Chicken Tikka Masala

I want to write an ode to curry. I cannot seem to get enough of that blend of vibrant spices with yogurt, coconut milk, or heavy cream.  As a young and foolish child, I never used to order curry when my mom took me to Indian restaurants. The texture looked too weird. I didn’t understand if it was a stew or a sauce.  Instead, I stuck dutifully to my tandoori chicken. While also a delicious meal, I only ordered tandoori chicken because I felt the dish closer resembled more familiar western methods of preparing chicken. I cannot remember that glorious day when I broke down my barriers, entered maturity, and found curry religion. But I bet it was a good meal.

This recipe for chicken tikka masala fits into my quest for diabetic friendly dishes. With only about 40 grams of carbs, or 12% of your daily carb intake, per serving, you don’t have to feel guilty about thirds. Another bonus, these portions are giant in the first place so you might not need thirds or seconds. Also, I’m a high curry to rice ratio kind of girl anyway but in the spirit of being carb conscious I only used half a cup of cooked rice per serving. If you are not as concerned about your carb intake, I would increase to a cup of cooked rice per diner. Though I used low-fat plain yogurt, I did not substitute for the butter and the heavy cream. My boyfriend recently turned fiancé (we’ve only just started working on our choreographed aisle march for YouTube) has type 1 diabetes but is hipster skinny and doesn’t need to worry about his weight. If you want to keep the calories and fat content low, substitute the heavy cream with low-fat cream or half and half.

I was really delighted with this recipe. Sometimes you eat a meal and feel a twang of disappointment knowing a restaurant order would have tasted better. After eating this curry, I thought to myself, I should open a restaurant.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Serves 4 (very large portions!)

Adapted from use real butter

About 40 grams of carbs per serving. Only about 12% of your daily carb intake!

2 cups cooked rice (88 grams of carbs)

For the chicken

2 lbs. chicken breast, boneless and skinless (0 grams of carbs)

½ cup olive oil (0 grams)

½ bulb of garlic, minced (7 grams)

2 lime, juiced (14 grams)

½ tsp ground nutmeg (.5 grams)

½ tsp ground curry powder (.5 grams)

1 ½ tsps paprika (1 gram)

½ tsp ground red pepper (cayenne) (.5 grams)

1 ½ tsps salt (0 grams)

1 tsp ground black pepper (0 grams)

4 tbsps plain yogurt (8 grams)

For the masala

1/3 cup olive oil (0 grams)

2 onions, diced (2 grams)

4 cloves garlic, minced (4 grams)

4 tsps peeled and finely grated fresh ginger (0 grams)

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped (14 grams)

2  tsps curry powder (1 gram)

1/2 tsp nutmeg (.5 grams)

2 tsps paprika (.5 grams)

1 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne) (.5 grams)

1 ½  tsp salt (0 grams)

1 tsp ground black pepper (0 grams)

2 tsps sugar (8 grams)

4 tbsps butter (0 grams)

1 lime, juiced

1/2 cup heavy cream (8 grams)

1. Make the marinade for the chicken: Cut the chicken into 3/4-inch cubes. Place chopped chicken and olive oil in a large ziploc bag or a large bowl with a lid. In a medium bowl, mix together minced garlic, lime juice, nutmeg, curry powder, paprika, cayenne, salt, black pepper and yogurt. Cover chicken with mixture and shake bag or stir until well coated if in bowl. Seal or cover and place in fridge for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

2. Make the masala: In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger. Sauté until the onions become golden brown, stirring frequently, about ten minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the chopped tomato. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes until the tomato softens, stirring occasionally. Stir in the nutmeg, curry powder, paprika, cayenne, salt, black pepper and sugar. Let simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Using a hand mixer or blender, blend ingredients together until completely combined and the consistency is that or a very thick sauce. Careful when blending, mixture will be hot. Lower heat to very low, cover, and let simmer while cooking the chicken.

3. When done marinating, remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Set oven to broil. For my oven, the first rack setting is a good six inches away from the top of the oven and broil flames, which is perfect for cooking this chicken. If your rack is closer than 6 inches, place rack one rung lower. Coat cooking sheet with a thin layer of oil. Spread chicken evenly on pan. Drizzle chicken with any extra marinade. Cook on broil for 5-7 minutes. Remove pan and carefully turn each piece of chicken with thongs or a fork. Place back in oven and cook 5-7 minutes more. Make sure center of chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from oven, let cool.

