Nepali Spiced Almond Chicken and Kale

I had a dilemma this week when sitting down to write this post. I have the week off from my job (!) so I picked up some extra freelance editing work, and that means I’ve been spending a LOT of hours at home, in front of the computer.

But it’s summer, and no one wants to spend summer inside a hot apartment, tethered to a computer keyboard. (Also: the tendinitis typing limitations continue…)

So I’m going to attempt a return to the short-and-sweet-ness of my posts back when I started this blog almost 4 years ago, without getting super wordy about it.

And what better way to REALLY limit my propensity for long-windedness than with a good old photo-heavy internet listicle. (I promise you, this is not what this blog is permanently turning into…) So I present to you:

7 facts I would share with you in non-list form if I had more time and energy:

1. This is the most delicious way I’ve had chicken prepared in a long, long time.

2. This recipe is barely adapted from “The Nepal Cookbook,” a lovely book put out by the Association of Nepalis in the Americas.

3. If you want to donate money toward relief efforts in the wake of the April 25th earthquake in Nepal, the Association of Nepalis in the Americas has set up a relief fund (for more information, and to donate, just scroll down on their homepage).

4. The kale is based on a recipe (in the same cookbook) for mustard greens.

5. This chicken (along with rice) makes for some excellent leftovers (the kale is really best on the first day, though…).

6. I usually eat lunch outside at work, but on one (rare!) rainy day, I microwaved my spiced almond chicken leftovers and sat inside the communal work kitchen to eat. Every single co-worker who came into the room while I was eating my lunch commented that it smelled amazing — seriously, I got that comment from at least 7 people in a row.

7. No one likes turning their oven on in the summertime anymore than they like being tethered to a computer, but I have to say, I often prefer a little oven time to standing over the stove, stirring — as much as the oven sneakily heats up the entire apartment a few degrees, at least you can step away from the heat source, until the moment it’s time to serve dinner.

Print this recipe (Spiced Almond Chicken). (PDF)
Print both recipes (Spiced Chicken and Kale). (PDF)

RECIPES:

Nepali Spiced Almond Chicken
(Masaledar Badami Kukhura)
(Barely adapted from “The Nepal Cookbook” by the Association of Nepalis in the Americas.)

(Serves 4-5)

Active time – Day 1: 15 min., Day 2: 10 min.
Total time – Day 1: 35 min., plus 24 hours marinating time, Day 2: 90 min.

Ingredients:
~ 5-6 boneless chicken thighs
~ juice of 1 lemon
~ 1 tsp. salt
~ ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
~ ⅔ cup almonds
~ 2 cloves garlic, peeled
~ 1½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
~ 2 tsp. honey
~ ½ tsp. ground cumin
~ ½ tsp. ground cardamom
~ ½ tsp. ground coriander
~ ½ tsp. ground turmeric
~ 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
To cook chicken:
~ ¼ tsp. saffron threads, soaked in 2 Tbsp. hot water for 10 minutes
~ 3-4 Tbsp. butter, melted

How to make it:

1. Make diagonal slits in chicken thighs and place in a medium bowl. Combine lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper, then rub this mixture all over the chicken and into the slits. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the marinade: place almonds, garlic, ginger, honey, ground spices, and yogurt into a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Pour over the chicken, cover, and chill in the fridge for 24 hours.

3. The next day, before cooking the chicken, remove from the fridge to let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lift the chicken thighs out of the marinade and transfer to a roasting pan or baking dish, reserving the marinade that’s left in the bowl. Pour the soaked saffron threads/water into the reserved marinade and give it a stir, then pour that entire mixture over the chicken. Last, pour the melted butter over the chicken. Then bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes. Serve warm with rice (I used brown basmati rice here).

Print this recipe (Nepali Spiced Almond Chicken). (PDF)
Print both recipes! (PDF)
Print this recipe (Nepali Spiced Kale). (PDF)

Nepali Spiced Kale
(Barely adapted from “The Nepal Cookbook” by the Association of Nepalis in the Americas.)

(Serves 4 as a side dish)

Active time: 15 min.; Total time: 20-25 minutes.

Ingredients:
~ 2 bunches lacinato/dinosaur/Tuscan kale
~ 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
~ 1 Tbsp. ghee (or butter)
~ 1 tsp. cumin seeds
~ ¼ tsp. ground chili
~ 1 tsp. ground cumin
~ 1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated (or ½ tsp. ground ginger)
~ ¼ tsp. ground turmeric
~ pinch of salt
~ 3-4 Tbsp. water

How to make it:

1. Rinse, de-stem, and roughly tear the kale leaves.

2. In a medium saucepan (with a tightly fitting lid), heat the oil and ghee, then fry the cumin seeds and ground chili over medium-high heat, until the cumin seeds become golden brown. Add the kale leaves and stir to coat them in the oil/ghee and spices.

3. Add the other spices — ground cumin, ginger, turmeric, and salt — then the water, and stir to coat the kale once again. Cover tightly and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, lifting the lid only occasionally to give it a quick stir. Serve warm.

Print this recipe (Nepali Spiced Kale). (PDF)
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