Father's Day Fun

I hope you all had fun celebrating Father’s Day. I couldn't be with my father, but look at the neat banner I got him from Banners On The Cheap. I highly recommend them for all your banner needs.

You can design your own banner or use their designs. And they’re having a special promotion where you can get a FREE 2 feet by 5 feet July 4th banner and you just pay the shipping. Here’s the special offer link. Click on any banner, which you can customize with any wording and your own picture, which I did.

For the father of my kids (H in other words), I made a version of Tandoori Chicken, which I started marinating the day before. 24 hours of sitting in a wonderfully spiced-up yogurt sauce does give it loads of flavor, but even 3 or 4 hours would be okay. 

I cooked the chicken in a hot oven and then broiled it at the end, but you could barbecue it; cook it on an inside grill; cook it entirely by broiling; or even sauté it in a hot pan. Unlike traditional Tandoori cooking where cooking the food in the hot Tandoor oven is the hallmark of the dish, here the marinade is the thing.

I also made these Dry Fried Potatoes, which are basically boiled potatoes (leftover ones work just fine), fried with lots of added spices and flavors. 

  

In addition to the chicken, I also marinated a sliced onion and then cooked it with the chicken. It makes a nice addition to the cooked chicken breast.

Father’s Day Tandoori Chicken (serves 2 to 3)

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Tandoori Chicken in An Invitation to Indian Cooking

Printable recipe here.

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 medium onion, sliced

For Marinade:

1 small onion, chopped roughly

3 tbls. lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, peeled center stem removed and chopped roughly

½” piece of ginger, peeled and chopped roughly

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tbl. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. turmeric

¼ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. cayenne

½ tsp. Kosher salt

Cut 3 or 4 deep slashes in each chicken breast and set aside. Place sliced onion in little bowl. Set aside.

Place onion, lemon juice, garlic, ginger and a few spoonfuls of the one cup of yogurt in blender. Blend until you have a smooth paste. If you need a tablespoon or so of water to get the blender going, that’s fine.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the remaining yogurt and all the spices and seasonings. Stir well to mix. Pour blender contents into yogurt mixture and mix well.

Remove about 2 tablespoons of the marinade mixture and add to sliced onion. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Add chicken to marinade and stir around well, making sure the yogurt mixture gets into the slashes. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Turn the chicken pieces over a few times if you remember.

Place the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet. Leave as much marinade clinging to the breast as possible.

Lift the sliced onion out of its marinade (a fork is good for this) and place on the same baking sheet as the chicken.

Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 20 minutes. Finish by broiling until the top is well browned. Or grill, broil or sauté until chicken is cooked. Cook until chicken and onions are browned. 

Dry Fried Potatoes with Onions (serves 3)
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s “Dry” Potatoes with Onions in An Invitation to Indian Cooking
Printable recipe here. 

6 Yukon gold potatoes, cut in half crosswise

1 tsp. mustard seeds (preferably black, but yellow is okay)

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. poppy seeds OR 1 tsp. sesame seeds (black or white)

3 tbls. vegetable or olive oil

1 onion, sliced

½ tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsps. ground cumin

¼ tsp. cayenne

juice of 1 lemon
garnish: chopped parsley 

Place potatoes in cold water. 

Bring to boil and allow to simmer about 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Don’t overcook. Drain and cool.

Heat oil over medium heat. Cook mustard, cumin and poppy or sesame seeds for one minute. 

 

Stir in onion and cook for 4 minutes. 

Turn heat down to low and stir in salt, cumin and cayenne. Cook for 3 minutes.

Cut each potato half into 4 pieces. Add them to the onions. 

Cook for 6 or 7 minutes on medium heat, without stirring, to get one side well-browned. Turn potatoes and continue cooking another 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they're nicely browned. 

Add the lemon juice and taste for seasoning. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot. 

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I also grilled some pizza dough to serve as "naan". 

I also made a quick raita, which is drained plain yogurt with cucumbers and lots of cumin.