Turkey Tikka Masala @MaddieDayAuthor

MADDIE DAY here, in this lovely limbo week between Christmas and New Year's. 

Many people enjoy a roast turkey for Christmas dinner, but there's always the question of what to do with the leftovers. I subscribe to the New York Times recipes feature, and I ran across this yummy option. If you don't have turkey leftovers this week, save the recipe for next Thanksgiving!

Turkey Tikka Masala

Adapted from Samin Nosfrat’s recipe in NYT Cooking.

 

Ingredients

For the Marinade

2 teaspoons garam masala

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

4 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 cloves garlic, finely grated or pounded in a mortar and pestle

4 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger

1 cup whole-milk yogurt

4 cups cooked turkey (about 1 pound), cut into 1½-inch pieces

For the Masala

4 tablespoons neutral oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

6 cardamom pods, crushed

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 teaspoon garam masala

1½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, finely grated or pounded in a mortar and pestle

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

2 cups light cream

¾ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley), plus a few sprigs for garnish

Juice of 1 small lemon or lime

Steamed basmati rice, for serving

Preparation 

In a medium bowl, stir together garam masala, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, kosher salt, garlic, ginger and yogurt. Fold in the turkey. Cover and chill for 4 hours or overnight.

 

On the stove top, heat a Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons oil, then add onion, cardamom, paprika, pepper flakes (if using), garam masala and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are brown and tender, 10 to 15 minutes, adjusting temperature as needed so the onion doesn’t burn.

 

Make space among onions in center of pot and add 1 tablespoon oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add ginger and garlic and sizzle for about 10 seconds. Combine that mixture with the spiced onions. Stir in tomato paste. Add tomatoes and their juices, crushing them with your hands as you add them. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until the liquid is almost gone, 8 to 10 minutes.

 

Add cream and chopped cilantro (or parsley) to the pot. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 40 minutes.

In the meantime, line a baking sheet with foil, turn on oven broiler, and arrange an oven rack about 6 inches from broiling unit. Lay the marinated turkey on the foil in a single layer. Stir any remaining marinade into the sauce. Broil until turkey begins to blacken in spots, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

Add turkey to the sauce and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just warmed through. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

To serve, garnish with cilantro (or parsley) sprigs (I forgot this step). Serve hot, with steamed basmati rice. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Readers: What's your favorite Indian dish, or other international food?

🦃🦃🦃

 Deadly Crush is out and available wherever books are sold.

My most recent releases are Murder at the Rusty Anchor,

 A Case for the Ladies,

And Deep Fried Death, #12 in the Country Store Mysteries.

Check out all my writing.

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

Muligatawny Soup

LUCY BURDETTE: You may or may not have seen on Facebook or Jungle Red Writers that John and I were lucky enough to visit India for two weeks earlier this spring. It was a magnificent trip – India is so different from our country in many ways, including the food. One of the dishes that John raved about (and in fact ordered three nights in a row) was mulligatawny soup. And it turns out that this dish isn't a traditional Indian recipe--it was developed for British officers stationed in India during colonial times. I don’t order soup when I go out as the salt level is frequently high. But I was sure I could make a version at home that would be tasty and less salty. Here’s what I came up with:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chopped onions (1 large)

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 jalapeno, chopped

3-4 tsp curry powder (I tried 3 and we thought it could use a little more)

2 bay leaves

4 cups chicken stock or 1/2 stock, 1/2 water

2 medium carrots chopped

1/3 cup red lentils

1 medium pepper, seeded and chopped

1 firm tomato, chopped (or 2 Romas)

1 apple, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup rice

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro, or more to taste

In a medium soup pot, saute the onions , carrots, peppers, and celery in the oil. When the onions are becoming translucent, add the curry and bay leaves. Saute for a minute, stirring to prevent the spices from burning. Add the stock, lentils, and rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer the vegetables for 10 minutes.

Add the cilantro, chicken, apple, and tomato. Simmer gently until the vegetables are tender and the rice is cooked.  Adjust the seasonings, mix in the cream, and serve. Top with more cilantro if desired. This was even better the next day!

Cook's note: I made a whole chicken in a crockpot the night before. We deboned and shredded half of it to use in this soup. I also refrigerated the liquid in the bottom of the crockpot, skimmed the fat the next day, and used this for part of my broth. Delicious! If you don't have the time or inclination, you can use roast chicken from your deli.

