Chicken Tikka Masala

In an effort to totally ignore the sticking snow outside my window this morning (yes, I said sticking snow), I am going to write about food. Spicy, hot, tantalizing food.

Namely, the dish that made my mouth die and go to Heaven last night. I've made it before, and it was really good, but I cut quite a few corners the last time, because I wasn't prepared with the full gauntlet of ingredients. Never again. This stuff is amazing!

It came from my newest favorite cookbook (for the last year), Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Which, by the way, is well worth the purchase, as it is loaded with really yummy recipes.

I'm not going to plagiarize and write the whole recipe up here, but will send you over to Martha Stewart to get the original recipe, then I'll tell you what I did differently.

1. I used olive oil in place of peanut oil, because that is all I have in my pantry.
2. I omitted the red chile peppers, not because I have anything against them, but because I forgot to buy them. The recipe had plenty of flavor and heat without them, but if you like your Indian food flaming hot, be sure to add them.
3. I made my own Tikka Masala paste, based on Jamie's recipe, omitting the coriander seeds (because I was out), swapping olive oil for peanut oil, doubling the tomato paste, omitting the ginger (my husband isn't a huge fan, and there is already ginger in the main mixture), also omitting the red chile peppers, the coconut, and the almond flour.
4. Instead of measuring out a half cup of the Tikka Masala paste that I just made, I scooped the entire batch into the pot.
5. I made plain brown rice to go with the Masala, and garnished it with Cilantro.
6. I make my own Garam Masala (an Indian spice mixture called for in the Tikka Masala paste), but you may be able to find it pre-made at your grocery market.

I am typing it here, so that in future I can remember my alterations and make it exactly the same way again. It was that good.

If you have never attempted Indian food in your own kitchen, I can't say that I blame you... there are usually a bajillion steps and ingredients, many having strange-sounding names. This recipe is no exception, but honest and true, is easy to make, just a little more time-consuming than your usual week-night fare. But if you give yourself plenty of time and prepare all of your ingredients ahead (including spice mixture and paste), it goes together in a flash.

Oh, and my picture is way better than Martha's. Neener, neener!

What We Ate

Oh boy, was it ever yummy! I spent yesterday afternoon in the kitchen, baking and simmering.

I made this cake, adapting it slightly by leaving out all of the white sugar, upping the spice quantities a little, adding a 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, and baking it in a bundt pan. Oh, my, was it ever good! Often I am disappointed by from-scratch cakes, but this recipe is moist, and fluffy, just how a cake should be. And judging by how quickly it disappeared, I think everyone else liked it too.

I left out half of the sugar, because I planned to make my Penuche Icing, which is super-duper sweet.

Here's my recipe for the icing: put 1 cup (packed) of brown sugar, and 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan. Over medium-high heat, whisk the sugar and butter until completely melted together. Carefully pour in 1/4 cup heavy cream, and bring to a boil, whisking continuously. Remove from heat. Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl (otherwise you will have lumpy icing). Pour the hot mixture into the bowl of powdered sugar and whisk briskly until well combined, but still liquid and hot. Pour immediately over still warm cake.

Once the cake was iced and cooling on my bin table, I got busy making chili. I have been using the same recipe as my go-to for almost 4 years now. It is so good, and unique because of the Indian spices used. If you decide to make it, please do go to the extra effort of making up a batch of garam masala- it gives the chili such a nice flavor, and people always comment (positively) when they try it for the first time. I often substitute dried beans for the canned, and almost always forget to put the vinegar and parsley in, and don't reserve any beans for topping. Otherwise, I follow the recipe pretty closely.

Finally, I baked a double batch of corn bread in my 12" cast iron skillet.

Both recipes, quite conveniently, come from the same issue of Cooking Light magazine (March 2007) and are on the same page. I would have given you links to their site, but they don't have the cornbread posted anymore, and I thought you might like to have them together too. So, hopefully I'm not breaking any laws by doing this, but here is a scan of my copy (which would be completely disentegrated by now if it weren't for top-loading sheet protectors!). Click on the image to see a larger version...

Don't leave out the Molasses Bourbon Butter... Oh, it is heavenly. I have always skipped it, being content with butter and honey, but with company coming, I decided to give it a try. I don't think I'll ever eat cornbread without it again.

Add a salad of mixed greens and you have a perfect meal.

Look at all of the happy people...

Pumpkin Curry

After a little bit of trial and error, I got it right! I present to you, thee most perfect Rainy-Day supper. Spicy comfort food at its very best...

Pumpkin Curry with Brown Rice

You will need:
a pot of cooked brown rice (or your favorite variety)
2 tablespoons butter plus more if needed
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon yellow curry
1 teaspoon garam masala (an Indian spice blend- available at most grocers, but I will include the recipe for homemade at the end- I make mine, and have a delicious chili recipe that gets a good dose... Mmm, might have to share that one too.)
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
a pinch of cayenne pepper if you like it spicy
2 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into bite-sized cubes
2 medium red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
3/4 cup frozen peas

Heat butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in seasonings. Add pumpkin and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. You may need to add a little more butter to keep the vegetables from sticking to your pan.

Pour in broth; bring to a bubble. Reduce heat and cover. Let simmer for 15 minutes or so, until potatoes are almost cooked and pumpkin has started to fall apart (the first time I made this, I pulled it off of the heat while the pumpkin was still in cubes- it was good, but I much preferred it this time, with the pumpkin all mushy, which made the sauce thick and creamy, rather than broth-y).

Add the peas and cook until they are heated through, just a minute or two. Stir in sour cream. Spoon over hot rice, and dig in!


Garam Masala:
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
8 cardamom pods
6 whole cloves

Combine all ingredients in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground. Store leftovers in an airtight container.