Culinary Tour of the World: Episode 1: Afghanistan - Ashak

It has been a strange year thus far and it looks like we are in it for the long haul. One day is very much starting to blend into another.  Tired of the same routine, I was thinking that I need a project. Something to look forward to or bring excitement. Usually, it is a special occasion or a party or a trip that we are looking forward to, but this year all those are very muted and parties and travel are out of the question. So, as I was pondering this state of being, and thinking of possible ways of safe travel, I had a wonderful idea. 

 I thought instead of stressing about how we could go away for the weekend and all the logistics associated with safe travel in the current situation, why don't I explore the world! Meld my passion for cooking with recipes from all over the world and I could do a culinary tour of the world! This project would have many benefits; we would learn something about the culinary traditions of each country, be able to identify them on the map and possibly learn something about the culture and the country as I researched the food. And the best result would be that we would cook and taste many dishes which we would never otherwise get to eat in our lifetime. 

I didn't even know how many countries make the world, so that was my starting point. Now, given the very vast world to explore, I decided that to make it easy I had to choose a method. After some thought I decided I would go in an alphabetical order, starting with A and working my way through till Z. Second, I will look for vegetarian recipes, with minimal ingredient substitution. And third, wherever possible I will use produce from the garden. I plan to do video recording of the cooking process, so that I can remember and recreate the recipes that we love and be able to share with you all the process of cooking a dish when you know absolutely nothing about it!!

I am so excited to get started on this project. I have created a separate page on the blog menu to find all the recipes for this project and I will upload videos on my YouTube channel - "Gardening and Cooking Made Easy". 

So to kick us off, I have selected Ashak (Aushak) from Afghanistan. I looked up the Afghani cuisine on the internet and some of the recipes that were called out were Bolani, Ashak, varieties of Palaw etc. I had also let my friends know about this project and requested that they provide suggestions for countries that begin with the alphabet "A" and surprisingly many of my friends provided a lot of Afghani food suggestions. I had never eaten or seen Afghani food, so I looked up many recipes on blog sites and youtube. Finally, I decided on making Ashak because it was described as a dish made on special occasions, it could be made vegetarian, was recommended by a friend who had eaten the authentic version as well as I was growing chives and scallions in the yard.  

I must say that it was an excellent choice to begin with. Ashak is a chive filled dumpling served on a bed of yogurt sauce along with meat or lentil sauce. Through the various recipes that I read through and viewed, the filling should be of chives, but scallion greens and leeks are acceptable, split peas can be used for the vegetarian version of the recipe and if you want a shortcut, you can use store bought wonton wrappers for the dumpling covers. I, of course, opted to make the entire recipe from scratch including the dumpling dough and the end result was fabulous. I will definitely add this to my cooking repertoire as well as make the three separate components of the dish as separate recipes too. The lentil sauce will taste great with rice, roti or bread. The yogurt sauce makes a delicious dip and the dumplings will taste fantastic even in a pasta sauce. So without further ado, here is the recipe.

Here is the link to the video demonstrating the detailed method.

Ingredients

For the dumpling cover

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp oil

1 egg

1 tsp salt

water to knead a firm dough

For the filling

1.5 cups of finely chopped chives and scallion greens (leafy green part only)

salt to taste

1/8 tsp chilli flakes

1/8 tsp black pepper powder

2 tsp oil

water to cook the dumplings

For the lentil sauce

1 tbsp oil

1/2 cup split pea (chana dal)

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp chilli powder

salt to taste

water, enough to have a sauce which flows easily but is thick to coat the dumplings

For the yogurt sauce

1 cup yogurt

1/4 tsp grated/finely minced garlic

salt to taste

mint powder, for garnish

Method

Rinse and soak the split peas/chana dal for 30 mins or so, till softened.

To make the dumpling covering

Mix together the all purpose flour, oil, salt, egg and adding a little water at a time, knead the mixture to form a firm, smooth dough. Keep it aside for 30 minutes so that the gluten can relax and it can be rolled out easily.

