Chicken Cafreal

I first visited the sunshine state of Goa, on India’s west coast one summer with my parents. I think I must have been 13 or 14 and on the surface, Goa seemed no different from Bombay.

As the days passed, I began soaking the place the in. It is such a chilled out life: the slow pace of life, the affability of the people, the abundance of baked goods!  Maybe it was because I was on holiday, but since then, I have always had this image of Goa as a place where India goes to vacation.

The abundance of beaches, the remnants of Portuguese colonization, and the amazing cuisine all add to the charm of Goa. Its proximity to Mumbai also means that it is ideal for a quick getaway.

Goan cuisine is a assortment of Portuguese and Indian flavors. Indian spices unite with Portuguese techniques to create food that is hearty, and does justice to the coastal location of the state with an abundance of coconuts and seafood. I come from Ratnagiri which is quite close to Goa and so there are many similarities between the two cuisine. Konkanis also use a lot of coconut and love seafood.

One of my favorite Goan dishes is Chicken Cafreal (or Galinha Cafreal). Chicken is marinated in a green spice paste for up to 48 hours and then pan-fried. The result is falling-off-the-bone tender, succulent chicken that is packed full of beautiful flavors of chilli, ginger, garlic, cilantro, lime and other spices. I usually make it with boneless chicken now. Serves as a good party appetizer.

CHICKEN CAFREAL

Duration 50 Mins

Preparation 20 Mins

Cooking 30 Mins

Yields Serves 5 - 6

Ingredients:

1 kg Chicken (Drumsticks/ Legs/ Whole chicken cut into large pieces) OR If using boneless chicken then ¾ kg of boneless chicken, diced into tikka sized pieces
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons Cooking Oil

For the Cafreal Masala (marinade):

7 – 8 Green Chillis (the hot Indian ones, reduce if you like less heat)
A small bunch Cilantro
2 inch piece of Ginger
10-12 Cloves of Garlic
8 Peppercorns
1 Big Piece Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
A Small ball of Tamarind (substitute with Juice of 1/2 lime, if you can’t find this)
4 – 6 Cloves

Directions:

Clean the chicken and make a few shallow slits in the chicken pieces. Rub the chicken with the salt and lime juice and keep aside.

Grind the ingredients for the Cafreal Masala to a fine paste (use a blender or food processor).

Apply the masala all over the chicken pieces, so they are well coated.

Refrigerate the marinated chicken and keep overnight or at least for 4-5 hours.

When ready to cook, heat the oil in a saucepan and add the chicken pieces and cook on a high flame for about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the chicken. Then add any marinade that is leftover.

As the chicken begins to cook, add the butter and cook on a medium flame turning over the chicken once in a while.

The dish is ready when the chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear.

Serve with wedges of lime, a light salad and some pav or crusty bread.

Buttermilk Roasted Chicken

This chicken is very moist, tender, and super appetizing!  It’s an improved way to make chicken drumsticks taste scrumptious – they are marinated for 24 hours before roasting. This ensures the chicken tenderizes and gets infused with luscious flavours!

I simply love this recipe because it’s so easy and quick to make it. It takes only 10 minutes of preparation: making the marinade and pouring it over the chicken and 24 hours still time - your chicken sits in a freezer bag with buttermilk sauce marinade over it in the fridge. Finally, bake your chicken at 200 C the next day!

Buttermilk Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoon olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/6 bunch of fresh parsley, minced

  1/2 teaspoon regular salt

  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  6 chicken drumsticks

  fresh parsley, chopped

Method:

Combine buttermilk, olive oil, minced garlic, minced fresh parsley, salt and black pepper in a small bowl and whisk really well. Place chicken drumsticks in one-gallon freezer bag, pour the buttermilk marinade over the chicken and distribute evenly over all chicken drumsticks. Squeeze as much air out of the freezer bag as possible and close the bag. Refrigerate the marinated chicken in a freezer bag for 24 hours.

