Oven Baked Chicken Thighs Marinated in Yoghurt

I honestly don't have a name for this recipe; I can only credit this amazing dish to my long-standing friend and fellow 'mum of three' club member, who made this for me when I was pregnant with my first daughter, Eden. That was seven years ago! I loved this lightly spiced chicken so much that it was practically all I ate during my first pregnancy. Thank you, Farida!

Obviously, for best results, I'd recommend marinating the chicken in the yoghurt and spices overnight in the fridge. But it is not a necessity, in fact, I haven't done it this time and it turned out just fine. This was our dinner last Friday night.

This is a great recipe for the whole family, which is why it is lightly spiced. I am known to be a little heavy handed with the chilli but I've only used a single fresh one here (with a pinch of black pepper) and my three year old son eats it with no hassle. So, if you are heat sensitive, you can easily forgo the red chilli.

For 6-7 servings, you will need:

• 7 good quality, fresh chicken thighs, skins and bones removed
• 250g of plain/natural yoghurt (I've used low fat)
• 1 chicken stock cube by Knorr, chopped small enough to crumble
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed to a mince in a garlic press
• 1 red chilli, seeds removed and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
• A pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Garam Masala* mix
• A handful of freshly chopped coriander, stalks included

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Celsius.

2. Once you have trimmed any excess fat, place your chicken aside.

Look for good quality chicken. Most butchers will happily de-bone and skin your meat for you on site.

3. Prepare your marinade by mixing all of the ingredients (except for the fresh coriander) together in a bowl. Next, thoroughly coat each chicken thigh in the mixture.

4. Place your chicken in a flat, single layer into an oven proof dish. If you have any of the yoghurt mixture left over, you can simply spoon it evenly on top of the thigh pieces. Gently sprinkle the freshly chopped coriander on top and place it in the middle of the oven. Adjust the oven's temperature to 220 degrees Celsius. 

5. Depending on how brown you would like the end result, I'd recommend 35-45 minutes in the oven. Remember to turn at least twice to avoid actual burning. The liquids will likely cook away, so if you want a little more sauce, cook for less time, I'd say around 30 minutes should do the trick.

Serve with boiled baby potatoes and some gently steamed broccoli florets for a wholesome and healthy family dinner.

*I use a locally bought store brand of Garam Masala (92g mixture), which is simply a blend of the following: Coriander Seeds 69% | Cumin Seeds 9.9% | Ginger 5.9% | Fennel Seeds, Black Peppercorns, Caraway Seeds, Cinnamon 1.5% | Cloves 1.5% | Cardamom, Celery Seeds and Nutmeg

Flavourful Basmati Rice

As promised in my last post, here is the recipe for my perfectly aromatic basmati rice. The perfect complement  to my 'Minty Minced Lamb' dish.

For the rice, you will need:

• 2 cups of white basmati rice
• 5 cardamom pods, cracked to release flavour
• 5 whole cloves
• 1/2 a teaspoon of cracked black peppercorns
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
• Hot water, boiled

Instructions:

1.  Fill you kettle and put it on to boil.

2.  While your kettle is boiling, wash your rice (in the pot you are going to cook it in) underneath a running tap (for best results I use the hot tap, much faster) until the water runs clear. Apparently, this removes some of the excess starch in the rice. I have personally found that by rinsing rice before cooking, it gives the grains that fluffy, loose and less clumped together texture. It can also be better for digestion (or at least it does in my case).

3.  Place your pot on the hob and add your cardamom pods, whole cloves, cracked black peppercorns and salt into the pot with your rice. Stir.

4.  Turn on the hob and pour in enough hot water from the kettle to cover the rice (about an inch above rice level). Stir again and once the water comes to a boil, cover your pot with a lid and turn the heat down low and simmer until the water has been absorbed and the rice has cooked. This should take around 10 minutes.

If you missed my last post, you can find the link to the perfect accompaniment to this rice dish, here.

Minty Minced Lamb

I first cooked this dish over a decade ago and despite it being so well received by family and friends, I haven't really served this up as often as some would like me to... So sorry. But here it is for you all to try at home yourselves, whether you are entertaining or simply feeding the masses, this dish is filling and full of aromatic flavour. This recipe will generally serve a family of 4-5 and depending on portion sizes, you might be able to stretch that number to 6 people.

For the lamb, you will need:

• 500g of fresh lean minced lamb
• 2 medium sized white onions, skins peeled and diced
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced in a garlic crusher for best results
• 5 cardamom pods, remove shells and keep the seeds
• 1 heaped teaspoon of dijon mustard
• 1 heaped teaspoon of pureed lemongrass
• 1 teaspoon of madras powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of fenugreek, a very important ingredient for your store cupboard (essential for curries).
• 1 red chilli, seeded and diced
• 1 green chilli, seeded and diced
• 2 cups of fresh carrots, cubed small
• 2 cups of frozen green peas
• 1 tablespoon of mint sauce
• Juice of half a lemon
• Juice of half a lime
• Salt and black pepper to taste

NB There is no need for any oil with this recipe. As you will see, plenty of naturals oils will be released from the lamb.

1.  In a non-stick pan, gently begin cooking your minced lamb. You will notice the colour of the meat turning pale brown. You should add in you onions, garlic, cardamom, mustard and lemongrass, now. Allow it to cook for five minutes on a medium heat.

2.  A decent amount of natural oils and juices will be released from the meat. This is fine. At this point you should add in your madras powder, ground cumin, fenugreek, mint sauce and the red and green chillies.

3.  Stir thoroughly and ones the mince has been evenly seasoned, you can add the carrots and peas. Turn the heat down low and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender.

