Pressure Cook Your Way to Kudos With Chicken Tajine

In the second half of the twentieth century, many Americans began to embrace ethnic cuisine. As an example, as of 2008, an estimated more than 15 million Americans consume foods of Middle Eastern origin such as hummus daily. In 2010, sales for hummus reached nearly $300 million.

As the demand for restaurants with international cuisine flourished, the desire for ethnic home cooking recipes broadened the scope of many cookbooks.

One of the main dishes popularized over this period - Chicken Tajine (pronounced tah-jeen) - is a Moroccan dish of North African Berber origin.

Chicken Tajine, in essence a stew, is well-suited to pressure cooking. Made with fragrant spices, Chicken Tajine can contain chicken or lamb, and is often dressed with or accompanied by olives and preserved lemon.

Cooking and preparation times are each a modest 15 minutes. The following recipe serves 4 people.
Steps:

1. Purchase ingredients - this is your shopping list

• Bread - loaf of thickly crusted bread
• Poultry - 4 chicken thighs and 4 chicken drumsticks
• Fruit and Vegetables: 2 brown onions, 1 lemon, 2 cloves of fresh garlic, fresh coriander - 1 bunch, fresh parsley (½ cup), 3 pieces of preserved lemon rind
• Condiments and Spices: olive oil (you will need 2 tablespoons), ¼ teaspoon saffron threads, ½ teaspoon turmeric

2. Set aside 15 minutes for preparation and 15 minutes for cooking time
3. Food preparation

• Rinse lemon rind and dice 2 of the 3 strips; cut remaining into thin strips
• b. Remove excess fat from chicken and pat dry

4. Cooking

• Heat the oil in the pressure cooker to a medium heat
• Brown the chicken on all sides in small batches; remove from pot once browned
• Add the following ingredients to the pot with ½ cup of water and bring to boil: garlic, brown onions quartered, juice of ½ lemon, turmeric, saffron threads, diced lemon rind, coriander, salt and pepper and stir;
• Add chicken pieces and potatoes spooning sauce over them
• Close the pressure cooker lid and cook at low pressure over high heat until it reaches low pressure, reducing the heat to stabilize the pressure. Cook for 8 minutes.

Tip: the amount ingredients in the pressure cooker for this dish should not exceed the 2/3 level of the unit.
This dish will be sure to please. Feast on this wonderful dish with fresh crusty bread. Consider serving with hummus as an appetizer and a side of vegetables for a full flavorful meal. Enjoy!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Elizabeth_Chandler/1373179