Hot Mustard Sauce

Here it is… The sauce I promised you a week ago.  Trust me, it’s worth the wait.  Tom is obsessed with the hot mustard sauce from McDonalds, I had never tried it until I met him and honestly I wasn’t impressed.  I have however, grown to love it over the past few years and was stoked when I found a copycat recipe for it.  I went out and bought all the ingredients I needed and to be completely honest it turned out bitterly inedible, needless to say I was VERY disappointed… So I proceeded to taste every ingredient to find out what happened and was irritated yet relieved to find that it was the “Organics” ground mustard seed that was crazy bitter.  I did some research to see if maybe ground mustard “seed” was different from dry ground mustard which is what the recipe called for, NOPE it’s just a labeling choice. So DON’T buy the “Organics” ground mustard seed… It’s revolting.  I’m still trying to get the taste out of my mouth.  On a lighter note I went out and got a different brand and remade it, fabulous! It’s really good, plus when you make it on your own you can add as little or much spice as you want.

Recipe…

Hot Mustard Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp ground dried mustard (not the one pictured)
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 tsp cornstarch 
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 10-14 drops habanero hot sauce (I used about 18-20. Tom likes it hot)

Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan.

Whisk until well combined.

Turn your burner on medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Boil for 2-3 minutes, mixture should be thickened by now. Chill in a covered container until you get a craving for some hot mustard. This will last in your fridge for just as long as any other condiment. I won't judge you if you make a double batch as it doesn't last long around here.

Tom could put it on anything, including cheerios, but I baked him some chicken strips to go along with it the other night. If you make the pretzels I recommend making this alongside.

Mango Shrimp Tacos

Today there was a breakthrough, Tom wanted something other than a “Meat Salad”… Much to my surprise his request was for healthy mexican.  YES SIR!  We could eat mexican for every meal, which I’m sure is common among native southern californians, but the taco shop just doesn’t fit into our waistline budget EVERY day.  So I looked through my cupboards and fridge to see what I had to work with.  I had some frozen shrimp and frozen mango in the ice box, BAM shrimp tacos with mango salsa.  My mom used to make an appetizer of grilled shrimp and mango salsa when I was young and ever since the first time I had it, I don’t think I’ve found any two things that go as perfect together as warm, seasoned shrimp and cool, sweet mango.  Ok, maybe chocolate and salted caramel, coffee and chocolate or any cheese and good bread, but it’s definitely up there.

You can’t have tacos without rice and beans, so I whipped together a killer batch of refried black beans and some mexi brown rice. There’s no reason to sacrifice flavor for low fat dishes, anything can be made healthier but still taste delicious, especially if you do it yourself so you know exactly whats inside your meal!  Keeping that in mind I decided to make my own corn tortillas, no preservatives, no ingredients that sound like something my friend Krystle is studying in BioChem, just Masa, salt and water.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I’ll never buy tortillas again!  It is SO unbelievably easy to make your own.  I’ll post the recipe for the tortillas, and the beans and rice I made next.

Recipe…

Mango Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp…

• 1/2 lb uncooked shrimp (fresh or frozen) Peeled and deveined, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil, just enough to coat shrimp well
• 1 1/2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
• Zest of one lime
• 1 clove of garlic grated

Mango salsa…

• 1 cup frozen mango*
• 1 small tomato
• 1 jalapeño, minced (leave in ribs and seeds if you like heat like us)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 of a shallot, minced
• 1-2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, more or less to taste
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• Zest and juice of one lime
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 avocado
• Salt and pepper to taste

Start by marinating the shrimp…

Add chopped shrimp, enough olive oil and old bay to coat them well, then grate the garlic and zest the lime on top. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in fridge for at least an hour.

While the shrimp marinates, work on your salsa…

In a small sauce pan, heat oil, add minced jalapeño, garlic and shallot. Grate in the ginger. (Make sure to peel the skin off with a paring knife before grating.) Salt and pepper to taste. If you like heat add some red pepper flakes also.

Sautee on low-medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add frozen mango and coo for about 4-5 minutes or until mango is thawed.

