Tandoori Chicken and Naan

Tandoori Chicken

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
Juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbs oil
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2-3 lbs)

1. In a shallow glass dish, combine yogurt, lemon juice, and oil; blend well. Add all remaining ingredients except chicken breast halves; blend well. Add chicken; turn to coat. Cover; refrigerate 30-60 minutes to marinate.
2. Line 15X10X1 inch baking pan with foil; spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Remove chicken from marinade; place in foil-lined pan. Discard any marinade.
3. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear, turning once.
I had rather large chicken breast halves, so I cut them in half. I figures they would cook faster, and get more marinade on them. It worked very well. Most were done in 10 min. I checked them with a thermometer. If there were up to 159 I took them out. They were perfect. Soft enough to cut with a fork and very yummy! Everyone loved them. Nice Indian flavor.
We served them with the following Naan -the recipe is from allrecipes

Naan
Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
• Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
• At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

We did not make them on a grill - we made them on a cast iron skillet. Delicious!!


If you like the flavor of the tandoori chicken, you may like to try the following - it is a Pakistani recipe, but the flavor is similar, just using beef, and I'm always looking for a recipe using beef that is tasty. It is from Sparkrecipes.

Keema

Ingredients
1.5 lbs lean ground sirloin
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, tumeric, ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Brown ground sirloin in pan with onions until browned.
Add tomatoes, peas, potatoes and spices along with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 mintues.
Add water if it becomes too thick. It should have the consistency of chili.
Serve over brown rice or whole wheat couscous.

Number of Servings: 6

whole grain waffles and blueberry sauce.

We just had this for breakfast and it was so good I'm here posting it already. Both recipes come from allrecipes.com. Yum. The waffles flavor was way better than I expected for a whole grain waffle. What I really liked about them was their texture - nice and crispy on the outside, nice and soft on the inside. (even the one I burned was soft on the inside - that's amazing.) I can't say enough good things about the sauce. It was amazing. I did sub out 1/4 cup of the sugar for splenda with no problems.

Whole grain waffles

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 3/4 cups skim milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup flax seed meal
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat in whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed meal, wheat germ, all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until batter is smooth.
2. Preheat a waffle iron, and coat with cooking spray. Pour batter into waffle iron in batches, and cook until crisp and golden brown.

Blueberry Sauce

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup of water, orange juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.
2. In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon. Thin sauce with water if it is too thick for your liking.

Wheat Berries carbona

I'm publishing this as a different way to use your wheat. :) Enjoy!
I was a bit afraid of this meal because it used wheat, but everyone ate it, and even had seconds. I was still thinking it wasn't going to be good as left overs, but low and behold it was still good. I couldn't find canadian bacon at the store that week, and I wasn't searching, so I just used diced ham.


2 cups whole wheat berries or whole grain rye
1 tsp salt
6 cups water
3 Tbs olive oil, divided
2 onions, finely chopped
8 oz canadian back bacon, slivered
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste.

1. In a pressure cooker, combine wheat berries, salt, water and 1 Tbs of the oil. Lock the lid in place and bring cooker up to full pressure over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, just to maintain even pressure, and cook for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and release pressure quickly. THe wheat berries should be tender. If not, return to full pressure and cook for 3 to 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and release pressure quickly. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and bacon; Saute until onions are golden brown. Add peas and heat through. Stir in cream and cooked wheat berries, stirring to coat.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook just until heated through. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Rice pudding

OK, I have a thing for rice pudding - I LOVE IT! So, I'm always trying a new recipe. Here are some of my favorites

First - my brand new all time favorite for creaminess and speed

Creamy Rice Pudding with Sun-dried Cranberries
(warning -made in a pressure cooker - hence the speed part)

1 cup arborio or other short-grain rice
2 Tbs butter
2 cups water
1 can 2 % evaporated milk (14 oz -although I only used 12 because that is what I have -I've also never seen 2 % just regular and skim - I did double this once and used 1 of each)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup dried cranberries, dried cherries or raisins
1/2 cup low-fat sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. In a pressure cooker, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in rice, coating the grains with butter. Stir in water, evaporated milk, cinnamon and nutmeg; bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring to make sure the milk doesn't burn.
2. Lock the lid in place and bring cooker up to full pressure over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, just to maintatin even pressure and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Remove cooker from heat and allow pressure to drop naturally for about 7 minutes. Remove lid.
3. Sir in dried cranberries, condensed milk, and vanilla. Let stand covered (do not lock) for 5 minutes. Spoon into individual dishes and serve warm, or cover with plastic and chill to serve cold.
YUM!!! - I've made it with cranberry and raisin - both are delicious.

This is DH's favorite that I have found and like myself- he likes his rice pudding with egg

Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding
6 c 2% reduced fat milk
1.5 cups uncooked converted rice (such as Uncle Ben's-don't use white tried it once because I didn't have the other, and it didn't turn out the same.)
1 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
3 T butter or margarine, melted
1/2 tsp. salt
1 vanilla bean, split (I've made it once this way, but vanilla beans are too expensive for me to want to buy. I just subbed a tsp or 2 of vanilla)
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
8 oz. light sour cream

Place first 6 ingredients in a 3.5 to 4 quart slow cooker; stir well. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean; add seeds and bean to milk mixture. Cover cook on high setting 2.5 to 4 hours or until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed (do not overcook). Place egg in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Gradually add 1/2 cup hot rice mixture to egg, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return egg mixture to slow cooker, stirring constantly with whisk. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Turn slow cooker off; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 tsp cinnamon and sour cream. Discard vanilla bean. Serve warm. Yields 12 servings (3/4 c. each)

This next one is awesome and uses brown rice. I love the addition of lemon for a different flavor. I'd make it more often if I didn't have to stir it the whole time. I think I'm going to try it in the pressure cooker and see if it turns out. It is from an Oprah show by chef Cat Cora. Click the links to see the rest of the recipes if you want to try them out.

Rizogalo

Recipe created by Cat Cora

Try chef Cat Cora's recipe for Rizogalo, a creamy breakfast brown rice pudding dish from her complete seven-day menu.

Ingredients:

Serves 6

• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 1/2 cups low-fat milk
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 lemon , zested
• 1 lightly beaten egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• Honey
• Granola

Place the cooked rice in a large bowl and rinse with cool water. Pour the rice into a strainer, let drain well and set aside.

Pour the milk into a large saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Add in 1 teaspoon cinnamon and vanilla extract, and bring to a low boil. Turn the heat down to low and whisk in the sugar, salt and lemon zest. Ladle about a quarter-cup of the hot milk mixture very slowly into the beaten egg while continuing to whisk gently. This technique "tempers" the liquid so the eggs don't scramble. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan and stir into the remaining hot milk. Add the rice and stir continuously over low heat until the mixture begins to thicken, about 20 minutes.

Add the butter and stir. Sprinkle lightly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Top with granola and drizzle of honey. Serve warm with milk in bowls if desired.