To make the dumpling stuffing

In a mixing bowl, add the chopped chives and scallion greens, add the oil, salt, chilli flakes and black pepper powder and mix well. Keep it aside.

To make the lentil sauce

Heat the oil and add onions to it. Fry this for a minute or two and then add the garlic. Fry this mixture till the onions start becoming translucent and then add the spices - turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander powder and chilli powder. Cook the spices for a minute or two and then add the tomato puree. Cook this till the raw tomato smell disappears and then add the soaked split peas. Stir well, add salt and water and then cook this till the chana dal is cooked through. You may need to add more water if you are cooking it in a saucepan. The dal should not be so mushy that it will lose its shape. I cooked it in the pressure cooker, for 2 whistles. After that, I adjusted the consistency of the sauce by adding water and boiling it. If you cook it in an instant pot, it will take about 8-10 mins at high pressure. 

To make the yogurt sauce

Add the garlic and salt to the yogurt and mix well. 

To mold and cook the dumplings

Roll out the dough into a thin sheet which is about 2-3 mm thick and starts to look slightly translucent. Then using a round cutter, cut it into circles. Place 1/2-1 tsp of filling in the center of this dough circle. Adjust the filling quantity depending on the size of the dough circle. Then fold the dough into a half, to form a semi cirlcle/half moon shape. Pinch the dough all along the edges, making sure that it is sealed well. Place this in a plate which is dusted with flour, so that the dumplings don't stick to the plate. Cover with a towel, so they don't dry as you form all the other dumplings. 

Once all the dumplings are ready, boil water in a large saucepan. Once the water is at a rolling boil, keep the heat at medium high and add the dumplings into the water, one at a time. They will sink. Stir them gently with a slotted spoon, flipping them over. It will take a few minutes and then the dumplings will float to the surface. They are cooked through when they float and start looking translucent. Remove these from the water using a slotted spoon and place in a colander, so that excess water will drain off.

To serve

On a serving plate, spread a layer of the yogurt sauce. Then arrange the dumplings on this sauce layer. Spread another layer of the yogurt sauce. Then add a layer of the lentil sauce on top of the yogurt sauce. Finally, sprinkle some mint powder. Serve. Eat each dumpling with some of the yogurt and lentil sauce. The combination is a burst of flavors in every bite. Absolutely delicious!!

Tips

Chives and scallion greens, both have a  mild onion flavor. So, if you don't have access to chives use the onion greens (scallion greens). Drain the leafy greens well after you wash them, so that the stuffing does not have a lot of water. If the stuffing is watery, it will make the dumpling mushy and difficult to handle.  I had about 1/3rd of the dough remaining after forming all the dumplings. So you can double the amount of stuffing, keeping the dough ingredient quantities the same. If you are cooking the dal in a saucepan, cover it to quicken the cooking and stir frequently, adding water as needed.  You can use a little water to seal the edges of the dumplings, if the rolled circle is dry or if you are using store bought wonton wrappers.

Croissants - Butter and Chocolate

Laminated dough recipes are lengthy! That is important to remember as you start on this recipe. The first time I made a laminated dough was when I was in 6th grade. I made a puff pastry, under the watchful guidance of my mom who walked me through what each step meant. And the main thing I remember about that was that it took us the entire day to make it. So, I'd not been tempted to make such a pastry again till a few weeks ago.

I came across a video in which they showed a bakery processing dough and laminating it and then finally adding a layer of chocolate dough and baking beautiful chocolate filled croissants. That was motivation enough for me to attempt the croissants. The main difference between croissant dough and puff pastry is that the former is a yeasted dough. You still need a lot of butter, refrigeration between steps and a lot of patience. Now that I am older (and hopefully wiser) I had enough patience to spend a day and half in preparing these. The end result was fantastic! Beautiful lamination, very buttery and flaky!