Add tomatoes and a pinch more salt and pepper. Cook for another minute. Remove from pan into a small bowl.

Add lime zest and juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

While your salsa is chilling and shrimp is marinating why not make some tortillas? They’re better for you and 10 times more delicious.

When you’re ready to eat cook your shrimp…

Simply heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add shrimp and marinade, sauté for about 3 minutes per side.

I know, I know... The recipe calls for chopped shrimp and mine are whole. It was an after thought, I ended up chopping my shrimp after I cooked them which was a hassle and on top of it they got cold. You don't have to chop your shrimp at all if you like them whole, I just like having everything about the same size. I guess it bugs me when I bite into something like a sandwich or a taco and a big piece of something pulls out and the whole thing falls apart. Anyway, the choice is yours.

*Also, if you want to use fresh mango by all means, please do.  All I had was frozen and I find it much easier than chopping one.  If you do use fresh don’t bother heating up your ingredients.  Just add them all in together and let it sit in the fridge until the flavors have time to marry and become fabulous.

Now that you're ready to eat add the avocado and cilantro to your salsa. I find the easiest way to chop up an avo is to cut it in half, take out the pit with a knife, slice through the avo vertically and horizontally, making sure not to cut through the skin, until it looks like this.

Use a spoon to scoop your perfectly chopped avocado out of its skin, stir in with the cilantro and serve.

I put my salsa and shrimp in serving dishes and let people make their own tacos.

 

 

 

Serve this mouthwatering creation with whatever you like.

 

I served my tacos with healthy mexican brown rice and spicy "refried" black beans.

Enjoy♥

Soft Pretzel Bites

Every Wednesday is our softball league and on nights that our games start at 6:30, we need a little snack to keep us satisfied until our pizza “team date” afterwards.  This particular week I had been perusing the grand ole Pinterest and found a recipe for soft pretzel bites.  Tom loves him some soft pretzels, I was never really a fan of them as a child, most likely because I’m really sensitive to salt, I can’t stand how they load the pretzel with those big white chunks of salt at those stores in the mall.  Now don’t get me wrong I go through a good amount of salt in the kitchen and respect its place, but everything in moderation and those things are just too much for me.  Anyone that knows me knows of my weakness for cheese, I LOVE CHEESE, so when I saw this I knew I wanted to make them with a cheesy dip.  The one I tried was just ok, so I’m going to test some things out before I post a recipe.  These are really good with the McDonalds hot mustard copy cat recipe I found, so I’ll post that next.  This week I think I’ll make something a bit lighter as last week we all gorged ourselves and were deemed useless on the field… Oops.

Recipe…

Soft Pretzel Bites

Makes about 40 pieces

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar or honey
• 2 1/4 tsp (1pkg) Dry active yeast
• 3 oz unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 – 5 cups all pour pose or bread flour (I ended up using 2 1/2 cups all purpose and 2 cups bread flour)
• Vegetable oil for drizzling
• 3 quarts of water
• 3/4 cup of baking soda
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp cold water
• coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Stir together water, sugar, yeast and butter. Let sit in a warm spot for 5-10 minutes.

It should have a nice layer of froth on top. This means the yeast is alive and growing. Add your flour and salt now.

Stir the dough until it starts coming together and away from the sides of the bowl. If it seems too sticky add more flour a tbsp at a time. When it looks like this you can start working it with your hands.

When it feels tacky but doesn't stick to your hands you're ready to start kneading.

Grab one side, fold it over top and press firmly down and away from you with your palms. Do this for about 6-10 minutes to work the glutens.

When you are finished kneading, pull and tuck the ends inside to form into a tight, smooth ball.

Drizzle some vegetable oil into the bowl you will rest your dough in, swirl the oil in the bowl until all the sides and bottom are well coated. If you have excess oil in the bowl after it is coated like this, then pour it out. You just want to keep the dough from sticking, not let it soak in oil.

Add your dough, rolling it in the bowl so it is lightly coated with oil just so it doesn't dry out.

Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and place in that same warm place.

