Chicken Masala Roast with Soya sauce #Thanksgiving #Christmas #New Year

These days I have to admit are particularly hard for me to blog. Not because I am extremely busy but instead not too fine and dandy. I miss my Mum a lot and Christmas is a time to spend with family. These last 3 years Mum did not have Christmas celebrated at our ancestral home as 2012 we had lost my dad's youngest bro and 2013 Mum's youngest bro passed away. 2014 we lost our grandma (Dad's mom) and this year Mum was taken by Our Lord. So it is particularly hard this year as not only did I lose Mum but we didn't spend Christmas together for 4 years now.

Growing up Mum always designed our Christmas celebrations perfectly. I remember our childhood Christmases and there is not one thing I would change about it. Mum's roasts were raved about all year through be it her Turkey roasts over Christmas or all year through with our healthy Chicken roasts. Bliss! I am sure all our relatives who have attended our Christmas parties or any party thrown by Mum would vouch for her roasts and celebratory meals.

I have played a lot with the different roasts made over the years. So since we are not celebrating Christmas or the New Year, I decided that I would help you my dear readers with some of my best roasts made over the last year(s) (the recipes of which I have not posted yet) to help you with the upcoming Thanksgiving meal preparation (November 26, 2015), Christmas 2015 and New Year 2016. So my not celebrating does have it advantages, I am available at your disposal for any and all queries regarding your celebratory meal. And when you do try these out, do say a little prayer for my dear Mum and our family or send a positive thought in our direction. We really need it.

I need to specially thank three people in life, my dear friend Shireen (Shirs) who helped me get back on track with writing on my blog (Thanks Shirs my motivator) , my buddy Suzanne (Sue) who needed some help with her upcoming Thanksgiving meal prep (Thanks Sue I got a wake up call through your request) and my darling hubby (always thankful to you for your motivation and pep talks) who gave me a jolted shake this morning to get out of the gloomy valleys and move up hill. I also thank my many readers who were/are looking out for simple roast recipes. I hope the upcoming recipes along with the previous ones on Turkey Roast Delight (which can be adopted with the humble chook as well minus the cook time) ,  Lemon and Herb Roast Chicken , Jamie Oliver's Perfect Pork Loin with crackling , etc. helps you prepare your perfect albeit simple Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Year meal. I am available on gginazkitchenette@gmail.com for any of your queries regarding these meal preparations or any others. Also my dear vegetarian and vegan friends/family/readers, I am  available here to tell you how to cook your perfect vegetarian celebratory meal.

Now on with the recipe:

What you need:

• 1200 gms of  perfectly cleaned chook or chicken with skin on
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp heaps of Garam Masala
• 2 tbsp heaps Chili Powder
• 1 tbsp pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
• 2-3 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1" pc of ginger
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• A drizzle of oil
• Water as required

The Make:
Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Roast Time: 1 hour | Serves 6-8 adults | Marinade and resting time: min 1 hour 

1. In a large wok, heat some oil and toss in the ginger and saute for half a minute, then add the garlic for about 20 seconds and saute on low heat.
2. Then add all of the ingredients except the chook and saute well for about a minute.
3. Add a drizzle of water as required to form a thick marinade paste. Keep adding water as required taking care to retain the thick paste texture and not be to watery.
4. Saute for another minute until the masala leaves the sides of the pan or is cooked.
5. Set aside to cool for a few minutes and grind the paste to a fine consistency.
6. Next marinate your chook well all over and in the cavity as well. Let it stand for about half hour at least and up to 4 hours (in the refrigerator if required).
7. Preheat the oven to 200°C.  Next prepare the roasting pan either well oiled or with foil paper and grease lightly. Place the chook carefully on the roasting pan. I always advise my readers to add their favourite veggies either inside the cavity of the chicken (depending on their stuffing type it would take more than an hour to cook the chook) or at the sides of the chook (in which case it would take up to the hour).
8. Slide the roasting pan into the oven on 180°C. Lightly cover (do not tuck the foil at the sides) the chook's breast with a foil paper to keep the breast tender and moist.
9. Roast for about an hour checking at the 30 minutes and 45 minute time to see if tenderised and cooked. Uncover the foil at the 45 minute mark and allow the chook to roast for the remaining 15 minutes without the foil. If required continue for another 10-15 minutes until the breast in nice and springy and the limbs seems soft enough to pull off with your fingers (do not actually pull the limbs off at this stage :) )

