Jamie Oliver's Roast Chicken in Milk with Orange Zest

You know how it is sometimes - you see that much recommended recipe, it's hailed by everyone who's ever tried it, it looks simple, the photos look smashing, the ingredients are easily procured, all seems perfect and there's no reason not to just plunge in and do it. And you do.

With me the problem is I don't. I prevaricate, I hesitate, I make excuses, I avoid it for reasons even I don't understand. All this is mainly because deep inside somewhere I just don't believe. Now I can't really decide if it's the recipe I lack confidence in or in me and my abilities in the kitchen. It's silly after all these years of turning out a pretty successful string of meals, some quite ordinary and everyday, some special, and some actually spectacular. And yet there is that kernel of doubt that stays stubbornly lodged right there and I give in, and procrastinate again.

This time it was Jamie Oliver's recipe for Chicken in Milk. A recipe so simple even someone not very experienced in the kitchen can execute it with success. But I hesitated. It has milk. The milk WILL curdle. There's only sage to flavour it. Oh and a stick of cinnamon. How can it possibly be good? As you can see, the excuses piled up as usual.

I think it is my love for roast chicken that finally made me take this particular plunge. Roasting chicken has to be one of the easiest ways to put together a fabulous meal with minimal effort. And this recipe was even easier than my usual minimalist recipes that involve seasoning the bird, stuffing butter under the skin, stuffing the cavity with garlic and fresh herbs, putting the bird on a bed of chopped veggies and potatoes, and letting the magic happen in the oven thereafter. There were no veggies to chop. No need to peel the garlic even. This was hard to resist!

So here's chicken in milk with some adjustments as usual.

Roast Chicken in Milk with Orange Zest

1 whole chicken with the skin
a handful of fresh sage leaves
a handful of garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 tsp orange zest
1 cup milk
1 stick cinnamon
salt
pepper
olive oil or butter

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and fresh ground pepper.
In a pan heat the olive oil or butter. Sear the chicken nicely till it's a lovely dark gold all over. Do this a little patiently.
Now transfer the chicken to a deep baking dish. Pour in the milk. Scatter the sage leaves, drop in the cinnamon stick, and then sprinkle the orange zest all over the chicken and around it.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in a hot 180C oven for around 40 minutes.
Remove the foil carefully. There will be some steam inside so be really careful. Steam burns hurt like hell and are deep burns. Cut the foil open if you prefer to let the steam escape first.
Cook the chicken for another 30 minutes in the oven. Reduce the heat to 150C. Slide in a sharp knife near the thigh joint to see if the bird is cooked through. If the juices run clear it's done.

We had this with toasted sliced bread. We needed nothing else!

Jamie's original recipe asks for lemon zest. I realised I didn't have any lemons at home but we did have oranges so I used the zest of one full orange. I also used cinnamon and not cassia bark. I don't think they are interchangeable and I wouldn't substitute one for the other.

Judging from the hubby's response to this version of roast chicken I can safely say this one's going to feature on my dinner menu quite often!

Marathon Bloggers

Prawns in Butter, with Garlic and Fresh Parsley

I was planning my menu for a girly lunch at home. Summer is here in full force and I wanted to make something relatively light on spices but full of flavour. I also wanted to cook a lot as this lunch was a special one. One of my closest buddies is moving away to another city and this was a sort of farewell do too.

The thing is, I'm not good with planning menus. I start with a sort of clear idea of what I want to try but I get easily distracted and it is quite rare that I actually cook what I planned to. My menu had a salad, a starter that would involve prawns, a roast chicken, and dessert. I also thought I'd make bread.

Typically, I got distracted while looking at recipes and cooking videos, discussing ideas with online friends, working, and dealing with mundane daily things and I suddenly realised it was the eve of the proposed lunch and I hadn't even done the shopping. It was already quite late in the evening, in fact, it was night.

Funnily, just around the time I realised this a friend posted his planned menu for a meal he was cooking the next day - the menu, the shopping, the techniques involved in the cooking, all neatly written down, and that too in perfectly legible handwriting... I stared in shock. As the admiration flowed in from other members in the group I had a few moments of absolute horror and then a feeling of complete inadequacy. How did I ever get this disorganised?!

