This was part of another phenomenal “afternoon tea” sessions, which are quickly turning into “try every recipe we can in 5 hours” sessions. (Thanks to Ayesha, Sara, Amy, Maryam, and Samra for a great afternoon!) These chicken meatballs were accompanied by Ayesha’s butternut squash risotto and some homemade marinara sauce.

Baked Chicken Meatballs
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

I’m sure you can read SK’s instructions just as well as I can, so I’ll just tell you what I did differently. We made a double batch, so the measurements described should be halved if you’re only using one pound of chicken.

I used turkey bacon instead of pancetta, but the second time I made it, I did not use it at all. To the meatball mixture, I added 1 tablespoon chipotle and about 1 or 1 and 1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander. I forgot how much exactly, but the extra half tsp. will just add an extra kick if you’re in the mood. The smokiness of these spices is enough to make up for the lack of pancetta/turkey bacon.

I also complied with SK’s “accident” of adding tomato paste to the meat mixture itself. It added an extra punch and smooth texture to the meatballs, and I highly repeating following this mistake!

Notice that, for one batch, SK uses 3 slices of bread soaked in milk. I actually used the same amount for two batches. It was moist enough without having to add another 3 slices of bread. Also, I think I forgot to add the egg, but it still came out perfectly. It is a very forgiving recipe!

These really are delicious and easy meatballs – easy for a weeknight supper or a party. Try them!

I’ve always wanted to master the simple chicken-and-rice dish that almost every food culture has. Murgh pilau, Dajjaj wa ruz, Arroz con Pollo, etc. So, after years of watching my mom do it, plus a lot of self-reassuring and instructional phone calls from my mom, i finally decided to attempt it.

Success! This was the most yummy one pot meal I’ve ever made. For the chicken, I used skinless chicken drumstick pieces. For the vegetables, I used eggplant, peas, and carrots. I guess this one was more Arab style then desi style because I put vegetables in it and toasted nuts on top. With some raisins and shredded carrots, it could be an Afghani murgh pilau. The possiblities are endless!

Ingredients: these are all variables. You just need one of each thing. it’s about proportions. the directions will tell you how.

Bone-in chicken breast or chicken pieces
Basmati Rice
Vegetables: Eggplant (fried), Carrots, frozen peas
Base flavoring: Onions and garlic
Spice mixture: cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, paprika/cayenne, black pepper
Cooking Liquid: Water (or stock, or water + Chicken bullion cubes)
Garnish: Cucumber-Mint yogurt and nuts toasted in oil

Directions
1. Chop and pan fry the eggplant until golden brown on the edges. Lightly sautee chopped carrots, if desired.

2. Chop and sautee onions and garlic in some olive oil; add some tomato paste if desired.

3. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle very strongly with spice mixture and put, seasoned side down, into the hot onion/garlic pan to sear. No matter how many chicken pieces are being used, only sear the chicken in one layer.

4. While the chicken is searing, season the other side. Turn to brown both sides.

5. Add in the amount of chicken stock (water + bullion) needed to cook the rice (1:2 ratio rice to liquid) plus 1/2 cup extra stock per cup of rice to compensate for the chicken. (e.g. for two cups of rice, use 4 + 1 cup stock)

6. Add all the chicken to the liquid. Taste the stock and adjust spices and salt as needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, then let it simmer rapidly for 30 minutes.

7. Add washed rice, eggplant, diced carrots, and frozen peas to the pot. Stir well to distribute everything evenly.

8. Bring the pot to a boil. Let it boil until the liquid is almost dried out. Cover and lower the heat almost all the way down. Let it “steep” until the liquid is all dry.

Serve with yogurt with mint and cucumbers.

To serve Arab style: Lightly sautee/toast almonds and/or pine nuts in a pan with olive oil. Spread the rice in a large dish and top with chicken. When the nuts are golden brown and crunchy, pour the nuts and oil all over the top of the rice.

For Kebsa, an Arab chicken with tomatoey-rice dish: No eggplants, but shredded carrots and/or chickpeas if desired. For the cooking liquid, mix one part tomato sauce with one part stock. Add chopped tomatoes before cooking the rice. Serve with a tomato-jalapeno-onion relish.

