Orange Chicken, with Chille Peanut Sauce

Readers of my blog know I like to use stocks as a base to secure the solidity of flavors. My lentil soups are an example of this, the idea being that lentils are cooked, reduced in a chicken stock, perhaps with a vegetable like red pepper, and then pureed and creamed. And of course, my basic chicken soup, which i make almost once a week, with stock, fresh or dried noodles and scallions, is another. Some months ago though, i thought i should 'kick this up a notch,' as that TV guy Emiril used to say. But my way.
What about marinating chicken, and then cooking it in the stock, i thought. This works really well, even with boneless chicken breast, a healthy but often flavorless cut. Marinating the sliced breast over night, in a over salted chicken stock, (which is called brine-ing -) does the trick. Even if you wash off the breasts once, lightly, before cooking, it will be super moist and flavorful as you cook it in the rest of the stock, with your favorite greens, because of the osmosis of the salted stock into the chicken.
Now that was good, but then i got ambitious. Yes, i tried to kick it up another little notch. Why not make the brine more complex, i thought, and add a complimentary flavor to the stock. Variations, no doubt abound, but i settled on a orange stock reduction brine (that just sugarless orange juice -- fresh is best, but expensive -- boiled down to a half with chicken stock, with a teaspoon of salt for a cup). I used boned, sliced chicken thighs this time, and let it marinade over night. When it was ready, i got the rest of the stock to a simmer, and added peanut butter, stirring until it was melted, and chillie pieces. Then I browned the marinated chicken, very quicky in a seperate pan, and added it to the stock, letting it simmer for 20 mins. Yes, brineing allows for shortened cooking times, which doesn't dry out the chicken as happens in 'traditional' Sri Lankan chicken dishes. Right at the end, add a sprinkling of fresh, crushed orange. A little cream, or coconut milk power is also a nice addition
I loved the flavor gradients of this dish, from the complimentary orange, to the stay invoking, smooth, nutty, hot on the mouth sauce, and the succulent chicken morsels. The critter who lives near the bar top, who claims to know about food and things said, "its bold!." Ah..well.

Leeks Lentil Soup

Good stocks -- flavorful and thick -- are the foundation of my cooking. Not hard to make, they keep well in freezer, saving time later. I should do just a post on stocks, and guess I will, but its so simple -- its hardly worth that. Take 800 g of chicken necks, 200 g gizzards, and 200 g of wings, and pressure cook for 30 mins with 1.25 l of water. Strain and your done. Add a few crushed cloves of garlic, some black pepper and teaspoon of tomato paste if you have it handy, before you pressure cook, to up the flavor.
Or don't use a pressure cooker at all, and start with the bones of the roasted bird to really do it right. Okay, so there is a more complicated way to do every thing -- but the simple way also works. Anyway you do it, the point is get your stock going, and your all set for awhile.

I made stock yesterday, before i went out with friends in evening, and ended up having the rump of Wagyu beef! That was nice, but then in morning, after all that heavy eating and drinking it was time for soup. So I boiled a small cup of Mysore dhal, in four cups of water and then added a chopped leeks root, boiled it down a little more, and added a little less than half a cup chicken stock. Add more, as it boils down, if you have it. After about 30 mins, I pureed the whole thing, added salt, slowly, tasting each time, and then a teaspoon of sugar, and voila, it was ready. Sprinkled chille pieces on top, and dribbled cream in circles, as it lay in the bowl.

Wow it was good. Eat, sleep and repeat, with another Vegetable; this is easy and looks really cool.

Pan Roasted Pork Loin

this can be a really simple dish, which can also be plated impressively.
ask at the meat counter for the pork loin to be sliced into 3/4 inch slices. once this is done, its as easy as falling of a chair really! either marinate the loin medallion in balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper or brine it over night in chicken/spare-rib stock, with your favorite fruit juice added in. (now, okay, you are thinking this is getting complicated, but you don't have to do this -- but it will make the pan roast more succulent and moist, is all. quite good with out!).

pan roast, middle heat on a heavy skillet (i used cast iron) for 7 mins, 3.5 on each side, and your done! i tried a new cream chille sauce with this, which came out well: heavy cream, tomato paste, and chille pices, mixed in to taste, with some salt, and a tiny bit of sugar. heat this up a little in the microwave, or small heavy bottomed sauce pan. this reminds me of my other variation on tomato sauce, which i called, tomato nosauce! (which I paired with grilled fish).

i scalled some pok choy, to go with this, because i can't do with out its crunch for more than two weeks, if i can help it.