Ha ha, after the initial shock I acknowledged that I am disorganised and have always been so. Who am I kidding here? I don't like rules, I don't like rigidity, and revolting is a knee jerk response - even to a menu. I know. I need to grow up. But anyhoo, lunch was a super hit and of all the things I cooked today what won my heart is this simple prawn starter.

Prawns Poached in Butter, with Garlic and Fresh Parsley

20 large prawns, shelled and deveined.
15 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
30 gms butter
a hefty slosh of olive oil
1 tsp parsley, chopped fine
salt
pepper

Marinate the cleaned and washed prawns in a little salt. Let it sit for around 10 minutes.

In a wok or small pan heat the butter and olive oil. Once the butter has completely melted add the garlic. Keep the heat at medium so the garlic sort of boils in the fats.

Add the prawns after a minute or so. Stir well to mix. Lower the heat and then cover the prawns and let them cook in their steam for around 3 minutes.

Stir again and ramp up the heat. Crack fresh pepper over the prawns and let all the moisture evaporate.

Sprinkle the chopped parsley and mix it in. Remove to a bowl and serve immediately. Don't forget to add the butter and scrapings from the pan.

This is a very simple recipe and there lies the rub. Prawns are easy to over cook and thereby destroy. Keep an eye on the prawns as you cook them. You might need to adjust cooking time depending on their size. Don't leave them unattended, even when they are cooking under cover. Peek in once and check.

We had the prawns along with a simple focaccia topped with sun dried tomatoes and rosemary. Mopping up the juices and the butter with chunks of garlic...ah, that was just divine!

Marathon Bloggers

Basil, Garlic and Sundried Tomato Bread

I tried out a recipe from a bread recipe book I've had for ages. I just wasn't aware that the author was a much respected one among bread recipe writers. Bread making is a seductive activity and it can turn into an all consuming passion if you're not careful. I'm in the throes of it right now... every new recipe looks inviting yet challenging and scary too. The thrill of a successful bread conquers all those fears ultimately. But not always.

I know I will try out the recipe from Paul Hollywood's book again soon but before that I had to bake bread for an outing with friends. I'll tell you more about where we're going after the event but today I'm going to tell you about the bread I made for my friends. Once again, I turned to Saee and her blog MyJhola. I looked through her list of easy breads and settled on this one - Olive, Basil, Sundried Tomato and Garlic Bread. And it has turned out perfectly as you can see!

As always, I have followed her recipe as closely as I could. I didn't use olives as I didn't have any. I also used fresh yeast instead of dried. I have doubled the recipe to make two loaves.

Basil, Garlic and Sundried Tomato Loaf 

450 gms plain flour
4 tsp fresh yeast
1 cup warmed water
2 tsp sugar
good quality Olive Oil
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sundried tomatoes with the oil
1 generous tbsp fresh basil leaves chopped
1 pod garlic, peeled and chopped fine

In a glass bowl put the yeast and the sugar together and pour the warmed water on top. Give it a gentle stir and leave it to froth. Once the yeast has frothed and you can see bubbles it's ready to be used.

Pour the measured flour into a large mixing bowl and pour in the yeast water. Mix briskly and bring together to form a dough. Turn it out on a lightly floured work surface and start kneading the dough. On one side of the work area take place the salt and pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil. mix quickly and then incorporate into the dough. Add another tablespoon or so of olive oil later as you knead. Pull and stretch the dough and fold it back on itself as you knead it. Ultimately it will be smooth and soft. Shape into a ball and leave covered to rise till double. This should take around 20 minutes.

In the mean while you can prep the flavourings - wash and chop the basil leaves, mince the garlic and chop the sundried tomatoes if the pieces are too large.

Once the dough has doubled punch it down, add your flavourings and incorporate them into the dough. Divide into two. Shape into free form flattish circular loaves and leave them to rise till doubled again.

Bake in a 200C oven for 30 minutes. Brush generously with olive oil as soon as they're out. I baked my loaves on after the other. You can leave the waiting loaf without refrigeration if you're going to bake it immediately like I did.

This bread has a soft Bombay Pav like crust and is delicious as it is or warmed slightly and then slathered with butter.

