This Indian classic is very easy to make. This is not the easy version, but instead the amazing Matt-went-home-two-hours-early-to-cook-the-feast gourmet version, heavily adapted from numerous sources.

3 lbs boneless chicken breasts
1 lemon, cut in half
1/4 cup ghee, melted
4 large garlic cloves, chopped fine
thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine
2 tbsp ground paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2-1 tsp ground chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup plain yogurt
4 drops red food coloring
2 drops yellow food coloring
2-3 small (or one large and seeded) chili peppers, chopped fine
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400F (will be using top rack). Place cleaned chicken in large glass bowl  and  stab repeatedly with pairing knife. Rub in 1/2 lemon and 1/2 tsp salt. Add in 1/2 of the chopped garlic, 1/2 of the cumin, 1 tbsp paprika,  and all of: ginger, yogurt, food coloring, cinnamon, coriander, chili powder, cloves. Mix with your hands until everything is evenly coated up to your elbows. If prepping ahead, this mix can go into the fridge for up to a week just fine.

Put chicken on cookie cooling rack over a solid, rimmed cookie sheet (dripping on the bottom of the oven are not fun). Some people claim a roasting pan works too. *shrug* With turkey baster, or a spoon if you’re boring, splurt 1/2 of the ghee over the top of  the chicken mess. Bake for 45 minutes. Broil for 10-20 minutes until top coating visibly blackening in spots (not burning!!). While broiling, make the sauce (next paragraph).

In large cast iron skillet, add remaining ghee over high heat until drops of water cause sizzling. Add remaining garlic and chili pepper, sauteing for 30 seconds or so. CAREFULLY add cream, diced tomatoes (with liquid) – ghee will be hot and addition of liquid may causing flashing!! Stir in remaining spices except cilantro (a few grinds of salt and pepper, too). Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered, stirring regularly,  for about 10  minutes or until sauce visibly thicker.

After chicken is done, remove and allow to cool for a couple minutes. Cut into small chunks and add to sauce.  Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking about 5 minutes.

Serve with rice and bread, sprinkling cilantro and a lemon wedge around plate edges for garnish and extra seasoning.

Serves 4. Prep time about 1 hour (serial). Cook time 70-85 minutes.

This very easy dish can cook all day… or just all afternoon, and is excellent aside jasmine rice, couscous, or mashed potatoes.

2-3lbs boneless chicken breast
1/2-1 cup red wine or burgandy
2 cups Dinosaur BBQ Slathering Sauce
3-4 assorted hot peppers, chopped into large pieces
1-2 large cloves garlic, chopped
large tortilla shells
1-2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
olives/lettuce/sour cream/etc. etc. as desired

Add chicken, wine, bbq sauce, peppers and garlic to a slow cooker and cook on low. It’ll be done in 4 hours, and can sit for up to 4 more hours and still be wonderful. If you’re averse to pepper heat, remove seeds and any yellow interior lining from peppers prior to adding them to the cooker.

When done, shred chicken with a couple forks in the cooker to help soak in more juice. Make wraps as desired.

Prep time 10 minutes (5 before cooking, 5 after). Cook time 4-8 hours.

I used to make these all the time, but recently played them again. Fairly quick yet very satisfying. Serve alongside 2 cups of rice.

Marinade:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 lime, peeled and crushed well
pinch of curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin (ground)
several twists of black pepper from a pepper grinder
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (chopped fine)
2 large cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1 jalepeno or 3 serrano peppers (chopped)
2-3 drops Dave’s Insanity Sauce

Fajita:

1 lb. flank steak, or very thin sirloin
8 oz sharp cheese (shredded)
1 cup salsa
8 medium-sized corn or wheat tortillas (flour if you must)
lettuce, olives, other veggies as desired

Lay out steak in glass pan. Thoroughly mix all of the marinade ingredients in glass Pyrex container, pour over steak. Cover steak and allow to marinade in refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours.

To cook, get grill or cast-iron grill plate sizzling hot. Add steak quickly, cooking 2-3 minutes, flip, cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully cut into strips using knife and tongs.

To serve, add 1/8 of steak, cheese, salsa and other toppings to each tortilla, roll, and serve aside 2 cups white or jasmine rice.

Serves 4-6. Prep time about 15 minutes, 1 hour -to- 1 day marinade, ~10 minutes cook time.

Always a favorite. Great on the stove or grill.

2 lbs boneless chicken
1 cup barbecue sauce (I recommend Dinosaur BBQ Slathering Sauce, or Wango Tango (hotter))
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 assorted smallish hot peppers (quartered)
1 tbsp ground chipotle, habeñero or cayenne pepper

Mix syrup, ground pepper and sauce thoroughly in 2 cup measure. Cut chicken into chunks or bite-sized pieces. In chef skillet mix everything together. Cook over high heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve with rice, potatoes or cous-cous and a side of seasonal veggies.

Serves 4 usually. Prep time <5 minutes, cook time about 15 minutes.

