Mughlai Chicken & Naan Bread

Now that you have a good garam masala recipe (see previous post), you need a few good Indian recipes to put it in! Here is the first installment. Making naan bread for it isn't necessary, since you can serve the chicken over brown rice, but who would be that silly to not make the naan bread? Naan is absolutely amazing (especially the next day, toasted in the toaster and spread with butter... YUM!)
The following recipe is from the Food Network website with a few tweaks of my own.

Mughlai Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled or 1 Tbsp. ground ginger
  
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled or 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 4 tablespoons ground almonds
• 1/2 cup water
• 5 cardamom pods, bruised or 2 tsp. ground cardamom
  
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cloves
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or less if you'd like)
  
• 3 pounds boned chicken thighs, each cut into 2
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup Greek yogurt or regular plain yogurt
  
• 1 cup chicken stock (I used broth)
  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (I'm using 1% milk next time - it was way to greasy)
  
• 1/2 cup sultanas (golden raisins) - a MUST
  
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup flaked almonds, toasted, to garnish

Directions

Put the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, and chili into a food processor, or into a mortar and pestle, and blend to a paste. Add the ground almonds and water and then blend again, set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the chicken pieces - in batches so they fry rather than stew - and cook them just long enough to seal on both sides, then remove to a dish.(They will not be cooked all the way, but that's okay!)

On medium-low heat, add the spices and turn them in the oil. Be careful to not let it burn. Add the onions and cook them until softened and lightly browned, but keep the heat gentle and stir frequently, to avoid sticking. Pour in the blended paste, and cook everything until it begins to colour, about 3-5 minutes. Add the yogurt, half a cup at a time stirring it in to make a sauce, then stir in the stock, cream, and sultanas.

Put the browned chicken back into the pan, along with any juices that have collected under them, and sprinkle the garam masala, sugar, and salt over. Cover and cook on a gentle heat for 20 minutes, testing to make sure the meat is cooked through.

Pour into a serving dish and scatter with the toasted flaked almonds. Serve with brown rice and/or naan bread.

**Note: I like to cook my brown rice with a 1/2 tsp of turmeric to give it a lovely golden color and chicken broth instead of water.



Naan Bread
(from allrecipes.com)
This bread is a little extra work, but I think it is sooooo worth it!

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I ended up only using 3 cups white flour and 1/2 cup wheat flour)
  
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional) (I didn't do this)
  
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic, if desired. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

**Note: To cut back on fat I used a lower calorie butter spread which worked fine.


Coming Next: Tarkh Dahl & Chapati Bread