Planning the Christmas dinner seems to take me a couple of days. I pull out cookbooks, Christmas cooking magazines and recipes from before, all in the determination of cooking something different than TURKEY (I simply do not like cooking or eating turkey). The other deciding factor is that I don’t want to spend long hours cooking either, taking time from my Christmas reading. To this day my children tease me about the fact they had a deprived holiday season—no turkey. Couldn’t have been that bad because none of them cook turkey for the holiday season either!
Last week when were out in Calgary visiting family I came across an advertisement about an evening with meet the author of a new cookbook that the author had just published (plus appetizers from the cookbook). The author is Noorbanu Nimji, who is only 81-years-old, with her fourth cookbook, ‘A Spicy Touch, Family Favourites.’ It was a great evening and the food was awesome. So here I am with my latest escape from turkey for Christmas dinner- my version of a recipe from the new cookbook.
Butter Chicken
One part of the recipe that takes time, but oh it makes a huge difference in flavour, is making your own garlic and ginger paste. You can make them ahead and leave in the fridge for 10 days or freeze up to a year (recipes below). In the original recipe you can make the garam masala but I cheated and bought the spice. It also calls for saffron and if you can’t get either the garam masala or the saffron, it won’t make a huge difference in the final flavour of the dish.
Make extra because it tastes better the next day. The recipe makes enough for 4 servings.
1 1/2 lb chicken breast, boneless and skinless
FOR THE MARINADE:
3 Tbsp yogurt
1 1/2 tsp garlic paste
1 1/2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground chili
1/4 tsp garam masala
Pinch saffron
3/4 tsp salt
Pinch of hot pepper flakes
FOR THE SAUCE:
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 of a red bell pepper in pieces
1/2 of a green bell pepper in pieces
3/4 cup water, divided 1/4 cup then remainder as needed
1/4 cup butter
1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.
2. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large glass bowl and stir in the chicken pieces. Cover and marinate 3 to 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Place the onion, red and green bell peppers and ¼ cup of water in a blender and process until smooth. Set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a large saucepan on medium heat.
5. Stir in the pureed onion/pepper mixture and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Stir in the marinated chicken and any remaining marinade and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Stir in the tomato sauce and continue cooking until the chicken is tender about 10 minutes.
8. Stir in the whipping cream slowly. There should be enough gravy to just cover the chicken. Add more water or cream as required.
9. Simmer until heated through. Don’t let it boil as it might make the cream separate.
10. Serve with rice.
Ginger Paste
Makes 2 cups
1 lb peeled fresh ginger root
1/2 cup lemon juice or vinegar or water
1. Peel the ginger root and slice thinly
2. Place the ginger in a food processor or blender with the liquid and process to a fine paste.
3. Add more liquid if needed.
Rice
When I make rice, it’s by taste and texture, and I simply do as follows: sautee one chopped onion with 2 cloves of garlic (also chopped) in some coconut oil for five minutes. Add 2 cups rice and enough water just to cover the rice. Simmer until at least half of the water has been absorbed by the rice. Add one can of coconut milk (400 ml) and salt to taste. Simmer until half of the liquid is gone again. Add 3/4 cup of raisins and more salt if needed for taste. Let it simmer until the liquid is almost all gone and the rice is tender. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. The rice should have a creamy, slightly chewy texture.
