I wanted to try something new...

Indian food! I've had so many Indian roommates in the past, and have always enjoyed smelling their foods... but what I really wanted to do was learn how to cook it. I've gone to so many Indian restaurants, and have always stuck to a "favorite" dish.. that for me is.. Chicken Tikka Masala. Yum. I decided to go to the Indian store down the street and buy the spices needed. I ended up going to 3 grocery stores to gather all my ingredients, but didn't spend over 10 bucks! :) I marinated the meat for a day.. in yogurt.. and served it with naan/ basmati rice pilaf and tamarind chutney. Everything was made from scratch even though I was tempted to buy the ready made boxes... But what I made was SOOO good.....and I'm pretty critical on food. Many mess ups, and some things ended up in the trash.... it was a great learning experience nonetheless.. and hopefully more Indian food will come out of my kitchen soon.
Chicken Tikka Masala

• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
  
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1-1/2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1-3/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  
• 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• Cilantro to garnish

1. Mix yogurt and all the spices on the top half of the ingredient list in a bowl. Marinate for a day.
   
2. Melt butter, and toast the spices until fragrant ( 2 minutes)
   
3. Remove from heat and add in the tomato sauce/ milk. It will splatter!
4. Store sauce in the fridge until ready to use...
   
5. The next day... pan fry the chicken with a little oil, stir in sauce on low, simmer for 15 minutes.
   

Tamarind Chutney

• 3/4 teaspoons canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1.5 tsp and tamarind paste (concentrate)
  
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch + water to thicken

1. Heat oil, and toast the spices until fragrant.
2. Add in water, sugar, salt, and tamarind paste ( in that order.. or it will burn haha.. I threw away one batch because I put in the sugar first..)
3. Stir until everything is dissolved, and starts to thicken. Increase heat to med. and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture while stirring, and take off heat. It will thicken in the fridge.

I don't know what they serve this with.. but I usually eat it with Naan... I hope I'm not doing that wrong.. oh well.