While you're waiting, get your sheet pans ready for pretzel baking so you don't have to worry about it later. This would also be a good time to get 3 quarts of water on the stove and your baking soda ready and waiting.

Let the dough sit for at least an hour or until it has doubled in size.

When your dough is ready, start your water on the stove so you’re not waiting on it when your done rolling out and cutting your dough.

Cut the dough into four equal pieces and start rolling them out into a long rope, starting in the center, stretching the ends away from each other while rolling back and forth as if it were a rolling pin.

Keep stretching and rolling until you have a long rope a little bit thicker than your thumb.

Slice up your rope into 1 inch pieces and set aside until all your dough is rolled, cut and ready to boil.

Once your water is boiling and your dough is cut, add the baking soda to the water. I did it 1/4 of a cup at a time, the baking soda and boiling water creates overflow if you're not careful. Drop the dough into the boiling water mixture in two batches so you don't overcrowd the pot. Let them boil for about 30 seconds then fish them out with a slotted spoon or a handheld strainer.

Place the dough pieces on a well greased sheet pan and brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle your salt on top and pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Basque in the beauty of your homemade, perfectly golden, crispy but chewy exteriored, supplely soft pretzel bites...

Serve with your favorite pretzel condiments!

Enjoy♥

Roasted Chicken Ceasar

So on the days that I don’t have dinner already planned out, I text Tom asking him what type of food he would like for dinner, so I can find a general direction to move towards.  Not sure why I still do because EVERY time, he comes back with the ever so mouthwatering “Meat salad”.  If he had it his way the lettuce, croutons and toppings would all be made of meat…  Ew.  So in my efforts to make the man happy and keep a little balance to our diets, I make a variety of salads with a healthy helping of meat along side.  I love making my own dressings and playing with the ingredients a bit, I just find it so fabulous how one little ingredient can transform a dish from enjoyable to plate licking good.  In this its the fresh ginger, you won’t believe how good it is, and if you have access to fresh lemongrass, USE IT, it goes even farther to impress.

Recipe…

Roasted Chicken Ceasar

Serves 2 Entree portions or 4 Appetizer portions

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 6 anchovy fillets
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsp grated ginger (if you happen to have lemongrass add couple of tsp of that also!)
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 lemons, zest and juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil for dressing, plus 2 tbsp for bread
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan, plus extra for garnish
• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups of french bread sliced thick and cut into cubes

Preheat your oven to 375°

Start with your chicken as it takes the longest.

Place your chicken breasts on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and garlic salt. Put in the oven and bake for 25- 35 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken breast.

For croutons, now I made two cups because they usually get eaten when I’m not looking.  You can make less if you like but they’re very easy and addicting.

I used a mini french loaf because it's so light and airy that it lends a cloud like crunch, I HATE when bread or croutons cut up the roof of my mouth, I'd just as soon go without. Cut your bread up into about 1 inch pieces and place in a medium bowl.

Drizzle a few tbsp of olive oil onto the sides of the bowl letting it coat and run down the sides. If your bread needs more olive oil go ahead and add more until the bread is about 50% covered with oil.

Sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and garlic salt and toss.

Transfer to a tin foil lined baking sheet and bake for about ten minutes.

Take them out and try one. If it's not yet crispy enough for you put them back in for 3-5 minute intervals until you have your desired crouton crunch.

Start on your dressing.  You could use a blender or food processor.

Add garlic, anchovy fillets, egg yolks, ginger, dijon, 1/4 cup lemon juice and zest of two lemons into the food processor and pulse until smoothly combined.

Turn the processor back on and slowly drizzle in the 1/2 cup of olive oil. The dressing will start to emulsify(become creamy). At this point stir in the finely grated parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Pour finished product into a sealable container and store in the fridge until your ready for it. Yours will most likely be a bit thicker than the picture because I added too much lemon this time(which is why its important to measure, oops).

Rinse and pat dry you romaine and stack in piles of like sized leaves. Chop them up into bite size pieces.

I like to fold the larger ones in half and slice in half vertically about an inch from the rib. Then chop horizontally to get nice fork sized pieces. On the smaller ones I just fold them in half and chop horizontally.

