What are you in For!
Sharing two of our family holiday recipes – Butter Chicken Recipe (marinated chicken, roasted and then served with a thick sweet and sour tomato gravy) and Gajar (or carrot) Halwa (grated carrot cooked in milk and sugar). I am sharing a savoury dish and a dessert to give an idea and peek into the North Indian kitchen!
Remember how I talked about how this time of the year is just festive, no matter where you are or to which culture you belong. While here in the US, the holiday season is in the full swing, when I was in India, the last quarter of every year was a time to celebrate with family – durga pujo, Dussehra, Diwali and Bhai Dooj!
October and November are always festive for us! While we are pumped up because of the festive vibes, of every possible culture, we celebrate two birthdays in a family of four – my father and my sister – so these months are always about get-together!
When you are away from family, you tend to miss the family traditions even more. Though this year, the pandemic has ensured that the large scale celebration of family traditions, we still celebrating the spirit at home with a couple of other families.
I enjoy everything pumpkin! And I love pumpkin spice. But these two dishes, Butter Chicken and Gajar ka Halwa, are what I make when we are going to a friend’s place for dinner during a crispy fall evening or for thanksgiving. Also, they go so well with the fall colors!
I really hope you enjoy making them at home!
Butter Chicken Recipe
Our family tradition for birthdays is to have a hearty meal, preferably dinner, of butter chicken, served with thin Indian bread called roomali roti. We would either cook it at home or go out to the fanciest place. As I mentioned that my father’s and sister’s birthday are always around the festival, this would invariably be a part of the menu of family gatherings! Sharing the easiest recipe!
This is an elaborated recipe but it’s always worth the efforts. It is not spicy at all, thus making it suitable for almost every palate!
Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- For the Chicken Marinade
- 2 chicken breasts - boneless and skinless
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic or garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (or finely grated) or garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala (a fine mix of cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- For the Tomato Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 table spoon butter
- 1 large onion, sliced or chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced or finely grated
- 1 bay leaf
- 3-4 cardamom pods
- 3-4 cloves
- 3-4 black peppercorns
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to your taste preference)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts
- 1 cup of heavy or thickened cream (or evaporated milk to save calories)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon tomato ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
Instructions
- For the first marination, combine chicken with the oil, lemon juice and salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Now, for the second marination, add all the marinade ingredients and let it sit for 1 hour 30 minutes. The longer, the better.
- In the meantime, in a pan heat the butter. When it's medium hot, add the bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, peppercorn and cinnamon stick. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the onions, cashews and give a nice stir for 2-3 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and the salt. Add a li'l water, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the gas and let it cool.
- Once cooled completely, blend to a fine paste. You may need to add a couple tablespoons of water to help it blend (up to 1/4 cup). Work in batches depending on the size of your blender.
- Heat oil in a large skillet. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm. (You will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.)
- Pour the puréed sauce back into the pan. Let it cook for 10 minutes. Once it has started to boil, add the chicken, sugar and tomato ketchup and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Stir the cream, sugar and crushed fenugreeks leave through the sauce. Cover and cook for two minutes and then remove from the gas and let it rest.
Gajar Ka Halwa Recipe
This dessert is loved by my friends and colleagues in the US! It’s the perfect fall recipe – the colour, the texture and the warmth this dish carries is just amazing! This is again an elaborated recipe but I am sharing a quick version!
Gajar Ka Halwa
Ingredients
- 500 gm carrots, grated
- 1/2 cup condensed milk
- 2 tablespoon sugar (optional since condensed milk is sweet)
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1/2 cup Oil or clarified butter
- 1/2 cup mixed nuts, chopped
Instructions
- In a pan, heat the oil. Add the mixed nuts and saute for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside
- Add the grated carrots and the condensed milk. On medium flame, saute for 5 minutes.
- Now, on low flame, cover and slow cook till the carrots are tender. Takes around 30 minutes.
- Now add the sugar and the nuts and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve hot.