Red Lentil Soup

Original Recipe at: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lentil-Soup-with-Lemon/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=red%20lentils&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
• 
  

• 1 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
• 1 pinch chili powder

Directions:

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has turned golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, kosher salt, black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon of chili powder. Cook and stir 2 minutes more until the spices are fragrant.
2. Stir in the chicken broth, lentils, and carrot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.
3. Pour half of the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot. Do not puree all of the soup, leave it a little chunky.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro, then season to taste with salt. Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of chili powder to serve.

Hot Mama Notes: This soup is very tasty!  I made the following changes to it.  I didn't have any tomato paste, so I used a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes instead.  I know, not really a similar substitution given the volume!  To compensate, I used 1.5 cups of lentils to suck up all the extra fluid.  This worked really well.  Plus, I used two 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth instead of a 32 oz box, so some of the extra liquid went there, too.  :)  I never did add the lemon juice or cilantro at the end, even though I had both items.  I did not put anything in the blender since I am lazy.  I don't mind a chunkier soup.  This soup is very good.  I will definitely make it again!!! :)  Easy and tasty and healthy, you just can't beat that!! :)

Hot Mama Grade: A

Butter Chicken (Chicken Tikka Masala)

Originally from: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/recipes/r-penzeysChickenTikkaMasala.html

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
  

Sauce:

• 1 TB. ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp. POWDERED GINGER
• 1 clove garlic, minced (1/4 tsp. PENZEYS MINCED GARLIC)
• 2-3 TB. green chilies, finely chopped (roughly 2 jalapeños)
• 3/4 Cup tomato puree
• 2 tsp. SWEET CURRY POWDER
• 2 tsp. GARAM MASALA 
• 1 tsp. GROUND CUMIN
• 1/2 tsp. REGULAR CHILI POWDER
• 4 oz. unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 6 oz. plain yogurt
• 2 TB. fresh cilantro (optional)
  

Vegetarian version:

• 4 medium potatoes, cooked and cubed
• 1 1/2-2 Cups cooked chickpeas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Wash the chicken and pat dry. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350° for 1 hour. 

While the chicken is baking, prepare the sauce. Melt the ghee in a large, non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until golden brown. Add the ginger, garlic (if using fresh) and green chilies. Cook for 1 minute before adding the tomato puree. Add the CURRY POWDER, GARAM MASALA, CUMIN, CHILI POWDER and POWDERED GINGER and PENZEYS MINCED GARLIC and cook for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the butter and cook, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and add the yogurt; mix well. Cover and set aside. 

Remove the chicken from the oven and let cool slightly. Remove the meat from the bones and place in a baking dish. Add the sauce and mix. Cover and bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and bake an additional 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving, if desired. 

Vegetarian version: Peel, cube and boil the potatoes. Drain well before adding to the sauce. Add the chickpeas and mix well. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving if desired. 

Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour for chicken plus 20 minutes baking/sauce making time
Serves: 6

Hot Mama Notes: I used 1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breasts and baked them as directed.  I put salt and pepper on them before baking.  I didn't want to deal with making ghee, so I just used regular old butter in place of it, and everything turned out fine!  I wanted chick pea in addition to the chicken, so I added them to everyone's dish afterwards except my husband's.  I rinsed and drained a can of chick peas.   It's a very rich and tasty dish.  Everyone liked it (both hubby *and* the kids - it's amazing!), and I will be making it again in the future. :)

Grade: A-

I would also like to try this version from Penzey's:

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/recipes/r-penzeysChickenTikka.html

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups boneless/skinless chicken breast chunks (about 1 lb.)
• 1 TB. plain yogurt
• 11/2 TB. minced fresh ginger (or 1 tsp. POWDERED GINGER)
• 11/2 TB. minced fresh garlic (or 1 tsp. PENZEYS MINCED GARLIC)
• 1 TB. GARAM MASALA or SWEET CURRY POWDER
• 1 TB. TANDOORI SEASONING
• 11/2 tsp. GROUND CUMIN
• 2 TB. lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)
• 1 TB. vegetable oil
• 4 tomatoes, diced (or 1 Cup canned tomato puree/sauce)
• 1/2 tsp. PENZEYS FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER
• 4 TB. cream (half & half or whole milk work too)
• 1/4 Cup water
• 1 TB. cashew nut paste (grind 1 TB. cashews with 1 tsp. water in a blender)
• 2 TB. butter
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. salt (to taste)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, yogurt, GINGER, GARLIC, GARAM MASALA or SWEET CURRY POWDER, TANDOORI SEASONING, CUMIN and lemon juice. Mix to combine. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy pan. Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until the meat is white and almost cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mix well. Add the PEPPER, cream, water and cashew nut paste. Reduce heat to low and cook until the chicken is tender, 5-7 minutes. Stir until the sauce thickens. Add the butter and salt and mix well. Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired and serve with Cumin Rice. Prep. time: 15 minutes plus marinating time Cooking time: 15 minutes Serves: 2-4