Tandoori Chicken and Baked Apples

...go together like? Tandoori chicken and baked apples, that's what!

Tonight for dinner we had tandoori chicken, basmati rice, and baked apples for dessert. Remember in my intro when I said some recipes that I make require many pots, pans, and utensils for their creation? Well, let's just say that my first load of dishes is in the dishwasher. Some of the dishes could be avoided---I mixed all of the spices together in a Pyrex dixie cup before adding to the broth mixture (you could simply just add the measured ingredients to the saucepan). I chose to rebake the apples in Pyrex bowls before we ate them. I could have rinsed and dried the bowl I cooked them in and used it to reheat. Overall, it was a very successful dinner. Yummyshemash!

If you are reluctant to cook Indian food, let alone eat it, I'd say give it a shot. You're in your own kitchen, using your own ingredients, and what is the worst that could happen---you decide to add a little less coriander or ginger? As I've been told, Indian food is not spicy, it is spiceful. There is not burning sensation caused by these spices, merely a sensation that can be described as flavorful. This tandoori chicken has a lot of flavor without being spicy. Try it!


Tandoori Chicken (taken from the print cookbook Kosher Delicious: Great Recipes for Living)

Ingredients:

1 chicken bouillon cube
1-2 cups boiling water (depending on the bouillon cube: I use Telma chicken broth requiring 2 cups water, I use 1.5 cups so the broth isn't too watered down)
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp coriander
2 tsps tumeric
3 tsps Hungarian sweet paprika (regular paprika does just fine!)
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsps garlic powder
2 tsps kosher salt (I use a dash of table salt in order to keep the sodium content low)
3 tbsps canola oil
Juice of 2 lemons (read your lemon juice container--usually 2 tbsps equals the juice of 1 lemon)
4 lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I buy a package of skinless and boneless chicken breasts (about 1-1.5 lbs) and cut into bite sized pieces.

Make a broth by combining the bouillon cube and recommended water in a saucepan. Add garam masala powder, coriander, tumeric, paprika, ginger, garlic powder, salt, oil and lemon juice. Mix well. (I let this simmer for about five minutes while stirring frequently).

Place chicken pieces in oven-safe bakeware (Pyrex for me!). Pour marinade over chicken. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350.

(Before putting in refridgerator, I add dried apricot pieces that I cut in half)

Bake chicken covered at 350. (For skinless and boneless pieces: about 40-45 mins) (For whole chicken pieces: 1 hour covered, additional 30-45 minutes uncovered)

Bon appetit!


Sweet sides: Basmati rice, French style green beans, toasted pita-pocket bread, couscous

Baked Apples
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/baked_apples/

4 large baking apples (Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, McIntosh)
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 chopped pecans
1/4 c currants or chopped raisins
1 tbsp butter (or margarine)
3/4 c boiling dihydrogen monoxide

1) Preheat oven to 375F. Wash apples. Remove cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples. Use a paring knife (or apple corer) to cut out the stem area, then the core (including seeds!). Make the holes about 3/4-inch to an inch wide.
2) Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and raisins.
3) Stuff mixture into apples.
4) Place apples into bakeware and pour 3/4 c of boiling water around apples
5) Place dollop of margarine on top of apples.
6) Bake for....my recommendation: 40 minutes (check to see if apples are intact...not burst) and then bake about 20 minutes more. If apples are starting to burst, lower temperature and continue to bake.

Bon appetit!