Chicken Tikka Masala & Garlic Naan
Over a month ago I hosted all my co-workers for an evening of homemade Indian food. And it was tasty! Only I had my old crappy camera at the time. Cut to tonight, when I made two of those dishes again, and later in the week I'll try a new recipe of palek paneer (b/c I wasn't thrilled w/ the old recipe) and I'll make the bharta again. I'll let you know if the palek paneer recipe is worth saving and shall post the pics then. But tonight you get chicken tikka masala and garlic naan. Can you tell how much I adore my new camera? That food-pic function is the best ever, omg zoinks!
Chicken Tikka Masala
1.5 lb. chicken, chopped
6 Tbsp. tikka
½ c. yogurt
1 Tbsp. oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 green chili, seeded and chopped
1 in. piece root ginger, grated
1 Tbsp. tomato puree
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Marinate chopped chicken in 3 Tbsp. tikka and 4 Tbsp. yogurt for at least 20 minutes. Sautee garlic, chili and ginger for five minutes in some of the oil, add remaining tikka and fry for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and water, bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Cook the chicken (original recipe has it on a grill, but as I don’t own one, I stir-fried in a little olive oil). Blend tikka mix in blender, add to chicken w/ remaining yogurt and lemon juice. Simmer 5 minutes.
Ready to serve! I scoop it out over a piece of garlic naan, but you can also dip the naan or eat it w/ basmati rice. Here's another pic of it for good measure:
I like the steam!
Garlic Naan
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat. (Again, no grill. I used my oven's broiler.)
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared. (These cooking times are consistent w/ the broiler, but keep a careful watch! They have the potential to burn quickly.)
A heaping pile of fresh naan!
Glistening w/ butter and fresh from the broiler, drool...
So there you have it! Homemade Indian Food night, take one! May your tastebuds dance and sing!!
Special bonus pic:
It's a Gummy Octopus, how cool is that?!!!
Chicken Tikka Masala
1.5 lb. chicken, chopped
6 Tbsp. tikka
½ c. yogurt
1 Tbsp. oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 green chili, seeded and chopped
1 in. piece root ginger, grated
1 Tbsp. tomato puree
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Marinate chopped chicken in 3 Tbsp. tikka and 4 Tbsp. yogurt for at least 20 minutes. Sautee garlic, chili and ginger for five minutes in some of the oil, add remaining tikka and fry for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and water, bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Cook the chicken (original recipe has it on a grill, but as I don’t own one, I stir-fried in a little olive oil). Blend tikka mix in blender, add to chicken w/ remaining yogurt and lemon juice. Simmer 5 minutes.
Ready to serve! I scoop it out over a piece of garlic naan, but you can also dip the naan or eat it w/ basmati rice. Here's another pic of it for good measure:
I like the steam!
Garlic Naan
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat. (Again, no grill. I used my oven's broiler.)
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared. (These cooking times are consistent w/ the broiler, but keep a careful watch! They have the potential to burn quickly.)
A heaping pile of fresh naan!
Glistening w/ butter and fresh from the broiler, drool...
So there you have it! Homemade Indian Food night, take one! May your tastebuds dance and sing!!
Special bonus pic:
It's a Gummy Octopus, how cool is that?!!!