I used the King Arthur Flour recipe and made modifications as I tried to attempt the beautiful technique I had seen in the video of making the chocolate croissants. I weighed out most of the ingredients and for some noted the volume measurements too which I have noted below in the recipe.  I used only half the dough (the rest is in the freezer) and was able to shape 18 medium sized croissants out of these.

Watch the video to visualize the key steps which has the key techniques and tips that go along with the method described below.

Ingredients
2 Eggs
Water, room temperature (read method for quantity)
660 gms + 1 cup all purpose flour (this is about 7 cups of flour in total)
2 1/4 tsp yeast
32 tbsp (4 sticks)  unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry milk powder
2.5 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp of cocoa powder
2-3 tsp water

Method

For the sponge
In a measuring cup which can hold 2 cups of water, add the two eggs. Then add enough water, so that the mixture measures a total of 2 cups. You will need about 1 and 3/4 cups of water for this.  In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix together 1 tbsp sugar, 360 gms of all purpose flour and the yeast. And then add the water and egg mixture to this and mix well to create a sticky dough. Cover it and let it rest while you get the butter ready.

For the butter slab
Cut out the 2 tbsp of butter from the 1 of the sticks of butter, so that you have 30 tbsp butter. The butter should be at room temperature so that it is malleable. Mix together 60gm (1/2 cup) of all purpose flour with the butter. The easiest method is to use a stand mixer and use a paddle attachment to mix it till you cannot see the flour. Or you can cut the flour into the butter with a fork and then use a spatula to mix it together. Do not whisk it! Then place it on a plastic sheet and then shape it into a 8 inch square.  Cover it well and place in the fridge till you work on the dough.

For the dough
Switch out the paddle with a dough hook on your stand mixer and in the same stand mixer bowl which has your sponge, add 2 tbsp of softened or melted butter. I added butter which was very soft and was easily mixed in. In a separate bowl, mix together 3 tbsp sugar, 300 gm of flour, dry milk  and salt. Use a whisk to mix these thoroughly and then add the flour mix to the sponge and knead till a dough forms. Add the vanilla. Knead it for 5 minutes and if it is still sticky add more flour till the dough is no longer sticky but still soft. I used about 1/2 cup of flour for this. Once the dough is ready, place it onto a plastic wrap sheet and using your palms and fingers push it out into a 9 inch square. Don't worry if your corners are rounded. Cover it and place it in the fridge to rest for 30 mins. This is to relax the gluten before we start the lamination.

For the final chocolate dough layer, separate out about 1/4 cup (a fistful) of dough and mix in 2-3 tsp of cocoa powder into the dough. Add a couple of tsps of water as needed to make sure that the dough consistency remains the same. Refrigerate this till we are ready to start rolling out the croissants.

Lamination
Remove the butter after about 15 mins of refrigerating the dough. If you have been doing other tasks while getting these components ready, make sure that the butter is not so solid that it will be very hard compared to the dough. The idea is to have the two be of the similar stiffness so that when the dough is rolled out with the butter sandwiched, the butter will spread evenly.  My butter was a little harder and I had to let it rest for a bit as I tried to roll it out,  and the edges did not have a lot of butter, but after 4 folds, there was no impact to the lamination.  If the butter is too soft  in comparison to the dough, it will start to spill out. In that case, place it back in the fridge for 10-15 mins.

Turn 1
Roll out the 9 inch square dough into a 12 inch square. Place the slab of 9 inch square dough on the rolling surface which is well floured. Then, place the slab of butter at a 45 degree angle (so it looks like a diamond) and place it on  the dough square. Now, there will be 4 triangular corners of the dough which can be seen. Now, bring each triangle of dough into the center of the butter and join all four corners to completely package the butter inside the dough. Use a little water if needed to seal the edges and pinch them so that they are well sealed.  Now, flour the rolling surface well, flip over the package and then gently roll out the dough into a rectangle which is 20x10 inches, ensuring that the butter is getting spread.  Flour the surface by picking up the dough as you roll it so that it does not stick to the surface and rip. Once the dough is rolled out into the desired size, bring 1/3rd of the dough and cover the center 1/3rd of the dough with it. Then fold the remaining 3rd onto the center to create a package. This will look similar to how a business letter is folded and is called a letter fold. Use some water to seal the edges so that the folds do not slip while rolling the dough. If the dough and butter have softened too much, refrigerate for 15 mins.

