Plantain Stuffed Chicken With Tamarind Sauce

Spyce's Note:

This recipe originally comes from Guadalajara Mexico.It has a beautiful combination of sweet and savory flavor combined with an eloquent touch of tamarind sauce.

• Total Time: 28 mins
• Prep Time: 8 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 4 chicken ...

• 4 chicken breasts
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ripe plantains
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ tablespoon tamarind paste
• 3 tablespoons of pure honey
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, 3 cups of water, salt and bring to a boil.
2. Melt half the butter in pan. Add peeled plantains, cinnamon.Mash and mix well for one min on medium heat.
3. Remove chicken from broth, discard chicken broth or reserve for later cooking. Lay the chicken breast flat and cut from right to left through the center making two halves, add a tablespoon of plantain stuffing on the bottom half of the breast and add a 1/8th teaspoon of butter on the plantain stuffing for taste. place the second half of the chicken breast on top like a sandwich.
4. Place chicken breasts on a baking tray and cover with aliminium foil. Bake the dish in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes over a low heat.* Make sure to cover chicken with foil to keep the top layer from hardening.
5. To make the sauce boil a cup of water and add the remaining ingredients except corn starch. In a bit of cold water ( about 1 ounce) drop one table spoon of corn starch and mix well. Add this mix slowly to the tamarind sauce, and keep stirring on low heat for 5 minute To make the sauce spicer or sweeter or tangyer you can add more chile powder or honey or tamarid to please your taste buds.
6. To serve: Place chicken breast on plate add 3-4 tablespoons of tamarind sauce on top. Garnish with cooked plantain slices and corriander.

Reviews

[Elmotoo]

MY version got a 4 but if the plantains had been riper, it would have been a 5. DO make sure your plantains are nice & ripe, yellow with black spots & mushy. Mine were barely ripe, too starchy, soaked up lots of extra butter but the stuffing remained too dry. But mixed with the sauce was tolerable. The sauce is spectacular. It's a VERY easy dish & looks great on the plate. very filling, too. Made for my 3 Chefs 11/09. :) Thanks!