M+B=E2O2: March 2010

Several weeks ago I decided I wanted to try to make one of my favorite Indian dishes- Chicken Tikka Masala. Only problem was that I decided to make this on the first Friday of Lent. So I thought I would take this dish that I'd never made and change the main ingredient-instead of chicken I used shrimp. I've made it twice since, once again on a Lenten Friday with shrimp then I made it again but finally with chicken.

The first go around I used a recipe on http://allrecipes.com. Since I'd never made anything like it and I was going to use shrimp instead of chicken I followed the rest of the recipe exactly as written. We were having friends over (Nice of me to test never before tried recipes out on friends huh?) so I doubled the recipe as well. All and all it was pretty good, especially if you were congested and needed to clear you sinuses! The original recipe called for 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper. I have never used cayenne pepper so I doubled it. whoa nellie! It was so hot! Both Ben and our friend G loved it. G took the leftover sauce home with him as a matter of fact. I was able to eat it, but not really enjoy it. I love hot, but not that hot!

A couple weeks later I tried again. This go around was for another dinner party and added another two guinea pigs friends to try my second attempt. This time I added a spice or two and I cut the cayenne waaaaaay down. Ben, G & new guest M added the cayenne to their own plates to up the heat, I think the rest of us agreed that it was darn near perfect with out it though. There was enough of a kick to taste it, but I didn't have to blow my nose throughout the meal.

I was really excited to finally get it together and use chicken. I love shrimp, but I hate peeling and de-veining those suckers. This time I was making it for my mom, two of her two sisters & my cousin who were in town for the weekend. Those gals are Polish through and through and not really into the heat, so for this round I only gave the cayenne jar a shake or two in the sauce. I also tripled the recipe and portioned out a bit for my cousin who is vegetarian. For her bit I had bought extra firm tofu to use.
The general consensus was that it was quite yummy- Yay! I absolutely love it and am so excited to make it again.

Here is the recipe I came up with- mostly as found on the allrecipes.com site. I doubled & tripled this though. I cook for 6 minimum around here and more often than not I have a few extras around the table.

Ingredients:

marinade:

1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (only if you love it HOT!) 1/4 teaspoon is what I used the 2nd time
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
4 teaspoons salt (or to taste- I used kosher)
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces OR 2 lbs of shrimp, peeled, de-veined and tails removed OR extra firm tofu

sauce:

1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
3 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large bowl combine yogurt, lemon juice, and all the spices from the marinade list-cumin, cinnamon cayenne, black pepper, turmeric, salt & ginger. Stir in your meat- chicken, shrimp or tofu. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour- I had my stuff marinating all day.
If you are making chicken or tofu- you can use your grill to cook it. If you want you can skewer the chicken, I just threw it on some veggie grill sheets that I have to keep the meat from falling through. You want to cook th chicken until the juices run clear- 10-15 minutes or so.
Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. season with the sauce spices -cumin, paprika, turmeric and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken/tofu and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving plater and add fresh cilantro on top

For shrimp:

Instead of grilling the shrimp I just dumped the entire bowl of marinade and shrimp into the sauce once it had thickened. I then cooked the shrimp in the sauce (a little less than 10 min I think- the shrimp should be pink).

All this was served with brown rice that had been seasoned with onions, garlic and turmeric and I added frozen peas once the rice had finished cooking (the hot rice will defrost and cook the peas in a few minutes). Add some warm Naan bread and you've got yourself a delish meal!