Turn 2
Now, turn this by 90 degrees and roll it out again into a 20x10 inch rectangle, rolling out the longer side to 20 inches and shorter one to 10 inches. Then do a letter fold again. This completes the second fold.

Turns 3 and 4
Now repeat steps 2 and 3 to complete a total of 4 turns. Refrigerate in between these steps, as needed.

Once 4 turns are completed cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate. Now refrigerate this for a few hours. I refrigerated it for 4 hours. The dough had started rising and created a dome in the center. Now, cut the dough into two equal halves. You can freeze haf for later use or refrigerate remaining half of the dough while you work on the first half, so that the butter does not melt.

Now, roll out the chocolate dough, which we had kept aside, to a thin sheet which is about 3-4 mm in thickness. Place it on as the final layer and make sure it adheres to the surface and then refrigerate if needed.

Now flour the rolling surface well and roll this out into a 12 inch by 18 inch rectangle. Trim the ends that are not open and are fold ends along the edges, so that the layers are revealed from all sides of the dough. The folded edges can impact the rise.  Then cut it into 3 equal halves width wise to create strips that are about 4 inch by 18 inches.  Then cut these strips into approximately 3 equal pieces to create a total of 9 rectangles. Now, you can cut each rectangle along the diagonal to make triangular pieces which can then be rolled into crescent shaped traditional croissants. Or you can cut them into smaller rectangles (length wise or width wise) and then shape into log shaped rectangular croissants.

About 1/2 of my dough had was laminated with a top chocolate layer and I used those pieces to make the log shaped chocolate croissants. The rest which had just a little bit of chocolate or no chocolate layer, I rolled into crescent croissants.

Shaping the croissants

For rectangular filled croissants, stretch out the dough a little (use a rolling pin to lightly roll it into a wider and longer piece, but not too thin) place chocolate chips in the center, along the width (shorter length) and then roll the dough similar to a letter fold and then score just the top chocolate layer with a knife to reveal the dough underneath. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet for final proofing.

For crescent shaped croissants, stretch out the dough a little (use a rolling pin to lightly roll it into a wider and longer piece, but not too thin). Now make  3/4th inch long slit  in the center of the shortest base of the triangle. Then start rolling the croissant from the base to the tip, till completely rolled. Pull on the two ends, to shape into a crescent and place on a parchment lined baking sheet for final proofing.

Let this prove at room temperature and rise and get puffy for at least an hour to upto 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake this for 7 mins at 400F and then reduce the temperature and bake it for 5-10 mins at 350F till a deep brown.

Let the rest for 10 mins before serving warm!

These are delicious and flaky and perfect!!

Tips
If using salted butter, reduce the quantity of salt in the recipe to 1.5 tsp.  I was only going to laminate 1/4th of the total dough with chocolate dough covering, and that is why I only separated out 1/2th cup or a fistful of dough.
I followed the steps of refrigerating the butter and then the dough and when I did the first fold, the butter was too hard. So, make sure that the butter and dough have a similar stiffness when you fold the butter in. For that you must bring out the butter at least 15 mins before you get the dough out. Dust  the rolling surface with flour often and liberally to ensure that the dough does not  stick to the surface. Dust off excess dough gently using a brush before folding.
Keep an eye on the croissants while baking to make sure they don't burn.

Paneer Chingari and How to Add Smoky Flavor to a curry

We visited India last summer and explored the foods at the restaurants that we used to frequent while growing up. I was lucky to find that all the restaurants were still around and we soon got down to eating the food that was deeply embedded in our memories.