Afghani Palau: brown the onions very well before adding the chicken. No eggplant, but shred the carrots and add raisins before boiling and steeping the rice.

Arroz con Pollo: use sofrito (onions, garlic, green peppers) as a base for searing the chicken instead of just onions and garlic. Carrots and peas are the usual vegetables for this dish.

For an Asian variation: Use white and green onions, garlic, and ginger as base to sear chicken. Season the chicken with soy sauce, allspice, garlic, ginger, black pepper. Add mushrooms, shredded cabbage, and shredded carrots before cooking the rice.

My first experience with the famous Chicken 65 was when a bunch of my Hyderabadi friends mentioned it as their favorite dish. I, a strict Punjabi, had never heard of the thing. They raved about how good it was, but I never bothered to investigate further.

Then, last week, I went to visit some family in New Jersey. My aunt served this delicious looking red chicken, sprinkled with curry leaves. I thought it was normal tandoori chicken (which I love), so I was excited. But when I took a bite…..the love affair began.

This stuff is awesome. It’s an amazing balance of sour, sweet, savory, and downright spicy. My mom and I challenged ourselves to recreate it at home, and she found this recipe by the Vah Chef (this guy is pretty fun to watch; i’ll have to investigate further). Why’s it called Chicken 65? Vah Chef tells you.

I’ve just written out his recipe, plus a few changes that we made. I’m giving the recipe as we made it, but I think next time we’ll make it a bit saucier (i.e. double all the sauce ingredients except maybe the curry leaves). I suggest you watch his video for the technique alongside this recipe (not that it’s that complicated, but he’s really excited about it).

Recipe after the jump.

Chicken 65
Adapted from Vah Chef

Chicken and Marinade
2 lbs boneless chicken legs and thighs, cut into cubes
2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
1 egg, beaten
salt, black pepper
1 tsp each fresh ginger and garlic

Sauce
1 or 2 small green chilis, cut into slivers
Handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin (zeera) seeds
1 tsp powdered cumin
1/2 to 1 tsp chili powder (to taste)
1/4 cup chili-garlic sauce (see note)
about 10 curry leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbs each fresh ginger and garlic
1/2 – 1 tsp garam masala
salt, black pepper
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup water
4-5 drops red food coloring

Note: our Swad brand chili-garlic sauce was not very spicy, and it was more saucy than say, a Sriracha. That’s why we were able to use 1/4 cup of it. If you’re using Sriracha, use as much as you want for the spice content, and then maybe add a little Pakistani-style ketchup for the sauce factor.

1. Marinate the chicken pieces in salt, pepper, ginger, and garlic for about 15-20 minutes. (Note that Vah Chef uses aginimoto, aka MSG. I do not.)
2. Add the cornstarch to the chicken and mix well to coat. Add a beaten egg and stir until coated. It’s okay if it’s lumpy.
3. Deep fry the chicken pieces in oil and drain on a paper towel while you make the sauce.

4. Heat some oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they start sputtering, add the garlic and ginger, the green chilis, cumin powder, chili powder, garam masala, and some black pepper.
5. After couple minutes, add the curry leaves. DO NOT SKIMP ON THE CURRY LEAVES. They are what make the entire dish.

Wait, Cup of Tea, you say. You said there’s really no such thing as curry. True. It’s not a catch-all for all Desi food, it’s the name of one particular dish. “Curry” as Desis know it is chickpea fritters in cooked turmeric-yellow yogurt sauce flavored with *surprise!* curry leaves. Curry leaves are very popular in South Indian cooking. They have a sour, bitter, peppery smell, and are usually added to vegetable dishes (lentils, eggplant, cabbage), to add a sour, peppery flavor (bitter only if you add too many).

But I digress.