4. Turn heat up to medium-high for the masala. Stir in butter, lime juice and heavy cream. Let bubble for a minute or two, stir, and reduce heat to low. Add chicken and let simmer for another 5 to ten minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

A Series of Low Carb Recipes

I haven’t had as much time to cook as I would like these past months. I am looking forward to long summer days and nights. Grilling might be my favorite part of the season. More so than the day when I usually just feel too hot to move, I love to grill in the warm evenings, which feel cool compared to the beating rays of the sun. My goal this summer is to take advantage of the delicious tastes of grilled veggies and fruits in order to cook up some great low carb meals.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Before moving forward, I looked back at the recipes I’ve made that were relatively low in carbs. A few surprised me (like the chicken pot pie with biscuit crust) and almost made me wish for a few more cold days to spend in front of the oven. Almost…

These meals have about 30 grams of carbohydrates per serving our only about 10% of your daily serving of carbs!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie (with Biscuit Crust)

Tacos! Tacos! Tacos

Cashew Curry

Less than 15 grams of carbs, 5% daily serving

Final Fall and Start of Winter Salads

Pomegranate and Avocado Salad with Toasted Pecans

Chocolate Banana Pudding with Avocados!

When I found this recipe for chocolate banana pudding with avocados, my stomach gave more of an apprehensive shudder rather than a leap for joy. A friend who had tried the recipe, however, insisted that the taste of the chocolate and especially the bananas dominated all other flavors. The cocoa powder also ended up masking any traces of dubious origins. I saw another recipe for just banana pudding with avocados and imaging eating a spoonful of green pudding required a bit too much suspension of disbelief.

Believe it or not, this pudding tastes absolutely delicious. With a consistency closer to chocolate mousse than pudding, I loved its rich dark chocolate flavor enhanced by the banana. The avocado created the velvety texture and possibly added just a hint of a nutty flavor. Super simple to make, I am curious what other flavors could build upon this recipe. 

Chocolate Banana Avocado Pudding

Serves 8

Adapted by allrecipes

2 Avocados - Peeled, pitted, and cut into chunks.

2 Bananas, peeled and cut into chunks.

1/2 cup Whole Milk. 

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder.

2 tablespoons sugar. (add another if not sweet enough)

1 Teaspoon lemon juice

1. Place avocados, bananas, milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and lemon juice together; place in blender if using a blender and place in a large deep bowl if using a hand mixer. Puree with blender or hand mixer until smooth.

2. Store in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Low-Carb Baked Zucchini Fries

You know what they say about March; in like a lion, out like a sleeping lion. I guess I blinked too long because I am not sure where that month went. And with the beginning of spring I feel as if I’m entering a completely new era or at least a new year. Which also means a new list of resolutions. I am going to spend more time outside (today doesn’t count. Since I went from the subway to the office to the subway to making a plan to run to putting on running shorts to deciding to watch 30 Rock and the Colbert Report instead. Laughter is some form of exercise?)

I also plan to learn how to cook low-carb, low-sugar meals that still taste delicious. My boyfriend has type 1 diabetes. And though he is as skinny as a hipster in Brooklyn, counting carbs only helps the situation. Plus a challenge will be good for me (see missing month of March). And if I can make my favorite foods without all the sugar, I will consider myself accomplished. These zucchini fries only have about 13 grams of carbs per serving. For carb perspective, half an Oreo cookie equals a full serving of zucchini fries carb-wise. The zucchini fries also make a delicious stand-in for their deep fried potato counterparts.

Baked Zucchini Fries

adapted from myrecipes

yields 4 servings

about 52 grams of carbs total, about 13 per serving

1 ½ slices whole wheat bread (about 21 grams of carbs total)

½ teaspoon garlic salt (negligible)

1 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning (negligible)

2 zucchini (about 12 grams of carbs for both squash)

1 egg white (negligible)

1/4 cup whole milk (about 3 grams)

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (about 16 grams)

Olive Oil (0 grams of carbs!)

