Tired of serving your guests the same old chilly chicken or chicken curry? Next time, you have people over, why not try something different. Making dishes like the ones you eat in fancy restaurants isn’t that hard, all you need are the right ingredients and uncomplicated recipes. If you are having friends or family over anytime soon, then do try these chicken recipes that will have them reaching for second helpings.
Chicken Roulade Stuffed with Cheese and Spinach
Ingredients
Chicken Breast: 5 pieces (tenderized)
Blanched Spinach: one handful
Cheese: 2 cubes
Butter: 50 gms
Fresh Thyme: one small bunch
Button Mushroom: 100 gms (minced)
Coriander Powder (as required)
Cream: 50 ml
Refined Flour: quarter of a cup
Chicken Broth: half a cup
Garlic Paste: 1 tsp
Basil Leaf (as required)
Black Pepper
Salt
Method
Marinate tenderized chicken breast with garlic and ginger paste, black pepper and salt. Sauté the spinach and cheese in a separate pan. Spread out the breast pieces and place the sautéed mix in the middle. Roll up the chicken and tie it up with a thread. Pan fry the chicken with butter and fresh thyme.
In a separate pan, cook the minced button mushroom in butter. Add salt, basil leaves, fresh cream, a pinch of flour and lastly the chicken broth. Stir well and simmer until the desired consistency.
Chicken with Bok Choy
Ingredients
Chicken Breast: 4 to 5
Bok Choy: one handful
Butter: 20 grams
Black Pepper: ¼ tsp
Salt
Fresh Parsley
Garlic Paste: 1 tsp
Soy Sauce Sauce: 2 tsp
Fresh Galangal
Roasted Whole Spices Powder: 10 gms
Method
Marinate the chicken pieces in a blend of whole spices powder, soy sauce, black pepper, salt and fresh galangal. Let it rest for a while before cooking. Add butter in a pan and add the garlic, let it turn brown and then add the chicken pieces. Let the meat cook before adding the bok choy which is the last step. Saute the greens before serving the chicken. You can garnish with fresh parsley.
Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
Ingredients
Whole Dressed Chicken: 1 ½ kg
Fresh Thyme: one bunch
Ginger: 1
Garlic: 1
Lemon: 1
Coriander
Bell Pepper: 1 (one yellow and one red chopped)
Tomato: 2 (chopped)
Carrot: 2 (chopped)
Potato: 2 (chopped)
For the Marinade Rub
Soy Sauce: 2 tsp
Garam Masala and Whole Spices (roasted)
Tamarind Juice: 2 tsp
Honey, Ginger and Garlic Paste: 2 tsp
Olive Oil: 20ml
Black Pepper: ¼ tsp
Salt
Method
For the marinade rub, mix all the ingredients together. Apply it on the whole chicken including the cavity. Put it on a baking tray. Stuff it with the lemon, garlic, ginger, and fresh thyme. Tie up the chicken with thread. Brush it with butter and put it in a pre-heated oven. Let it cook for 30 minutes at 200 degrees along with the chopped vegetables. After the first 30 minutes, take it out and brush it again with butter. Cook for another 30 minutes at 180 degree. Once it is cooked through, take it out of the oven and garnish it with coriander.
Iftikar Alam is a pharmaceutical entrepreneur by profession, Iftikar based in Guwahati is a big foodie. He loves to cook and experiment with ingredients.
This article was first published in Eclectic Northeast April 2018 issue