Finally, after sampling everything we had craved over the many years, we decided to try something new.  At one of the restaurants we asked the restaurant manager to recommend something that we should definitely try out, a speciality of their restaurant. He recommended "Paneer Chingari". Paneer is fresh cheese and "chingari" means spark. The combination of these words was intriguing and we ordered this along with naan and dal fry.  It was a most delicious meal!! The paneer was cooked with a variety of vegetables in a rich and extremely flavorful gravy. And to top it all it had a smoked aroma which added the "chingari" touch to it. I made several notes after we came home as I just had to recreate this dish.

I was able to reverse engineer the recipe and it was just lip smacking good. Extremely flavorful, colorful because of the variety of vegetables used which are not overcooked and the smokiness from the charcoal takes this to another level. The recipe has a few steps, and it is important to follow these to obtain the right flavor and texture. Don't be tempted to take a shortcut, stick it in the pressure cooker and just cook it all together, that will bring it down to a common place gravy. Follow the recipe and you will love the end result.

The recipe here makes a large quantity and will easily feed a party of 8-12 people with enough for everyone to take seconds. Or you can do what I do, cook it once, and freeze it to enjoy over multiple meals. You can reduce the quantities by half or more if you want to make a small amount.

Also, I have used minimal oil and ghee to make this recipe. You can increase these per your taste.

Here is a detailed video of how to make this recipe.

Ingredients
For the gravy
3 tbsp oil/ghee
3 cups finely diced onions
8 whole peppercorns
4 cloves
2 black cardamom
2 inch cinnamon stick

3 green cardamom, peeled- seeds only
3 bay leaves/ tej patta
7 large cloves of garlic or 1 tbsp garlic paste
2 inch long ginger or 1 tbsp ginger paste
1.5 cups of tomato puree (3 tomatoes)
15  cashew nuts OR pumpkin seeds (pumpkin seeds for nut free version)
1 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek/methi leaves)

Spice/Masala paste for the gravy

1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin powder/jeera powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder/ dhania powder
1 tsp Kitchen King masala
2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (can reduce or increase this amount, to taste). For a spicy gravy, add regular chilli powder
1-2 tbsp water to make a paste

For the vegetables and paneer
100 gm paneer cut into cubes
1 tsp ghee

1 cup green beans, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup peas
1 cup cauliflower, floret separated
2 bell peppers OR 5 mini bell peppers
1 1/2 cup onion cut (3/4 onion)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp kitchen king masala
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

1 tsp Kitchen King masala

Method
To make the gravy
In a small bowl, mix together 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp kitchen king masala and 1/2 tsp each of cumin and coriander powders. Add 1-2 tbsp of water and make a smooth paste. Soak the cashews or pumpkin seeds in some water. Keep aside.

In a large pot/pan which can hold all the ingredients, heat up 2 tbsp of oil and add the 3 cups of finely diced onions. Cook onions till pink and starting to brown and then add the whole spices as follows. Add the peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, green cardamom seeds and the whole black cardamom. Then cook till mixture till the onion is well browned.  After this mixture cools down a bit, peel the black cardamoms and add the seeds back into the onions, throw away the peels.

Put the onion and spices mixture in a blender jar and to it add the soaked cashew nuts or pumpkin seeds, the garlic cloves, ginger and some water and  make a fine paste. 

Add 2 tsp oil or ghee to the same pan you roasted the onions in. Add the bay leaves, cook for a minute till fragrant and then add the onion paste and cook for some time. Then, add the puréed tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are well cooked. This will take some time to cook the tomatoes down. Finally, add the masala paste which had been made in the first step and stir well. Cook this for a few minutes till the spices are well cooked. The gravy is ready.

Preparing the vegetables and paneer

Dice the paneer into small pieces and pan fry these in 1 tsp of ghee.  Remove and keep aside. Now, in the same pan, add the beans, carrots and cook them for a bit. Next add the cauliflower and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Finally add the peas. If you are using any frozen vegetables, then add them later on as they cook faster than fresh vegetables. The vegetables must still retain a bite and their color. Don't overcook them. Now add  half tsp of each of the spice powders -- the garam masala, kitchen king masala, Kashmiri chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt. Stir in these masalas into the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Remove these onto a plate and keep aside.  

