Step-by-Step Indian Cooking Lesson: Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

One of the first things I learned when I took an Indian cooking class recently, was that if you take a specific recipe for a marinated chicken and cook it, it’s called “Tandoori Chicken“.

Naturally if you have an asian style tandoor oven then it’s the real thing, but here in Europe my oven will have to be a close enough substitute.

Then I learned that if you take “Tandoori Chicken” and add a sauce it, the recipe gets a new name and becomes: “Chicken Tikka Masala“.

“Masala” simply means “mixture of spices” and the origins of the Chicken Tikka Masala have now moved into the stuff of legend, with disputed claims that it was invented in Glasgow, Birmingham and Newcastle.

Wherever  Chicken Tikka Masala  was really invented, the story of how it happened runs more or less the same: a diner demands some spicy gravy for his dry tandoori chicken. The chef improvised by adding a sauce of spices, tomatoes and cream to the dish. The resulting dish is a runaway success,  gathering a following that spread nationwide and quickly became one of the most popular dishes in the United Kingdom.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A survey in the U.K. claimed that Chicken Tikka Masala  is the country’s most popular restaurant dish and the retailer Marks and Spencer claims to sell around 18 tonnes of chicken tikka masala per week in it’s shops.

One important piece of information I learned from my Indian cooking teacher is that although curry powder is a favourite staple  in the western spice cabinet,  and also consists of a mixture of ground spices,  there is little variation in taste when curry powder is added to anything, so your fish, vegetables, and meat will all just taste of curry powder, rather than enhancing the actual flavours of the fish or meat or vegetables.

In my lesson we learn that even if you use a few staple spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves etc,  adding them at different stages to a recipe can completely change the resulting taste, and for this reason the authentic Indian cook usually shies away from commercial ingredients like curry powder and sticks to a few basic “mixture of spices” (masala) ingredients.

The ingredients list may look a little daunting at first, there are a few “specialist” ingredients like the Tandoori Powder, but once you have this you are all set to make Chicken Tikka Masala into your own regular family favourite meal at home.

I’ve written out the recipe as provided by my Indian cooking teacher… and added step by step photographs and a few extra notes to help you see how it should all look as you make the recipe.

Although it’s photo heavy, never fear, not every photo is an actual “step”, rather I tried to use the photographs to give as much information as possible.

I understand that people around the world have different access (or not) to specialist ingredients and therefore since I have several recipes in this series I will also soon be running a small competition where you  will be invited to make a comment on getting to know these genuine Indian recipes.

One lucky winner will then receive a small parcel of the more specialist items so that they can make and enjoy these recipes at home as well. Watch this space!

Chicken Tikka Masala 

500g  (approx 18 oz) chicken breast fillets
4-5 Tablespoons of Tandoori powder (Raja or TRS brands)
4-5 Tablespoons  plain yoghurt
1 onion (finely chopped)
½ teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder (minced  or salt)
fresh chopped chilies (optional)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cloves of fresh garlic(grated or paste)
400g  (1  3/4 Cups) canned chopped tomatoes
salt to taste
butter
150ml (5 oz) cream
1 handful of  freshly chopped coriander

Cut the chicken breasts into small square pieces and place in a shallow ovenproof dish.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

In a small bowl, mix together the tandoori powder, ginger and garlic powders and yoghurt and spread evenly over the chicken. (In our class the teacher added them separately because she was telling us all about the spices as she did it)  Don’t be tempted to use more yogurt, I was surprised at how little was required.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Cover with foil and leave to marinate for at least 4-5 hours (overnight for best results).

To the marinated chicken add small pieces of butter, before placing in a preheated oven at 150 C (300 F)  (Mark 4) Cook for 30-40 minutes turning the chicken pieces regularly to prevent burning.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

At this point of the recipe we have our oven version of  Tandoori Chicken… time to turn it into Chicken Tikka Masala

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Heat your wok and fry the onion for 5-6 minutes until softened.  (Our teacher uses a “karahi” which is an Indian version of a wok, but any deep wok-like pan will do.)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Add and stir in the grated garlic then add the tomatoes, chilies (optional) and sugar. Cook for another 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Tomato pieces/blocks work better than whole canned tomatoes…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Add salt to taste.  Then add the contents of your chicken tray, cook for a further 5 minutes.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

To thicken the sauce and add flavour, add a few knobs of butter.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Lower  the heat and add the cream.  (Be careful, if the heat is too high your cream will curdle) Simmer for about 1 minute and then switch off the heat.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

If you wanted to serve this in a serving dish rather than the wok, transfer the mixture now and then garnish with the coriander. Do NOT fold the fresh coriander into the mixture, it’s meant to sit on the top as the dish presents better this way.