After your chicken has been marinated for 24 hours, preheat oven to 400 F. Use a medium size casserole dish - I used 2.5 quart oval casserole dish (13 inches by 9 inches). Place chicken in the casserole dish - and pour all of the marinade on top and around the chicken. Roast for about 30-45 minutes (depends on your oven), until chicken juices run clear, the chicken drumsticks are browned and scorched in spots. If needed, broil for about 5-10 more minutes to get more color. Serve immediately, use the sauce from the pan.

Fluffy Yeast Raised Belgian Waffles

These Fluffy Belgian Waffles are beautifully chunky and feathery. Golden, mouth watering, these are perfect for any weekend breakfast or brunch.

Just a few weeks ago, strawberries were aplenty and all the fruit markets were bursting with them. I went berry crazy. But i always go berry crazy. I love berries especially strawberries. Luckily for me, we get berries all through the year

Strawberries are my desired thing to toss over just about anything. From icecream to pancakes to these fluffy Belgian waffles.

Let’s just savor a moment of silence over these fluffy Belgian waffles.

Golden, slightly crispy edges, fluffy on the inside, and melt-in-your-mouth.

Simply divine fresh off the waffle iron. It’s flawlessness with a layer of freshly sliced strawberries on top and a sprinkle of powdered sugar along with cinnamon. Or pure maple syrup, if that’s what you love.

These Fluffy Belgian Waffles are made with slightly sugared batter, so they’re tempting just as they are. Just serve them up with some berries and you’re good to go.

Fluffy Yeast Raised Belgian Waffles

Ingredients:

350 ml warm milk

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

300 gm all purpose flour

2 small free range eggs, separated

60 gms castor sugar

85 ml of melted butter

1 tsp of vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

Method:

Take around 30 ml of milk and add yeast to it. Stir it and let it sit for 5 minutes till it looks frothy.

Take egg whites and start beating till the form stiff peaks. Keep that aside for a while.

To the yolks add sugar and melted butter and add around 20 – 30 ml of milk which is kept aside. Beat these till it comes together. Once it’s well mixed, add the yeast mixture and vanilla and a pinch of salt. Mix it again till well combined.

Now add the flour and milk alternately, little flour and milk then mix... Repeat the process till  all the batter comes together.

Now add the egg whites to the batter and gently fold it in. Do not mix it or it will knock out all the air from the mixture. It may take some time but it will all come together and will give you fluffy light waffles.

Once this is done, cover the mixture with a cling film and leave it to rise for an hour (or till the batter doubles in size) in a warm place.

I use a Kenwood waffle maker, you might have a different one. So it’s always better to check the manufacturer’s instructions. Also it’s very important to make sure that its completely hot before you start making the waffles.

I use a half cup measure to put the batter in. In my waffle maker it’s the right amount because it’s not too little to give me a under cooked top or too much that the batter explodes all out.

Pop the mixture right in the middle of the waffle pan and let it cook till golden brown on both sides, this usually takes about 3 minutes.

Remove the waffles once done using a wooden spatula. Take care not to use anything scrapy.

Put them on a plate and serve it with the toppings you like. We loves ours with fresh cream, maple syrup and berries. 

Tips:

You can even make this batter the night before and leave it to slow rise in the refridgerator. Remove it in the morning and hour prior to making them.

Tofu and Vegetables Thai Curry

Why hello, my love.

And when I say my love, I most definitely do mean this creamy, savory-sweet, Thai Green Curry that is rice’s best friend and its my idea of food heaven. 

I am usually not a savory morning person, okay? I want my toast and peanut butter or french toasts and I want it bad.

But this curry is honestly so good and so perfectly savory with just a teensy bit of sweet that this morning, when I was packing my hubby's lunch, I found myself scraping out the extra curry-coated rice from the bottom of the pan and spooning it all straight into my Mouth. And as I enjoyed a few bites of that cold, creamy thai curry, I had this thought: why am I not eating this curry for breakfast every single day? It’s so comforting, spicy-sweet-savory, soul-hugging, and it just generally puts me in a good mood about life.

Curry therapy. Curry morning therapy.

Obviously, to start, we'll make green curry paste at home. I know this will take sometime. But it will be ready when you want to make the curry next time and then the time after that. Yayyiiieeee!!