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

Railway Mutton Curry

The name itself evokes memories and fanciful pictures of uniformed waiters serving lunch on rattling railway carriages while the well dressed traveller shook out his starched napkin and picked up his fork and knife, ready to dig in!

I saw this recipe on a food group on Facebook. The recipe has been adapted already and I have tweaked it further. So I do not claim that is what Railway Mutton Curry is. I've never had it so I don't have anything to compare it with either. What drew me to the recipe is not the original method but something that was added along the way. The version I read had whole pods of garlic added to it.

Now, I love garlic. I simply love it and am never caught without it. My pantry always has fresh garlic pods, peeled garlic waits for me in my fridge alongside the garlic paste, and I also stock fried garlic - sliced, and finely chopped. There was no way I was going to ignore this recipe!

Incredibly simple to make, you need about 10 minutes at your stove and then you just let it cook on it's own. Apart from marinating time of course.

So here goes -

Railway Mutton Curry (inspired by Mr. Jayanta Das)

500gms mutton pieces
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 potatoes quartered or 3 smaller ones kept whole
1 tsp Jeera
3 red dried chillies
3 green cardamoms
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
2-3 sprigs curry leaves
salt
ginger garlic paste
2 pods garlic
Mustard oil
vinegar or tamarind extract

Marinate the mutton in the garlic ginger paste and salt. 30 minutes to an hour is adequate though I left it overnight.

In a thick bottomed vessel heat mustard oil. The original recipe asks for ghee but I don't like ghee in my mutton gravies so I used mustard oil instead. Use whatever you prefer. Once the oil or ghee is hot enough chuck in the whole jeera, dried chillies and the cardamoms. Sauté a bit and let it all sizzle  Add the sliced onions and fry till the onions turn golden. Add the spice powders and curry leaves and mix well. Put in the whole garlic pods too.

Pop in the potatoes. let it all cook for a few minutes and then add in the marinated mutton. Fry the mutton stirring properly to let all the pieces brown a little. Add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar or diluted tamarind pulp if you have it. Stir for a minute or two and then add water. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for 30 to 40 minutes till the potatoes are cooked through and the mutton is soft and done.

Serve with plain steamed rice. And don't forget to squeeze out the gorgeousness that is that garlic!

Pork Sausage and Vegetable Stew

My mom brought these incredibly delicious pork sausages from Kalman's Meat Shop in Kolkata. My friend Kalyan had blogged about it many months ago and now this shop is like a cult destination for many pork lovers I know! Goodies from Kalman are now mandatory every time mom comes for a visit.

We had the sausages plain pan fried for breakfast a few mornings ago and the first thing I thought was that they would make an awesome stew.

Among the other goodies I had stashed away was a packet of spice mix for a Spanish Pork Casserole, brought by my friend Appu. Now was a good time to use it.

For the stew or casserole I used 6 of the plump sausages with assorted vegetables including broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes and onions.

Here are these delicious babies snuggled up on a dinner plate. Yes, that's how large they are!

In a large cooking pot I heated some oil and sautéed the vegetables. Cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces so they cook fast. I added about 8 cloves of garlic too. Once the vegetables began to brown a little I added the sausages. They tend to pop out of the casings once they get hot but the good thing is that they didn't disintegrate.

Over the sautéed vegetables and sausages I sprinkled the spice mix and added a generous amount of water. After giving the whole thing a good stir I covered the pot and let it cook. The sausages cook very quickly, I just needed to ensure that the vegetables were done too. A sprinkling of fresh ground pepper at the end was all I needed to add.

I would have liked to add a good splash of red wine but I didn't have any... at least not any that I could cook with!  The original recipe on the packet requires one to sprinkle the spice powder over raw pork, add a splash of oil and a cup of water, then put into the baking bag provided and subsequently baked for about 45 mins. I decided to simply make a stove top stew since I was using sausages and not pork chunks.

You can make this sort of a stew quite easily even without the convenience of the spice mix packet. Use tomato puree, a couple of finely chopped onions, salt, pepper, and a generous dash of mixed dried herbs. A good splash of red wine will be great. Dilute a bit of white flour in water and add it to thicken the gravy, if you like. Finish with butter or a dash of cream before serving.

