Easy butter chicken

When a pot of cream-flecked Indian chicken you've been forever making on fleek, is being likened to the menu item the Indian joint near you serves, you may need to take a patent. And maybe a few pictures. Perhaps, also, type a few words. This restaurant version I speak of is adequately flawless, served on fancy brass, and as I understand it, has a cult following, at least in this part of the Valley. 

Thus, having a near close match might just upshot my game, a tad. Don't you think? Or, clear the haze surrounding once noble aspirations in sharing multitudes of great things that now just clutter my head, and 8 pages of unedited, skeleton posts.

Not saying that what I am about to reveal is the outcome of a blogger draft weed-and-clean, nor is BFMK a disposal ground for castoff recipes. I believe this is something so essential, kind of like a staple entry to the doors of The Exotic. And as uncomplicated as cooking can be.

So, shall we?

Butter chicken is that iconic dish, which for the most part can be paraded as a meal on its own, but  really is not. Often served as a grand spread, it would be plated with naan, maybe rice- better both- taken with dressed yoghurt, and fair amounts of pickle/condiments/chutneys. It is infinitely categorized as Indian cuisine, because if any region can incorporate spice and sauce and make it look like an absolute dietary requirement/fashion statement/stand-all, it certainly is India. 

Although grouped within the desi profile, murgh makhani is unofficially the perfect cross- continental pot of gold. It appeals to a broader circuit of people, throughout streets and kitchens of many parts of the globe. In essence, we experience brilliance; chicken zested and plushly seasoned, at the same time not making cheeks sweat and eyes bulge out from sockets. This curry that showcases the silkiest tomato gravy fares beyond several taste expectations and, is guaranteed, an attainable goal.

So, when, sometimes, ingredients and methods don't quite match up to the ideas of people who claim divine revelation on such a topic, you may find it your calling to  (ahem) respond accordingly.
Explanation models can go along the lines of...

-Yes, baking chicken allows for fantastically moist and tender pieces. This one step saves you from buying a roasting tandoor for the same purpose.

-Powdered spices work just as well as whole, maybe not to full potency, but can run as utterly close contenders.

-The idea of boiling and pureeing does not always apply in authentic butter chicken recipes, but I am theoretically a non-purist.

Finally.
- the fact that a well-thought out dish can be done and plated in the time it takes to sit down and eat it, is certainly magnificence, pointing to an upward curve on culinary awesomeness skills.

So you see how imperative it is to spread the knowledge on how a celebrated plate of chicken is not so non-doable at all?

Do I hear you say it?
Winner, winner, genius chicken dinner. 

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tbsp red (Indian)chilly powder or cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• salt
• ½ cup plain yoghurt
• juice of one lemon
• 5 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large red onion, cut into medium chunks
• 3 tomatoes, roughly cut into chunks
• 2 tsps thinly sliced ginger
• 6-7 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 small-ish cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 cardamom pod
• 2 sprigs cilantro
• water
• 2 tbs sugar
• ¼ tsp powdered fenugreek leaves- kasoori methi (optional
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2-3 medium pats of butter
• 1-2 sprigs cilantro
• 1 sprig mint(optional)

Don't  let the long chain of ingredients dissuade you. Most of the stuff bastes on to the chicken, the rest get boiled and blended. All this requires is some intermittent supervision and approximately 35 minutes of your time(not counting the 30 min marinade). 

Directions:

• In a large foil lined sheet pan, mix and make paste of cayenne, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, ginger powder, black pepper, salt, yoghurt, lemon juice, 3 tbsp oil.
• Add the chicken pieces and coat each in the spice mixture thoroughly.
• Set aside to marinade for 30 minutes to an hour.
• In the meantime, in deep set pan or dutch oven, add remaining 2 tbsp oil, cut onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom. Saute these ingredients on high flame for a minute or two. No need to brown.
• Add cilantro.
• Pour in enough water to just cover everything in pot. Allow ingredients to boil on high heat.
• Once it has boiled, bring down heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until onions, ginger and garlic are soft and fork-tender. There should be a slight amount of cooking liquid.
• Allow the mixture to cool a bit.
• At this point, remove, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom.
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Take boiled ingredients into a blender or use an immersion blender to puree into a smooth, thick liquid.
• Set aside.
• Bake the marinaded chicken in preheated oven for  about 15-20 minutes. It needs not to  fully cook. 
• Take pieces out of oven. Allow to cool a bit. Cut into 1" cubes or pieces.  
• Pour the onion/tomato puree back into same pan as you had it cooked in.
• Bring to boil. Add chicken.
• Taste and add salt, if needed
• Reduce flame to simmer ingredients. Allow chicken to fully cook through and take off flame, after 10-12 minutes.
• Stir in the sugar. 
• Stir in powdered fenugreek leaves.
• Add cream, and butter.
• Garnish with cilantro and mint.

Notes:

Kasoori methi(fenugreek leaves) can come packed as dried, whole leaves or in powder form.  A little goes a long way, so use it sparingly and taste after each sprinkle. Leftover powder should be stored in an airtight container.

A slight disclaimer...I am at total odds on whether you truly need dried fenugreek leaves, that most insist is a requirement for authentic flavor. The few times I have omitted it, I really didn't miss it (shhh!!). It has a hugely distinct flavor, that works to distinguish this type of curry. That being said, if your desire is to go full-on, legit khana khazana style, sprinkle away✨✨

June-

2017: Tender coconut ice cream
2016: Pastry tarts

******

My firstborn and Boss Grad child. Getting ready to turn that tassle🎓

The Best Is Yet To Come🎉❤️
She knows it. Do you? 

