Chicken Roast for Christmas

Christmas is right here, the year is done, and I have been super lazy this month. The last few days has been crazy as it always does when the holidays are upon you and you have procrastinated.

But not my fault totally. The thing is my India trip this November, totally messed me. Though there was a lot of running around to do while I was there, I did not have to do any of the daily chores. I mean, no meal planning, no lunch or dinner to cook, no clothes to fold, even the cup of lebu-cha was brewed and brought to me. That kind of luxury goes to your head.

*At this point, if you are in India and reading my blog, you are probably rolling your eyes*

I get it. That is normal for you. Most of my friends and cousins back home, actually look upon me with pity if I happen to tell them that I actually have to cook the lunch that I pack for the school lunch boxes!! We live a hard life, I am telling you.

So anyway, all that life of pleasure totally ruined my system and I have calmly delegated almost all cooking to the husband man or to our favorite Sichuan restaurant.

If I had continued to live in India, I am telling you this blog would just go defunct. Thank God for small mercies!

Now, a couple of you had messaged me, asking to share a roast chicken recipe. I get it, it's Christmas and  a roast chicken is a delicious thing for a Christmas lunch. Also it's just the kind of dish you would like to make all through winter.  It is a one-pot, rather one-tray dish and you can stand near the oven and watch Netflix, all warm and toasty. Yes, I have my own weird reasons for cooking.

Whenever I make roast chicken, I do it with Cornish hens. We are not big meat eaters and two Cornish hens is perfect for our family of 4.  These are smaller hens which taste really delicious and easier to handle for klutz-es like me. Don't be ashamed of being a klutz. I am one and the world needs all kinds .
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This roast chicken recipe that I follow is fairly simple. I don't have the exact measures but if you are in doubt about how much olive oil or butter, i would just say err on the higher side.

Recipe is for 1 small Cornish Hen

Wash the chicken thoroughly inside out and remove giblets if any. They will be in a small pack, for your ease, the store does that!
Oh! And don't forget to pat the chicken dry.

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Now I take half a lemon  and rub it around the inside cavity of the hen. I also rub it in any crevices and nooks and crannies. Lemon is like deodorant for the hen.
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Then I make a spice paste with following
Olive Oil ~ 3-4 Tbsp
Little butter ~ 2 Tbsp
Garlic paste ~ 1 Tbsp
Ginger paste ~ 1/2 Tbsp
Tandoori masala or Garam Masala ~ 1 tsp
Black pepper powder ~ 1 tsp (best if you powder whole black peppercorns)
 Red Chili Powder ~ 1 tsp
Salt
Mmm...so good.


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Rub this paste around the inside cavity of the hen. Then gently lift the outer skin and massage the spice paste on the outer side.Make sure the spices and butter reach all the crevices. I have never had a massage this good myself.
Rub the paste on all sides of the chicken as you want your whole chicken to be flavorful.

Liberally salt the inside and outside of the chicken.
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Let the chicken rest for one whole hour. It has done hard work.

Pre-heat oven to 425F

Now heat olive oil in a skillet and brown the hen on the outside. The skin should turn a pale golden.
It is NOT necessary to do this skillet step. Instead you can just brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil+butter.
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Now arrange the chicken on a roasting tray. Stuff the inside with whole sprigs of rosemary, plenty of cloves of garlic and lemon halves. You can add vegetables like small potatoes, carrots, onions to roast in the same tray.
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Roast for 70 mins to 90 mins at 425 F. You will know it is done when juice runs clear when cut between leg and thigh.
Baste the chicken with the olive oil+butter+dripping-in-tray halfway through the cooking

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Serve with bread, salad and the roasted vegetables.
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Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate chips and Chai Streussel Topping

I had never thought this day would come. The day we would make Kumro r Cake or Pumpkin Bread. Well, I had tried making one last year too but it had turned into a kumro r shinni. No Godmother could save it.

This year I decided to be prudent.

Instead of shifting through the million search results that Google throws up, the moment you type "pumpkin bakes", I decided to go with a recipe in one of the very trusted and authentic blogs "Smitten Kitchen". I have been  a fan of Deb Perelman's very un-staged kinda photos and delicious blog from way back, though I have hardly made anything as I am not a dessert person. But if I have to bake anything and she has a recipe for it, I will take hers above anyone else's.

I took her recipe of pumpkin bread but then I wanted a coffee cake like streusel topping. A spiced streusel topping in keeping with the season. So I made a streusel topping with some "chai masala" and it was so very good. Mmmm...good. Also please note, I had no idea that topping was called "steusel topping" until two weeks back!

