How to Cook Chicken With Tomatillo-Pumpkin Seeds
Serves: 8
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 mins
Ingredients needed to make Chicken With Tomatillo-Pumpkin Seeds:
- 4 lb chicken, chopped into 8 pieces
- ½ m medium yellow onion, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 lb firm tomatillos, husk removed and washed
- 4 large romaine lettuce leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/3 cups raw pumpkin seeds, unhulled
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- ½ cup unsalted peanuts, roasted
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
- 4 serrano chiles, stem chopped off
- ¼ cup canola oil
Cooking instructions for Chicken With Tomatillo-Pumpkin Seeds:
- Empty 8 cups of water into a 4 quart saucepan and drop the chicken pieces into it.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and reduce it to a simmer over moderately low heat.
- Continue to cook likewise for about 45 minutes or until the chicken are cooked through.
- Drain them out into a colander and set 5 cups of the cooking liquid aside; keep it warm.
- Heat a large frying pan over high flame and toss the garlic, onions and chiles into it.
- Sauté those for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until they brown and tip the mixture into a blender; keep it aside until necessary.
- Fill a clean 4 quart saucepan with water and plop in the tomatillos.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes or until they soften and are properly cooked.
- Drain them out and add into the blender, along with the lettuce and cilantro leaves.
- Pulse them for at least a couple of minutes until they blend into a smooth puree.
- Pass it through a fine mesh sieve and strain it out into a bowl; keep it aside.
- Return the clean skillet to moderately high heat and throw in the peanuts and pumpkin seeds.
- Stir fry them for about 5 minutes or until they toast slightly and tip them into a blender.
- Pour in 3 cups of the reserved cooking liquid into the blender and pulse them for about 2 minutes or until they form a smooth puree; pour it into a bowl and set aside.
- Drizzle oil to a saucepan and heat it over moderately high flame.
- Pour in the vegetable puree into the hot oil, followed immediately by the nut puree and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture thickens slightly.
- Pour in rest of the reserved cooking liquid and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or until they thicken further.
- Place the chicken in a serving bowl and smother them with the above sauce.
- Serve warm.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