Finally garnish with fresh coriander (also known in North America as “cilantro”) before serving. (This tastes amazing  as a complement to the dish so don’t stint on it,  add it stalks and all for best flavour. Do however be aware that about 10% of people have a genetic variation in their taste buds that will make them perceive coriander as having a bitter taste). I’m delighted to not be one of these: coriander is one of my favourite herbs so for me the more the better!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Serving tip:  Serve with plain, Peas Pilau Rice, Saffron Rice (pictured) or Indian bread.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Bigger Star In Some Families Than In Others…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

If you want a super-traditional (and slightly old-fashioned) Dutch dessert to try out for size then you need look no further than your local Dutch supermarket.

However you aren’t going to find this classic cake in the cake section and this is probably the reason that it’s gone largely undiscovered by many a visitor or new settler in the Netherlands,  because  it’s found unexpectedly instead the freezer section of the supermarket.

This dessert is called a ” Sneeuster” (Snow Star) and is basically two cake layers with a filling of  ”advocaat” (egg nog) and cream.

In our extended family this was well known with all of  Himself’s cousins because it was a particular favourite of their Oma (grandmother) who was my mother in law’s sister.

Because Himself’s mother didn’t like this one as much, this was rarely seen on our side of the family and although Himself already knew of  it from many childhood visits to his Aunt,  I also only discovered it relatively recently when one of Himself’s cousins came to stay with us.

Naturally the cream and egg nog layers thaw once it’s been out of the freezer a little while,  so I thought it prudent to cut all of the pieces of the cake whilst it fresh out of the freezer before the cream and egg nog got squishy. For my own personal preference, this is too creamy, but I have to temper that statement by honestly saying that I don’t particularly like any  heavily creamed dessert so this was never destined to be a contender for my personal favourite.

Clearly in some families the Sneeuster is going to be more of a star then in others…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Soft Shoe Shimmy To Great Heights…

There must be something in the air around this busy intersection in  Leidschendam. Not just exhaust fumes from all the traffic either…  a sense of humour, maybe contagiously infected by the “robot” shaped telephone and communications mast on the other side. As we wait at our set of red traffic lights we spy strings of old shoes right at the top of some very tall street lights.  It would take a strong and brave climber to get up these poles to add a shoe or two.  A little distance away someone else has tried to start a “new” shoe string of their own… early days for this one it seems.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Robot Communicates Quirky Artforms…

On our way home from Mechelen we come back into The Hague via the outskirting area of Leidschendam. There’s a mobile telephone and communications mast on the side of a very busy intersection that some creative people have made into it’s very own robot style artform. I like the idea that they’ve tried to make something that’s usually functional and ugly into something functional, quirky and beautiful.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Last Look Around before We Leave…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

In my final Mechelen post for the moment we take a general look around the central city.

One thing that captures my attention is that when we went down some smaller side streets the buildings were plain to the point of being solemn and dowdy, house were square grey boxes with no ornamentation in the way of tiles or ironwork whatsoever.

There were not even any bay windows, everything was flat, plain and colourless.

Even Himself, driving and usually oblivious to building styles commented on how dower the buildings were in some streets.

The contrast with the other older and heavily ornamented buildings was stark.

It appears that Mechelen (and I’ve also noticed this in a few other Belgian towns) does either one extreme or the other but nothing in between. Here of course I concentrated on photographing the beautiful buildings  and landmarks that I found…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Cool shop sign… little girls clothes shops I think it was.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Someone didn’t think too hard about the apparent object of affection when they placed these I Love Mechelen tickers on rubbish bins…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winching Out the Historical Heavyweights…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I have a few photographs from Mechelen that I didn’t really feel fitted in with any of my posts so far… but I also didn’t want to leave them out.

The first was a photograph on the same information board as the information for the Duivelshuis, Het Paradijs and Sint Joseph’s houses, which depicted a crane. Not a crane in any recognisable form as we might know it today, this “contraption” is clearly both huge and heavy, so I was stunned to read that it was traditionally operated by children. I know that  child labour has a very long and often shameful history throughout centuries past, but surely this one takes the cake?

I only have to think of my own children’s skinny little limbs to shudder at the thought of them being expected to work on docks unloading ships. The text that accompanies the photograph reads:

“Crane Bridge. As the name suggests this was the site of a crane. It was built of wood in the fifteenth century. Operated by the “crane children”, it was used to unload ships. It was demolished in 1887. Before that, in the Middle Ages there had been a footbridge here, followed by a stone bridge. The present-day metal swing bridge dates from 1986.”

Then there are the shoe scrapers… they were used to scrape the mud off your shoes before entering the house and I’ve often seen them in Europe as metal attachments to walls, often in lovely wrought iron forms, but this is the very first time I’ve ever seen one embedded into the wall itself.