When your chicken is cooked through let it rest on a cutting board for about 8-10 minutes. But not before squeezing a wedge of lemon on top! YUM.

While your lemony roasted chicken is resting, add about 3/4 of the dressing to the bottom of a large bowl. Add the lettuce on top and toss, this will keep the dressing from clumping in your beautiful salad.

Slice your chicken on a bias(45° angle) and place on the plate either on top of the salad or on the side, I like it on the side so it doesn't wilt the lettuce and it makes for easier cutting of the chicken.

I spoon a little dressing on the plate for looks and because who doesn't like extra sauce? And its there, JIC(just in case). For the parmesan I use a vegetable peeler to get those long strips just like in a restaurant, who knew...

Enjoy ♥, Tom did...

 

Chocolate PB Banana Bons

Chocolate, peanut butter, salted caramel frozen bananas? YES PLEASE… I love my chocolate, add a little salted caramel or peanut butter and I’m sold.  So when I saw a recipe for frozen bananas with a coating of chocolate and peanut butter, I ran to the grocery for some bananas. While there I picked up a jar of salted caramel sauce.  While it is delicious, next time I’m making my own! This was so simple there’s no reason not to.

Recipe…

Chocolate PB Banana Bons

About 12-14 Bons

• 2 large Bananas
• 1/3 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate
• 1/3 cup Natural Peanut Butter
• 2 heaping tbsp Salted Caramel sauce
• 1 tsp Coarse Sea Salt

Fill a pot with about 2 inches of water and top with a glass bowl, make sure the bowl isn't touching the water, simmer the water and the steam will heat the bowl. Add the chocolate and peanut butter to the bowl and let it do its thing while you chop the bananas.

Chop your bananas into bite sized pieces like these...

Go back to your melting chocolate and stir until the peanut butter is well combined and there are no chunks of chocolate. You want it to be smooth and thick but pourable.

Toss your bananas in one at a time, coat them with the chocolate mixture and place them on a plate lined with parchment paper.

Pour the remaining sauce on top of the bananas for extra chocolatey goodness! This will also fill in any spots you may have missed.)

Pop them in the fridge to let them set for at least fifteen minutes.

Now you could drizzle the caramel on with a spoon, but why when this is so easy and comes out so pretty?! All you have to do is spoon a couple tbsp of your caramel into a sandwich bag and cut a tiny bit of one corner off. Voila, you're a pro.

Get drizzling!

I went over them a second time to create a crosshatch look. Try and do this as fast as possible, you don't want your bananas to have time to thaw, they could become mushy.

Sprinkle a little salt on top of each one and put them back in the freezer for an hour or until you're ready to enjoy them.

They can be a little hard fresh out of the freezer so if you like them a bit softer take them out about five minutes before you're ready to eat.

Enjoy<3

Grilled Wedge Salad

My Mom and I love our lunch dates, on one of our lovely outings we had this salad.  I was a little weary of grilled lettuce but man oh man, delish, the smokey flavor almost lends a meaty quality to the dish.  To add to the fabulously charred Iceburg there was warm caramelized onions on top of chucks of tangy but creamy blue cheese, cool refreshing diced tomatoes and salty crispy bacon bits! WOW… We were in awe of the perfect balance in flavor and texture.  The next time we went to enjoy this lovely gem they were closed down.  As you can imagine we were pretty bummed, but we wiped our internal tears and rushed our tushies to the grocery, to pick up the ingredients and attempt to recreate the masterpiece of wedges.  Success!  As it turns out it’s pretty easy.  One time I made it at my dads as an appetizer to my famous Mushroom and Lemon Ravioli, and my brother Josh liked it so much he didn’t save room for dinner (Not thinking clearly after a few glasses of wine I gave out entree portions, oops).  It was when he called me for the recipe and directions that I realized, maybe I should start a blog for my recipes and make it easier for my family and friends to recreate and share them with their loved ones. Thanks Josher!

