Butter chicken recipe

Butter chicken recipe by popular demand

Ingredients:

3 table spoons of Canola oil
3 Onions (sliced)

237 ml Whipping cream

796 mL can of Whole Tomatoes (3/4 can)

Ginger

Garlic

2 Green chilli

Jeera (Cumin seeds)

2 tea spoon Salt

1 tea spoon Turmeric 

1 tea spoon Garam masala

2 tea spoon MDH Butter Chicken masala (dry)

920 gm boneless Chicken breast (cut into small pieces)

Heat the pan (medium heat), add 3 table spoons of Canola oil
Add a tea spoon of cumin seeds

After a couple of minutes, add the sliced onions

Stir the onions on medium heat for 15 minutes till they are golden brown

Get the other ingredients ready

Add the whipping cream

Stir for next 10 minutes till it is thick

Grind the tomatoes in a food processor

Add the ginger, garlic and green chillies to the food grinder

Add the onions to the food processor and grind - till it becomes a puree

Put the puree in the pan

Make sure to cover as the puree will splatter all over

Add dry masala (salt, turmeric, butter chicken masala, garam masala)

Cut the chicken pieces into small bite size portions (2 cm * 2 cm cubes)

Add the chicken pieces to the puree

Stir the chicken pieces evenly so as to cover with the curry masala evenly

Cover and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat (occasionally stirring)

VOILA!!! Butter chicken is ready, serve with Rice or Naan

Home made yogurt recipe

A co-worker asked me, 'How do you make yogurt?'
So, I explained...
Here are the steps (with photos and some tips =)

Ingredients:
2L - 3% Milk
2 tablespoons - Yogurt starter (can buy Natural plain Yogurt from store for starter)
1/2 cup water (bring to boil before pouring milk, as it prevents milk from sticking to the pan *Tip)

Utensils:
3L Pan (to boil milk)
Corelle bowl with glass lid (or anything similar)

Most important gadget:
Timer - set for 15 minutes (so the milk does not boil...cuz, trust me, it will *Tip)
Timer needs to be set according to the quantity of milk and assuming gas is on medium control

 1. Collect all materials (utensils and ingredients)

2. Pour 1/2 cup water into pan and turn on the heat

3. Need to make sure a thin layer of water is boiling before pouring milk as it's easier to clean the pot after (as the milk does not stick as much)

4. Pour 2.5 Litres of milk in pan (pan size/capacity should be more than quantity of milk so as to leave some room as the milk boils fast, i leave about an inch personally)

5. Set the heat to Medium and set the Timer to 15 minutes (varies by milk capacity and heat control)

6. Turn off gas when milk starts to boil (and place pan on a different burner for cooling)

7. After about 30 minutes, pour milk in a Corelle container to further cool off (about another hour and a half)

8. The milk pan comes out quite clean when a thin layer of water is boiled first

9. Yogurt starter ready to be stirred into the boiled milk
*I take the Malai off and don't ask where it goes (now don't tell my grandma as she would start screaming...)
Malai - A thick yellowish layer of fat and coagulated proteins forms on the surface, which is skimmed off

10. Mix the starter and pour it in the warm milk
*In case the milk gets cold, I usually put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and then add starter

11. All set to be left alone for a while (8 hours or so)

12. With cool temperatures inside the house, I usually wrap it up in a fleecy blanket

12. All bundled up
*I typically start the process at 7pm & wrap it up by 10pm; and it's all set/ready first thing in the morning

13. And the next morning; Voila, home-made yogurt is ready.
*you can probably see the thin layer of malai that got left behind at the top

14. Put the yogurt in the refrigerator (tastes good for 3-4 days)
*we like to mix Boondi, Raita masala and salt and it tastes Delicious =)

Whistler getaway

Links:
The Weather Network
Whistler Blackcomb
Trip Advisor
Blackcomb Lodge
River of Golden Dreams
The Adventure Group Whistler ATV tours 
Whistler 4 Kids

Zen garden ideas

Japanese Garden landscaping

studiogblog

Martha Stewart magazine article - September 2013 issue
East comes West
1 Gravel or Sand
2 Rock 3 Plants
4 Water
5 Fencing
6 Paths

Stores:
Landscapesupply
BambooWorld