So if you make your own paste and have it on hand in advance, this Thai Green Chicken Curry recipe *almost* reaches the level of Five-Ingredient Easy, which, in and of itself, is worth the effort.

This is the best food gift you could give yourself. Make. You’ll love it. Please try it.

Tofu and Vegetables Thai Curry With Homemade Curry Paste

Duration 50 Mins

Preparation 20 Mins

Cooking 30 Mins

Yields Serves 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup silken tofu

1 cup baby aspargus, cut in two pieces

1 x 400ml tin light coconut milk

1 organic chicken stock cube or 1 glass of homemade chicken stock

6 kaffir lime leaves

1/2 tsp palm sugar or regular sugar (if needed)

½ a bunch fresh Thai basil

1 lime

2 tbsp green curry paste

1 tbsp groundnut oil

For the Curry Paste (Make Ahead Paste - 8 - 10 servings):

1 small bunch of coriander

1/2 tbsp cumin

1 1/2 tbsp galangal

1/4 cup garlic

1 Kaffir Lime

2 stalks of lemongrass

1/2 tsp peppercorns

1/2 cup sliced shallots

1 tsp shrimp paste or 2 tbsp fish sauce

10-15 Green Thai Chili Peppers

Method

For Curry Paste:

To make the curry paste, peel, roughly chop and place the garlic, shallots and ginger into a food processor. Trim the lemongrass, remove the tough outer leaves, then finely chop and add to the processor. Trim and add the chillies along with the cumin and coriander with stalks. Peel the zest of Kaffir lime and add it to the processor. Blitz until finely chopped, add the fish sauce and Kaffir lime juice and blitz again. Store in the freezer.

For Tofu and Vegetables Thai Curry:

Drain the tofu on a kitchen towel and cut it into cubes of the size you prefer and place into a large pan on a medium heat with 1 tsp of oil. Fry for 1 -2  minutes, or until just turning golden, then transfer to a plate. 
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add remaining oil. Add premade or store bought Thai green paste for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the coconut milk and 400ml of boiling stock or water, if adding water then crumble in the stock cube. Turn the heat up and bring gently to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until reduced slightly.
Stir in the Tofu and asparagus and tear in the kaffir lime leaves and reduce the heat to low and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Season carefully to taste with sea salt, sugar (only if necessary) and freshly ground black pepper. Pick, roughly chop and stir through the basil leaves and remaining coriander leaves. Serve with lime wedges and steamed jasmine rice.

Easy Peasy Mushroom And Parsley Stronganoff

Chicken Stroganoff was one of the first recipes I remember making not so long ago. It was super easy and it was 5 ingredients instead of 14… which consisted of; chicken strips, spaghetti, cream of mushroom soup and sour cream or cream cheese.

I still kept this recipe simple, I only jazzed it up to make it more "healthy" and uh, duh delicious… unfortunately it’s still not a gorgeous dish, but its mighty delicious.

This super-quick and easy mushroom and parsley stroganoff makes for a great, healthy weekday meal, ready in 15 minutes and is under 300 Kcals. Woohoo!! :)

Easy Peasy Mushroom And Parsley Stronganoff

Duration 15 Mins

Preparation 0 Mins

Cooking 15 Mins

Yields 2 servings

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

150 gms button mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp greek yoghurt

2 tbsp half fat fresh cream

small bunch of parsley, chopped

Spaghetti or cooked rice to serve with

Method

Fry the onion in a spray of oil for about 5 minutes, until soft. 

Add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes, with another spray of oil, until the mushrooms are golden and the liquid has been released from them and cooked off. 

Add the fresh cream and yoghurt, a splash of water (or stock) and parsley, simmer for 1 minute, season and serve with cooked grains.  

Lamb Kofta A La Sauce Tomate

We recently moved to Middle East, but our love for tikkas and koftas has been forever. Even back in India, we really enjoy charcoal grilled tikkas and kebabs.

I remember the smell of tandoor back in India. We love everything that is grilled. Its that smokey flavor that we are so much in love with.

My husband's idea of homey comfort food is probably split right down the middle between the two cultures' dishes. In either cuisine, lamb or slow simmered mutton are the meats of choice. I have started loving it, too.