Recipe…

Grilled Wedge Salad

Serves 2 Entree size or 4 Appetizer size

• 1 head of Iceburg lettuce
• 2 small Tomatoes, diced
• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 1 tbsp Butter and 1tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Brown or White sugar
• 4 tbsp Peppered bacon bits (you can make your own, but i find the store-bought Hormel to be a yummy time saver)
• 4 tsp Blue cheese crumbles
• Your favorite Blue cheese dressing
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Start the onion first, it takes a good 30-45 minutes to get that nice caramel color.

Remove the ends of the onion and cut in half lengthwise.

Lay the onion flat on your cutting board and slice into 1/3 inch thick slices.

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add onions and cook for about ten minutes or until you see them getting some color.

At this point add your sugar, and salt to taste.

While your onions are getting a little more color get your Iceburg “burner ready”…

Cut your lettuce in half lengthwise leaving the core intact, otherwise your wedge will fall apart on the stove. This is how it will stay if you are making an entree portion.

If you are making an appetizer portion cut in half lengthwise again making 4 little wedges.

Turn your burners up to medium-high heat and place the lettuce cut side down, rotating every 30 seconds until you have a nice char.

For the appetizer size you will need to rotate the cut sides until they are charred equally.

Cut out the core of your wedges after you have charred them and transfer to a plate.

When your onions are caramelized, transfer to a plate for easy access.

Set up a salad building station for plating.

Add dressing, bacon, tomatoes, onions and top with a few blue cheese crumbles and a nice hit of freshly ground pepper.

Enjoy<3

Spicy Basil Chicken

Tonight my dear friend Krittle is coming to dinner! She’s not much of a seafood fan so I’m going to use chicken but you can certainly sub for shrimp and this would be even quicker!  This recipe only takes about 10 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cook time.  I have some brown rice left over from my Chicken Tikka Masala. (I like to make extra and have it in my fridge for a quick side to any meal.) So all I’m going to do is throw the rice in a sauté pan with a tbsp of butter (or olive oil), a couple tbsps of toasted sesame seeds and heat it with the lid on until warm and finish with a little lemon zest.  I shouldn’t write these things when I’m hungry, I’m salivating…

Recipe…

Spicy Basil Chicken

Serves 4

• 2 tsp Canola Oil
• 1 Large Shallot, Minced
• 4 Cloves of Garlic, Thinly sliced
• 2 lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 2 tsp Braggs Amino Acids, or Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 1/4 tsp Sambal Oelek (Garlic chili paste)
• 1 tsp Water
• 1/2 tsp Corn Starch
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/3 cup Basil Leaves, Sliced

Chop the thighs into bite sized pieces, finely mince the shallots and thinly slice garlic cloves.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, shallots and garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add chicken and cook through. (At this point I’ll add a pinch of red pepper flakes because I like layers of spice, this is totally optional.)

In a small bowl stir together the fish sauce, sugar, Braggs (If you haven’t tried this yet I recommend it strongly, it’s a soy sauce alternative filled with amino acids! You can find it at any sprouts or specialty food store.), Sambal Oelek (Garlic chili paste that can be found at any grocery store in the asian foods section.), water, corn starch and salt.  Add the mixture to the fully cooked chicken and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened and fully coated the chicken. (I love extra sauce to smother my rice in so I usually make a double batch . )

At this point your almost finished, just turn off the heat, stir in some basil and serve with whatever kind of rice strikes your fancy.

For plating I packed my rice into a one cup dry measure cup and flipped upside down to make a uniform mound of rice then spooned the chicken and sauce onto the rice and plate.  Last but not least tear a little fresh basil on top of the finished product!

♥Enjoy!

Sea Salt and Vinegar Chickpeas

I LOVE SEA SALT AND VINEGAR!

I am always looking for new healthy snacks to send with Tom to work.  When I found this recipe I flipped, my mind started racing with the variety of things I could use this method on!  Raw cashews are my next venture, I’ll let you know how it goes.  For now, Chickpeas.