If using an oven without a top flame oven, please turn the chook over at the 30 minute mark. This requires some amount of skill to avoid burning your hands/fingers. However a good pair of tongs and a large ladle always helps. It would also help to slide out the roasting tray at the 30 minute mark in this case before turning over the chook.

Serve hot with with your favourite sides, salads, choice of breads. Flat breads would go well with this make of roast.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread #BreadBakers

"Baking is such an emotional process...a lot of memories come flowing through with each rise and fall."

"Mummy, every recipe I will ever start to make or write will always take your name first! Even the famous Sanskrit quote (that Daddy has always quoted..) Matha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam starts with the Matha (Mother).I miss you like crazy. A huge part of my being has gone with you. I hope I told you enough number of times of how much I love you and though you have probably not argued with anyone more than me, I have told you that without you Mummy I am nothing. Your every advice and words are engraved in my heart and soul forever. I will wait to see you as I know now that Lord has taken you for His Purposes and I am no one to question that but please don't ever leave my side. I pray that though He has taken my Guardian Angel on earth, He always allows you to be my guiding force through Him as you were when you were physically here. Waiting to see you Mummy!"


So I joined this lovely group of BreadBakers last month. Unfortunately even as I got ready to post my first ever recipe as per the BreadBakers theme, I heard of the tragic demise of my dear, dear Mummy who has been my everything all through my life and my prime inspiration of all my cooking and baking. She along with our Lord has been with me through thick and thin and every rise and fall in my life. So I can only pray they continue being with me even more strongly from now on.

This month's host at BreadBakers is Mireille Roc of The Schizo Chef  who chose Yeastly 
Flatbreads. This is an amazing theme to contribute towards as my first post to #BreadBakers as I always have seen Mum love her Zaatar manakish or flatbreads such as Kuboos or Pita Bread with Hummus and Garlic paste. Thank you Mireille for hosting this event and for choosing this theme.

I made the Whole Wheat Pita Bread in my Mum's Kitchen this time as I am with my Dad now. And since we are on Lent till Mum's 40th day of demise, I accompanied this Pita Bread with Hummus. 

You can bake your Pita Bread but this time I chose the stove top as the oven is not handy at the home we presently stay at. Baking in the oven definitely would be the better option. I will try and include that make the soonest possible as G'Gina's Kitchenette is getting ready to make a new change/ announcement in the weeks ahead that may affect my presence at the next BreadBakers event as well (that will have to wait for now as I am taking each day as it comes during this heartbreaking time).

Pita or Pitta bread is famous to the Mediterranean or Middle Eastern regions and is what I grew up eating as a staple next to Chapati. I have always loved the smell and taste of toasty Pita Bread with Cheese as a filling or topping...yumm! Also known commonly as Khubz or Kuboos, Pita bread is a soft, slightly leavened wheat bread that has this marvelous pocket as you cut/tear it open that can be filled with a whole herd of fresh and delicious ingredients such as Falafel, Cheese, LaHm (meat) of your choice.

