I can’t believe that we are already in May and the days are flying by. Being at the Holi Cow makes me more aware of these things….we are now running bookings until the end of July! Cooking classes, high tea, baby showers, birthdays and even book club nights are being hosted at the Holi Cow.
If you have read some of my Mother’s Day blogs, you should know by now that I am not a fan of the set menus, crying babies, prams and just the general mayhem. This year, I am hosting a Mother’s Day Tea at the Holi Cow, 38 Kingfisher Drive, Fourways – so if you want to spend some time with Mom, snack on delicious home-made savouries and treat yourself to delicious old-fashioned cakes…this tea is for you. We kick off our tea with potato and brinjal pakodas, then serve North Indian Samosas with our Marvellous Mango Chutney, followed by Chicken Tikka served with mini rotis and our signature secret sauce that most of our customers call ‘that green sauce’ – It’s actually my mom’s home-made coriander and curry leaf mayo. I still bake every single cake at Holi Cow…I am fanatical about the cakes we serve. Red velvet, double chocolate hazelnut, carrot with cream cheese frosting and the White Chocolate Cardamom Cake are the cakes on offer and we also have Indian treats like Burfee and Gulab Jamun. Bookings are essential so give us a ring on 011 467 2661.
If like me, you are celebrating the day at home, here is a recipe that will warm up your Mother’s Day….a creamy chicken casserole with artichokes. It’s also one of those recipes perfect for this ‘banting diet’ that sounds way too good to be true. A real girls diet with full cream milk, cream, butter with some protein and select veggies. I will post some feedback soon, but so far, I haven’t craved carbs, not as hungry as before and have a little more energy for dreaded gym. I am really cynical about diets, but have noticed that a few of my friends are starting to look like a million bucks after being on the ‘Tim Noakes’ thing. I have used sunflower oil in the recipe but you can use butter or an olive oil instead.
I love artichokes and I feasted on them everyday while on holiday in Venice…I also visited a restaurant called Pane Vino san Daniella where Chef Luigi showed me how to prepare them. Here is a little video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PuO2aM_l5E
Yudhika’s Must Haves!
I use the AMC Chef’s Pan to seal the chicken and get the thighs to that beautiful golden colour – this AMC chef’s pan is a ‘must have’ and I will be giving a pan away to one lucky YUM YUM follower! Post a comment about a recipe that you have tried from this blog and share your experience – that’s all you have to do….good luck!
I baked a 5 layer cake with a chocolate cream cheese frosting for Mom last year….here is the link: https://yudhikayumyum.com/2013/04/24/troubled-by-true-love/
Creamy Chicken and Artichokes…by Yudhika Sujanani
Ingredients
2kg chicken thighs, skin on
Salt to season
60ml sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
100ml chopped carrots
100ml chopped leeks
6 – 8 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
200ml white wine
1 stock cube
Black pepper, to season
15ml Magic Masala (Curry me Home)
150ml fresh cream
2 x 400g tins artichoke hearts, drained
30ml lemon juice
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Here’s how:
Rinse the chicken thighs under cold running water and leave in a colander to drain.
Dab the thighs with absorbent paper towel and wipe away the moisture.
Lightly season the chicken with salt.
Heat an AMC chef’s pan on medium.
Brown the chicken thighs in batches placing the skin side down.
Remove from the pan and leave aside while preparing the sauce.
Heat the sunflower oil in a 30/40cm AMC pot on medium – I prefer a large pot and lay the chicken pieces out in a single layer.
Saute the onion until very pale golden in colour.
Add the carrots and leeks and saute until they soften.
Add the crushed garlic and saute for a few seconds.
Place the chicken thighs over the sautéed onions.
Add the fresh thyme, then pour in the white wine, chicken stock cube and 500ml water.
Add more water if necessary.
Simmer until the chicken is tender, add fresh cream, black pepper, Magic Masala and artichoke hearts.
Simmer for a few more minutes until the artichokes are warm and soak up some of the sauce.
Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken and then sprinkle with fresh coriander.
yudhikayumyum 
Always wanted to know how Paneer is made, as I loveit.d your recipe and it came out beautifully. I must admit that I have also experimented with this recipe by adding a little coarsely ground black pepper and that too was a huge hit with my friends. Clover ful cream milk is the best to use as it gives a wonderfully creamy consistency.