Recipe…

Sea Salt and Vinegar Chickpeas

2 Cups

• 2 cups drained canned chickpeas
• 4 cups white vinegar
• 3 tsp coarse sea salt divided
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

This is crazy easy.  Add your chickpeas to a pot with 4 cups of vinegar and bring to a boil.  Once they’ve started boiling rapidly you can turn off the heat and add 1tsp of salt to season.  DON’T add salt before the water boils. This will make the skins tough and a lot of them will break off.   Let your chickpeas soak in the salted vinegar for about 30 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with foil.

Drain your chickpeas and toss them in a small bowl with the olive oil and salt to taste. (I used about 2tsp, feel free to add as much or little as you like, they’re yours!)

Lay them on your baking sheet in a single layer and bake for about 45 min, flipping them halfway through.(Toss them up a bit, I find if you just give them a shake the outside ones become burnt and the inside are a tad undone.)  Watch them closely after about 30 minutes, they burn quickly.

I like to transfer them to a paper towel lined plate about 2 minutes after I take them out to soak up the extra oil, preventing them from becoming soggy.

ENJOY!

with

Quick Naan

My boyfriend called me on his way home from work and asked if I had made any naan to go along with our Indian feast. Oops… I completely forgot, so I rushed onto the grand ole “inter web”, as he would say, and found the quickest recipe I could find. Since most recipes call for 3-4 hours of resting time I settled for the 1hour option.  If you’re ever in a time crunch use it.  Yum!

Recipe…

Quick Naan

About 8 pieces.

You will need…

• 3 cups bread flour or all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup room temp plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil

In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

Heat the milk in the microwave for about 15 seconds or so. In a small bowl mix together the milk and yogurt.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir together with a spoon. There might be leftover flour or you might need a splash of milk.  It really depends on the humidity and temperature of your kitchen so just be looking for a tacky but firm consistency(if it sticks to your fingers add more flour).

Knead your dough for about 10 minutes(nice work for your arms).  When you’re finished pat the dough into a smooth ball and place in a bowl with a damp cloth overtop. Let it sit for about an hour.

At this point just pull the dough out and cut into 8 sections(in the same way you would cut a pizza or a pie).  Flatten them with your fingers until they are pretty thin, maybe the size of a kids pizza, don’t worry about the shape.  Once they are all flattened, heat up a skillet or cast iron pan and when hot throw one on for about 3 minutes or until brown and crispy on one side and bubbles start to form.  You can do this on both sides, (which works great) but my favorite way to enjoy them is, for the second side hold it over a burner with tongs to get that nice char which is a true Naan characteristic.  Enjoy your Naan!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Today I’m making Toms favorite Indian food.  This is my first crack at it so I’ll follow up with some tips and add-ons if need be.  Trying a quick Naan recipe also.

Recipe…

Chicken Tikka Masala

Serves 4

You will need 2 pounds of Boneless skinless chicken thighs(left whole) and some cilantro for garnish

MARINADE

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

SAUCE

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like an 8-10)
• 14.5 oz can of tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• Salt to taste

To start mix all ingredients for the marinade in a medium bowl, add chicken and rub the marinade into all the nooks and crannies. When the chicken is well coated, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.

When you’re ready to start, preheat the broiler and cover the inside of your baking dish with tin foil. (If you’re making rice i would start at this point, theres nothing worse than having to wait for your rice to eat!) Try to get as much marinade off the chicken as possible, otherwise you run the risk of steaming your chicken not broiling it. Place on the second rack from the top in a conventional oven and broil for 20 min flipping the thighs halfway through the cooking process.  Take the chicken out and place on a cutting board to cool.

While the chicken is cooling, start your sauce by adding the butter and onions to a large saucepan or dutch oven and cook until light brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, and cayenne and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the tomato puree and let simmer for about 15 minutes, if its already pretty thick add a couple tbsp of water but give it that 15 min to let the flavors develop.  At that point add the cream and bring back to a simmer. Add salt to taste. You’ll want the sauce to coat the back of our spoon. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the sauce let it simmer for about 5 minutes and serve with basmati rice(i used brown) and naan(you can buy some or make your own, i’ll post a recipe next). Most importantly rip up a little cilantro on top! It brings such a fresh zing to the dish, mmmm.

Enjoy!