Dinner for four October 19

Thali is thriving :-) and I hope I can keep this going for a while! Please forward this link to your friends.

A quick reminder, the cause for this month is science. The thali's are for 4 to go and are a complete balanced meal. The suggested donation to the cause (you write the check directly in most cases) is $100 for dinner. And 100% of that goes directly to the receipient. I get to cook something nice and feel good about it!

The debate yesterday featured a question on why the US is lagging behind in science. The candidates talked about how they would put money into the system and Obama came up with some $$$ for college too. Hopefully good things will happen on the education front in the next 4 years.

We tried out the recipe below from Sanjeev Kapoor's site this weekend. It was a success and is going to be on the menu for Sunday Oct 19.

Other menu items

Bhindi - okra slit and stuffed with dry spices
Palak paneer - Indian cheese in a spinach gravy
Raita
Kulfi - Indian ice cream
Rice and naan

HARA MASALA MURGH
Chicken cooked in green masala
Preparation Time : 30 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes


Ingredients

Chicken 10 drumsticks
Fresh coriander leaves 1 cup
Fresh mint leaves 1/2 cup
Green chillies, slit 6
Coconut, 1/4 cup
Cloves 4-5
Almonds 15
Yogurt 1 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil 3 tablespoons
Green cardamoms 4
Onion , chopped 2 medium
Ginger paste 1 tablespoon
Garlic paste 1 tablespoon
Coriander powder 1 tablespoon
Cumin powder 1 tablespoon
Fresh cream 1 cup (I didn't do this part)


Method

Grind the coriander leaves, mint leaves, four green chillies, scraped coconut, cloves with a little water to a fine paste. Grind almonds to paste. Marinate chicken with green masala, yogurt and salt for half an hour Heat oil in a pan. Pound green cardamoms and add to the hot oil. Add chopped onions and sauté till brown. Add ginger paste, garlic paste and sauté till brown. Add marinated chicken and sauté for a while. Mix almond paste with the remaining marination. Add slit green chillies, coriander powder, cumin powder and mix well. Add the remaining marination mixture. Add stock and mix. Adjust salt. Cover and allow to cook for two minutes on high heat and then lower the heat and cook till done. Lastly add fresh cream and remove from heat. Serve hot.