" If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India." Today is India's 61st Independence Day ... & I decided to post something Indian today. In fact, India's most popular gastronomic export to the Western world , which is Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani . Quoting from a snippet in a tabloid debating butter chicken vs chicken tikka masala..." Many years ago, a man named Robin Cook, not the novelist, but the late Labour Party leader & Britain's Foreign Secretary, had stirred an international gastronomic debate by calling Chicken Tikka Masala his country's national dish. People who contested his claim, should have saved their breath, for CTM indeed is a British creation. What they did was dunk chicken tikka that didn't sell during the day, Campbell's tomato soup, fresh cream & lots of red chillies into the frying pan, & they called the result CTM. It must have come as a blessing to a generation that must have grown tired of the blazing vindaloo." But this was far from butter chicken... This appeared in the newspaper in July 2008, in an article from the man who gave Delhi the most memorable Butter Chicken ever...& has been doing so for years - Monish Gujral of Moti Mahal . The article has interesting trivia about the original murgh makhani , or butter chicken , which originated in a dhaba (roadside eatery) near Peshawar in the 1920's. Like everything pertaining to Indian cuisine, there are no records to prove any claim - & was imported into post-partition Delhi by a refugee named Kundan Lal Gujral, or so says his grandson, Monish Gujral. He remembers the founder of Moti Mahal telling him that the dish originated to end the problem of excess chicken tikka, which if left overnight, gets hard & fibrous. This kind man shared his best kept secret of one of India's most famous exports to the Western world in his book, Moti Mahal's Tandoori Trail ....& in a moment of weakness, shared that you need to keep certain points in mind to get best results. In brief, the chicken should be a broiler , weighing no more than 600-700 gms. This recipe is made ' best with bone s' , & you can't make butter chicken with anything other than tandoori chicken . Also, the butter chicken tastes best when gravy tomatoes (bright red ones) are used, as compared to ready made tomato puree from the market. To balance the sourness of the tomatoes, use a bit of sugar, & to get the right consistency, add cashew paste. I can say it works, & works brilliantly . I've made this thrice ( on the bone, boneless breast & boneless drumsticks) & it's very, very nice indeed. The sauce is brilliantly flavoured & quite mild despite the garam masala, red & green chilies. I had an old aunt, my mother's elder sister, visiting on her way out to Canada. Feisty old lady, at 80+ speaks her mind & has brought up 2 sons & a daughter. One son is a Professor of Genetics at Pittsburgh University, & the other is a Geologist in Canada. Sadly, she lost her daughter, quite young, to Multiple Sclerosis last year.  read more »

This anytime easy meal is a cultural icon on a plate.

serve 6 to 8 1 large roasting chicken (6 to 7 pounds), rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 8 pieces 2 slices bacon 1 large onion, cut into large chunks (not necessary to peel) 2 bay leaves Salt 3 celery stalks, trimmed and cut into 1-by-1/2-inch pieces 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 4 tablespoons butter or chicken fat skimmed from strained stock 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 2 tablespoons dry sherry or vermouth 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional) 1 recipe Baking Powder Dumplings, shaped (recipe follows) 3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves Pepper Heat a 5- or 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  read more »

I wish this photo was better. These lamb shanks deserve better!  read more »

Presto Pasta Night , o, how I miss thee!! It's been a while since we've had any pasta (this recipe is from early February!), but I missed emailing with Ruth , so I've pulled this arrabiata out of the draft black-hole that is my blogger! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!  read more »

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter or oil
3-1/2 cups thinly sliced leeks or coarsely chopped onions
4 cups water
3 pound chicken parts, preferably thighs, skinned
3 large ribs celery, cut into 1-inch slices
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup pearl barley, rinsed
2 large bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
salt to taste
4 cups chicken broth
1-1/2 pounds fresh spinach, trimmed, chopped, and thoroughly rinsed, or two 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
4 to 5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 juicy lemons)

Instructions
Over medium-high heat, heat the butter in the cooker until it begins to foam. Cook the leeks, stirring frequently, until they soften, about 5 minutes. (If using onions, for a sweeter taste, cook them, covered, over low heat for an additional 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.) Add the water and bring to a boil as you prepare and add the chicken parts, celery, carrots, barley, bay leaves, thyme, and salt.  read more »

Today's vegetable recipe: Quick-cooked vegetables and lentils wrapped in a tortilla and draped in a bright cilantro sauce. Very adaptable, a 'concept recipe'. 2005, Day 130: Carnivores should eat so well!  read more »

Plus, Dont Hate Me For THE Most Confusing Measurement Treatise Youll Ever Read Big Daddy's House with Aaron McCargo Dream Dinner Herb Potatoes au Gratin NY Strip au Poirve (sic) Asparagus and Sun-Dried Tomato Salad Plantains Foster Aarons doing his dream dinner of steak and potatoes au gratin. He starts with the potatoes. He melts one stick of butter in a pan and stirs in 4 oz. of flour. Oh my, only 3 sentences in, and, Houston (Seattle and New York), we have a problem. But before I bother you with it, Im going to let him get this dish into the oven. Aaron actually adds the flour before all the butter is melted. Then he adds quart milk. He says to use a cold liquid, because it allows the flour, butter and liquid to cook at the same time. There are differing opinions about that point.  read more »

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) BLING ON BOLLYWOOD ...LAMB CURRY! Hasta la vista; is a Spanish parting phrase meaning "see you" or "so long". It literally means "until the seeing", but is used in the sense "until next time". My dish here reflects the same sorta feeling. It's the time of the month again for The Monthly Mingle at Meeta's @ What's For Lunch Honey ! This time's special...it's the BOLLYWOOD bling !! Time to show-off colour, polish the family silver, splurge on all things oily & rich...generally ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET !! Also time to fall off my 'healthy perch' ...blame it on Bollywood or blame it on Meeta ...I did just that!!  read more »

serves 6 1 medium spaghetti squash, quartered 8 slices applewood smoked bacon 18 medium bay scallops currants 5 tablespoon butter 1 handful parsley, chopped 1 cup Chardonnay Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trim bacon to cover exposed flesh of squash. Bake squash flesh-side up until fork tender and edges are just turning brown. Remove squash and bacon from oven. Dice bacon. Remove flesh from squash with a fork. Sautee bacon and squash in butter. Add currants at last moment. Sautee scallops in butter. Remove scallops and deglaze with wine. Add parsley at last moment. To Plate: Put ring in center of plate. Add 1 serving of squash, bacon and currants. Remove ring. Place 3 scallops on top of squash. Top with sauce. courtesy of: BakeSpace.com