And So It Begins-- My First Post and My First Attempt at Tikka Masala

About a month ago, my husband and I were invited to a friend’s home to eat traditional Indian food: tikka masala, naan (a flat bread), and rice. It was a great time of fellowship over a delicious meal. My first thought when I got back home was “why haven’t I made Indian food yet?” I love food from all cultures, but I usually stick to Asian, Italian, and Mexican. What a bummer! So, I looked up some recipes for Tikka Masala and realized it was not too hard, and it used many ingredients I already had in my fridge. So I took on the challenge and it turned out fabulous. It was so good and the perfect amount of spice (although by all means add more cayenne if you like your mouth of fire :))!
Here is the recipe I used (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:

1. 1 c. vanilla yogurt
2. 1/2 lemon juiced
3. 2 tsp. cumin
4. 1 tsp. cinnamon
5. 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (trust me it was plenty spicy with just that amount!)
6. 2 tsp. black pepper freshly ground
7. 1 tbsp. ginger
8. 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-size pieces
9. 1 tbsp. butter
10. 2 cloves of minced garlic
11. 1 can of Mexican green chiles
12. 2 tsp. ground cumi
13. 2 tsp. paprika
14. 1- 8oz. can tomato sauce
15. 1 c. heavy cream

Directions:
1. In a gallon size bag, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 tsp. cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, and ginger. Add chicken into bag and shake until chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate bag for at least 1 hour before cooking to allow chicken to marinate.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and Mexican green chiles for about one minute. Add 2 tsp. cumin, paprika, tomato sauce, and cream. Simmer sauce on low heat until it thickens (about 20 minutes).
3. While sauce is simmering, remove marinated chicken from bag with a slotted spoon into a hot Wok or large skillet. Toss chicken in Wok until throughly cooked (6-8 minutes).
4. Remove chicken from Wok and add to thickened sauce. Serve over rice.

Side Note: If you do not own a Wok, I highly recommend it! It is the most used pan in my kitchen by far, no matter what genre of food I may be cooking. I bought mine at Ikea and the non-stick on it is horrible, but I have been drooling over this non-stick Wok for some time.

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