Chicken Valentine

 

Each one of us have a story to tell

And there is one that I have too

Of our tales through numerous spell

Each season marked with different hue

'Midst turn and bends, highs and lows 

Our discretion of life clearer grows.

One of the mediums through which I tried to impress my wife during our courtship was poetry. Today much of poetry has turned into passion for cooking and food that we commonly share. This Valentine week friends from Kolkata Food Bloggers decided to celebrate it through the theme 'Love on the Plate-Dinner for Two' where we were supposed to make dinner for two (two of us ofcourse). Coincidentally Valentine Day also happens to be our marriage anniversary so the idea of 'dinner for two' particularly intrigued me. 

Its been four amazing years with my wonderful wife and certainly I do not need a Valentine Day to remind me how fortunate I have been to have her in my life. She complements and completes, encourages and appreciates, ignores my shortcomings, bears my complacency, forgives my inadequacies and loves unconditionally. 

Like cooking, sometime life begins to sing in a monotonic song.  Some of my cooking style, like the chicken roast, became very monotonic and predictable to Amrita in the sense that she more or less knew what group of ingredients and spices I would be use in the process. Therefore I mustered up enough courage to try something different this time. I had conceptualized this myself and hoped it to be edible. Thankfully it did impress her. I, naturally, could think of no better name for it but 'Chicken Valentine'.

Ingredients : 

Roast Chicken:

• Chicken breast boneless 2 pieces about 500 gm
• Balsamic Vinegar- 2 tbsp
• Worcestershire Sauce- 1 tbsp
• Red wine (I used a homemade one)- 100 ml
• Vegetable Oil- 2 tbsp
• Salt to Taste

Sautéed Vegetables:

• Broccoli- 25gm
• Baby Corn- 3 sticks
• Green Capsicum- 1/2 Capsicum
• Garlic- 2 Cloves
• Olive Oil-1 tbsp
• Salt to Taste
• Freshly crackled black pepper
• Cherry Tomatoes- 6 Pcs

Procedure:

Wash and clean chicken.

Marinate it in Balsamic Vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce and salt for 1/2 hr.

Chop Capsicum, Baby Corn and Broccoli very finely. Crush and chop garlic.

In a pan warm olive oil and put garlic. Cook for few second till it releases the aroma.

Place the finely chopped veggies and whole cherry tomatoes. Sauté slightly, not overcooking it and at the same time maintaining the crispness of the veggies. Season with salt and freshly crackled pepper. Set aside.

In another pan heat oil and pan roast the marinated chicken. Cook for about 6 minutes each side or till done. Set aside.

Deglaze the fond in the pan with wine and reduce to a medium consistency.

To deglaze a pan means adding liquid such as stock or wine to a pan to loosen and dissolve food particles (called fond) that are stuck to the bottom. The flavorful mixture produced by deglazing can then be used to make a sauce. (Source:About.com)

Plating

Place the  sauté vegetables on one side and place the chicken breast slightly on the inner side towards the center. Drizzle with wine sauce.

Serve with toasted garlic bread and choice of wine.

Happy Valentine

Vishal

Honeycomb Buns (Khaliat Nahal)

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Sometimes we come across recipes that become such favourites simply because they work like a charm every single time. These stuffed buns is one of the recipes that I have made 5-6 times since the first attempt and have always yielded amazing results. This recipe is part of the monthly challenges that we make at 'We Knead to Bake', an amazing group where we have a great learning experience. Very sheepishly, I have to admit that this recipe was part of our October month challenge and I have since then forgotten to post it. 

Khaliat al Nahal (also known as Khaliat Nahal) translates as Bee’s Hive in Arabic. This is because the buns are baked close to each other in a round pan where they form a honeycomb like pattern. They’re traditionally made sweet with a cream cheese filling and glazed with honey flavoured syrup, though savoury versions are also made. These can also be baked in individual muffin tins, but will lose their characteristic Honeycomb pattern. 

The choice of filling entirely depends on you. I have personally tried a variety from  chicken mince to mashed potatoes. All that needs to be seen is that the filling should be dry. 

Recipe Source : Aparna

Ingredients : I halved the recipe to get 6 stuffed buns

• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
• 3/4 tsp Instant yeast
• 1 1/4 cup All purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 20 gm butter, melted
• 1 tbsp milk for brushing

Stuffing : 

• 200 gm Chicken mince 
• 100 gm Broccoli, grated
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 1 medium sized tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste

Procedure :

Take flour, salt, sugar, yeast and melted butter in a bowl and mix well. Add milk, little by little, and knead to get a smooth and elastic dough consistency. Shape it into a ball and place in a well oiled bowl covered with a damp muslin cloth for an hour or till double in size. Remember to keep it in a warm place. I usually choose to put mine in the microwave.
Meanwhile make the filling by taking oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add chopped tomato and cook for another 2 minutes. Add salt and turmeric powder and the chicken mince. Let it cook for 5 minutes and then add the grated broccoli. Cook for 2 minutes and remove aside to cool.

Roll the dough into a 9" long rope and cut in 1" pieces. Take each piece and roll it in a circle. Place a tbsp of the stuffing and pinch the ends to shape into a ball. Repeat the same for the others.

Place all the stuffed balls in a well greased round tin. Cover with a damp muslin cloth and allow to rise for an hour in a warm place. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Brush tops with milk and bake for 20-25 mins or till they brown well. 

Allow to cool and serve.

This recipe yields tried and tested super soft bread and the filling has infinite variations from savoury to sweet.

Happy Honeycomb buns eating
Amrita