Ever since Mum's passing there has been rains every now making it quite dark and lacking enough natural light. And also the dusk comes in quite early. So I have to admit that whilst I would have loved to take brighter pictures, I just about managed to come up with these photos of my make with alternatives. The heart wouldn't allow to go on trying as it is quite heavy with the loss of Mummy. She used to make me these warm and toasty Pita/Khuboos breads with my favourite spoons of cheese. I was born and raised in Dubai, UAE which is why Mediterranean / Middle Eastern food is close to my heart always and just the smell of which is laden with sweet memories.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

You need:

• 3 (quarter litres) cups whole wheat flour
• ½ tbsp active dry yeast
• ½ tbsp salt
• A pinch of sugar
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1¼ cup warm water

The Make: 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes + 2 hrs resting time | Cooking Time: 24 minutes-36 minutes | Makes 6 Pita breads

Making the dough:

1. Add ½ cup of the warm water into a small bowl along with a pinch of sugar and the yeast and stir to dissolve. Set aside for 15 minutes in a dark, warm place (at room temperature in warm weather). Note 1*
2. In a fairly large bowl, add the rest of the warm water followed by the flour, olive oil, salt and mix lightly with a large spoon.
3. Check to see if the yeast has frothed, otherwise discard and begin again. If frothed, then add it to the flour mixture bowl. Knead well into a soft and smooth dough.
4. Grease the same large bowl with olive oil. Ensure that the dough has the oil applied all over it. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or napkin and allow it to rest for at least an hour and a half or even up to 2 hours in case of cooler weather.

5. Uncover the bowl and you would see that the dough has doubled up.

*Thought twice about adding the above pic and decided to give you the 'real' view of the doubled dough.

6. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a neat working surface and deflate the dough by gently punching into the dough.
7. Divide the dough into 6 equal medium-sized balls. Cover with the kitchen towel again and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

8. Dust the working surface with flour and roll each ball into round circles of 6" each in diameter and about ¼" thick.

9. Again cover the rolled out circles with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 10 minutes separately (not stacked up) on parchment paper or even just on a large plate.


Making the Pita Bread on the stove top:

1. Heat a skillet.
2. Place the bread on to the skillet and cover and cook each side for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Try to cover the skillet using a transparent lid to see the rising action.
3. Cut the Pita bread in half and you would find pockets as described above. Stuff it with your favourite fillings or just use it as a dipper with hummus. It is quite comforting esp. with the downpour outside.

NOTES
1* What Mum had taught me was when the weather got cool, to warm up the oven/microwave for a minute or two and turn off the heat. Then set the bowl of yeast mixture in the oven and allow it to rest. 
2* In case the dough becomes too sticky than add some more flour. 
3* While proving the yeast, ensure warm water and not cold/hot water is used. Otherwise the resultant dough would most likely fail.

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com

Yeasty Flatbreads from the #BreadBakers

• Chickpea Moroccan Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Emirati Khameer by The Schizo Chef
• Focaccia by Simply Veggies
• Garlic Naan by Seduce Your Tastebuds
• Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread (Flammkuchen) by Magnolia Days
• Grilled Naan by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Naan by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Hönökaka - Swedish Flatbread by Passion Kneaded
• Kesra - Moroccan Flatbread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Man'oushe - Lebanese Flatbread by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Margherita-Style Grilled Flatbread by Cali's Cuisine
• Orange Herb Pitas by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Paneer Kulcha by I Camp in my Kitchen
• Roghni Roti by Sneha's Recipe
• Sausage Gravy Pizza with Peppers and Onions by Pastry Chef Online
• Simple Pita Bread by A Baker's House
• Spelt Biskers by What Smells So Good?
• Tigelle - Italian Flat Bread by Cooking Club
• Whole Wheat Pita Bread by G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Za'atar & Cheese Manakish - Levantine Flatbread by Ruchik Randhap
• Za'atar Spiced Khobez by Cook's Hideout

Ghee Chapattis - Indian wholewheat Flatbread topped with clarified butter

Chapattis are well-known around the world now! I even read an article in the newspaper a while ago on a debate as to which country has the ownership of this flat bread!! We all know the answer to that right? #India

I am not doing justice to the images in this blog post. I will add more photos later.

A lot of commercial mixes of Chapatti flour secretly add refined flour (maida) to add softness to the flour. It really isn't required! You can make your own multigrain flour. You can even have it milled to ensure that there is no refined white flour in the mix. A mix of whole wheat:bajra(pearl millet):oat:ragi(finger millet):psyllium husk or isabgol:soya in 2:1:1:1:0.5:0.5 proportion. You could also add Maize or Channa Dal which is a kind of a dried pulse.

