Chicken Tikka Masala

I’ve only made Indian food once before, but it still is one of my favorite recipes on this blog: Butter Chicken. Given that, it’s strange that I never tried another Indian dish in all this time. I blame it on Garam Masala. It’s a spice mixture that tends to appear in a lot of Indian recipes, and it’s one spice that I don’t have in my obsessive hoarder alert of a spice shelf. But, I finally got my grubby little hands on a small jar of it at Penzey’s Spices, and set off to make Chicken Tikka Masala straight away. I’m glad I did.

This dish is actually a lot like Butter Chicken, but the Garam Masala gives it a sweeter flavor. It’s also not as spicy, although you can adjust the spice levels. My husband felt that this had a more present tomato flavor as well, but I didn’t notice that. I found the recipe on Tasty Kitchen.

There is one thing I will change the next time I make this. The chicken cooking process just didn’t work for me, and I don’t think the chicken itself got incredibly flavorful. I think the next time I will cut it in cubes before marinating, then skewer it and grill it to get that good char. I gather that this is normally made in a very hot Tandoor oven, so I think a grill might simulate that more closely than a broiler. I also cut down on the cream because I don’t think you need that much.

Ingredients:

3 whole Chicken Breasts

Kosher Salt

Ground Coriander

Cumin

1/2 cup Plain Yogurt

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 whole Large Onion, diced

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 piece (approximately 2 Inches) Chunk Fresh Ginger, minced

3 Tbsps Garam Masala

1 Chili pepper (I used Serrano), diced small (optional)

1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes

2 Tsps Sugar

1 cup Heavy Cream

This is the way the original recipe says to do the chicken, but check out my note above—I think that change will make a difference. Sprinkle the chicken breasts on both sides with salt, coriander and cumin. Then pour the yogurt over them and spread it around so they are coated. Cook them under the broiler on a wire rack set above a foil lined baking sheet. Five to seven minutes on each side until they are just cooked through and are lightly charred. Remove them and set aside to cool for now.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter before adding in the diced onion. Cook over medium high heat until the onions are slightly brown. Add in the garlic and ginger, plus a tablespoon of salt. Add in the Garam Masala and also your chili pepper if you like things to be spicy. Stir them in, and then pour in the whole can of tomatoes (including the juice) and the sugar. Stir well, scraping the bottom to deglaze, and then let the mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes.

In the meantime you can chop up the chicken into bite-sized pieces, and now is probably a good time to start your rice. Add in the chicken, cream and a handful of chopped cilantro, and your second favorite Indian dish is ready to serve!


(click for printable recipe)

Naan That May Be Pita

I decided to try a recipe for spiced lamb burgers (recipe coming soon), and it was suggested that they be served with flatbread instead of a regular bun, which I thought sounded mighty tasty. So I went to Kroger to look for flatbread, but what I found was disappointment. The only true flatbread to speak of was “light” and looked more like an elongated tortilla. The one brand of pita I could find is one that I know to be dry and flavorless. And those new flat sandwich buns from Orowheat just look nasty, I’m sorry. So I did what any sane woman faced with a flatbread famine would do. I decided to make my own.

Well, technically, I made Naan, not flatbread. Naan is an Indian flatbread that is quite a lot like pita, but without the pocket. Usually. As you’ll read later, my first few Naan (Naans?) had sort of an identity crisis and thought they were pita (pitas?). But by the end we had everything sorted out. I used a recipe that I found on Mel’s Kitchen Café.

Ingredients

3-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon sugar
3-4 tablespoons, melted butter

This recipe makes about twelve Naan, so I cut it in half. Start by heating your milk in the microwave (or on the stove if you’re all fancy and love to do dishes) until it’s just lukewarm. They say 110 degrees is ideal, but I’m not into measuring so I just guesstimated. Add the sugar and yeast to the milk and wait for 4-5 minutes until the mixture gets foamy. This means that the yeast is alive and well! Pour it into a large bowl and add the salt, plus about half the flour. Mix it up well until it’s combined and continue to add small amounts of flour until you have a soft ball of dough that is not sticky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead this for just a few minutes until the dough is smooth, and then store it in a lightly greased bowl covered loosely with saran wrap, for around 2 hours. As I’ve said before, the microwave seems to be the perfect spot for this. 