A perfection from my college days. Quick, simple, and doesn’t need snobby cookware at all.

1 lbs boneless chicken
1/3-1/2 bottle Dinosaur BBQ Wango Tango sauce
3-4 assorted smallish hot peppers (quartered)

Cut the chicken in to strips, chunks or bite-sized pieces. In sufficiently large pot or pan combine, mix thoroughly, cook over medium-high heat until the chicken is done, 10-15 minutes. Serve with plenty of water and bread.

Serves 2. Prep time 2 minutes, cooks about 10 minutes.

Chicken vindaloo, a Portu-Indian favorite. Mine is slightly untraditional, but generally easier to make if you don’t have an Indo-Asian food store to buy some of the more traditional ingredients in. This recipe has been refined over about 12 years, and is one of my oldest loves.

3 lbs chicken (I prefer boneless, skinless breasts)
1 onion (chopped fine)
2 tomatoes (chopped well)
8-10 new potatoes (a rough pound)
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tbsp molasses
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp mustard seed (ground, or dry mustard powder)
2 large cloves garlic (chopped fine)
4 jalapeno or green chili peppers (seeded for less heat, chopped fine regardless)
1/2 tsp crushed chili pepper
2 tbsp canola oil
Fresh cilantro

In a Pyrex dish (or other glass, I suppose) combine molasses, vinegar, turmeric, coriander, cumin, ground mustard seed, peppers (not the crushed) and garlic- mix thouroughly. Mix in chicken to coat well. Cover and allow to marinate in fridge 8-24 hours.

Get the potatoes cooking in a pot. In Wok or chef skillet (or pot, if you must), cook the onions and crushed pepper in canola oil, stirring frequently until onion begins to brown before adding tomatoes. Cook about 5 minutes to soften then add chicken soup from fridge. Cook on high heat, uncovered stirring well occasionaly for about 10 minutes. Cover, reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. Halve the potatoes and add them, continuing to simmer another 15 minutes. Add cilantro just before serving.

Serves 6. Prep time about 30 minutes, 1 day marinade, ~1 hour cook time.

Roughly translated means: “you’ll cry like a baby grilled steak”. If you’re afraid of flavor fear not – all of the heat is in the dipping sauce which you can moderate at meal time. Try it, please. This does require some non-trivial prep and marinate time, but it’s one of my favorite Thai refinements. Steak can be cooked over a wood fire, charcoal grill, gas grill or on a stove top as desired. Goes great with rice, rice noodle or cous-cous (culinary faux paux, I know).

Sauce:

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar (raw preferred)
3 tbsp kao kua
3-4 small green onions (minced)
1/4 cup crushed chili peppers

Steak:

2 lbs lean steak (thinner is better, but whatever)
2 tbsp sugar (raw preferred)
1/2 Cup soy sauce or Kikkoman Less Sodium Teriyaki Sauce

Steak prep: In a large bowl dissolve the sugar in soy sauce (stir). Add steak, cover and let marinate for at least one hour (overnight is great too), tossing about 3/4 of the way through. Go make the sauce while you’re waiting.  When ready to cook, get your heat hot: if cooking on a stove, an iron grill plate or skillet is suggested as opposed to non-stick cookware. Until it sizzles a drip of water, it’s not hot enough. Add the beef using tongs (bamboo preferred) quickly and sear meat, cooking to desired doneness. Generally best to get a medium to medium-well, ~5-10 minutes. Cooking it fast and hot is the key to keeping the flavor locked in.  Skip down to serve.

Sauce prep: In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in the lime juice and soy sauce (stir). Stir in onions, kao kua and crushed chile.

Serve: Meat should be plated immediately, and cut into thin slices or bite-sized pieces. Sauce should be divided into small bowls or mini-cups for dipping. There might not seem like “enough”, but a little nahm jeem goes a long way.

Serves 6-8. Prep time is an active 20-30 minutes in the midst of a 1 hour marinade, and about 10 minutes to cook.

Ever wanted to not rely on a plastic tin for your crushed pepper? I enjoy making things, so through trial-and-error, here’s my favorite way to make crushed pepper. I generally serve it fresh or add it to a complex meal, but you can also store the left-over for quite a while.

Any number of small, dried chili peppers (10 is a good number)

In an iron (non-stick not recommended) skillet, fry the peppers dry over lowish heat until they break easily when prodded with a tong (bamboo preferred). Toss them regularly and don’t let them burn, or you might as well toss them, as it’ll taste horrible. Trust me. After they’re done, let them cool unless you have no feeling in your fingers (or don’t want any) then cut off the stem, cut them into 2-4 pieces and crush them with a mortar and pestle (or a freezer bag and a heavy thing, like a rolling pin, or hammer, or bowling ball). Remember, we’re not looking for a powder here- you want pieces and seeds, not powder.

So stop grinding.

Now.

I mean it.

Seriously, put down the hammer.

C’mon, this isn’t funny.

…

help