Orange Shrimp, again in Delhi!

Appu, a young friend who lives in Delhi, has been interested in my cooking adventures for some time. Ages ago, he asked me write up a prawn recipe for him; but I didn't get around to it for ever. then, as the food blog got going, i did blog my favorite prawn recipe, which i worked on and tried to improve -- my most recent effort being a new variation with orange sauce and blanched peel. When I posted this link on Appu's facebook wall, he said he'd like me to cook it at his place, when i visited.

And so, it worked out! Appu's mother Mary got the ingredients, (peeled jumbo prawns, and oranges) and did all the preparation, with help from him (Appu was right that the peel had to heavily salted to draw out the bitterness) -- then we cooked it. It took a few hours of intensive work ( we were cooking for 10-12, and I'd never made the dish to this scale before), and reduction of the prawn sauce and organge juice was a challenge but the results were pretty good. The major error I made was blanching to peel to long, (it should be 30 secs., not 3 mins) so it didn't have its super citrus burst, but then that was a good lesson for me!
also i learnt about a new kitchen aid utensil while cooking, with Mary and Appu -- a steel grip, which comes in very handy, with hot dishes and pans, that eliminates the need for bulky paw pads! A few days later, Mary and Satish gifted me a beautifully wrapped one of my own.




















Thank you!

Provencal Fish Stew

The fish stews of southern France are legendary. And in a short trip, I am quite certain I didn't have the 'real' one. Still, the basic idea, simmering a variety of fish and shell fish, in stock, herbs, saffron and tomato isn't that complicated. In fact, this was what a fisherman's wife did, with left overs from the catch -- that's way back when, wives cooked. :)
I had one in the old city of Nice, and it was good, with the rouille and croutons. The gravy was thick, thicker than i thought it would be perhaps since it was un strained. And tasted more of a tinge of tomato than saffron. Perhaps it was inauthentic.
I've been trying fish stews myself -- and now I think I shall branch out into a french inspired version with seer, shark, shrimp, and cuttle fish -- simmered in fish head stock, inflected with karavala (dried fish), ginger and green chille, balanced with vinegar and a little sugar. Watch out for it.
Until then...

Stock Braised Chicken, with Green Chillie

I'm kinda behind on my blog.
Not because I haven't been cooking; in fact I've been trying my hand at a few new dishes, giant orange shrimp (with a oranage reduction and blanched peel)-- which turned out a winner, is one. But I made it at night for a dear friend, and I don't really take food pictures with artificial light.
So a full account of that will have to wait.
I have also been working on various ways of braising chicken; which can keep the chicken moist yet flavorful. Which Sri Lankan chicken curry which I eat all the time, remains a great favorite of mine -- there is a way that the power of cumin, coriander and other stuff overwhelms the chickiness of the dish.
Brining, (which means marinating in a high salt solution, over night or so) is a way to infuse what ever meat you are cooking with flavor, keeping it is extra moist in the process. This is because osmosis allows for the flavors of the marinade to enter the chicken as it sits in the high concentration salt.

Some times, you have to wash the meat before you cook it, since the salt coating can be too strong, but still the soaked in flavors can work wonderfully.
Earlier, I was brining slices of pork loin, which I was pan roasting.
Rcently, it was chicken, brinined in broth and then braised in the oven.
Once you've got your stock ready, this is a easy, 20 min quick, inexpensive but resteraunt quality dish.

Lentil Soup, with Red Pepper & Ginger

I like having parripu from time to time. Its very smooth and soothing, really, if its made right. Typically, I don't like the traditional Sri Lankan way of doing dhal; I like a garlic sauteed dhal with added butter.
But recently I wanted some thing soupier, so I turned my mind to lentil soup. After a couple of attempts this is what I came up with -- and it was very very good!



