Biriyani Redemption

There has been something bothering me for a long time now. Months to be exact. I have been around the world eating. I have ate in the dirtiest, weirdest, darkest, hottest, slowest, fastest, spiciest, freshest, coldest, strangest places I could find. I have ate on the street everywhere. Everywhere except, India. India frightened me. To be more accurate my friends, the locals and the restaurant proprietors all warned me of the horrible sickness I would suffer with just a nibble of the street food I so desperately craved.

I left India having NOT touched one morsel from a cart, stall or street peddler. The defeat sat dormant in me for a month after returning home. I thought I had forgotten about my disappointment when one day that defeat roared back to life. I felt it suddenly coursing through my body the same way I was told the gastro-intestinal hell raising bacteria would if I did not heed the words of the, presumably, smarter.  It grew stronger, itchier and madder each day. It attacked my brain, my nervous system and my appetite, flooding my body with tasty thoughts of goodness reaped only from a hot street cart down a dusty ally.

I couldn’t take it any more. I had to do something. I was not heading back to India anytime soon so, I did the next best thing for a shot of redemption. The above video was my shot to stifle and kill this now uncontrollable feeling inside me that I MISSED something wonderful.

The recipes are below this How-To-Video.

Roasted East Indian Chicken

ingredients
chicken parts(4 legs, 4 thights, 1 breast quartered)
paprika x2
garam masala x3
tumeric x1
cardimum x1
chili powder x2
cumin x1
salt+pepper x1
olive oil
1 can of chick peas
9-cippolini onions

directions
1. place chicken parts in bowl or bag
2. add olive oil and mix
3. add all spices to a bowl and mix so they are combined
4. add spices to chicken and mix until chicken is completely coated
5. heat oven to 375 degrees
6. place chicken in baking pan with chick peas and onions
7. cook for 1 1/2 hours. Turn chicken once halfway through cooking
8. transfer to a large platter and serve

Saffron Basmati Rice with coconut milk

ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
1 1/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
pinch of saffron threads

directions
1. bring coconut milk and water to a rolling boil
2. add saffron and stir
3. add rice and stir
4. reduce heat to simmer and cover for 20 minutes