Chicken satay with peanut sauce

Ingredients

for the peanut sauce

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 shallot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 red chilli, deseeded if you prefer
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp crushed ginger
• 4 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp dark sweet soy sauce
• 100 ml (3.5fl oz) coconut cream
• 50 ml (1.8fl oz) water

for the satay skewers

• 500 g (17.6oz) chicken thighs, skinned and deboned
• 3 shallots, peeled and coarsley chopped
• 2 garlic cloaves, peeled and coarsley chopped
• 3 cm knob of galangal (or root ginger) peeled and grated
• 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and white part finely chopped
• 1 cm knob of tumeric root peeled or 1tsp ground tumeric
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp palm sugar or dark brown sugar
• 1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 0.5 chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 4 tbsp peanut oil or groundnut oil for brushing 

 

For the satay skewers:

 Slice the chicken into thin strips and set to one side. Grind together the shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, turmeric and the remaining spices in a food processor or a pestle and mortar until you have a rough paste. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, sugar and pepper. Add the fish sauce and chilli and combine. Mix the paste with the peanut oil and add to the chicken, tossing to coat well. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight, to allow all the various flavours to develop. Soak 16 bamboo skewers (approximately 15cm long) in warm water (this will prevent them scorching) half an hour before you are ready to cook the chicken. When you are ready, thread the marinated chicken onto the skewers until they are three-quarters full, but be careful not to overcrowd each skewer.Brush the griddle pan with oil. Allow the griddle pan to get very hot and, when ready, gently lay the satay sticks onto it. Baste the chicken with oil occasionally during cooking. Grill the chicken until it has cooked through and has begun to pick up a few crispy brown-black spots, about 5–7 minutes, turning frequently. If you are cooking the satay sticks on the barbecue the time may vary depending on how hot the coals are.


For the peanut sauce:

Place a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the oil followed by the shallot, chilli, garlic and ginger. Sauté for 2–3 minutes until the shallots are softened and the oil begins to take on the red colour of the chilli. Add in the peanut butter and stir, breaking it down. It should start to melt. Now add the tamarind paste and dark soy sauce and stir well. Pour the coconut cream and water into the saucepan and stir for 3–4 minutes, until the peanut butter has been incorporated into the satay sauce. Simmer the mixture on a low heat for around 1–2 minutes, then turn off the heat. Serve warm with the chicken skewers.

Hyderabadi chicken

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh fillets
Heaped tablespoon white sesame seeds
50g peanuts
1 big onion, sliced
4 tbs oil
2 pinches of salt
1 tbsp each of ginger and crushed garlic
1½ tbsp crushed green chilli
Pinch turmeric
1 tsp dried chilli
Salt
1½ cups yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala (heaped)
¼ tsp black cumin seeds
1 tbs lemon juice

Serves 4

 

Preparation

Cut chicken thigh fillets into large cubes. Don't remove fat, remember fat will keep it moist.

In a pan, roast the white sesame seeds and peanuts. Grind them to a paste. Mix with a little milk to make a thick paste. This will thicken and bind the sauce.

The trick is to cook the onions right. Cook them in the oil with salt (salt will prevent the onions from burning) until caramelised and golden brown about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Combine ginger, garlic, crushed chilli, pinch of salt, turmeric, peanut paste, yoghurt, garam masala and cumin seeds. The acidity of the yoghurt will help to tenderise the chicken. Mix together and add cooked onions.

Add chicken cubes and marinate for 10 minutes (no longer – these are powerful spices and the acidity will draw too much moisture from chicken).

Using a thick-bottomed pot. Put the chicken and the marinade into the pot and then sit a large stainless steel bowl into the top of the pot so that it seals around the rim. The heat will create suction and hold the bowl in place and this steams the dish similar to a pressure cooker. Fill the bowl with 1/4 cup (maximum) of water and cook over medium heat for 30 – 40 minutes. When the water has evaporated you’ll know it’s cooked.
As it cooks in its own juices it’s amazingly tender – like it’s been steamed but with all those great flavours. Just before serving add the lemon juice.





CZ VERZE POLOVICNI PORCE


500 g kureci steaky  (nakrajene na vetsi nudlicky)
1 lzice sezamovych seminek
25g arasidu (nesolenych a neoloupanych)
1 stredni cibule (oloupana, rozkrojena na pul, nakrajena na tenke pulkolecka)
olej

pul lzicky soli
2 strucky cesneku a stejne mnozstvi zazvoru (oboji nastrouhat nebo nakrajet uplne na kasi)
1-2 zelena chilli papricka (nakrajet na jemno)
spetka kurkumy
1/2 - 1 lzicka cerveneho chilli prasku
2 plne lzice husteho bileho jogurtu
1 lzicka garam masala

citron nebo limetka (rozkrojit na ctvrt na pokapani masa)

Arasidy vybrat ze skorapky, nechat slupku, na mirnem plameni na panvi oprazit, pak oprazit sezamove seminka (nespalit!). Oboji rozmixovat nebo rozdrtit v hmozdiri na hustou kasi s troskou mleka.

Vsechny ingredience krome cibule dat do misky, poradne rucne promichat a nechat odlezet na 15 min.

Mezitim na oleji ve vetsim hrnci pomalu smazit cibuli do hneda se spetkou soli (nespalit do cerna!)

Na osmazenou cibuli vyklopit nalozene kure, promichat, priklopit poklickou a varit  za mirneho bublani do meka (cca 20 min).Obcas se podivat jestli se maso neprichytava na spodu hrnce, promichat. Na konci podle potreby pridat sul.

Podavat s ryzi, nebo naan. Maso na taliri pokapat citronem/limetkou.

Tomato Rice

This recipe serves 6

• 1 cup  basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons Ghee or butter
• 3 whole cloves
• 6 green cardamom pods + 1 black cardamom (optional)
• 2 cinnamon sticks (each 3  inches (7cm) long)
• 2 blades mace
• 1 small red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon shredded fresh ginger
• 4 medium-size cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 or 3 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, to taste, stems removed, cut lengthwise into thin strips (do not remove the seeds)
• 1 can (400grams) diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

1. Place the rice in a medium-size bowl. Fill the bowl halfway with water, to cover the rice. Gently rub the slender grains through your fingers, without breaking them, to wash off any dust or light foreign objects (like loose husks), which will float to the surface. The water will become cloudy. Drain this water. Repeat three or four times, until the water remains relatively clear; drain. Now fill the bowl halfway with cold water and let it sit at room temperature until the kernels soften, 20 to 30 minutes; drain.
2. Heat the ghee in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and mace. Cook until they sizzle, crackle, and smell aromatic, 15 to 30 seconds. Then add the onion and stir-fry until it is light brown around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Mix in the ginger, garlic, and chiles. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. (You don't want the garlic to brown because its nutlike crunch is important to the rice's texture.) Stir in the tomatoes, with their juices, and the sea salt and turmeric. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Add the drained rice and toss gently to coat the grains with the tomato sauce. Pour in 1 1/2 cups water, and stir once to incorporate the ingredients. Bring to a boil, still over medium-high heat. Cook until the water has evaporated from the surface and craters are starting to appear in the rice, 5 to 8 minutes. Then (and not until then) stir once to bring the partially cooked layer from the bottom of the pan to the surface. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes (10 minutes for a gas burner). Then turn off the heat and let the pan stand on that burner, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.
5. Remove the lid, fluff the rice with a fork, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve. (Remove the cloves, cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks before you serve it, or just remind folks to eat around them.)