Then LilSis, took over the recipe and became the chief baker in charge. She  also wanted chocolate chips. Now, if the chief-baker wants chocolate chips in her pumpkin bread, she will add it no matter what the recipe says.

LS's interest in baking reminds me of a story when she was 3 or 4 years old.

One day driving her back from her pre-school I had asked
"LS, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Bekaar," she had said confidently.

Assuming it was "baker" and have had seen her not interested in any baking so far, I was a little surprised.

"So what things do you want to bake? Bread, Cookies, cupcakes?" I wanted to get into the details.

LS had rolled her eyes and said, "Not that English Baker, I want to be the Bangla bekar*, the one who does nothing!!!"

* In Bengali, "the word "bekaar", means someone or something who is of no good.

That said, for this pumpkin bread mostly LilSis did the job, I helped. We baked 1 big loaf and 3 mini loaves of Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips and Chai Streusel Topping. You could do two 9x5 loaf pans with this measure. We shared some of our cake with friends and everyone loved it.


Halloween at our home is bit toned down this year. The High School junior has given up on Halloween and doesn't want to go trick or treating any more. The new middle schooler has a very basic costume, which her sister helped put together. She is going to be a blue M&M! But Halloween Day forecast shows rain all day so I don't know what we will do.

This Pumpkin Bread is our proshaad for Kumro Pujo aka Halloween this year.

Portuguese-Style Fish Stew -- on hump day

Portuguese-Style Fish 

There was a recent @nytimes article which asked 18 families around the world what they were having for a typical weeknight dinner. Almost all the families in that article were eating a dinner cooked at home!! Other than India and Peru (where there was a cook), in all other countries, the dinner was cooked by members of the family. I really found it very interesting as did Li'l Sis. i love to learn about other cultures and seeing what a family is eating gives me a peek into their world.

https://www.nytimes.com/…/family-meals-around-the-world.html

Yesterday on my FB page I asked a similar question -- Are you cooking dinner tonight?

82% of readers said, they were cooking dinner at home.
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Though a small sample size, it gives me so much hope.💕

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Inspired by the families around the world, I decided to cook something different last night and settled on a Portuguese style fish stew. I had Tilapia loins that were waiting in the sink, already defrosted. The Fish stew required just the basic ingredients and little effort. Right up alley on a Wednesday.

I followed a couple of recipes, one of which was from Washington post. Interestingly this tomato based stew has a Portugese + New England influence from the Portuguese immigrants. To it I added some of my own Bengali influence with Bhaja Moshla and lots of green chilies and coriander leaves.🤣

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I cooked in a cast iron skillet and finished it in the oven, this reduced my active cooking time to about 20 mins. I loved this part about the dish, that it was so quick.

The dish came out really very good and I am adding it to my favorite weeknight fish curries recipes.

Portuguese-Style Fish Stew

Inspired by Washington Post -- Portugese Style Fish-Stew

What You Need

Tilapia Loins -- 4 Tilapia filet, each about 4oz, from Costco. Cut each into 3 pieces. Pat dry and then dust with salt-pepper.

You can also use fish like Cod or Bassa

Onion -- 1 medium or half of a large one. Chopped
Garlic -- 6 fat cloves minced
Tomato -- 2 large tomatoes chopped OR 1/2 Cup of canned organic no-salt added crushed tomato
Green Chili -- 4 slit and 2 chopped

Cumin powder (I used Bhaja Moshla) -- 1/2 tsp
Thyme -- a pinch of dried Thyme
Rosemary -- a pinch of dried rosemary
Red Chili Powder -- 1/2 tsp
Salt -- to taste

Optional
You can add some vegetables to this dish like I added diced carrots
Andouille sausage -- 2 cooked sausages chopped
White Wine -- a splash

Start Cooking

Preheat Oven to 350 F.

Heat 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil a cast iron skillet.

Add the garlic and green chilies.

Once the garlic starts sizzling add the onion. Saute until onion is soft. 2-3 minutes.

Next goes in the tomatoes and carrots. Saute and then cover and cook for 10 minutes at medium heat. Tomatoes should not have any more raw smell.

Add the sausages and saute for a minute. You can add a splash of  white wine at this point.

Next add all the dry spices
Bhaja Moshla
Thyme
Rosemary
Red Chili Powder
Salt to taste

Add the fish pieces, moving them around gently so that both sides are coated with the sauce and they are touching the bottom of the pan

Add round sliced lime, some more green chilies if you like it hot.

Now put the skillet in the pre-heated oven. Cook for 15 minutes. At the end of this, fish should be flaky and cooked.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with salad and brown rice.

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