Lastly there are the banners, …at first I had no clue who the medieval lady might be, or indeed that it might be a representation of any real person at all, but after my research  it all becomes clear, this is of course the heroine of Mechelen: Margaret of Austria.  I was delighted to read that when the main cities of Belgium were asked to pick someone famous from their history to be their “emblem”  and “representitive” that Mechelen alone chose a woman, and a most eminently noteworthy one at that. Bravo!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Take A Look Around And See What You Can See…

As per my Mechelen post of yesterday, we have discovered a walkway called the “Dijlepad” that runs on stilts over one section of the canal. Yesterday’s post was mostly about the path itself, todays post is a photographic essay of some of the views that captured my attention whilst we walked…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

 

 

This Is As Close As I Will Ever Get To Walking On Water…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I mentioned in one of my recent Mechelen posts a few days ago that we crossed a foot-bridge opposite Vismarkt in the centre of Mechelen in order to grab some goodies from the supermarket located on the other side.

After this we got distracted by the Paradijs, Sint Joseph and Duivelshuis   but soon we were back tracking down the Haverweft, past the supermarket and the footbridge because we knew we needed to go in this general direction to get back to the car and we were very intrigued by something we had spotted earlier.

The canal is a wide one, in this section of it there would easily be room to moor large craft on either side and still sail a third between them.

Therefore someone has come up with a brilliant use for this space: a walkway has been built over the water, raised on stilts so it’s possible to walk below street level also under several bridges.

It’s also decently long, extending from Hertshoonstraat  all the way down to the bridge at Vijfhoek. The walkway is called the “Dijlepad”, and since it’s a beautiful day we decide to take a little walk along the water.

There is one tiny drawback that I soon discovered: large sections of the boards spring up and down a little when other people pass. It’s certainly nothing excessive, it’s like a tiny rocking motion of a boat moored in the water. Usually this would represent no problem but using a crutch to walk and having less than perfect balance at the moment, I found it a little disconcerting.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Despite the fabulous weather we only shared the walkway with three other sets of people and I opted to hold onto the handrail as they went by and since I walk slowly they all outpaced us very quickly. This is my physiotherapy exercise for today… and I have my work cut out as it’s a decent distance.

There are beautiful views of the buildings along the canal… many of them centuries old and in various states of repair. We saw renovation work going on in quite a few places. At one point I was taking photos and walking slow so Himself and our friend waited for me to catch up.

When I reached them our friend said “see the big fish on that building!”   Despite repeated directions as to where to look, try as I  might I could not see any big fish at all.

Then we worked it out… there is a handrail at street level above us, she  is standing at a different angle and can see the fish  but from where I’m standing,  the metalwork obscures it from my line of sight. I shift around  a few steps  and the fish appears. I’m not going mad after all.

Under one of the bridges I notice that the storm water pipes from the bridge and street above stick out very close over the walkway. It might be tricky to be on the walkway in a cloudburst…  and further down a very old building with a tree growing out the side of it, the roots are embedded into the wall and it’s hanging on in a most precarious manner… We joked that this is probably the closest we are ever going to get to walking on water… and set out to enjoy the sunshine…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

 

Off To Heaven And Hell, um… With a Quick Stop At St. Joseph’s…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are enjoying a quick visit to the Belgian city of Mechelen: it’s essentially a business trip but we have just enough time to  have lunch and take a little look around.

Opposite the restaurant where we had the tagine there is a large footbridge and we ended up on the other side of the canal simply because that’s where the supermarket we wanted to visit was located.

Going home without some beer for Himself and a few friends and some waffles for the kids was not an option and I was keen to get a (dried) leg of ham … but the latter wasn’t stocked here  so I was out of luck.

Luckily we succeeded on the other two counts and tested just how much weight my little backpack could carry stuffed in as many bottles of local and unusual stouts as possible.  The other good thing was that since it was Himself’s beer, he got the job of carrying the now seriously heavy backpack  from then on.

We were just exiting the supermarket when we saw what looked like a tour group party making the rounds with their guide. They were short distance ahead of us and all were stopped at a corner a little way down the canal, and crowded around taking photos.

While Himself was busy (re) arranging beer bottles in the backpack so that the zip would close, I took the opportunity to ask a lady leaving with her shopping what the tourists were looking at please.

“Some of the oldest houses in Mechelen” she said, “… and the oldest wooden one, they are very nice, you should go and take a look“.