4.  Drizzle over your lemon and lime juice and season with salt and black pepper.

Serve your minty minced lamb with some flavourful boiled basmati rice. I will be sharing the recipe to my perfectly complimentary style of aromatic rice in my next post, so keep an eye out (by following my page on Instagram) and check-in soon.

My Child-Friendly Chicken Saag (Saagwala)

Traditionally a South Asian recipe eaten in the Pakistani and Indian regions of Punjab, saag (or saagwala) is a green leafy based dish, usually made from spinach (the preferred option in this recipe), collard greens, mustard leaves, etcetera. It can be eaten on its own or made with various meats (gosht) of choice, potatoes (aloo), or cheese (paneer). I have used chicken in this recipe and to make it that little bit more filling we are eating our chicken saag in accompaniment with a choice of plain boiled basmati rice or boiled baby potatoes.

For the chicken saag, you will need:

• 3 filleted chicken breasts (without skin), diced into small child-friendly pieces
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 cardamom pods, cracked to release flavour
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground fenugreek
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons of garam masala
• a thumb sized piece of freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 a cup of plain yoghurt
• 700g of fresh spinach leaves, chopped (or 1kg of frozen spinach can also work just fine)
• 330g of baby plum tomatoes, halved as in this recipe or 2 large ripe tomatoes, quartered lengthwise and core removed
• 2 medium sized white onions, roughly chopped into large chunks
• sea salt (to taste), for seasoning
• pinch of black pepper for seasoning
• coriander and sliced lemon for garnishing

*Remember, You will want to pick out the four cloves and cardamom pods at the end. There is nothing pleasant in biting into one of those, trust me.

This recipe is not made the 'traditional' way as I do not use oil for frying/browning the meat. The fun in cooking and creating your own takes on various cuisines is that you get to experiment and discover your own takes on different dishes. Often, you will find that you've created something far superior to the 'traditional' original. I prefer my variation as it feels lighter whilst filling and not greasy.

Here's how to make my chicken saag:

Once you have your ingredients and portions prepared to one side, begin by placing you diced chicken into a non-stick wok along with the yoghurt, garlic, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, fenugreek,cumin, ginger and garam masala. Mix these together well with a wooden spoon, making sure to coat the chicken well.

Turn on the heat and cook the chicken until the the yoghurt starts to cook off; it will leave behind enough liquid to help wilt the spinach, which you should add to the pan at this point. Mix well on a generous heat for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and onions. Stir, lower the heat and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes, checking halfway through cooking.

Your chicken saag should be ready to serve with basmati rice, potatoes, roti or even eaten on its own. Either way, it won't last long.

Spring Break, Play Dates & Chocolate Cake

I've been so bad with any kind of regular posting on this blog despite having made a promise to keep it updated. But as I always say, "life really does run away with you sometimes" and we've been so preoccupied lately; it's been hard to find time to write anything.

Although, this doesn't mean that I haven't been mentally taking note of numerous ideas to write about, I just have to put it out there into the ether, so to speak. We are currently in the process of wrapping up our Spring Break, which was a much needed two week-long (*happy face*) relief from the various bouts of illness we've all been contracting from school. It is so nice to have decent, quality time with the girls, I'm talking about the kind of time that spans longer than a weekend.

We've had some rather interesting and chuckle-worthy conversations, we've cooked together, gotten homework out of the way (albeit one newspaper report currently being completed), honoured our plans of play-dates at the park, celebrated birthdays and visited friends and family. A lot got done this holiday! The kids couldn't have been happier but it would seem a whole two weeks of fun and games is enough for now as the girls can't wait to go back to school on Monday. I've loved, loved, loved having them home and under my mothering eye.

Play Date: Burning off some energy at Valentines Park.

So, with the usual and somewhat monotonous school-run looming, I have a few recipes in the works, one of which I am sharing with you in this post. I hope your taste buds find it flavourful and fulfilling, no matter what the day. Sometimes, we all just want a little slice of cake.

Gluten Free Chocolate Almond Cake

A friend of mine directed me to this recipe some time ago and this is the second time I have made this cake. It is incredibly calorific and I personally find that it feels heavier than most flour based cakes but it tastes absolutely divine. You can find the link to this recipe here and also another version can be found here. My method is a little more straight forward as I don't separate the egg yolks from the whites and I might vary some ingredients and measurements as these have suited my needs and preferences better. Overall, you end up with a deliciously rich chocolate cake with an almost fudge-like texture.

Gluten Free: Delectable and moist chocolate almond cake.

You will need:

• 150g of ground almonds
• 110g of melted butter
• 100g of dark chocolate (I use Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa)
• 100g of molasses sugar
• 4 large free range eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 50ml of almond milk

• 9" Baking tin/spring form tin and baking parchment (to line the bottom of the baking tin)

Birthday Cake: The kids can't get enough of this cake; layered with fresh strawberries from the market.

Method

Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Melt the butter and dark chocolate in the microwave but do not let it get too hot. The best way to do this is to break the chocolate into small pieces and cube your butter before placing it in a microwaveable bowl and heating. It should only take approximately two minutes. Then add the vanilla extract.

Whisk the eggs well and add the almond milk. Combine the sugar with the butter and chocolate mixture and add into the eggs while blending. Add the ground almonds and combine the entire cake batter evenly.

Pour the batter into the lined baking tin and place in the middle of the oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the cooked in the middle. Test by inserting a toothpick; if it comes out clean, your cake is ready.

Let it cool before you line with (quartered length wise) fresh strawberries.

A Cake Worthy of a Birthday Celebration.