Hi Yudhika, I have looked into your recipes and tried a good couple of them and omg to choose one, is really really difficult so I am going to steer away from the typical everyday dinner dishes and move to my weak point – Your Chocolate Sponge Cake https://yudhikayumyum.com/2013/01/ recipe was FIRST CLASS PERFECT – It is by far the easiest recipe to follow, the cake is so light and I literally make it at least twice a week, I have a son who has adopted my weakness too – he has a mighty sweet tooth. Seriously Yudhika, I have tried a few of these Choc Sponge Cake recipes but yours was quick and easy and turned out THE BEST so it is THE ONLY one I follow…..I have shared it with many of my friends and family (I hope you don’t mind). Keep up the awesome blog and the awesome cooking recipes as they are fabulous.
Thanks have forwarded to everyone lots of love ☺
Hi
Congrats on your new endeavour – Holi Cow! Seems to be off to a good start. I wish you all the best. I look forward to attending one of your cooking classes sometime…a high tea too:-)
One of the recipes I have tried is the Custard Cream cake. I had initially made the custard cream and used it on a vanilla cake. The custard cream was delicious – a definite favourite. I then made decided to try the whole cake as per your recipe. Unfortunately, the cake did not come out as light and fluffy – I’m not sure what went wrong 😦 I’ll try the cake again someday. The custard cream is a winner!
Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Love your recipes Yudhika and I have tried many already 🙂 I am looking forward to a visit to Holi Cow as well.
Artichokes are my fave so this recipe will be on my table soon
I tried your Parda Saffron Lamb Breyani recently and it turned out perfectly and was really delicious! I was a bit scared at first as I never used the dough covering the pot in making breyani before but I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned out. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes which inspires me to be a better cook and more adventurous in the kitchen.
So here’s my diary of a “mad wanna be chef” … The lamb masala was the tastiest – tenderisttistis lamb ever, though had to substitute roti for rice to my dismay (let’s just say that I would rather drive to Holi cow for rotis) … My next venture saw me exploring the curried fish for Good Friday (I was so tired of the norm so had to try something new) I used trout and what I loved most was that it cooked in minutes, the trout absolutely drenched in curry sauce.
I’m a lover of Soji, so was very excited when you posted that recipe… I experimented and added fine almonds (my daughter doesn’t like almonds but loves Soji too) my Soji was creamy and light (never mind that I had to google grams vs ml because I don’t have a scale #redfaced) Ok let me also say that I toasted mine a bit too much and started over …. My mum taught me a valuable lesson early in life and that was “when trying out a new recipes, half the ingredients to make half the portion” thanks mummy 🙂
Congrats on Holi Cow. Can’t wait to try 1 of ur high tea’s as my husband is a savoury lover and im a sweet lover. U combined both worlds for us. I tried many of ur recipes as I have ur book and follow ur blog for new recipes.
My very best is the scones recipe. I tried it and it came out perfect. Best fluffiest and lightest scones ever. Thanks to ur grandfather for passing the recipe down to u. Love ur little notes and extra tips u put in each of ur recipes. Makes it all the more interesting. Lately I tried ur paneer and it came out just as u said it wud.
I cud go on abt ur recipes. Pls keep up the good work and ur food is an inspiration to me. From a recent stay at home mum who keeps her mind occupied by trying ur recipes.
Hi ,I have tried the creamy chicken &!artichokes.,i am not a lover for artichokes ,but after I tried the recipe I want to have more .my daughter lives in fourways & she needs to learn more on cooking as I am in Durban.may be she can join you for some lessons .i wish I was there with her .i have taught her how to cook ,she is very good . she would love to try out quick & easy recipes .Thanks for sharing your talent with us .have a Happy Mothers Day.
Thanks for the message, Manjoo….you can tell your daughter to pop in anytime! Looking forward to meeting her! X
Hi,
I tried the Thai prawn curry, the choclate cake and pretty much everything sweet from your recipe book! The choclate cake is a constant winner but I havent come close with the curries. Having tasted them all first hand I feel like a complete failure 😦 Most of my shortcoming have been based on my own laziness to follow your recipes to the T. If I am unable to locate the right brand of paste of coconut milk I just substitute – and therein lies the problem…
Fan of your work. Hoping to pop into Holy cow soon.
Zaheera
Hi Yudhs I had to try your creamy chicken recipe(minus the artichokes coz veg and I don’t get along) This recipe brought bak many memories for me of cooking for my late dad as he realy luved chicken dishes(chicken vindaloo was his fav,I havnt cooked since he passed away) which is why I chose this, I also didn’t include the wine (I need all my senses when cookin haha) but I must say this dish came out pretty well 🙂 realy enjoyed it!
I use your Butter chicken Recipe all the time.
It’s the best one I have tried. I love making it. I plan the night before and I get so excited knowing what I will be eating the next day.
I never made the butter chicken successfully before.
Each time I make it I always have a bit of hope in my heart as your recipes are great to follow and I think about the possibilities.