Then in the same pan add and add 1 tsp of oil and then add in the diced onions and bell peppers. Cook till they start to brown a little.  Now, add back the paneer, and the cooked vegetables cook this together for a couple of minutes.  This is now ready to be added to the gravy.

You can prepare the vegetables in parallel while you are working on the gravy as shown in the video.

Putting it together

Add water to the cooked gravy to adjust the consistency to your liking.  It should not be watery though.   Then add the prepared vegetables and paneer mixture and mix this into the gravy. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Let it come to a boil. To add the smokiness, heat a piece/briquette of coal till it is very hot. Place a small steel bowl in the center and balance it  on the gravy.  Then using tongs, place the charcoal into the bowl and add a tsp of ghee onto the charcoal. This will immediately create a lot of smoke. Place a lit on the pot and let it remain closed for 10-15 minutes to retain the smoke and infuse it into the gravy.  Then remove this bowl from the gravy.

For the final finishing touch , crush 1 tbsp of kasuri methi between your palms and add it to the curry and mix it in. 

Serve hot with some naan or roti or rice. Or make it part of your elaborate thali meal as pictured below. Here it is served with naan, jeera rice, dal fry and boondi raita with a side salad.

Tips

See the video for details on how to heat the charcoal if you have a ceramic top or a heating coil stove top.  To do this heat an iron pan till it is very hot and then place the charcoal and let it heat up till you can see the embers. Then it is ready to be placed into the bowl. Don't overcook the vegetables. 

Beetroot Leaf (leaves) Salad

This is a delicious and fresh way to use beetroot leaves. Ever since we started growing beetroots, I have been able to have harvests of fresh leaves throughout the growing season. I used to use these in stir fries and curries. And then I ate this delicious salad at my friend K. J.'s house and I was hooked. I think if you have fresh, tender leaves, this is the most delicious way of enjoying them.

The dressing here is  heated oil which is seasoned, but if you don't have the seasoning ingredients, then just heat up the oil and pour it over.  Just the salt, sugar and lemon juice can be used as dressing. The peanuts add a crunchiness as well as some creamy texture. I love it as a salad ingredient. You can add whole roasted peanuts too instead of powdering them.

Here is a video on the salad preparation

Ingredients

10-15 beetroot leaves

2 tsp oil

1/8 tsp mustard seeds

1/8 tsp cumin seeds

pinch of asafoetida/hing

2 tbsp roasted peanut powder (or use whole roasted peanuts)

lemon juice, to taste

1/4 tsp sugar, to taste

salt to taste

Method

Wash the leaves thoroughly and chop them into bite sized pieces. Grind the peanuts into a coarse powder. You can also leave them whole. In a small pan, heat the oil and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once they crackle, add the hing and turn off the heat. Pour the oil over the leaves. Add the salt, sugar, lemon juice and peanut powder and toss well together. 

A delicious salad is ready to eat. 

Tips

Place wilted leaves in ice cold water for a 10 mins to perk them up to their original crispiness. If you want to add some spice, you can also add a finely cut chili into the oil after adding the hing. Let it cook for a minute before pouring the oil over the leaves. 

Steamed Drumsticks/Moringa Pods

We have several moringa trees and this year we are reaping great harvests from them. One of the things we do is share these with our friends and others on gardening groups. But given the health benefits of the morninga pods and leaves,  I am trying out different recipes to include these. This recipe is a most basic method of cooking the moringa pods. Once they are cooked you can add it in soups, and curries or stir fries. All you need to remember is that the outer covering of mature pods cannot be eaten. Only the inside fleshy part should be eaten.  This recipe also includes a video on how to cook moringa pods and how they should be eaten.

This is probably the easiest and shortest recipe on this blog!