Here are a few Indian foodie photos I thought you would enjoy:

on a Varanasi street

a kitchen store in Jaipur

Making dinner in Narlai

Death on the Menu, the 8th Key West food critic mystery, will hit bookstores on August 7 from Crooked Lane Books. 

Here's a pre-order the book link from Amazon--and here's a link to preorder a hard copy from RJ Julia in CT, where you'll be able to get a signed copy. 

Or you can order it from Books and Books in Key West, or call Suzanne Orchard at Key West Island Bookstore ((305) 294-2904)--she'll be delighted to order you a copy! 
Or really, wherever books are sold...

Homemade Naan #Recipe @PegCochran

It was Sunday night and that's often when I try new recipes or get a yen to make a slightly more special meal--takeout pizza is reserved for Friday nights after a work week!

I was craving something spicy and exotic and decided to make a chicken curry.  But I wanted something to go with it--something other than rice.  I wanted naan!  

I love trying new things in the kitchen and I love baking.  After reading the recipe, I realized it wasn't all that hard and didn't actually take all that much hands-on time.  I found a recipe on Budget Bytes which I've adapted somewhat.  It was a huge success!  There's nothing like serving homemade bread--it seems even more special than the fanciest French sauce.

Give it a try--it's a lot of fun!  And delicious, too.  I plan on serving the leftovers with a recipe for crockpot gyros that my daughter gave me.  Two different cultures, but the pita bread and naan are actually quite similar.  

Ingredients

• 1 packet yeast (I used Rapid Rise although regular will do)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ cup water  
• 2½ to 3 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt  
• ¼ cup olive oil  
• ⅓ cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
• 1 large egg   

 

Instructions

Combine yeast, sugar and warm water.  Stir to dissolve and let sit until foamy on top.

When yeast mixture is foamy, whisk in oil, yogurt and egg.

Combine one cup of flour and the salt.  Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine.  Add more flour, ½ cup at a time until dough is too stiff to stir with a spoon.  This will take between one and one and a half cups.  I used approximately 2 ½ cups flour overall.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately three minutes until smooth and soft but not sticky.  Add more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.

Place the ball of dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat, and cover.  Let stand approximately an hour until doubled in size.

Once dough has doubled, punch down and form into a disk.   

 Cut the disk into eight equal pieces. 

  

 

Shape each piece into a ball.

Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet over medium heat.  Roll out first ball of dough into a six inch diameter circle, approximately ¼ inch thick.

Place the circle of dough in the hot skillet.  Large bubbles will form on the surface of dough and the bottom will become golden brown.  Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden.

Continue with rest of dough.

Finished naan can be brushed with butter and sprinkled with fresh herbs if desired. 

I'm super excited about No Farm, No Foul--book #1 in my brand new Farmer's Daughter series!

Coming September 6 - available for pre-order now!

 Amazon

Barnes & Noble 

Chicken Korma

by Sheila Connolly

Years ago, when I was working on a political campaign in Philadelphia, we often ordered takeout from a hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant a couple of blocks away. I fell in love with the lamb korma, but I’ve never found it since, and lamb is hard to come by around here, for reasons that mystify me, so I can't make my own.

The great culinary resource Wikipedia (you do know I’m kidding, right?) says that “Korma (from Turkish kavurma), also spelled kormaa, qorma, khorma, or kurma, is a dish originating in Central Asia consisting of meat or vegetables braised in a spiced sauce made with yogurt, cream, nut or seed paste.” A bit oversimplified, but you get the basics: meat simmered in sauce that includes yogurt and a bunch of spices. The nice thing is, you can vary the spices and the heat any way you want.

So when I saw this recipe earlier this year in the New York Times, I pounced on it. And then I started changing it, of course. The original version was kind of sweet, incorporating cloves and cinnamon. I respect the tradition, but I’m not a big fan of the flavor combination. I decided to hang on to the cardamom, though, because that has a very distinctive flavor.

So here goes my excursion into Bangladeshi cooking (in case you don’t remember, Bangladesh was once known as East Pakistan, and it’s next door to India). 

Chicken Korma

2 lbs skinless, bone-in chicken pieces (dark meat works best. As it happens, I had a whole chicken, and the two hind-quarters weighed almost exactly two pounds. And the sauce was just about the right amount for those two pieces.)