You need:

• 2 cups of whole wheat or multigrain flour ('Aata' /chapati flour)
• 1 cup of lukewarm drinking water
• Salt to taste
• Ghee/clarified butter (1 tsp per chapatti)

The Make:
Makes 7-8 chappatis depending on the size | Preparation Time (including standing time): 20 minutes | Cooking Time: 15 minutes

1. In a fairly large bowl, add the lukewarm water and add in the flour and salt.
2. Knead the flour into a smooth dough. Add water if required.
3. If the dough gets too sticky, add a shake of flour taking care not too add too much or it would end up being too floury.
4. Cover the bowl and let the dough stand for 15 minutes. If you leave it longer say like an hour or more, it tends to get softer.
5. Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll out the dough using a rolling pin into a perfect or almost perfect medium sized round using some additional flour as required. It helps to keep the flour in a small ramekin or bowl on the side as you roll out the dough to help dip into the bowl in case of sticky sides.
6. Heat a pan/tawa and lower the heat on medium-low and carefully place the rolled out dough circle on the Tawa. Allow it to cook and rise which takes about  a minute to a minute and a half of each side. Flip to cook the other side. You can also take the cooked chapati and toss over the medium flame directly on both sides to give it a rustic look and flavour.
7. Add a tsp of ghee on each side and set aside in a covered chapatti casserole.

Serve hot with your favourite side dish Rajma Masala, Aloo Jeera, Methi Chicken Curry.

Beef Roast/Beef Dry Fry - Beef Ularthiyadu/Olaythiyadu - Hubby's Special!!

Anup made one of his mom's recipes for Beef Ularthiyadu which translates to Beef roast or Beef dry fry. He made this when Uncle Soman, Aunty Anne, Anu and Rohit visited our home on a weekend a couple of months ago. It was definitely amazing as we pretty much wiped the dish clean :)

I was only the helper this time just to get the spices ground or for the dicing and the clean up after. This is all him and his mum :) My MIL makes the best beef and cutlets by the way. Of course I love my mom's but they both are aces in their own way.

What you need:

• 1 kg Beef, diced into cubes (washed and cleaned in 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder and 2 tbsp vinegar)
• 1 coconut, sliced finely into squares
• 2 onions, finely diced or 1 cup of red onions, chopped (red onions are preferred)
• 1 sprig of curry leaves (washed in vinegar and turmeric and air dried)
• Ginger-garlic (10 cloves of garlic and 2 tbsp of ginger - chopped finely)
• 2 tbsps Coriander powder
• 2 tbsp Chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Garam Masala
• 1-2 tsps of Pepper powder
• 11/2 tbsp of cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp+ drinking water

The Make

Cooking Time: 1 hour | Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Serves 6-7

1. Drain the cleaned beef in a colander until all the water is completely drained.

2 . Meanwhile, fry the coconut in 1/2 tbsp of the oil till golden brown and add a pinch of turmeric. Set aside.

3. Add 1/2 tbsp of the oil to a wok and splutter the mustard seeds.

4. Add 1 of the diced onions and saute till golden brown. Then add the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute or until the garlic is slightly brown.

5. Make a paste with some water of some of the dry spices (11/2 tbsp of coriander powder, 11/2 tbsp of chili powder, 3/4 tbsp of Garam Masala and  1/2  tbsp of salt).

6. Add the masala paste to the wok and saute until the masala is cooked or leaves the sides of the wok.

7. Cook the raw beef with the prepared coconut, cooked masala and curry leaves in the pressure cooker for at least 45 minutes (5-6 whistles).

Tip: Make sure you have added enough water to cover half the beef content. It does not have to cover the entire beef content as this a dry fry.

