Chicken Tikka Masala and 7 years of devotion - part 1

My Husband loves Indian food, in particular, Chicken Tikka Masala and Sag Paneer.  For years, seven to be exact, he has asked me to make them for him.  My reply is usually no.  There are several reasons for this but the biggest being that Chicken Tikka Masala is not a real Indian dish. 

I grew up Gujarati and my parents were vegetarian (this is a post of its own that I will get to, promise) so this meant things like cauliflower or eggplant or lentils for dinner rather than Chicken Tikka Masala. We also never cooked with heavy cream.  Yogurt was sometimes added to a dish but never heavy cream.

I have seen many versions of Chicken Tikka and the first I made used ground almonds and cashews to provide richness to the sauce.  I spent hours making this for him the first time and his response after his first bite was "did you forget to add cream?"

So, I decided I would make my husband his version of an Indian dinner.  Paneer and cream included.  This post has the Chicken Tikka Masala but there was spinach with paneer and naan as well.

It's not that I don't love ordering this dish when I'm getting take out.  I just feel like this is fundamentally not an Indian dish.  There are a lot of elements that are authentic but some parts are not and I think that is why I have never been inclined to make it at home.

I also didn't want to know how bad this dish actually was for me.  I was happy in my ignorance, just eating it as takeout, and never knowing how much ghee or cream were really used to make this dish so tasty.

This was a fun meal to make.  My husband made Manhattans, played DJ and took pictures.  We spent the entire evening making this dinner but loved being able to sit down at our dinner table and enjoy it together.  

As we sat down to eat this meal, my husband had the biggest smile on his face and as he took that first bite, he looked at me and said "it only took 7 years of devotion, but it was totally worth it."

Chicken Tikka Masala

(Adapted from Bon Appetite)
 
6 garlic cloves, grated
4 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger
4 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cups whole-milk yogurt
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
3 tablespoons ghee
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup tomato paste
6 cardamom pods, crushed
1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus sprigs for garnish

Preparation

I use a microplane to grate the garlic and ginger.  Combine garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cumin in a small bowl.

Whisk yogurt, salt, and half of spice mixture in a medium bowl.  Pour into a plastic bag and add chicken.  Make sure the mixture is spread all through out the chicken and it is all evenly coated.  Refridgerate over night. 

Cover and chill remaining spice mixture.

Heat ghee in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, tomato paste, cardamom, and chiles and cook, stirring often, until tomato paste has darkened and onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add remaining half of spice mixture and cook, stirring often, until bottom of pot begins to brown, about 4 minutes.

Add tomatoes with juices, crushing them with your hands as you add them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot, until sauce thickens, 8-10 minutes.

Add cream and chopped cilantro. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside sheet. Arrange chicken on rack in a single layer. Broil until chicken starts to blacken in spots (it will not be cooked through), about 10 minutes.

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces, add to sauce, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. 

Serve with warm Naan or rice or both!

Bahn Mi Sandwiches

I love Sandwiches.  Not just in a they are nice for lunch kind of way.  A good sandwich stops time.  It is selfish and requires both your hands.  Some are so bad that they won't even let you put them down because if you do, everything will come undone.   I especially love the ones that are so big that you are not sure where to take that first bite. 

I have actually gotten into fights with my husband over this.  There is no splitting of sandwiches in our household, only trading halves with each other. 

I don't know if this is because I am from NY but I consider Sandwich making and art.  It's not just putting a few things between some bread.   It's layering different texture and flavors and knowing how much of each is needed and where they all go.  The combinations are endless. 

One of my favorite sandwiches of all times is the Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwich.  If you don't know what this is, you are missing out.  Traditionally there is some type of pork (pork belly, grilled pork, pate etc...) or even chicken that is topped with sliced jalapeno, cucumber, cilantro and pickled carrots & daikon served on a crusty and chewy baguette.  It is everything I think a sandwich should be.  Juicy and tender meat , cucumbers cold and crisp, jalapenos just spicy enough to make you sweat a little, pickled carrot & daikon fight against the fattiness of the meat and then there is fresh and grassy cilantro.  It is almost a religious experience for me.

We ended up eating these in the kitchen right off the cutting board with some cold beers. It was a magical night.
 

Bahn Mi
(Inspired by Not Without Salt)

Freshest Baguette you can find
Cilantro
Cucumber spears
Slices of Jalapeno
Balsamic Vinegar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pickled Carrot & Daikon

2 carrots shredded on a box grater
2 daikon radish on a box grater (same size as carrots)
2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you want your pickles
2 teaspoons salt


Place shredded daikon and carrot in a glass jar with a secure lid. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix till sugar is dissolved. Pour over the daikon mixture until submerged. Refrigerate till ready to use.

 

Spicy Mayo

2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of Garlic flavored hot sauce (I used Sambal Olek but the original recipe called for Sriracha)
¼ teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredient in a small bowl and refrigerate till ready to use. I made it 24 hours in advance to let all the flavors come together.

Pork Meat Patties

(Makes 12 meat patties)

1 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons basil, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro stems, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce (again, I used Sambal Olek)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt


Start with the ground pork in the bowl and press it all along the sides so you have a wider surface area for the meat. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the ground pork and combine till evenly mixed. This recipe makes 12 patties about the size of a tablespoon.  I like the shape of the patties instead of a traditional meatball.  I think they cover more surface area of the bread.

Preheat the oven for 350. Cover the bottom of skillet (I used cast iron) with a thin film of oil. Once the oil starts to shimmer, place a few of the patties in the pan. Make sure you don't over crowd the pan. You want the meat to brown and not steam. Once you have brown the first batch, move them to a baking sheet. You may have to pour out the oil and wipe the pan out between batches. Some of the herbs may come lose as you brown the patties and start to burn.

Once the patties are browned, place them in the oven and finish cooking. Should be done in 10-15 minutes.

Now it's time to assemble the Sandwich!


Cut your Baguette into 6 inch slabs ( I found individual rolls at a local bakery) and slice in half leaving the back connected. Rip out some of the insides of the bread so the sandwich can be more compact. Slather the bottom half with the spicy mayo. Splash a little balsamic vinegar on the top half of the bread. Place 3 of the patties on the side with the mayo.

Place 3 slice of Jalapeno, or how many you can handle, 2 cucumber spears, a few cilantro leaves and some of the pickled daikon & carrot mixture.