Vermouthed chicken with Orzo

What can I say, I love the Barefoot Contessa.  Ina's recipes are usually very much on the dot. However yesterday I strayed away. I wanted to make Coq au Vin but my pantry was a bit empty. So I made do with the ingredients I had. And for dinner we had:

Vermouthed chicken with Orzo:

Italian sausage, cut into pieces
Chicken, cut into small pieces,
Salt, black pepper
1 onion, sliced
3 - 4 roasted garlic pods
1/4 cup vermouth
1 cup vegetable stock
a couple of thyme sprigs
Mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup roasted peppers (marinated in vinegar)
1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes

Olive oil

Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the sausage over medium heat, remove to a plate.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken pieces in the same oil. Remove.

Add the onions to the pan and stir until they turn translucent. Add the mushrooms and stir till they are slightly browned. Add the vermouth, and then the sausage, chicken. Add the garlic, chicken stock, roasted peppers tomatoes and thyme and cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat.

Meanwhile cook orzo until al dente as directed on the package. Add extra virgin olive oil.

Serve the chicken with the vegetables and orzo, hot. Yum.

I used boneless chicken breast, but the next time on, I will probably go with bone in chicken. And also, capers may be a good idea.

Asian style chicken 'popcorn'

I concocted this a while ago on a day when I really craved to sink my teeth into some flavorful chicken appetizer. And this worked really well! Monu, I am sure you would enjoy making this (sorry, though since its me, i just use andaaz se spices)!

Chicken breast
ginger
garlic
soy sauce
lemon juice
black pepper powder
hot sauce
egg
bread crumbs
Chopped green onions for garnish.

cut chicken breast into 1/2 inch cubes. In a ziploc bag, add soy sauce, pepper powder, thinly sliced ginger and garlic, a couple drops of lemon juice. Add the chicken cubes, seal the ziploc bag, squeeze out as much air as possible. Leave the marinating chicken in the fridge overnight.

In a bowl, beat eggs, add salt, a few drops of hot sauce and pepper.
In another bowl, add breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and chilli powder.
Heat oil in a pan
Dip the chicken cubes first in the egg batter, then in the bread crumbs and then shallow fry in medium hot oil till they are brown and crispy on the outside.

Garnish with chopped green onions.

Serve hot with ketchup or hot sauce.

Anjana's chicken curry

Anjana's kitchen had a lot of feasts to offer, one of the most memorable was Kozhi-curry. Nostalgic moments from god's own country, mmm-yum! So here it is, recorded for posterity. All proportions are andaaz se, with due respect to Anju's kai-punyam.

Chicken curry Kerala style (From Anjana's recipe box)

Marinade: Roast coriander seeds (about 2.5 tablespoons for 1 chicken) and dried red chillies. Grind along with chopped onions, ginger and garlic. To this, add sliced onions, slit green chilly, poppy seeds (khus khus) and curry leaves.

Marinate chicken in the above marinade for about 15-30 min.

Curry: Fry bay leaf, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, fennel seeds (double of cumin seeds), cloves, cinnamon, finely chopped ginger and garlic. When garlic turns golden, add chicken, cook on high heat till chicken is slightly brown. Mix well, turn heat to medium, and let it simmer for about 20 min or so. Add a little bit of whole milk and salt. Add curry leaves. When chicken is done, add coconut milk. Let it simmer for a bit and turn off the heat. Ready!

Great with aapams or parboiled rice.