8. In the wok, heat the remaining oil and saute the remaining diced onions till golden brown.

9. Next add in the remaining coriander powder, chili powder, garam masala and the pepper powder and cook the masala.

10. Lower heat to low and add in the cooked beef and fry till the residual water gets absorbed.

Serve hot with a flatbread of your choice - Paratha, chappatis or rotis, appam or rice.

Tip: You can subsitute with chicken or soya chunks. Soya chunks actually work really well with this recipe!

Bon Appetit!

Uncle John's Chana Masala Special (Spiced Chick Peas)

I do not know if you remember when I started this blog, I mentioned the name of my blog arrives from the fact that my cooking experience was derived first from Mum's Kitchen and then to several kitchens thereafter. Hence the name Kitchenette. Uncle John and Aunty Felcy's kitchen was one of the kitchens where I learnt some delicious Mangalorean recipes. Uncle John prepares the best chana masala I have ever had!

Recently, when I spoke to Uncle's son, he mentioned how ever many times, he tries to get his Dad's recipe for Chana Masala, it never turns out as delicious as he makes it. Well to cut a long story short, I called uncle and asked him for his recipe and made sure I took notes to the T!

I can safely say that this attempt definitely takes me back to the good ol' days, when I stayed at uncle and aunty's loving home as I definitely got the flavour right minus the love and care that uncle especially puts in it. Lemon juice is an optional ingredient (as I am not sure if his son liked it in the dish). I remember uncle had added it in when I visited his home about a year ago with my little one Izzy and hubby Anup.

So here goes, its a super simple recipe and one you must try whether you are a vegetarian or not. Trust me, you will argue with your better half for the last spoon of this dish or will divide it equally not just give it away. Miss you Uncle and Aunty. Thank you for taking care of me ..you definitely made it hard to miss my parents a lot when I was away from them those years.

To make this super delicious and simple recipe,

You need:

• 250 gms of kabuli chana/Chickpeas, soaked overnight in 2-3 cups of water
• 1 tbsp of MTR Chana Masala powder(if you do not have this you can use 1/2 tbsp of chili powder and 1/2 tbsp of Garam masala, although it will not be perfectly the same, it will serve the purpose)
• 2 cups of water
• 2 tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
• 1 green chili, slit lengthwise (optional)
• 1 bunch of coriander leaves, finely diced
• 1 tbsp of coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (skin-on)
• Juice of 1 lemon (optional)
• Salt to taste

The make:

Preparation Time: 8 hrs(overnight)|Cooking Time: 30 minutes| Serves 4 adults

1. Strain the water from the puffed up chana and pressure cook the chana with salt and about 2 cups of water.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a clay pot and splutter the mustard seeds.
3. Lower the flame and add the garlic cloves until softened or lightly brown.
4. Add the green chili and onion and saute till golden-brown. 
5. Next add the ginger-garlic paste and stir for about a minute.
6. Next add the tomatoes. Cover to cook for about 3-4 minutes.
7. Add the MTR Masala and stir well. Allow to cook for 2 minutes.
8. Next add the chana with the water and saute well. Cover and allow the spices to blend into the chana for 10 minutes. Add the (optional) lemon juice if preferred.
9. Top with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or flatbreads such as paratha, puris or roti of your choice. Bon Appetit..

Tip: Once served, leave the cover off the claypot and let it cool. Once cooled to room temperature, cover and let it stand overnight. This improves the flavour. The chana masala taste better the next day as the chana absorbs the masala.

Manakish (Levantine Flatbread) or Pies with Za'atar

Manakish (pron.) Manaeesh is a flatbread such as pita bread made with yeast. It can be had as a wrap topped with variations such as Za'atar, Minced lamb, Cheese(such as Akawieh-a white brine cheese or Kashkawan), Chili or Spinach. I used to have a lot of the Cheese Manakish when I was carrying my little one Izzy.

Za'atar Manakish

There are various ways to make this dough but in essence it does not vary much from the Pita bread.

