SOLACE IN THE KITCHEN!

So yesterday was an extremely long day! And, one of the most awful Saturdays I've ever had! I found solace only when I entered the kitchen to cook dinner. Cooking has a strangely calming effect on me. It relaxes the nerves and comforts me like nothing else does. That, and a glass of good single malt on the rocks! The malt worked its magic and there I was enjoying every second hands picking ingredients, cleaning, chopping, grinding, and stirring! Voila! I had a new dish on hand... Chicken in a spicy green sauce with spinach, scallions, coriander and lots of green chilies! Of course, if you don't like spicy food, you could reduce the number of chilies. 

CHICKEN IN SPINACH & GREEN CHILI

Ingredients:

4 skinless chicken breasts

Olive Oil

Salt  & pepper to taste

1 Tsp. Garam Masala

1 medium onion, sliced into half moons.

Marinade 1

5 green chilies

4 cloves garlic

2 ½ inch piece ginger

1 Tbsp cumin

1 lemon juice

1 tbsp Sesame oil

Grind these. Clean and slash chicken and marinade the chicken for an hour or two.

Marinade 2

50 grams (half of a small bunch) spinach

Handful coriander leaves

3 scallions

2 green chilies

Handful cashewnuts/blanched and skinned almonds/pine nuts

3Tbsps. Sesame Oil

Pulse all the above in a processor. The final sauce should be a little coarse, like a pesto sauce. Add 200 grams curd.  Add salt & pepper. Marinade again for an hour. Dip the chicken along with the first marinade and mix well. Leave it overnight or at least for an hour.

Method:

Heat olive oil in a frying pan or griddle. Shake off excess marinade and cook chicken gently for 5 minutes each side. Once the chicken is well grilled, take it off the pan and cut it into diagonal pieces (or however you like them) and keep in a serving dish. Preferably in the same pan, add a little olive oil and sauté the onions. Add the sauce and stir. Depending on the consistency and quantity you prefer, add water. Taste for seasoning and add salt & pepper to taste, if required.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and mix. Sprinkle a tsp. of garam masala powder and some kasuri methi (crushed, dry roasted fenugreek leaves) and serve on a bed of rice with a salad of your choice.