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Tear bread into small pieces sprinkle with garlic salt, oregano or Italian seasoning. Bake for about 2 to 5 minutes or until dried and golden brown. Let cool. Crush breadcrumbs until resemble coarse cornmeal.
2. Cut zucchini into thin sticks. Roughly about 3 to 4 inches in length.
3. Whisk egg white in small bowl till frothy. Add milk.
4. Combine parmesan and seasoned breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Scoop a small portion into a separate bowl.
5. Dip zucchini sticks into egg mixture, and then roll in the smaller bowl/portion of the breadcrumb mixture. The breadcrumb mixture will quickly turns goopy. Once it becomes too messy to handle and will not stick onto zucchini sticks, dump used breadcrumbs and scoop out a new portion of mixture.
6. Coat a baking sheet generously with olive oil, and place breaded zucchini on sheet.
7. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie (with Biscuit Crust)

These past months I have been oscillating between a cranky old lady complaining, “whatever happened to winter? In my day, snow came up to the earlobes” and a silly teenage chasing sunrays to tan in. But seriously the amount of times I have not worn a winter coat outside in February terrifies me. Mostly my concern lies in the loss of deep winter, snowed-in style comfort food. What about the stews and the roasts? Bread pudding? And pot pie, what about pot pie?

In the very recent snap of frigid weather, my mind leaped at the prospect of making a chicken pot pie. Unfortunately, my body did not. Using the low temperatures as an excuse to wear jammies and snuggle under blankets all day while watching movies, I grew lazy. Luckily, I found the below recipe which uses a biscuit topping rather than the traditional piecrust. You just stir up the biscuit dough and drop it onto the pot pie filing. (Maybe a little more gracefully than me.) Not having to fret over handling the dough or get into an epic battle with the rolling pin, really made the whole ordeal easy as pie. 

Chicken Pot Pie

adapted from nytimes

yields 4-6 servings

3tablespoons olive oil

1 leek, washed and chopped

Salt and pepper

2 cups mushrooms, chopped

1 ½ cups chicken stock

2 medium carrots

about 2 ½ cups cooked chicken, roughly chopped (I used a leftover roasted chicken. The meat from 2 drumsticks and 1 thigh yielded a perfect amount of chicken)

1 cup peas, frozen or fresh

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

1/2 cup milk

1 egg.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour oil into a large pot over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the leek, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook about 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Add stock and bring to a boil. Let bubble for a minute and then add carrots and chicken. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes; carrots should be tender. Add peas and cook for a minute more, stirring occasionally.

3. Whisk cornstarch with a few tablespoons of broth together into a paste. Add paste to pot and stir until liquid thickens slightly. Transfer filling to a large ovenproof pan or two small cake pans and set aside.

4. Stir together baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter and stir with a fork, pressing the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like small peas. Mix in milk and egg until dough just comes together.

5. Spoon batter on top of filling and smooth with a knife, covering as much surface area as possible. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes if cooking in a large dish or 25-30 minutes if cooking in two small ones. Pot pie should be golden on top and bubbly underneath. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Pineapple Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

This past December I went to my cousin’s wedding which I can safely say was the most stunning event of my lifetime. Granted, I have not been to many weddings so I would not consider myself an expert. However, I believe these pictures give me considerable credibility. The wedding was on a small remote island off another small remote island and took 3 planes and a boat to get there. The last plane only held capacity for five passengers including the pilot, a very important fact omitted when I booked the flight on cheaptickets.com. If there was ever a time to obey the turn off your phones rule, it was on this plane and I would have punched out an Alec Baldwin at first glimpse of an iphone.

One of the most remarkable features of the island, besides the ridiculous views and secluded white sand beaches, was the intensive fruit garden. Taking a tour of the premises, I found myself led by the gardener through rows and rows of coconut, pineapple, mango and avocado trees. He insisted on cutting me down a coconut and pulled out a massive machete for the task. After gingerly climbing up the tree and shimming down with the fruit, he set up the coconut on a stump. With one smooth motion of his machete, he effortlessly sliced off the top. Clearly not new to awing his guests with fresh coconut, he pulled a straw from his back pocket for me to use. I almost hoped for a tiny umbrella out of the other pocket.