To make the Manakish dough or Pie dough,

You need:

Active dry yeast with sugar

• 2 tbsp of dry active yeast or 1 packet of dry yeast
• 21/2 cups of fine flour or unbleached all purpose flour or whole wheat flour *In India we do not easily get the all-purpose flour
• Additional 1/2 cup of flour for the kneading process
• 1-2 cups of lukewarm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• Chopped olives (optional)

* My mum adds eggs, but I will use that when I make my Pizza dough just as she does!

The make:

Cooking Time: 20 minutes| Preparation Time: 1 hr, 10 minutes|Makes 6 Manakish, 4 medium pies

The dough: 

Note: This dough can be used to make the Manakish wrap, pies and even Pita bread (just remember it takes 2 hrs more for the Pita bread to rest)

•  Whisk together the yeast, 1/4 cup of lukewarm water, sugar and 1 tbsp of the flour and let it rest for 10 minutes. It should have a foamy creamy texture however if it does not then your yeast has gone bad, so restart with new yeast. 
• Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to it the mix.
• Next take a bowl with the flour and salt and mix well. 
• Pour the yeast mix into a large bowl and slow keep adding the flour mix one cup at a time and knead well. You will find the mixture to be a bit stickier than the normal Italian pizza dough but that is fine.



On the oiled bowl

• Coat a clean bowl with a dab of olive oil and move the dough to the bowl, cover with a plastic wrap/cling film and allow it to rest and rise for about an hour and a half.

Dough ready to be wrapped

Za'atar topping:

Since I recently made the Za'atar spice blend, I decided to use the same.

• Take 4 tbsp of Za'atar in a bowl with 2-3 tbsp of EVOO and  mix well.
• Set aside

Manakish:

On dusted work top

• Dust some flour lightly on a wooden base or your clean worktop. Next take the dough onto the dusted base and knead it well, it may still be slightly sticky as you are kneading (dust flour as require but do not overdo). Divide the dough mix as required and roll out into your preferred size. Roll out the Manakish into a perfect or almost perfect round. I used my Chapati board(Indian Flatbread board and used its size as a natural measure).

Dusted worktop

Note: If you are making Pies, you need the dough rolled out to be thicker and smaller probably enough to cover the center of the board only, you can make it as small as you need for the pie as mini pies as well, just make sure it is thick. In fact you would not need to roll it using a rolling pin, just make it  into a small ball, hand mould it to the size you require and use the palm of your hand to flatten.

Rolling out the dough

Kneading one more time

Top with Za'atar mix

• Top with the Za'atar mix and place it in your oven on its base or a tray. Use the lower rack in case you have different levels. I placed mine on the base directly and kept the flame at medium. It literally takes not more than 2 minutes to cook. In case your oven does light on top, then pop it into the microwave for a minute on grill/bake. The settings on each oven is different so try it for one Manakish and see how it works for you.

In the oven

• Top with chopped olives if you like.
• After the manakish is cooked, you can fold it into a wrap (you can use parchment paper to cover and pack it as an evening snack for your loved one) . 

Just out of the oven

Side profile

Close up

Traditionally the oven is brick based and the bread is placed close to the fire. It literally takes one minute.

Normally the ones with lamb mince as a topping is usually made with diced tomatoes and vegetable oil and served with pickles or ground pepper and labneh or yoghurt. It is normally quite heavy and can be had as a  lunch or dinner meal.

Za'atar Manakish served up

I also tried the Za'atar topping on a Mediterranean bread I bought from Q-Mart. It had sundried tomatoes, herb onion, Pizza Sauce and the usual wheat flour, sugar, salt, etc.

Za'atar on Mediterranean bread

Hope you enjoy this as a snack, breakfast or meal! If using the mince meat (Lahem) option or for vegetarians egg plant or zucchini as toppings, it could be had as a meal on its own or with some Hummus and Fattoush on the side. Incidently the Mince Meat Manakish is called Lahem Bajeen in Arabic which is ground fillet mignon on flatbread. The Lebanese version is quite savoury where the meat is cooked with tomatoes and shallots. Try with with the variants of toppings. Bon Appetit...