6.5. Add half the cilantro leaves as well.
7. Add the chili sauce (or chili sauce + ketchup). Let everything cook together for a few minutes. When it starts to dry up, add the lemon juice and red food coloring. (i guess you could make it red, blue, or green too, but that would just be weird).
8. Right before you add the chicken back into the pan, add the water to the spices and stir until everything is well dissolved.
9. Add the chicken back in and stir to cover with the sauce. Cook until the water is absorbed.
10. Before serving, sprinkle with the rest of the fresh cilantro.

Awesome. Trust me.

I got a slow cooker when I got married, but in one year’s time, I only used it once – disastrously. I tried it once when I was home all day to see how it cooked. I attempted to make rice pudding, but I had put in too much rice and too much milk and it overflowed. I had to dump it out into a big pot halfway through.

But somehow, I gathered up the courage to try it again – and in the past month, I’ve used it six times. Hence, I make this proclamation in front of the whole world – I love my slow cooker (and no, Ameir doesn’t consider it cheating, because he gets food out of the deal). I love the taste and texture of the food it produces. I love not having to cook when I get home after long days. I love the smell of deliciousness that greets me when I get home. *dreamy sigh*

I’m highly inspired by Stephanie of A Year of Crockpotting, who used her slow cooker every day for a year. As I make stuff, I’ll link to things that are inspired by her recipes.

This meatball stew was inspired by Stephanie’s adaptation of Simply Recipes‘ Albondigas recipe (meatball soup).

I made some meatballs, seared, and froze them for future use. I used the same basic recipe as I use for spaghetti and meatballs, but I added pureed chipotle-in-adobo to the mix. Just because I had some. I wanted to do frozen meatballs because I thought they’d cook much quicker than root vegetables, so I thought adding them to the slow cooker still frozen would give me more time. It came out to 12 meatballs, so I put half of them in here and saved half for something else later.

Basic slow cooker safety and operation:
– Do not put cold food in a hot cooker.
– Do not put hot food in a cold cooker (put it on warm while you’re preparing).
– High cooking is usually 3 -4 hours. Low cooking is usually 6-9 hours.
– Put vegetables in the first layer, meat on the second (veggies take longer to cook).
– The slow cooker doesn’t lose moisture, so when it’s done cooking, you’ll have either the same amount of liquid you put in, or even more b/c of condensation.

Click for the recipe!

Spicy Meatball Stew
(3-4 qt cooker)

4 baby red potatoes, cubed
Equal amount of butternut squash, cubed into the same size
1 or 2 carrots, chunked
1 can diced tomatoes with chipotle
1/2 – 1 can tomato sauce (depending on how saucy you want it)
2 onions + 4 cloves garlic
dried herbs, if desired
veggie broth, if you want this more soupy

1. Sautee the onions and whole garlic cloves (slightly smashed) over medium-low just until the onions are getting soft and the garlic cloves are getting browned (just this little bit of hot stuff is not enough to need to warm the slow cooker, and remember you’re putting in frozen meatballs later).
2. Salt and pepper the vegetables.
3. Put the vegetables and onions, garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour over half of the sauce and stir to make sure they’re all coated.
4. Put the still-frozen meatballs on top and pour the rest of the sauce and tomatoes on top.
5. Cook on Low for 7 hours and serve with rice.

This is a traditional Syrian dish of zucchini hollowed out and stuffed with cooked ground beef, then baked with a tomato sauce. The filling I used here is the same thing I used for making kibbe, and it really turned out well.

Kousa Mahshi

1 to 1/2 lb ground beef (whatever one package is)
2 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced or minced
1/4 or 1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin
Salt, pepper
Dry or fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 16 oz can tomato sauce
1 or 2 cups of broth (i don’t like to mix chicken broth with beef, so I used veggie broth)
7 green zucchini

1. Slice the zucchini lengthwise into two boats. Score the center and scoop out the flesh, leaving a rim around the edge. Try to get the ones with the bigger brown, round spot on the butt – these have more flesh, and you can use the zucchini you scoop out for other yummy things (or, you could make this feta stuffed zucchini by Veggie Venture)

2. Saute one onion and three cloves of garlic until soft. Add the ground beef and break it up so it cooks evenly. Add the walnuts, parsley, allspice, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. (I also added a good chunk of garlic-herb butter I had in the freezer. Shh….don’t tell).