To fix this -- for one person -- boil 1/4 cup of mysoor dhal in a cup of water, with a large, chopped, red pepper added, and three cloves of cleaned chopped garlic, a pinch of tumaric for colour and some salt. The dhal should be cooked in 20 mins or so, and then I add about half the amount of home made chicken stock, and reduce it down a little. (If you want this totally vegitarian, consider some celery/cabage stock.) Anyway, then grate in an inch of ginger into it, and puree the whole thing. Right at the end, fold in two large spoons of coconut milk power, for a nice creamy texure.
Or fresh cream, if you have it, and prefer that.
Garnish with red pepper slivers, and have it hot!

Ginger hightlights and a red pepper after taste, sandwiches the comforting taste of coconut creamed dhal, that we all grew up with.

And this time, with a difference!

Update: This recipe was published in print, in Spectrum vol1(4), April 2009.

Fish Stew

Shark isn't the most popular fish in Sri Lanka, I don't think. And in times of trouble, its totally avoided, that I know.
But hey, its has a fleshy taste and chunky texture that I like -- and its half the price of seer. I've trying to work out a really great shark stew, and I've made some progress. Well its basic, but that's what's nice about shark you don't have to do much to it, for the dish to announce its flavor.
What I've been doing -- with modifications -- is stewing fresh shark in a little bit of vinegar and sugar, with quarters of Bombay onions, tomatoes and crushed garlic. Seasoned to taste, of course.

Then I bake this in a closed, heavy, oven proof dish for about 30-40 mins., or 20 in the microwave, which also works well.
This is a low hassle, one dish meal -- let me know if you try it.

Grilled Garlic Shrimp

Grilled Garlic Shrimp
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

i've been working on this dish for ever. at least four years. the classic way of doing it gives a sharp, strong flavor that lots of sri lankans like -- (that's garlic, chilli pieces, olive oil and butter) -- but i've been trying to improve on that.
in this variation, i marinated the shrimp in a puree of shrimp (2 to a cup of dry vermouth) boiled down with anchovies (4 small ones to the cup). after letting it sit in the marinade, i added the chilli, butter and for the olive oil, i used what was in the anchovy can.

it was good, but i am not sure its right. (:

Fish (head) Soup, again

Fish head soup, is a great favorite of mine. Perhaps its a gross out for some, but don’t avoid it, until you’ve tried it! I make by boiling the fish head to break it up, then browning it and simmering it for hours, with garlic, a few tomatoes, and black pepper. I add a little karavala (dried fish), washed out first in boiling water, quite early. This gives the soup a really special taste.

I’ve blogged about this before, but this time, after the soup was done, I strained it, and creamed it with coconut milk power, topping it off with blanched pokchoy; so it looked a lot more 'sophisticated.' Ha ha.
No, its not a karavala hodda, but it recalls that – a favorite thing of mine with rice – but is subtler, richer and crunchy on the touch with the greens.

Tomato soup & idly, with red chili, tomato chutney

It turned out very complimentary – and so, I’ve declared them fused!

The tomato soup, started with a chicken stock foundation, a good amount of tomatoes, flavored with lots of ginger and garlic, spiced with white pepper and black, and highlighted at the end, with a little tomato puree, and sugar. So much for that.

Soup is always good with bread of course. And I love, kade paan. But then I had a thought: well soup is to bread, as idly is to sambar, right? So why not cross fertilized. And so, I tried the Tomato soup with idly. Now idlies, which I love, can be quite bland. What makes them go is the particular coconut chutney that goes with it. And if it’s a tomato, red chili chutney, you’ve really got things singing along.
The rich, yet clean taste of tomato soup was well complimented by the hot, spicy taste and soft texture of the chutney inflected idly.

Its a tribute to the taste of tomatoes, really.

Chicken Soup

A simple soup.
I made this with chicken stock (chicken parts -- wings, necks, gizzards -- and a carrot, and onion stalks, simmered, skimmed and strained) and added rice noodles, and the small spring onions, which I let boil for a few minutes.