Chicken Korma

Its Ramadan time again. Ifthars with pakoras, samosas, fruit chaat, doodh pati chai. All this followed by pulaw, salans, bhujiyas....those from Pakistan will definitely be able to relate. Its one of the great parts of being home; the bountiful fried foods to break your fast and the huge feast that follows. The best part is that you don't have to make any of it. It just magically appears on the table waiting to be devoured.

On the other side of the world in New York, with its 90 degree humid days and 16-hour food-less rozas, the prospect of Ramadan doesn't seem half as exciting. In an effort to make it feel a little more like home I've revisited the tattered book of delicious recipes my mother had given me. To say she is a spectacular cook is an understatement.One of my favorite recipes from this little notebook is chicken korma. It is hearty, flavorful, swimming in curry, and extremely satisfying when you haven't eaten all day. It takes a while to make but its worth every minute. We ate it hungrily the first night and we had enough leftovers for dinner the following night as well. It sometimes tastes even better the second day because the flavors have had more time to set.

To make the korma you have to marinate the chicken with garlic and ginger. Separately grind a few ingredients like almonds, fried onions, and coconut and add it to the yogurt to form the basis for the sauce. The chicken is cooked with the yogurt to form a rich hearty curry. The actual recipe is below in more detail.

Batool's Chicken Korma Recipe

1 Chicken cleaned and cut up into whole pieces like leg, breast(with the bone)

2 tsp garlic paste

2 tsp ginger paste

600g plain yogurt

handful of cocunut

32 pealed almonds

2 handfuls of ready fried onions

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp tumeric powder

Directions

Coat the chicken with garlic and ginger and leave it in a dish to marinate

Heat the coconut in a pan until it is slightly brown and crusted. Then heat he almonds in a pan to crust it as well. Separately grind the fried onions, coconut, and almonds in a food processer until very fine. Mix them into the yogurt one at a time.

Add oil to a pan and once it is hot add the tumeric, chilli powder, and salt and stir. Immediately add the chicken and let it brown for 5-7 mins on high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the chicken and put it on low heat until most of the water evaporates.

When there is about an inch or two of curry mixture, add the yogurt. Add another cup of water and mix for about ten minutes. Let it cook for a while until it starts to become brown. Add another 1/2 to one cup water as it becomes thicker and starts to brown. Let it cook until the curry is the consistency you desire and has a rich brown color (for me it was another 30-40 mins).

Sprinkle some freshly cut cilantro at the end to garnish the dish.

L'Entrecote

Whenever I think of steaks my mind immediately drifts back to delicious dinners at L'Entrecote St Jean in Montreal. As students, we would occasionally treat ourselves to soup, steaks, and profiteroles at this charming French bistro. We would walk down Peel street in negative 40 degree weather with icy pellets hitting our face and gusts of wind that almost swept us off our feet, and stumble into this bistro with relief. The first thing to hit us was its warmth; the welcoming mahogany interior, the unpretentious one item menu, and the appetizing hearty soup that defrosted our insides.

Recently, I had dinner at the original Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecote in Paris which I suspect the Montreal one is modeled after. It is almost exactly the same. The ceaser salad with the light vinegar dressing is a perfect starter. The thin slices of strip steak are tender and swimming in a fantastic sauce. The sauce is what stands out to me in all these restaurants because it is rich, buttery, and plentiful. The fries on the side aren't your run of the mill potato wedges but very finely cut crispy and steaming hot "french" fries. Just as I was satisfyingly leaning back in my chair after having devoured the steak frites, the server came back with a second round of strip steak and bountiful crispy fries. To say that I was stuffed by the end would be an understatement. There was, however, room in the dessert compartment of my stomach for some more. I'm glad I didn't skip it because what arrived was a towering dessert with alternate layers of meringue and ice cream dripping with chocolate sauce. It was divine...

Last week we discovered that there was a Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecote in New York. We were there the next night and experienced Paris all over again. Apart from the strong New York accents everything was the same. The interior had the same decor, the steaks with the deliciously crispy fries lived up to our expectations and the decadent profiteroles for dessert ended the meal on a decidedly sweet note.

Having tried this restaurant in three different cities, I can safely recommend it. Its not your sophisticated best cut lightly marinated steak, but it is delicious, for those who enjoy a good sauce, thinner leaner pieces of meat, and a convivial atmosphere. If you're in Paris, New York, or Montreal, stop by. You won't regret it.