Ingredients
moringa pods/drumstricks/shevga chya shenga
water

Method
Cut the pods into 2/3 inch pieces, lengthwise. The pods should be about 2-3 cms in diameter and if they are really big, they may be too mature and very fibrous. One of the tests is to see if you are able to cut them. If it is really very difficult, then don't use the pod.
Pods that are 2-3 cms in thickness will still feel slightly fibrous while cutting them, but it will be possible to cut them through without excessive pressure on the knife.

Place these in a steamer and steam them for 10-15 mins. The pods should be tender.

You can also use your Instant Pot and pressure cook them for 2 mins on high setting with the vent closed. Or use your traditional stove top pressure cooker and cook them till 1 whistle. Let the pressure release naturally.

The pods will be tender and easily split open. Now they are ready to be used in other curries or eaten as is. I love eating them with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper or dipping them in a dressing or dip.

Use your bottom teeth to scoop out the inside fleshy parts. You can chew on the outer fibrous pod, but make sure to spit it out as the fibers are sharp and can hurt you if swallowed

Tips
Use a variety of dips and dressing to eat these pods.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

This is a delicious and quick recipe, which is perfect for a busy weekday or weeknight meal. It requires a few ingredients and takes just about 20 minutes to make including the cooking time. The lemon and garlic are the main flavoring ingredients and they enhance the dish. A light meal which can be paired with a side salad or steamed vegetables, to make a complete meal. Our family (the meat eater wing) love this recipe and it has become a favorite.

This is one meal where I don't have to ask the kids to finish their food. It gets eaten really quickly. So without further ado, here is how you make it.

Also here is the link to the youtube video with detailed instructions. These will help those cooks who  who may be new to cooking chicken and have questions about handling chicken and determining when is it cooked completely (without making it rubbery), like I did several years ago.

Ingredients
For the chicken
1 pound of chicken (2 chicken breasts)
1/4 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil

For the sauce
1 heaped tsp all purpose flour
2 large garlic cloves (about 1 tsp grated garlic)
1.5 cups broth (chicken or vegetable) - can also use water if you don't have broth
1.5 tsp butter
2 tsp lemon juice/ half of a large lemon
lemon zest

Method
If frozen, thaw the chicken breasts. Then slice the chicken into two pieces, horizontally along the surface of the chicken. You will have 4 thinner slices of chicken after this. Pound the thicker part of the chicken if needed, so that the chicken breast is uniform in thickness and cooks uniformly.

In a plate, mix the all purpose flour, black pepper powder and salt so that the flour is evenly seasoned. Heat the oil in a skillet and once it is hot, dredge each piece of the chicken in the seasoned flour and place in the hot skillet. Discard the remaining all purpose flour mixture.

Cook the chicken on each side for 2-4 mins till the chicken is browned. To check if the chicken is cooked, use an instant meat thermometer and insert it into the thickest part of the chicken breast. If the temperature is greater than 165F (74 C), the chicken is cooked. Remove it onto a plate and prepare the sauce.

Add 1 tsp of all purpose flour to the hot skillet, and half of the butter and roast it for a minute. Scrape any of the browned chicken bits. Next, add the garlic and cook it for a min. Then add the broth to mix, and mix well. Then add the lemon juice and lemon zest. Let the sauce cook and thicken and then finish the sauce with the rest of the butter which will give it a nice sheen. Add the cooked chicken breasts back to the pan and let them heat through. Garnish with lemon slices and serve hot.

Tips
Thaw the chicken in the fridge. Do not keep it out on the counter to thaw. Best way is to thaw it overnight. You can skip the butter if you want this to be a lighter meal. I have used very little oil and butter and you can also choose to increase the quantities to make it a richer sauce.  Using a thermometer ensures that the chicken is well cooked and also prevents over cooking of the chicken breast. This is an easy way to ensure that the chicken breast does not become chewy or rubbery.
If you line the cutting surface with parchment paper, it makes cleanup quick and easy. Make sure to wash your hands and clean any surface which has been in contact with raw chicken to prevent cross contamination.