The scripture below is what a friend texted me on a mad Monday morning. Seconds later, it appeared before my eyes, on the media feed, from a page I follow. It was what I was praying for, at the particular moment. The Lord showed me He was listening. Beyond a shadow of doubt, He is everpresent, all knowing, a good God, always keeping watch over His children, covering them in the shadow of His wing. 

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, 

yet my unfailing love will not be shaken

    nor my covenant of peace be removed, 
says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10

Chocolate fudge cake

The job of baking something palatable, and have it fulfill the dual destiny of being remarkably delicious, and show visually as a frame by Monet, is no sweet task. Stamina/energy/sanity otherwise reserved to correct/equip/scream at underlings that may not be exercising great judgement, in addition to those in-over-their-head baby adults, who believe they are endowed with prophetic wisdom, is sapped, drained. Though, in measure, a certain indefatigability, renewed mind flow and boundless supply of Monster Energy, preferably in 24 ounce cans, will pretty much see you at success too.  
Today's life lesson taught and learned.✓
Totally glad you dropped by, right? ✓

It's pretty undeniable, the rush that comes when working on a piece like this. Pushing me to not less than 5 separate recipe trials; so both you and I, beyond doubt, know just how important it is to appreciate the perfect chocolate fudge cake recipe and have it revisit you for the rest of your life.

There isn't a core technique for fudge cake. May owe to the fact that everyone and their mama grew up with personalized interpretations on how fudge-y fudge cake should actually be.

I took notes. Several. There were points specific to many, but not limited to all. Most of them had less than ten ingredients, seven of them, common or interchangeable. It should be taken into account that if there is large enough consensus for myself to write a thesis on such a subject, I am game. 

For the most part, there were mainly three classifications in which such a cake could umbrella under:

1. Those with striking, ultra chocolatey notes, though light, airy.
2. The dense, more like-fudge, rich texture and tight crumb.
3. Reminiscent of back-in-the-day, candy-ish flavor, on hints of brown sugar, to the likes of Little Debbie snack packs.

In almost every recipe, unsweetened cocoa is used. Bon Appetit insists it be Dutch process. I really don't think you should go to the trouble. After considerable forethought, key elements were loosely combed from my 5 source assortment. It was success and poetry, together in one.

The cake that ended my search had a distinct, deep flavor, yet stood apart from typic chocolate cake. Everything I needed it to be, it was: Moist + tighter crumb + not breaking in places where it shouldn't. Fortifying tops and sides with  a double layer of icing, first of ganache, second, chocolate buttercream prepped the 9x 10 " platform for my AZ Diamondback Sedona Red jersey veneer .(The "Sedona" part may lack because of my desire to not deflect from the "no-taste" of Wilton's no-taste, very bright, red).

It is quite amazing, a rich, yet not too dense cake, that desists from sticking to the roofs of mouths stayed moist and had enough heft to be the foundation for multiple levels of bedecking. 

I found that I may not have a calling for snake whispering- no complaints there. The fact that I had to compete with a beloved MLB image, was terrifying. Snake D took about 7 tries, all of which could've been an unmitigated disaster, until I took a step back and used the reading glasses I really should be using. My third attempt at rattler carving was actually not half bad, a final edge smoothing, D patch was ready to go.

Moreover, shaping cakes into sports balls  really isn't a big deal. Especially when you have the aluminum pan which makes construction a piece of cake( pun intended:))

I urge you. Go make this.  It could be The One to end your search for all perfection. 

And so, I hope.

Whipped ganache. Is beautiful. 

For the cake-
Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup salted butter
• 4 tbsp unsweetened natural cocoa 
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup hot water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and parchment 2 9-inch round cake pans or one 13x9-inch rectangular pan.
• In a bowl, sift together flour and sugar.
• In a sauce pan, combine butter and cocoa over heat.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer beat eggs, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla on medium high speed until blended and smooth.
• With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and cocoa mixture into the batter, alternating between the two( starting and ending with flour mixture) until smooth and combined.
• Pour the hot water over the mixture, stir until incorporated and batter is smooth.
• Scrape the batter into prepared pan(s).
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the icing-

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 4 tbsp cocoa
• 6 tbsp milk
• 3 ½ cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Bring butter cocoa and milk to a boil.
• While still hot, stir in the sugar, cup by cup, until mixture is combined.
• Stir in vanilla. Pour or immediately spread over cake. 

~ The above icing hardens over cake and if I had a choice, I'd top with it each and every time.

-Cakes are best refrigerated overnight before you attempt to cut/carve/ shape them .

Trippy, rainbow-ish vibe was courtesy of the clearphane I used to cover my board( could've also been my mindset for the current few days I was working on it). Sun streaming straight through a window, lends the whole thing an ethereal iridescence. Don't you think?

I know. I should be here more often. I apologize for my lack of presence and deficit of routine updating. You deserve the recipes that have been stored in my head. And heart. Cluttering my drawers on gazillion sticky notes.

When my day seems insurmountable, I find solace in the things the Lord has resourced me to do. My kitchen is my calm, safe zone, a spa of relief- if you can imagine that. It's where I succeed and feel much  content in all that surrounds me. In addition to this, the trusted slice of blog platform to inscribe my antics adds to the joy. I am grateful that you see, read, hear.

I'm also thankful for friends and acquaintances who trust me for their cake baking/ confection making needs. In return, I'm bestowed the privilege to put through grind, a passion for working with delicious subjects, and all the aspects that stem from; recipe writing, experimenting, honing in to skills I never knew I had. It sparks my passion, pushing me to do better, work harder, and achieve more than what I'd ever set out for. My mind is refreshed, renewed and regirded, each moment of the day has intention and purpose. And that's a very good thing.

Thank you. 

I truly appreciate.

May-

2016: Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

2015: Steamed dumplings

2014: Ghee

2013: Meat puffs

2012: Doughnuts

******

"Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live;
    do not let my hopes be dashed." Psalm 119:116