Chicken Tikka Masala

This is a Cody cameo.  I've made Chicken Tikka Masala several times and Deb is a big fan.

Ingredients:

The Chicken
6 boneless chicken breasts
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons black pepper
2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice

The Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves of garlic
2 jalapeno peppers
4 teaspoons cumin
4 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
16 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup 2% milk
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro

Rice
Any plain white, brown, or basmati rice

First, cube the chicken breasts.  I like to make them various sizes.  No larger than an inch though.  Then put all the chicken in a large bowl.  Clean up everything that the chicken touched before progressing.  Salmonella is bad.  Now, add the 4 teaspoons cumin, 4 teaspoons black pepper, 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons garam masala, 2 cups plain yogurt, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.  Don't worry, the cayenne pepper will be mellowed out by the rest of the ingredients.  Mix everything up with your hands.  Put the bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  The longer the better.  Pictured above is the chicken in the yogurt marinade, along with many of the ingredients used in the recipe.

Now, the sauce.  Put a nice size pot on the stove burner.  Drop 2 tablespoons of butter in and heat it at around 3-4.  Chop up the 2 cloves of garlic and 2 jalapeno peppers as fine as you can.  Then dump these into the pot with the melted butter to saute.

Add 4 teaspoons of cumin, 4 teaspoons of paprika, 1 teaspoon of garam masala, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.  You can add salt here if you wish.  Let the garlic and jalapeno cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple minutes.  Then add the 16 ounces of tomato sauce, 1 cup of heavy cream, and 1 cup of 2% milk.  Stir.  This is the completed sauce.  Let it simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I prefer to serve the masala over rice.  If you're willing to splurge, basmati rice is ideal, but any plain old white rice or brown rice is fine.  Start the rice now, if you are going to serve the masala over rice, a scrumptious combination.

While the sauce is cooking, start the chicken.  The preferred method is to put the chicken cubes on skewers and cook them on the grill.  If you don't have a grill, the next preferred method is a grill pan, skillet, or any old pan on the stove top.  Important:  if you aren't grilling the chicken, strain off the excess yogurt marinade.  Do not just dump the bowl of chicken, marinade and all, into the pan.  Put some oil in the pan or spray it with non-stick if needed.  Heat the pan on high, add the chicken, and cook until done.  The small pieces shouldn't take too long, but since the pan is probably pretty crowded, it may take 10-15 minutes.  Test a piece to make sure it's done, whether from the grill or a pan.  Undercooked chicken is bad.

No grills allowed at our apartment complex.  This isn't all the chicken.  I'd already added some to the sauce before I remembered to take a picture.

Once the chicken is done, and the sauce has simmered for at least 20 minutes, preferably 30, add the chicken to the sauce.  Let the chicken and sauce cook together on low for at least 10 minutes.

To serve, put a bed of rice down in a bowl then ladle the masala over the rice.  Delightful.

Deb made some Naan bread to go with the Chicken Tikka Masala and rice.  Bread is nice to soak up the extra sauce.  This is the completed dish.  Holler!

Honeymoon Inspiration: Coconut Curry Chicken

For our honeymoon, Cody and I went to Maui, Hawaii. Needless to say, it was spectacular. From sunup to sundown, we soaked it all in--sun, fun, and memories. After long days of exploring and snorkeling, we would either cook dinner together in our condo or go to a local place to try new things. Maui had quite a few restaurants that served either freshly caught fish (since we were in the middle of the ocean) or Asian food (because we were quite close to Japan and China). One night we went to Pho Saigon 808, a Thai restaurant that was recommended in our guidebook.

  

When we finally found it, I was afraid they were about to close because it was getting late. I told Cody to ask if they would be mad if we ate there. He said it exactly that way, "Would you be mad if we ate here," and the teenage boy smiled and showed us to a booth. This was the first time I had ever had real Thai food, but it will not be the last. Anyway, we ordered fried calamari, two different types of Pho (Vietnamese or Thai soup), and a Thai iced tea. The most memorable thing was definitely the Coconut Curry Chicken Pho. I could drink the curry broth alone; it was that good. 

Once we got back home to the States I knew I  wanted to find a recipe for the Curry Coconut Chicken. After several hours of searching, I found my first recipe inspiration here. I changed a few things, and I add a lot more vegetables to make it more similar to our experience in Hawaii. View my edited recipe below.   

Unlike the recipe I found, I serve the Coconut Curry Chicken over rice (instead of with noodles) from my rice cooker, one of the best kitchen tools. The rice comes out perfect every time, and I do not have to watch it at all. Starting the rice is always how I begin making this tasty meal.

All of the ingredients (except for the chicken...oops.)

Here is a list of everything that I use:
4 cups cooked rice 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced lemon grass or pale green cilantro roots (optional, definitely optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dark red chili paste (sambal)

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken, thinly sliced 

3 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup half-and-half

4 cups chicken stock (or water and stock base)

2 tablespoons fish sauce (use soy sauce as alternative)

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

salt and pepper, to taste
green bell pepper (I use green because it is cheapest, but red or yellow is nice for color)
1-2 cups carrots, sliced
1-2 cups snap peas
2-3 heads of broccoli


How I do it:

First, I start out by cooking the onions (see before picture) in the hot oil over medium heat until they are soft (see after picture). The most important part of making this dish is making sure the onions are cooked down well enough so that they are not crunchy. 

before

after

Usually while the onions are cooking, I cut up the chicken, carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, and garlic, and I grate the ginger. The fresh ginger adds so much Asian flavor to the curry, so don't leave it out! Once the onion is cooked down, I add the ginger and garlic to cook for about a minute. Then, I turn up the heat to high so that I can add the chicken. 

chicken added

 

Once the chicken is partially cooked, I add the curry powder and paprika. Then, I add the carrots and broccoli. Those vegetables take some extra time to cook, so I add them now, but it would be okay if you added all the vegetables at the end.

  

Then, I add the coconut milk and half-and-half, and I stir until the curry looks evenly distributed.

Finally, I add the chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, bell pepper, and snap peas. Usually, I let it all simmer for about 20 minutes so that all of the vegetables can cook, and then all of the flavors come together. Once it has simmered for a while, I always take a spoon and taste the broth. It is amazing every single time! Yum. 

When I serve the coconut curry chicken, I put about half a cup of rice in the bottom of the bowl, and then I load it up with vegetables and top with broth. It is best in a bowl because it's more like a soup after all. :) Cody and I usually end up eating this for a week. I never get tired of it. Hope you try it and enjoy it!

God bless you and your food!