Indian Spiced Artic Char

Last Friday night my sister called me to see what I was doing for dinner. She was calling to offer me some fillets of Artic Char. My sister use to live in northern Canada, so when a friend from up north came to visit her, she requested that she bring with her a large Artic Char, one that she possible could not eat all herself. So I am the lucky one that got to have a couple fillets. I quickly put my chicken in the freezer and went to pick up the fish. Of course anytime I have fish I prefer it grilled and as some of you may know I love to use Cajun or blackening spices. I changed it up somewhat and used an Indian Spiced Rub and served it with a ginger dipping sauce.

Indian Spiced Artic Char

1/2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp coriander seeds

pinch cinnamon

pinch cloves

pinch red chilli flakes (optional)

2 fillets of Artic Char (6oz each)

olive oil

Heat a dry skillet over high heat, add peppercorns, cumin and coriander and toast until fragrant - about 1 minutes.

Remove from skillet and place in a coffee grinder and grind until powdery. Mix with cinnamon, cloves and chilli flakes.

Preheat oven to 450 or grill to med high heat.Drizzle salmon with oil and rub part of the mixture onto the fillets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. If grilling grill one side for 6 minutes and then flip to grill the other side for 4-6 minutes.

Fish should be opaque in side and flaky. You do not want to dry out fish.Serve with mango chutney or this ginger dip.

Ginger Dip

1/4 cup pickled ginger chopped
1/2 cup mayo
1 green onion chopped
pepper to taste
2 T soy sauce
2 T lemon or lime juice

Mix together and serve with fish.

Vegetable Curry

A few posts ago I mentioned that I had made a few dishes for the freezer so that I would have dinner prepared after work, and not have to decide on what to make. One of the dishes was this delicious crockpot vegetable curry I found at Karina's Kitchen.

The photo did not turn out well despite trying different settings, my flourescent kitchen lights and the dark winters have not been kind to photography. I have had some success with the Manual settings and using high ISO with some photos. But for some reason this particular dish was bent on being camera shy. Regardless, the dish itself tasted really nice, none of the flavors were over powering making for a really well balanced dish. Next time I would add more raisins as I loved the texture and flavor they provided.

Add to crockpot the following ingredients:

2 T olive oil
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, diced
2-3 tsps red curry powder,
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp fennel seed
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, sliced or chopped
1 large potato, diced
2 apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1 19-oz. can chick peas, rinsed and drained
3 cups vegan broth

After 6 hours add the following:

1 cup light coconut milk
salt and black pepper, to taste
A squeeze of fresh lime
Chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

Pour the oil in the bottom of the Crock Pot or slow cooker. Add the garlic, onion and spices. Stir to coat. Add the rest of the ingredients in the first list. Stir briefly to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for six hours or until the vegetables and potato are tender. I stirred the curry once during the afternoon to make sure all the veggies were moist and mingled.

Before serving, add in the coconut milk, a touch of agave, seasoning and lime or rice vinegar. Add some chopped cilantro. Cover and heat through an additional 15 minutes or so. Serve over rice or couscou sor with chapati or naan bread.

Other Recipes

Chicken Roti

Whole Wheat Roti or Chapatis

There are a variety of indian breads known as chapati, phulka, roti, naan and parantha. Most of them are made simply with flour and water, cooked in a skillet. As they contain no yeast they are perfect for those with allergies. You can add your own flavoring such as garlic or cumin to spice it up. These delicious flatbreads can be served with curries, stews, and/or chutneys. (chicken roti recipe)

1 cup Organics whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 T powdered cumin
1 tsp vegetable oil
water

Mix dry ingredients. Add in oil and a bit of water and continue mixing with hand, continuing to add water until dough is smooth and not sticky. Cover and let sit for 60 mins. Divide into 5-6 pieces and roll out into circles. In greased or oiled pan fry the pieces 2 mins per side until golden brown. Serve with main dish.

Chicken Roti

Ever since I have been introduced to Caribbean Flavours in Ottawa, I have been addicted to rotis. I had never heard of a chicken roti until my co-worker, owner (her husband's restaurant) of Caribbean Flavours made me a chicken roti and I was hooked on the texture and well flavor of this dish. I knew that I would never be able to hold up to his authenticity and quality of cooking, but decided to try my luck at a roti. Rather than wrapping the chicken stew in a roti, the flatbread was served on the side to dip in this delicious chicken stew and served with mango chutney.

1 lb chicken breast, cubed

2 medium potatoes, cubed

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 cup diced tomatoes, canned

3 T mango chutney

2 tsp fresh thyme

2 T mild or hot curry paste (Iprefer the hot)

1/2 tsp cumin ground

1/2 tsp ginger ground

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped

1 cup low fat coconut milk

19 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 dashes hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

roti flatbread

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In a food processor puree onion, garlic, carrot, thyme, 1 T chuntney, giner, salt and pepper. Place in a bowl. Add chicken and tomatoes. Marinate for 30 minutes.

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Heat oil in skillet with curry paste, cumin and cook 1 minute. Add chicken mixture and chicken stock, apple and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

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Add chickpeas and coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes.

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Serve with roti flatbread and mango chutney.

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See following blogs for roti flatbread and mango chutney.

Makes approx 6 servings.