Once the dough has risen, turn it out on a lightly floured surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces (or 6 if you cut the recipe in half). Form those pieces into balls. Cover these with a dry towel and let them rest again for another 30 minutes. I find this is the perfect time to let yourself rest on the couch as well.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and pop in your pizza stone to heat up as well. Here’s where I think my Naan got all pita-y. Make sure you patiently wait for the oven to fully preheat. I might have jumped the gun, and I suspect that’s why my first few Naan puffed up like pita pillows, while the last few stayed down like good Naan. Roll your dough out one at a time to about 6-8 inches wide, then put it on your hot pizza stone and spritz it with water. This is my other possible culprit, as I didn’t take the spritzing seriously in the beginning. Cook your Naan for about 2-4 minutes until it starts looking nice and brown with a few bubbles. If the whole thing puffs up, don’t panic. I just let it go and when I pulled it out of the oven, I just poked a hole in it and pushed out the air. Be careful and use a hot pad since the air will be hot, hot burning steam. As you set each Naan aside, brush the outside lightly with melted butter, and stack them on top of each other. They taste best when served still warm, so eat fast!

Maybe the puffing up means this is really pita, and not Naan, and I’m sure the Naan purists out there are shaking their heads and clucking their tongues. But in the end, it tasted really darn good. And that’s all we pleasure-seeking heathens and charlatans really care about anyway.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Ruchee Indian Restaurant

When it comes to Asian food, Indian has been my long-time favorite. Perhaps because it was my first branching out from Chinese buffets or Japanese hibachi grills. Perhaps it has something to do with a college freshman hall-mate who introduced me to Samosas. Either way, though, when I’m looking to go out for dinner and I’m in the mood for something a bit different, Indian is a choice I get excited about.

Rarely busy, but always delicious is Ruchee on Midlothian Turnpike. The service is attentive with refilling water-glasses, knowing that their mouthwateringly flavorful food is spicier than the American norm.

While I enjoy going for dinner where I can dive into a meal of my selection, (my favorites being Lamb Saagwala, Vindaloo, or Chicken Tandori), their lunch buffet allows guests to try a selection of ecxellent choices. If you’re not familiar with Indian food, this is a great place to start.

But few meals, in my mind, can compete with their dinners. The Indian beers, such as the Maharaja Pilsner or the Flying Horse Royal Lager, perfectly accompany the spice of the meals. I’m sure their desserts are great, but honestly, the meals themselves are such heafty portions, I rarely have the room to finish the main course let alone still be hungry for dessert. If anyone has thoughts on their desserts, please comment below.

I highly, highly recommend Ruchee for meals out that are nothing like your norm.

Website: www.rucheeuniqueindiancuisine.com

Address: 9930 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23235

Price: $$$

Rating: 5 Sporks out of 5

Butter Chicken aka Chicken Makhani

I don’t normally cook (or eat, for that matter) Indian food. It’s not that I have anything against it. I think it’s more that most of the recipes seem to have a bunch of ingredients that aren’t already in my cupboard. And since my cup(board) runneth over with ingredients as it is, I don’t want to add to the problem. But this recipe, from Tasty Kitchen caught my eye because I already had most of it on hand and they all seem like pretty normal ingredients. So I thought I’d give it a try.

And OMG.

You guys, this was excellent. So flavorful. So intriguing. So lick-the-plate worthy. The sauce was so delicious I was literally eating it with a spoon (I actually think I might try making this as a soup sometime.) I suggest you make it immediately.

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

5 cloves Garlic, Minced

1 teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoons Black Pepper

½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

¼ teaspoons Ground Coriander

¼ teaspoons Cumin

¼ teaspoons Cardamom

1 whole Lime, Juiced

1 whole Onion, Diced

¼ cups Butter

1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce

1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes

1 ½ cups Whipping Cream

1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste

Rice

Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and combine with garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin, cardamom and lime juice. I actually didn’t have any cardamom, and I’ve heard it can be expensive. However, they say it’s a taste that cannot be replaced by any other spice, so I think I’m going to get some for the next time I make this. This time, I used about 1/8^th of a teaspoon of ginger as a substitute. Marinate this mixture overnight. Or make it in the morning for an evening meal, as I did.

Melt butter in a saucepan and sauté the onion until it’s soft. Add the chicken and cook about ten minutes, then add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Steve and I don’t even like tomatoes, but they were really good in this recipe, so if you aren’t a fan, just bite the bullet and add them! Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, keeping the lid on (and keeping tomato splashes off your stovetop!) Remove from heat and add the cream and cilantro. Serve over rice.

This was somewhat spicy (like everything I make) but you can dial back the cayenne if you like. And the original recipe called for a full pint of cream, but I put in less and it was fine. After trying this, I think I may attempt more Indian recipes. And if they are all this good, I’m probably going to move to India. Just saying.

(Click here for printable recipe)