A(n Indian) taste of yellow

Winos and Foodies is hosting a very special event. Not only the theme "A taste of yellow" is extraordinary. No this event is held for the "Live strong day"on 16th May. This day is an initiative from the Lance Armstrong foundation (LAF)


with the aim to unify people affected by cancer and to raise awareness about cancer survivorship issues. There are even some other events you may participate in. If you wish to make a donation you can do so by visiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation donation page.
My beloved father died 7 years ago in my arms with my two brothers and my mother at our side. We lost him to colon cancer. Another relative had the same cancer but survived with his ostomy. Almost everybody I know is confronted with cancer in his family. And I think you have to try each and every possibility to prevent cancer if it is possible. Going to seek a doctor for preventive examinations and eating healthy food will be good choices.
Fruits and vegetables for example contain phytochemicals. This is why yellow food is chosen for this event. Yellow food contains carotenoids which is been said to lower risk of many types of cancer. Passionfruit for example provides 13 different carotenoids and 8 different polyphenols. Yellow food let the sun shine on your plate and to feel good is so important.
Initially I wanted to make a passionfruit and pineapple ice cream. But after I've seen so many sweet entries for this event I decided to "bake" something savoury.
I know a lot of Indian yellow dishes. My son, who has been to India for two weeks recently, has brought saffron strands amongst other spices, tea, and cinnamon quills. In Germany there is a children song which says "Safran macht den Kuchen geel" - saffron colores cakes yellow. And tamarind is used in many Indian dished, you may know it from curry spice blend/masala. I'm pretty sure what I made for this event would be something my father would be keen on. He loved to try new things, to train his palate and to get some knowledge of other cultures and cuisines. This was one reason why I knew him at least trying each and everything.

My yellow Indian entry for this special event will be enough for 4 persons. I've "baked":

Kagazi murg / (Tandoor-)roasted chicken breasts

And made in addition:

Kesar pilau / Saffron rice
Nimbu pani / Lemon ginger soda
Aam ka lassi / Mango Lassi

Ingredients for the Tandoori chicken:

4-6chicken breasts, skin removed and deveined
Ghee / butterfat for basting

2½ Ts chilli powder or chayenne pepper
2½ Tslemon juce
5 Tbsppomegranate juice

7 Tbspcream
290 mlnatural plain yoghurt
3½ Tsginger (about 15 cm), peeled and grated to a paste
3½ Tsgarlic (about 15 cloves), peeled and finely grated to a paste
1¼ tspblack cumin seeds
2½ tspgaram masala
1¼ tspsalt
1¼ tspfreshly ground black pepper
1pinch of saffron, crushed
½ tspturmeric powder

(In this case, I mean with all those spices that have to be combined, I would recommend to mix the roasted garam masala spices, coarse sea salt, the saffron strands, the additional peppercorns, cumin seeds, and turmeric together and grind them in several batches in a mortar and pestle to a fine powder. You can sieve it then but in this case it is not neccessary.)


Preparation:

Mix the chilli powder, lemon juice, and pomegranate juice together and rub it over the chicken. Let marinate, covered, for 3 hours.
Combine the remaining ingredients and whisk until they have a smooth constency. Then add the marinated chicken. Leave to marinate for further 4 to 5 hours in the refrigerator.
Since I don't own a traditional Tandoor oven I have to roast the chicken breasts on a metal rack in the preheated oven at 180 °C for 15 minutes. Then baste it with ghee, turn it, and roast it for further 10 minutes or until cooked through.
Serve with yoghurt sauce, a slice of an organic lemon and steamed, saffron or any other rice. Or serve it just with a salad.










Ingredients for the saffron rice:

2½ Tsghee
7cardamom pods
7cloves
6 cmcinnamon quill, brocken in half
2small bay leaves, torn
1large onion, thinly sliced
1-2green chilli, slit lenghtwise (I substituted it with Jalapeno pepper)
450 gbasmati rice, washed, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
750 mlwater
1pinch saffron strands, soaked in
90 mlhot milk
1½ tspsalt


Preparation:

Soak the saffron strands in the milk.
Heat ghee and fry the cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaf until aromatic. Add rice and stir for a few seconds until rice grains are coated with ghee.
Stir in the remaining ingredients. Transfer to a rice cooker or bring it to a boil in a saucepan and simmer over low heat.
When the rice is cooked remove the whole spices and fluff up the rice.



Ingredients for the yoghurt sauce:

250 mlnatural plain yoghurt
½ tspsalt
½ tspcurry/masala spice blend
lemon juice


Preparation:

Season the yoghurt to your taste. Serve it as a sauce for the chicken and the rice.









Ingredients for the soda:

12 cmginger, peeled and finely grated
280 gcaster/fine sugar
8lemons, juice of them
8cloves
8black peppercorns
4pinches ground cumin
1,8 lcold water
mint sprigs and
lemon wedges


Preparation:

Place all the ingredients, except the mint,in a heavy-based saucepan. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar, stirring occasionally, before simmering for 50 minutes.
Strain the mixture and cool.
Place in the refrigerator to chill.
Serve with ice cubes and garnish with mint and lemon.

If you use only 400 to 500 ml water this will be something refreshing and interesting served with chilled champagne and added like a syrup.










Ingredients for the lassi:

100 mlsingle cream
200 mlmilk
400 mlnatural, plain yoghurt
400 mlmango pulp (from about 2 large honey mangoes)
3 tspcaster/fine sugar or
4 tsporange blossom or acacia honey
ground ceylon cinnamon


Preparation:

Blend the ingredients together and serve with ice, sprinkle with cinnamon. Add more sugar or honey if you want.



Ingredients for the garam masala:

1 tspcloves
3bay leaves
2green cardamoms, seeds of them
4black cardamoms, seeds of them
1 tspcaraway seeds
12black peppercorns
½ tspfreshly grated nutmeg
Btw masala means any spice (mixture)/paste and only the Englishmen introduced these Indian spice mixtures as 'curry' because they are mostly used in those curry dishes with the curry-gravy and garam (hot) means it is a more pungent verson.


Preparation:

Heat a pan and add all the ingredients excluding the nutmeg. Stir for 30 seconds to release the aromas. Remove from the heat, add the nutmeg, then grind the mixture with a pestle and mortar to a fine powder. (This spice blend could be kept up to 6 months in an airtight container.)

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