S’s Swap: 12/7, Chicken Kofta, Rice & Mango Lassi

The Meal:

– Chicken Kofta (aka Chicken Balls)
– Basmati Rice
– Mango Lassi

This meal is a repeat. I made the Chicken Kofta early in our swap-history and the Mango Lassi was a part of a summer swap meal. Heather informed me that K&O had enjoyed both items in the past; so I decided to make it especially for them, to celebrate their new school!

That being said, Chicken Kofta are a staple in my household. I probably make them a couple of times a month…the kids absolutely love it. I have two different ways of preparing them: One involves saffron (which would be pricey given how often we eat this stuff) and the second is the one I describe below.

And oh yeah, we did holiday pictures last weekend…my camera was out of juice and so I didn’t get to take any pictures of the cooking!

Chicken Kofta

The recipe below serves 4-5.

– 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
– 1 medium onion, chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
– Fresh ginger, chopped, in equal amount to garlic
– Good fistful of baby spinach, chopped
– 1 lb ground chicken
– 3 teaspoon salt
– 2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
– 2 tablespoon tandoori masala
– 2 teaspoon garam masala
– ~2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
– 1/2 medium tomato, roughly chopped
– 1 inch cinnamon stick
– Pinch of asteofida (optional)
– Pinch of red chili powder
– 1/4 cup tomato sauce
– Pinch of sugar

Method:
– Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
– Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add half the onions and sautee for ~2 minutes, till translucent.
– Add half the ginger and half the garlic and sautee for another minute. Remove from heat, stir in baby spinach and stir till wilted.
– In a mixing bowl, combine onion/ginger/garlic/spinach with ground chicken, half the salt, half the pepper, half the tandoori masala, half the garam masala, and all of the cilantro. Do not over mix.
– Form mixture into balls, place on baking tray, and place baking tray in oven for approximately 12-15 minutes till juices turn brown.
– While chicken is cooking, place the remainder of the onions, ginger and garlic in a food processor. Add in tomatoes and blend into a paste (will require a couple of splashes of water).
– Heat remainder of oil in new pan over medium-high heat. Add in cinnamon sticks and asteofida (optional).
– Once the cinnamon stick starts to warp, add onion/ginger/garlic/tomato paste. (Watch out for splattering.) Stir and stir often, for 2-3 minutes.
– Mix in red chili powder and remainder of tandoori masala. Sautee for another 2-3 minutes, till oil separates.
– Add in tomato sauce, sugar, remainder of salt and pepper. Add in roughly 1/2 cup water.
– Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 7-8 minutes.
– Mix in remainder of garam masala and cooked chicken balls.  Remove from heat.
– Serve over white rice.

Mango Lassi

During the summer, I make lassi for my kids easily 3-4 times a week. Their two favorite flavors are mango and rose (which I make using rose syrup and rosewater). I don’t have a set recipe for making the lassi. I make it using “andaaz,” which is a Hindi (and also Urdu) word that many Indian mothers use to describe their style of cooking….without recipes, based entirely on experience, intuition and the senses (mostly sight and smell).

So, how do I make my mango lassi? Roughly speaking, I blend equal parts yogurt and milk with a little less than equal part mango puree. Then I blend in some sugar, to taste. After blending this proportion, I will then taste and adjust accordingly. If it turns out too thick, add milk…too thin, add yogurt….too sweet, add yogurt….too tart, add sugar (if mango flavor is sufficient), or else add more mango puree. Clearly not a scientific approach but it works for this Indian mother!

The Verdict

I was very excited about Heather’s meal this week.  Somehow in all the years of cooking and providing food for my children, I had neglected to introduce them to both lasagna and Caesar salad.  Two serious omissions on my part!

And, how did it all go?  Well, Heather’s salad was truly awesome!  Dave and I had it in K&O quantities, by which I mean that I had 3 helpings and Dave had 4!  Seriously good stuff!  As for the kids, they were fairly ho-hum about the salad (weirdos!).  Their enthusiasm was for the lasagna.  Neither could believe “noodles” (their word for all pasta) could be so big…in Alex’s words, “my noodle is humonguch…I love it!”  Thanks, Heather, for both delicious meal and introducing my kids to these staples!