These Koftas or Keftas as they are called here are basically oblong meatballs which are usually grilled and flavoured with bellpeppers, sumac, onions, garlic, lots of parsley. Since we are Indians we love spices in all our dishes. So I added red chillies as well. :) If you don't have a barbecue at home, you can just grill it in the oven. A quick tomato sauce (middle eastern version of salsa) is poured over the koftas. It is then whisked along with the juices that have accumulated and is briefly roasted in the oven at high heat for stewing.

I have sprinkled some toasted pine nuts and pomegranate arils (anar danas as called in India). These are optional, but look very pretty. I get mine from the Indian grocery store.

Its perfect for sopping up with flatbread like naan, Barbari, Saj or simple Pita as pictured here. Delish!!


Lamb Kofta A La Sauce Tomate

Duration 50 Mins

Preparation 25 Mins

Cooking 25 Mins

Yields 6 Servings

Ingredients

900 gm ground lamb
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 medium yellow onion, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp full sumac
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chilly flakes
1 green chilly, minced (optional)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder,
1/2 tsp pepper powder
Kosher Salt to taste
1 small bunch of parsley, chopped finely.

Tomato Sauce
2 tomatoes, minced
1 small yellow onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp harissa
1 tsp tomato puree
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp Parsley, chopped finely


Method

In a large bowl add the ground lamb. Then add the minced bell pepper and onion.

Add all the spices and most of the parsley and put it in the fridge overnight.

Preheat oven to 400ºF/ 200ºC. Scoop by 1/2-cupfuls and shape into long sausage shapes.  Arrange in a 9x13" baking dish and bake for 20 minutes, until browned.  Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce.

For the tomato sauce, heat the oil and add the onion and garlic to it. let it turn translucent and then add rest of the ingredients. Simmer till the tomatoes become pulpy and the mixture thickens a little.

  

Flip over the kofta, and pour the sauce over top, whisking it into the accumulated juices. Continue baking another 5 minutes, until tops of kofta are browned and sauce is slightly thickened. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with flatbread.  

Asparagus Labneh Tart

I’m almost always running late, which I hate. This is something I am constantly working on. Some days/weeks are great but some days/weeks, it’s bad.

Also, I am quite messy. I have mess lying around everywhere.The other day, I was done. I was sick of having crap everywhere so I cleaned the house, cleaned out my purse. And then, I made this beautiful tart.

This super easy and utterly delicious Asparagus and Labneh Tart.

Maybe it was the magical, beautiful asparagus that inspired me. That was calling my name. Maybe it’s because it’s spring and the weather is starting to warm up again and I have no time for messy and unorganized.

I want to be my best self this summer.

And this tart kinda gave me hope that I can do it. And you can too.

Totally inspired by Martha Stewart's recipe..  but I added this chilli and garlic infused olive oil for an extra kick and I also Labneh which we had recently got from the Global Village in Dubai. This is a special Labneh infused with pomegranate. Its a recipe from Palestine. But if you don't have Labneh use any cheese you like.

So you see guys. I made the recipe healthy too! Yay!! 

I hope you give this one a try!

Asparagus Labneh Tarts

Duration 40 Mins

Preparation 15 Mins

Cooking 25 Mins

Yields 6 Tarts

Ingredients

1 sheet (14 oz) ready-rolled frozen puff pastry, partially thawed

450 gm baby asparagus

1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas

3 tbsp chilli and garlic infused olive oil (I make mine at home)

3/4 cup labneh/ ricotta

Some salad to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Cut the pastry into 4" squares and place on the prepared baking tray. Prick each square with a fork 

Place pastry on prepared tray. Using a small knife, make a 1/2 cm border around edge of pastry (be careful not to cut right through).

 Drizzle the Chilli and Garlic infused Olive oil on the top. Arrange asparagus, in a single layer, over pastry. Add some peas to it. 

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or till the pastry turns golden brown. Let it cool on a rack for 5 mins. Take a teaspoon and add some blobs of labneh/ricotta on the tart. Serve with salad.