Here's my Pork Sausage and Vegetable Stew done in about 30mins. And now that I have shared it with you all, I'm off to eat :)

Easy Pasta with Tuna and Vegetables

This is a dish that I made often in the hostel in Pune while we were doing MA and PhD... it is fairly simple and very flexible depending on what you have available in your pantry.

Any medium sized pasta- macaroni, fusili, etc
1 can Tuna in oil
2 or 3 eggs, boiled, peeled and chopped roughly
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
200 gms, mushrooms, washed and sliced
garlic, as required, chopped
capsicums,green or coloured, cut into small pieces
1 zucchini, chopped into small cubes
olive oil
1 or 2 flavour cubes, as required
dried oregano
cheese slices
salt
fresh cracked pepper

Cook the pasta till al dente and keep aside. Toss in a tsp of olive oil.
Flake the tuna in a saucer. Reserve the liquid.
In a pan or wok heat a tbsp of olive oil and fry the garlic and spring onions for a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms and the zucchini. Cook till the water from the mushrooms has dried up but not completely. Add the flavour cube(s) and salt and pepper as required. Add the chopped capsicums and toss on heat for a minute.

In a large bowl mix the warm cooked pasta with the mushroom mix. Toss in the chopped boiled eggs, flaked tuna and mix gently. Tear the cheese slices into largeish shreds and add to the pasta. Pour in some of the reserved tuna oil and toss with the dried oregano. Ensure that the pastas is still warm when you toss in the cheese...it melts a bit and is just great!!

You can chuck in some sliced black or green olives for an added zing.

Just leave out the tuna and the eggs to make it vegetarian....the pasta still tastes quite yummy.

This makes a nice light lunch especially in the summer.

This is more of a 'salad' type of a pasta preparation.

Garlic Mushrooms

My love affair with mushrooms started just as I began college. My cousin Bipasha and I shared a great love for mushrooms and we discovered many recipes using the button mushrooms that were available in the market.

This is a very easy way of doing mushrooms and it is somethig I often serve when I'm having guests over...

250 gms Button mushrooms, washed thoroughly
garlic, finely minced or sliced
1 cube Maggi seasoning
fresh black pepper
1 tbsp soya sauce
olive oil

Slice the mushrooms, not too thin. Make sure they have been washed really well and all the mud is off. In a pan heat some olive oil and toss in the sliced garlic. Fry for a minute and then add the mushrooms. Once they release water crumble in the flavour cube. Add a good grinding of fresh black pepper. Let it cook covered till the mushrooms are done. Remove lid and dry out the excess liquid. Splash in the soya sauce and coat the mushrooms well.

Remove onto a serving plate and serve.

Jewels to eat....

This is an incredibly simple but exceptionally yummy preparation of vegetables.

1 red capsicum (bell pepper)
1 yellow capsicum
3-4 spring onions
4 cloves garlic
1 large potato, cubed
salt
fresh cracked pepper
oil

Cut the capsicums into cubes and chop the spring onions using the greens and the bulb. Chop the garlic, not too fine.
Heat oil in a wok and first fry the cubed potatoes till nearly done. Add the spring onions and garlic and fry another couple of minutes. Toss in the capsicums and stir it all well. Add salt and plenty of fresh cracked pepper. Cover for a couple of minutes and let it cook. Leave the capsicums slightly crisp. That's it!! Serve hot with bread or rotis :)

The coloured capsicums look very pretty like glistening jewels :)

Gorgeous Garlicky Chicken wings...

This is one of the easiest but most scrumptious recipes for making a quick snack or starter...

Chicken wings, tips removed.
salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Garlic, chopped and fried
Olive oil.

Marinate the wings in salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a flat non-stick pan. Place the wings in hoy oil and lower the heat. Cover and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes, undisturbed. Turn wings over to cook on the other side. Sprinkle a liberal amount of the fried garlic and cover again. Once the wings are cooked through (test with a fork. When juices run absolutely clear, they're done) increase heat and let the wings crisp a bit.
Serve hot!! They're simply yummy..

I usually keep a jar of fried garlic in my pantry.





All you do is chop a mountain of garlic and deep fry it quickly without burning it. Let it cool completely and store in an air-tight jar.