cilantro chutney

You know how you go to an Indian restaurant and they bring you bread (usually naan) with three dips. You eat all of them, but you mostly eat the green dip. Well, this is my sister Kristy's recipe for cilantro chutney (the green one). Since it is all pureed anyway, you can feel free to use the cilantro stems. It saves time. I also made naan on the grill. It was one part horrible, one part awesome, one part burned. If I decide to perfect the recipe for grilled naan and actually do manage to get it perfected, I'll post it.

Cilantro Chutney

1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs

1 to 2 jalapeño chilies, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons well-stirred plain yogurt (preferably whole-milk, but 1% fat yogurt is still fine)

Purée the cilantro in a blender with jalapeño(s), water, brown sugar, lime juice, and salt. Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt. The chutney may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring
to room temperature before serving.

Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken Breasts with Raita

Tandoori chicken is usually cooked on a Tandoor oven. A tandoor oven is an Indian clay oven that gets very hot. But, a grill is an acceptable substitute at home. The chicken in the picture doesn't have the skin on, because that's what I had on hand. Grilling chicken with the skin makes for much moister chicken. Toss the skin before you eat the chicken, but still grill with the skin. Serve with sliced cucumber or a cucumber salad. Making extra raita to serve with the cucumbers would be good. This recipe is from the cookbook "The Quick Recipe" from Cooks Illustrated.

Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken Breasts with Raita

INGREDIENTS

RAITA

1 c whole-milk yogurt (or 1% yogurt, but preferably not fat free)

2 T chopped cilantro leaves

1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tsp)

salt

cayenne pepper

TANDOORI CHICKEN

1 T grated fresh ginger

1 T ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

4 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on, 10 to 12 oz each

1. Heat the grill. Oil the grill grates.

2. Meanwhile mix the yogurt, cilantro, and garlic together in a medium bowl. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste and refrigerate until needed. Mix the ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and cayenne together in a small bowl.

3. Coat both sides of the chicken breasts with the spice mixture. Season under the skin if you plan to toss the skin after you cook it. Cook the chicken, uncovered, over direct heat until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Move the chicken to indirect heat and continue to cook for 10 minutes, grill lid down. Turn and cook for 5 minutes, grill lid down. Chicken should register at least 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Serve with Raita (yogurt/cilantro mixture).

Indian Chicken with tomato chutney

This is an Indian version of sweet and sour chicken. It's sweet, sour and spicy. I use thighs, because I like dark meat, but breasts will work fine too. I made this for Kyle one time. I told him what was in the recipe and he was a bit dubious. But after he took a trepidatious bite, he said it was really good. So don't be such a fraidycat. Some of you who think you won't like this recipe will. As a bonus it's easy and healthy. Serve this with Oven Baked Brown Rice.

CHICKEN WITH FRESH TOMATO CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS

For Chicken:

2 lbs skinned Chicken thighs

1T cooking oil

For Chutney:

2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

2 tart cooking (granny smith) apples, chopped

1-2 jalapeno peppers chopped fine and with or without seeds (seeds and ribs add extra heat), to taste

¼ cup currents or raisins

½ cup chopped red sweet pepper

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup cider vinegar

1 T sugar

2 tsp grated ginger root

¼ tsp salt

Brown the chicken over medium-high heat in 1 tablespoon oil. Remove chicken and wipe out skillet. (to make the recipe more low fat. optional)

Return Chicken to skillet and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Boil chutney, uncovered for about 5 minutes, or until thickened. Serve with the chicken.

Indian style broccoli slaw

INDIAN STYLE BROCCOLI SLAW

Mom just made this half an hour ago. It still needs a small amount of tweaking, but an Indian vegetable side dish is always a good thing. This recipe came out of the Bismarck Tribune food section.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds (she used 3/4 tsp ground cumin)

1/4 tsp turmeric

pinch of cayenne pepper

package of broccoli slaw

1 T lemon juice

3 T (plus more) water

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add cumin seeds, turmeric, and cayenne pepper and cook until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute longer.

Stir in the broccoli slaw, lemon juice and water. Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet and let the mixture simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. (It will take longer and more water then the recipe says.) During cooking add water if necessary to prevent sticking. Season with salt and pepper.