Needless to say this became the  next stop on our walk and thus we duly arrived at the same corner now deserted, as the bus tour tourists had departed rapidly to keep to their schedule.  There is a wooden information board on the canal side of the Haverwerf (street name where these stand) that gives some information:

“Houses: St Joseph, the Little Devils, Paradise:  These Facades are representative of the evolution of dwellings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. First they were built of timber and later of stone. From left to right you see: baroque, timber and Gothic with early-renaissance features.”  

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I found quite a few websites where these houses were mentioned but most were just a line or two of the same information… so I’ve amalgamated all  the little bits I found. On several websites they were referred to as the “Heaven”and “Hell” Houses too.

The white and green house corner house  of a row of period buildings is called “Het Paradijs”  (Paradise) and dates from between 1525 and 1550.  

The style is transitional, with Gothic crockets and finials coexisting with Renaissance-influenced tympanum reliefs.  Its front shows scenes from the Earthly Paradise  and two of those reliefs are Adam and Eve scenes:  one representing the Tree of Good and Evil and the other the Expulsion from Paradise (hence the name of the house).

Next door to “Het Paradijs” house is the house called “Duivelshuis / de Duiveltjes” (Devil’s House / Little Devil’s)  and it dates from 1545-1550  though quite a bit of its original planking has been replaced.

Dark carvings depict the story of the Prodigal Son, including a couple of devils. Apparently, its original name (Prodigal Son) never caught on; “de Duiveltjes” or little devils stuck, probably because the fçcade is decorated with  three satyrs or devils.

On the other side of this the “Duivelshuis” house stands “Sint Jozef”. A statue of Saint Joseph showing you Jesus is incorporated in its front. Judging from their glum faces, the little devils are deeply unhappy with their neighbours. The houses are all privately owned.

The angle of the sun ( in our eyes as we looked at the front of the buildings)  made harder than I thought to get some detailed photographs of the façades but I did my best (a higher viewing point would have been handy too) and therefore in one blog post  full of photos I can literally take you from the houses of Heaven to Hell and St. Joseph and back. In this Blog you can sometimes travel veeery far indeed.

http://wikimapia.org/17024194/Devil-s-House
http://wikimapia.org/17024187/Paradise-House

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Lifting The Lid On Something Totally Unexpected For Lunch…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This post relates to a trip some weeks ago when Himself and I took a friend of ours to the Belgian city of Mechelen to help with an urgent personal matter.

We have to get everything done today with reasonable speed and get back to the Netherlands  by early afternoon because otherwise our children will be finishing school and will be wondering where on earth their parents have disappeared to.

(We did arrange backup with other friends in case we got delayed in traffic or unforeseen circumstances but I’d taken some annual leave the week we went,  and had made  other promises to the kids too so it was preferable to get back on time if we could).

The business end of things went relatively fast today (compared to the previous trip we made a few weeks earlier in the pouring rain when our friend was made to wait ages in more than one establishment even though she had previously arranged appointments).

Since it was a stunning day today we decided to have a very quick lunch and a better look around the city centre  in the sunshine as we made our way back to where the car was parked and then headed to the motorway again.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We stumbled on a little area full of cafés and restaurants with outside tables in a picturesque area by Vismarkt. There wasn’t really time to look at the various menu’s, our choice was made more by trying to stay upwind from little gaggles of dining smokers.

All of us were rather thirsty by this time and ordered cold drinks,  then opened the menu and were surprised to see only a very short range of menu choices: pretty much all of them being tagine.

After recovering from the shock that there was nothing like a sandwich on offer we settled into the idea that having a tagine for lunch might not be a bad idea at all.

Himself likes a hearty breakfast and if he eats warm in the middle of the day he would very much to have accompanied his meal with a very nice local beer (lots of that available in Belgium!) or a glass of wine, but being by necessity the only driver amongst us, and by far the least hungry, he opted to pass on food and went for  tea and a little of our bread instead.

Our friend and I were hungry though, so ordered a vegetable and chicken tagine respectively and after a short wait were each presented with single serve tagines containing our meals. Yikes, these containers were hot… literally fresh from the oven, and the steam poured off for ages, making for impatient photo taking.

Due to our time constraints I didn’t even remember to photograph the menu for the name of the place,  ( the waiter had removed the menu’s before I had my wits about me). I did ask for a business card but they didn’t have one and so I didn’t even get the name. I can tell you though that it’s the red/brown place with four upstairs windows and  red tiled roof in my photographs, so a description will have to do.

It was not overly spicy, but also not bland and we each enjoyed our meals. We agreed afterwards that whilst we liked what we ate, the unexpectedness of the menu had caught us off guard and eating this at a leisurely pace would have been far more enjoyable.

However, we had already  made  wish-list of what we want to do with our short remaining time and in order to achieve it we needed to rush lunch. It’s a pity we didn’t really do it justice.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)