Recipe: Orange & Ginger Glazed Grilled Chicken

I'll let you in on a secret. You will usually find some grilled chicken in my fridge to do with as I please, for salads, wraps, pastas or even stir fries. I cook up 2 fillets and use them over the next 2 days. This also makes sure that when I am actually tossing up dinner, the preparation time is absolutely minimal. 

Inspiration struck today and I decided to do an Orange & Ginger Glazed Chicken Fillet for lunch. Now, as you already know, I had a fillet ready in the fridge. So, it was a matter of 5 minutes and I had this mouthwatering fancy dish ready. Here's how: 

RECIPE

For the Chicken (you can prepare and store for 2 days) 

Ingredients:

Chicken Thigh (2 pieces) (with bone or without)

Salt/ pepper

Italian herbs (I like parsley, rosemary also works)

Garlic (3 pods, ground into a paste)

Olive oil (1 tbsp)

1) Wash the chicken fillets and pat dry. Make cuts in the meat on all sides so that the marinade goes inside. 

2) In a ziplock bag (or just a bowl, if you don't have one), mix the other ingredients. Add the chicken fillets to the bag, one at a time, rubbing the marinade into them with the tips of your fingers. Seal and leave in the fridge for a few hours (I prefer leaving it to marinate for a day, turning the bag on the other side whenever I see it, a couple of times). 

3) Take a pan and heat it up. Put the fillets in the pan and sear one side by not moving them around for a minute. Turn to the other side, lower the heat (simmer), cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave the pan covered (and do NOT peak or remove the cover even for a minute) for another 10 minutes. 

4) Grilled chicken is ready. Cool, cover and store. 

You can use this (as I said before) for salads, wraps, pastas or just about anything. 

For the glaze 

Ingredients

Orange juice (half a cup)

Pepper to taste

Ginger (2 slices)

Mustard sauce (1/2 tsp)

1) In a pan, add all the ingredients, together with the chicken fillet. 

2) Turn up the heat and let the juice boil. Turn the fillet a couple of times so it gets coated.

3) In around 2-3 minutes, you will get a thick glaze consistency (almost like a marmalade) with just a lil extra jus for dipping. Serve immediately.  

Easy Wok Tossed Noodle Recipe (with step-by-step pictures)

Half a yellow pepper, two mushrooms, quarter of a carrot.. I had a whole lot of vegetables left in my refrigerator, but only bits of them which I needed to finish up before I headed to the supermarket. My solution? Easy wok-tossed noodles with plenty of veggies, to keep both me and the baby happy tonight.

The recipe is super easy. Try it out:

Recipe 

Time Taken- 20 minutes

Meal for 2

Ingredients

Half a carrot (julienned)

2 mushrooms (I used Swiss brown mushrooms, you can try any others, sliced)

Red, yellow and green peppers (half each, julienned) 

Grilled chicken bits (leftovers of any chicken you may have lying in the fridge)

1 small onion

Egg Noodles (one packet)

Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp

Soy sauce - 1/2 tbsp

1 egg 

Method

1) Chop up all the vegetables as mentioned in the ingredients list.

2) Heat 1 liter water in a large container. Add noodles when it comes to a rolling boil. Throw in some chopped beans too, if you have them. And the onion (whole). When done, drain and hold under cold water. 

3) Heat a wok and scramble the egg in it. Remove and keep aside. 

4) Add a tsp of oil in the same wok and heat. Add the mushrooms and toss for a minute. Now add the carrots and peppers and toss for a minute on medium heat. 

5) Add noodles, onion (cut into 4), chicken and the sauces. Gently mix. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Add the egg, toss a couple of times and remove from heat. Voila. 

Tips: 

- I like to use light soy sauce as I don't like it overpowering my noodles. If you prefer it stronger, use the dark one.

- Instead of oyster sauce, you can also add in black pepper sauce or black bean sauce. 

- The trick about the onion in the water is something I learnt from Kalyan of Finely Chopped fame. Credit where credit is due. 

- I keep oil to a minimal, for health reasons. You can also experiment with other types of noodles (I tried these amazing organic beetroot noodles with this recipe that came out fab too).   

Chicken Dishes for Home Delivery

I noticed that I have blogged about so many restaurants but haven't yet mentioned where to order from when all you want to do is sit in front of the TV and hog. We usually order in once a week and invariably it happens to be a chicken dish which we team with home-made chapatis and we're set for the 9pm movie.

So here is my pick for where you get some of the best Indian chicken gravy dishes (home delivery) in Noida:

1) Though we have found numerous other joints that can well give it competition, I have literally grown up on Chawla Chicken. Started in Ludhiana, Punjab and now with franchisees all over North India, the only consistent dish from here is the cream chicken and it comes highly recomended. A full Cream Chicken has 8 pieces in a delicious light colored gravy that goes well with Chapati, rice and even bread (something that they have realised and they now send 3 pieces of bread free with it). The gravy is flavored with pepper and can leave you licking the bowl clean. Tel: +91 120 245 2169

2) A close second is a recent discovery from a small eatery in Noida called 'Kambojh'. The 'Chicken Do Pyaza' definitely has more than 2 onions in it and is a scrumptuous red gravy. This is also a great idea for ordering in when you have guests. Serve with raita. 8 pieces per dish. Tel: +91 93507 07970

3) Kambojh has yet another winner called 'Kasuri Methi Chicken'. Different from most methi chickens, this one is made with cream and kasuri methi and spiced just perfectly. You will love it especially if you can not eat spicy food (like me). Tel: +91 93507 07970

4) A chicken post would be incomplete if I did not mention Butter Chicken. This is a test of a restaurant's capability and you can often go wrong with this. But I would recommend you stick to the originators of this dish - Moti Mahal. There is a Moti Mahal outlet in The Great India Place where you can devour this. More expensive than the options listed above, its a must try!

I am yet to discover the best Tandoori Chicken for home delivery. Most of them tend to send a dry version of it smeared with red chillies that just dont work!! The hunt for the perfect juicy tandoori chicken continues!