1 tsp salt

1 medium onion, peeled

1 1-1/2” knob of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup whole milk yogurt

4-6 green cardamom pods, cracked open

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

2-3 small hot green chiles (optional)

2 Tblsp butter

2 Tblsp vegetable oil

Season the chicken pieces with salt and place in a medium-size Dutch oven. Thinly slice a quarter of the onion and set it aside. Roughly chop the rest of the onion, then puree it in a blender with the ginger, garlic, and 3 Tblsp water until smooth. If it thickens too much, add a little more water.

Yes, I have a blender. It was a wedding present.
It is Harvest Gold. It still works.

Combine the onion puree with the yogurt, cardamom, bay leaves and peppercorns. Spread it over the chicken in the Dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring. Cover the pot until the chicken releases its juices, in 5-7 minutes.

Uncover the pot and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring and flipping the chicken occasionally until it is tender and the sauce is as thick as gravy, about 35 minutes. (It took this long to cook the chicken through. It’s kind of a juggling act to keep the sauce from boiling too hard while making sure the chicken is cooked.) If you need to, you can thin the sauce with water. If you’re using the hot chiles, now is the time to add them. Taste to see if you want more salt.

Heat the butter and oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. After it foams, add the sliced onions and cook, stirring, until they are well browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, then add the onion mixture to the chicken.

Serve with steamed basmati rice. This kind of rice has long been a staple in Indian/Pakistani cooking (it’s no harder to cook than any other kind of rice, except maybe Minute Rice, which is still around). You can use regular long grain or Jasmine rice, but it won’t have the same flavor.

The sauce

One note: the original (authentic?) recipe called for whole peppercorns and cardamom pods, which are a bit hard to chew. If you prefer, you can add ground black pepper, and remove the seeds from the cardamom pods (or even use ground cardamom).

Privy to the Dead! Came out last week! What do you mean, you don't have a copy yet? (Come to think of it, I may have mentioned that Philadelphia Indian restaurant in the book, or one that came before it.)

Find it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

On a related note, I did mention a sandwich place down the street from the "Society" in Philadelphia, but I had long since forgotten the name of the real place: More Than Just Ice Cream (I walked by it last month--it's still there!)

Yellow Split Pea Dal

What do you make when you're thoroughly sick of turkey, mashed potatoes and all that jazz?  How about something spicy--curry maybe?

Hubby is at a luncheon today and will probably want a lighter dinner so soup is perfect.  "Dal" actually means dried bean and also the thick soup/stew made from the dried beans.

Begin by soaking your beans--either a quick soak (boil for two minutes, remove from heat, cover and let stand for an hour) or soak overnight.  Why do we soak beans?  Good question!

Bring beans and water to the boil then remove from heat and cover

• Soaking beans removes some of their gas causing properties from the indigestible complex sugars found in the outer skin--known as oligosaccharides.
• Soaking also speeds cooking time by up to 70% thus reducing the loss of nutrients inside the dried bean.
• Soaking removes DIRT.  Beans are not washed before packaging because dampness could cause them to mold or sprout.
• Soaking also allows the beans to absorb liquid more slowly thus preventing them from splitting open while cooking.
• NOTE:  Always  discard the soaking water (it's dirty!) and rinse beans again before cooking. 

 Clean, soaked split peas

Ingredients:
1 1-lb. bag yellow split peas
2 celery stalks
1 large or 2 medium carrots
1 onion
1 to 2 TBL olive oil
1 TBL curry powder (or to taste)
1 TBL lemon juice
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
8 cups chicken broth 
2/3 cup elbow macaroni or other small pasta

Chop celery, carrots and onion.  I chop mine quite finely in the food processor because hubby prefers his vegetables to be disguised. Chop yours however you prefer.

 Chop carrots, celery and onion

Saute vegetables in olive oil until softened.  Add remaining ingredients, stir, and simmer for approximately one hour until peas are tender (your time may vary depending on the freshness of the peas.)

Cook macaroni separately until just al dente.

Either remove some of the soup to a bowl and use an immersion blender to puree the remainder of the soup in the pot, or scoop out several cups of soup and puree in a food processor.  Return to pot, add macaroni and enjoy!

Top soup with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream if desired.  

I am excited to announce that the first book in my new Cranberry Cove Series, BERRIED SECRETS is now available for pre-order from Amazon!  No cover yet, but I will post it when I have it!

Also, the third book in my Lucille Mystery Series, HIT AND NUN, will be out later this month.  I'll keep you posted!  

Also available--my Gourmet De-Lite series and my Sweet Nothings series written as Meg London.

 Join the conversation on FACEBOOK--lots of giveaway alerts!
And visit my web site for more about my books.