulder or leg cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/4 c. water

Melt the ghee in a heavy pan, add the onions and fry gently until soft.  Remove half the onions from the pan and set aside.  Add the spices to the onions remaining in the pan and fry for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the chilis, then the lamb and fry until the lamb is browned on all sides.  Stir in the water and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the meat is tender.  Add the reserved onions and cook a further 5 minutes until the curry is fairly dry.  Serve hot with rice.  Serves 4.

 Ghee:  Clarified butter.  Also sold in jars in the Indian section of the supermarket.  You can clarify your own butter to save money by melting over low heat and separating the milk solids from the oil.  Refrigerate the ghee and use within 3 months.  

Garam Masala
1 1/2 t. whole cardamoms
5 t. coriander seeds
1 t. cumin seeds
1 1/2 t. whole cloves
2 T. whole black peppercorns

Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods, then place on a baking sheet with the remaining ingredients.  Bake in a preheated 475 degree oven for 10 minutes, then leave to cool.  Grind to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle or food processor.  Store in an airtight container.   

So tonight I made tomorrows dish, Turkish Pilaf.  DH and I will enjoy the first bounty dinner tomorrow.  Tonight worked like this:  I started the rice part of dinner in the rice cooker.  While that was cooking, I discovered I was short some lemon juice. (I had squeezed what lemons I had and was 2 tablespoons short!  Yikes! We have company coming that will never do!)  I called Miss K’s boyfriend J and he bailed me out!  Thanks J!  Mind you, the rice is still cooking.  I came home, measured the lemon juice.  I then sliced up my onions, melted the butter and measured my spices.  I was now ready to start the main part of dinner.  By the time the ground beef and onions were cooked with the spices, the rice cooker was nearly done.  When the rice shut off, I combined it with the meat, added the butter and lemon juice (and half a bag of peas ~ we like them, what can I say?).  I was then ready for my company and could sit and enjoy the meal.  I like this better than our friends come over to eat frozen dinners…This isn’t the 60’s and I don’t have TV trays.

Tomorrow, I will likely plate the food.  The idea of DH eating from a freezer container seems sad.  Plates are happy and inviting.  I think I’ll make some of my cheddar biscuits tomorrow as well.  I've posted the recipe below.

Cheddar Biscuits

2 c. baking mix (I like Trader Joes or my homemade mix)

1 c. milk

a handful of shredded cheddar cheese (I think its about 1/2 c.)

1/4 t. garlic Salt

Preheat the oven to 450℉.  Mix the ingredients together with a fork until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Drop by heaping Tablespoons on to a greased baking sheet 2 inches apart.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes about 10.

These can also be rolled out and cut with biscuit cutters to make uniform sized biscuits.  Decrease the milk to 1/2 cup.  When the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead dough 10-12 times.  Roll out dough to 1/2" thickness.  Cut with a floured 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.  Place on a greased baking sheet 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Again this makes about 10.

Oven Fried Chicken & a bonus recipe!

The recipe I use for Oven Fried Chicken is surprisingly new and comes from the internet.  It is Easy Ranch Chicken from www.food.com.

This recipe also uses Ranch Dressing Mix.  I decided to make my own ranch dressing mix.  A canister of Buttermilk Powder will make 2 1/2 recipes.  It is not necessarily less expensive, but I know what's in it.  That recipe also comes from the internet.

It is Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix from SimplyScratch.com. As long as you have all the ingredients and a food processor, this takes no time to put together. In fact, I don't think I'll buy bottled dressing or dip very often anymore.  Note that I leave out the sugar from the original recipe.  You don't need it, the buttermilk powder has some sweetness all its own.  This is the only time in my life I've used parsley.  I know, I just talked yesterday about not using it, but the dried parsley adds something to the recipe.

I'm including both recipes, because I think the dressing mix with no preservatives is worth it.

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

1 c. Dry Buttermilk Powder

2½ T. Dried Parsley, divided

2 t. Dried Dill, divided

2½ t. Garlic Powder

1½ t. Onion Powder

1½ t. Dried Onion Flakes

2¼ t. Kosher Salt

½ t. Coarse Ground Pepper

½ t. Paprika

¼ t. Cayenne Pepper

In a small food processor or blender; measure and add in the dried buttermilk, 2 T. of the parsley, 1 t. of the dill.  Place the remaining ½ T. of the parsley and 1 t. dried dill in a small bowl and set it aside.  Measure and add in the onion powder, dried onion flakes, kosher salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne.  Turn on the processor and let it run until all the spices are blended into the buttermilk powder.  Transfer the ranch mix into a jar or container (with a tight fitting lid) and add the reserved parsley and dill.  Whisk to combine.  

3 T. of the mix is the equivalent to one packet.

Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 months or in the freezer for 6-8 months.

Now that you have your Ranch Dressing Mix, we can proceed with the Easy Ranch Chicken recipe.

Easy Ranch Chicken

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

½ (1 oz.) package Ranch Dressing Mix (1½ T. of your mix)

1 c. Dry Breadcrumbs

2 Eggs

Salt

Pepper

Butter

Crackers (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Mix the dressing, salt & pepper to taste and dry bread crumbs in a 1 quart storage bag.  Beat 2 eggs in bowl.  Rinse and dredge chicken through the egg and then place in the bag and shake until the chicken is completely covered. Place in a buttered 13 x 9" glass baking dish. Place a pat of butter on top of chicken.  Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Note:  This works without the eggs and adding cracker crumbs makes the coating crispier. 

Frugal Tip:  Use the food processor right after making the dressing mix to make your breadcrumbs so the crumbs pick up the remaining ranch flavor.