Yesterday I tried my hands on a
simple continental fare for dinner and it turned out pretty yummy! I made
Chicken in Mushroom and Beer Sauce with Herbed Rice topped with a poached egg and Mashed Potato.
I first saw the chicken dish cooked by a friend and since I was not having any
alcoholic drink for the time being, this seemed like a perfect substitute! Beer lovers are going to love this dish savoring the beer flavor with each bite as you dig in to the chicken or mushroom chunks. But all
you weight-watchers, a caution for you since it has all the fattening and
sinful ingredients which gives it the perfect taste. Herb rice goes perfectly with
this dish topped with an egg poach and complemented by mashed potato.
Here are the recipes: Serves 5
Chicken in Mushroom and Beer
Sauce
What you need
Boneless and skinless chicken cut
into small pieces: Net 500 gms
5 tbsp butter
2 medium sized onions, finely
chopped
2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
150 gms mushroom, chopped
1 cup beer
½ cup fresh cream
1/3 cup cheese (preferably
parmesan, though I used normal cheese spread due to unavailability)
Salt and pepper to taste
How to prepare
Marinate chicken with salt and a
good amount of pepper for 2-3 hours. Heat butter in a pan till it melts. Fry the
chicken in butter on low heat till it turns light brown on all sides. Remove the
chicken from pan. Add the onion in the same butter and cook till it turns
translucent. Add garlic and mushroom and cook till the mushrooms have darkened.
Add the beer and stir lightly. Now add the fresh cream slowly and keep stirring.
Add the chicken. Allow it to cook till the sauce thickens. You can add water
depending on the consistency that you want.
Herb Rice
What you need
2.5 cups Basmati Rice
5 cups water
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp milk
5 tbsp parsley leaves, chopped
5 tbsp dill leaves, chopped
Freshly ground pepper powder to
taste
How to prepare
Combine the rice, water, salt and
2 tbsp butter and cook in pressure cooker, rice cooker or microwave. I cooked
in rice cooker and turned it off 5 minutes before the cooking is over (when
steam is coming out fully but rice cooker is still in ‘cook’ state). Keep the cooker covered for 2-3 minutes, then remove lid and add the chopped leaves, 2 tbsp butter,
milk and a generous dose of pepper and mix well. Turn on the rice cooker and
cook till the rice is done.
Mashed Potato
What you need
3 large potatoes cut into four
pieces each
4 tbsp fresh cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp milk, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
How to prepare
Place the potatoes in a pressure
cooker or any utensil of your choice, add water till the potatoes are covered
and 1 tsp salt. Cook till potatoes are completely boiled. Add the fresh cream
and butter in a container and heat lightly till melted and mix. Mash the
potatoes and add the cream and butter mixture. Add milk if you want to get a
lighter consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep mixing to make the
mashed potato light and fluffy.
Egg poach
Melt butter in a frying pan. break the eggs one at a time keeping the yolk intact. Sprinkle salt,
pepper and chili flakes to taste and cook on low flame.
There you go.. Enjoy a classic continental dinner with some wine. Do up the table with some candles for a
dinner date or play some groovy numbers to chill out with friends over a dinner
party!
