Sunday, December 25, 2011

CUMIN CHICKEN


We will cook an Indian recipe today. Cumin Chicken. Simple but delicious. Cumin gives the chicken its special flavor. Let’s cook!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 green chili
1 chicken breast, cubed
4 green cardamom pods
3 black peppercorns
Some vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Some salt to taste
1 teaspoon garam masala

First we will heat a frying pan or wok. When it is hot, put the cumin seeds in it and heat them for about two minutes. Be careful so that they do not get burned. Remove then from the pan or wok and reserve them.
Prepare the garlic, the ginger and the chili.
Heat some oil in the fan or work. When it is hot, add the cumin, the cardamom seeds and the peppercorns. Just for a minute. Then add the chili, the garlic and the ginger. Cook for one minute and then add the ground cumin and the ground coriander. Cook for another minute. Add then add the chicken. Stir well. Cover the pan, turn the fire low and let it cook for 15 minutes.
Finally, add the garam masala and some salt to taste if necessary. Cook for a couple of minutes. Then you will have the chicken ready.
Serve it hot. You can serve it with some basmati rice, cucumber raita or chapatis.
Enjoy!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

CHICKEN CURRY PIZZA


We will cook a different pizza today. Pizza made from scratch but with a chicken curry flavor. Italian and Indian together. Let’s cook it!

Ingredients:

Dough,

1 cup and 1 tablespoon water
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tablespoon salt
3 ¼ cups flour
½ tablespoon yeast

For the curry,

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
A little piece of star aniseed
½ ground cinnamon
3 cloves
½ teaspoon cardamom seeds
½ teaspoon ground garlic
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ chopped onion
1 chopped shallot
½ chopped green pepper
½ chopped red pepper
½ chopped squash
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 chopped tomato
Some extra virgin olive oil
½ chopped chicken breast
Some salt to taste
Some freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup coconut milk
Some shredded cheese

First we will make the pizza base. I use a bread machine to make my pizza but, of course, you can knead your dough by hand. Using my bread machine, I put the ingredients in this order: water, oil, sugar, salt, flour and yeast. I select the program just to knead the dough and turn the bread machine on. The machine will do its job and then it will let the dough grow. If you want to make your dough by hand, you can do it placing the flour on a table making a well with the water inside. Add the rest of the ingredients and make the dough. And then you will have to knead the dough properly. Knead and knead till the dough is elastic. Let it rise in a bowl covered by a wet cloth.
Once we have kneaded the dough, either by hand or with a machine, we will shape the pizza with a rolling pin. Remember that a floured work surface is always important. With that amount of ingredients you can make two pizzas.
Using a pizza stone will make your pizza crispier because these stones distribute the heat evenly. Nonetheless you will have to preheat the oven earlier and maybe use a pizza peel to transfer your pizza to and from the oven. Anyway, if your oven is powerful, your pizza will be good.
In the meantime, we will have prepared our curry. To do that, we will start preparing the spices. In a mortar we will grind the coriander seeds, the cumin seeds, the black peppercorns, the star aniseed, the cinnamon, the cloves, the cardamom seeds and the fennel seeds. Add to that the ground garlic and the turmeric. Reserve the spices.
Heat some olive oil in a wok and when it is hot, add the green and red pepper, the onion and the shallot. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the garlic, the ginger, the squash and the chicken. Then we will add the spices. Mix well and keep on cooking. Then we will add the coconut milk. Add some salt and black pepper to taste. Let it cook for some minutes and reserve.
Then we will go to the oven. Preheat it to 450ºF. With the help of a rolling pin, shape the dough into a pizza on a greased tray. Then we will paint the pizza with a little olive oil. Then spread the chopped tomato on top of the though. Add the curry to the pizza. Do this so that the curry is well spread in all the pizza. Add the cheese evenly.
And your pizza is almost ready. You will only have to put it in your oven. Let it cook for about 15 minutes. Let it cool for a minute and serve. A good and original Chicken Curry Pizza. Enjoy!