3. Remove all that from the pan. Sautee one sliced onion and three cloves of garlic and add the rest of the tomato sauce. Let it simmer to flavor. Add the broth so it’s more liquidy, enough to pour into the pan and kind of braise the zucchini.

4. In two large 13×9 pans, divide the tomato sauce evenly. Lay the zucchini boats in the pan (I cut them in half so it was four little half-boats per zucchini – easier to serve).

5. Put about 1 tablespoon of filling into each boat (each full boat). If there is extra ground beef, let it fall into the sauce.

6. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until zucchini is tender. To serve, put a few piece of stuffed zucchini into a plate and spoon the tomato sauce on top.

Thanksgiving Dumpling Soup

A slightly different way to get rid of Thanksgiving leftovers – This is just going to be an idea more than an exact a recipe. I can’t remember exactly what I used, but I remember the chipotle was a really great kick.

Stock made from turkey bones
Shredded turkey, whatever is left over
One butternut squash, diced (about 4 cups)
Two carrots, diced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, choppped
One can diced tomatoes with juice
Onion, Garlic
2 or 3 chipotle peppers, pureed or diced finely
1 or 2 tsp adobo (from the can of chipotle)
Cumin, salt, pepper

Caramelize the onion, add the garlic towards the end. Add the butternut squash and carrot, saute till almost soft. Do the same with the mushrooms a few minutes later. Add the shredded turkey and mix it around with the other flavorings. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, chipotles and adobo. Mix in the tomatoes and broth and let it simmer until the squash and carrots are soft.

Dumplings – these were a bit hard, so I’m open to suggestions for another method.

1 cup flour, 1 egg, dried herbs, salt, pepper

Mix the egg and flour and seasonings till it forms a sticky, eggy dough. Break of little rounds of it and drop it into boiling broth. They’ll float to the top when done.

I made these for a family dinner this weekend – we had Ameir’s mom and Ameir’s stepfather over for dinner (and Mom gave me this phenomenal floral blooming tea set that I can’t wait to try. And yes, there will be pictures). The whole dinner, attempting to be mostly low carb, was: this stuffed chicken – spaghetti squash with garlic cherry tomato sauce – grilled asparagus garnished with grilled lemon – grilled eggplant rolled with ricotta, carrots, and olive tamponade – couscous with corn (oop, not low carb) – potatoes (ouch, sorry) and bruschetta with garlic-sundried tomato-herb butter (ouch again). I said mostly low carb.

These were very tender and a fresh change from my usual, heavy, creamy mushroom stuffed chicken. I’m glad that the chicken was still super moist without having to stuff it with bread cubes.

Recipe here:

Stuffed Chicken Florentine
(serves eight)

2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
4 portobello mushroom caps, gills cleaned and diced
2 big cans (about 1lb each) spaghetti sauce

1. Cut each half breast into two pieces (horizontally). Pound the thinner one out and butterfly the fat, fleshy piece and pound it till its the same as the other piece. Out of each half breast, you should get two big, flat pieces. These are huge, so you can cut each chicken breast half into three pieces instead of two if you want smaller portions. They’d bake for about 30 min instead of 40.

2. Saute the onions and garlic in some oil until soft. Put the drained spinach in and flavor with salt, pepper, and herbs of your choice (dried or fresh). I suggest basil, oregano, and/or rosemary.

3. Remove spinach from the pan. Saute diced portobello until it shrinks a little (salt and pepper it.) Don’t turn it into mush, but it shouldn’t be raw.

4. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces. Lay each flat, and put a good amount of spinach and portobello on each. (you’ll have spinach left over, but not portobello). Fold over or roll and tie closed with butcher’s string.

5. Place the chicken in a baking sheet. Mix the leftover spinach with the tomato sauce and pour it around the pieces. Spoon a couple of tablespoons or more over each piece of chicken, too.

6. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Turn over halfway through cooking and re-baste a little with the sauce. Cut the strings off before serving!