Since this trip, I have been wanting to find a recipe that encapsulates the sweet lush garden of the island. I found exactly that in these pineapple cupcakes with coconut frosting. The cupcakes are remarkably moist due to the addition of the whole can of crushed pineapple, juice included. I decreased the sugar slightly since I wanted the strongest taste to come from the natural sweetness of the pineapple juice. The cupcakes reminded me of a pineapple upside down cake without all the work. This might be the simplest cupcake recipe short of boxed cake mix. But the coconut frosting is the real showstopper of the dessert. The coconut milk makes for a very creamy and flavorful frosting. And paired with toasted coconut flakes. Just like heaven. 

Pineapple Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting
Adapted from catesworldkitchen.com
Makes 15-20 cupcakes

Cupcakes
10 oz (canned) crushed pineapple in juice

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the baking soda, baking powder, flour, sugar and salt.

3. Add oil and eggs to flour mixture, mixing after each addition until fully incorporated.

4. Add crushed pineapple, juice included. Mix thoroughly.

5. Pour into the prepared cupcake tins, and bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cupcakes should be golden brown on the edges. 

6. Remove from tin and cool completely.

Frosting

1 stick butter

3 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons coconut milk

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1. Preheat the oven to 300. Spread coconut flakes evenly onto a baking sheet. Toast for 8-10 minutes or until just golden. (Check coconut frequently so as not to burn. I would first check at five minutes since the flakes cook so fast and a few minutes could be the difference between toasted or blackened flakes.)

2. Once golden, remove and set aside to cool. 

3. Using an electric hand mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar together in a large bowl. Add coconut milk a tablespoon at a time until the frosting has a smooth, creamy consistency.

4. Frost cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Enjoy!

Tacos! Tacos! Tacos!

My all time favorite cuisine is Mexican. I want tacos, rice and beans served at my wedding. With a gigantic side of guacamole. Though maybe I’ll keep the cake and skip the flan. Somehow slicing and feeding each other the jiggley dessert does not strike me as romantic.

Though a nice addition to any occasion, tacos make a perfect “beat the weekday blues” meal as well. I love how the build-your-own style of tacos makes every diner a participant. And in my mind, corn tortillas create the best vessel for your ground beef/chicken/steak/veggie fixings. The small size of the corn tortillas especially allows for filling mixing and matching.

While I enjoy all different types of taco fillings, the below recipe for carne asada tacos has quickly become my favorite. The lime, garlic and jalapeno mojo packs a powerful punch. I use a little more than half the mojo recipe to marinate the steaks and then save the rest as a green salsa to drizzle over the final product. The mojo tastes so good I have to refrain from taking a spoon and eating the sauce plain. Definitely my favorite part of the recipe, the sauce keeps the steak flavorful and juicy.

 

 

Carne Asada Tacos with Mojo and Pico de Gallo

Adapted from food network

Serves 4

Mojo

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 limes, juiced

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1.   Using a blender or a food processer blend together garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper. You can also put the ingredients in a bowl and use a hand mixer to combine. Stop blending once the ingredients come together as a paste. Add lime juice, vinegar and oil. Blend again to combine.

2.   Put mojo in a container or jar with a lid.

Steaks

1 ½ pounds flank steak or skirt steak

A little more than half of the above mojo recipe.

1.   Place steaks in a pan or baking dish. Pour mojo sauce over the steaks. Tightly cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator and marinate for 1 to up 8 hours.

2.   After at least a hour, turn oven on to broil. Lay steaks in an ovenproof baking dish (if possible, use baking dish with rack) or on a baking sheet covered with tin foil. If you have mojo leftover from the marinating process, drizzle over steaks for extra flavor.

3.   Cook 7 to 10 minutes on each side, turning once.

4.   Remove steaks and place on cutting board. Once cool, cut into thin strips.

Pico de Gallo

2 medium tomatoes

1/2 onion chopped

1 jalapeno pepper chopped 

1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 lime, juiced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1.   While steaks marinate, combine all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Finale

1.   Warm tortillas individually in a skillet on medium low heat, about twenty seconds per side, flipping tortilla once. Or warm all together in oven—preheat oven to warm. Place tortillas in a stack on baking sheet. Tightly over with tin foil. Heat for about 10  minutes.

2. Fill warmed tortillas with steak and drizzle with pico de gallo, and mojo. Additional great (necessary) fixings: grated cheese, shredded lettuce and diced white onions.

Enjoy!