Easy Chicken Tikka Masala

Mix cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, garam masala, black pepper and cayenne powders (about half teaspoons each). Cut chicken breast (2 pieces) into bite size pieces and add salt and spice mix. Heat 3-4 tbsp of oil in a pan and cook chicken until done and set aside.

In the same oil, add half of one onion diced, 2 tsp minced garlic, 3 curry leaves, and 2 green chilies chopped or slivered. Add 3 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamom pods, 4 black peppercorns and stir until onion is browned. Add tomato paste (6oz can), 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 0.5 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp paprika, pinch of fenugreek powder and salt and keep stirring on low heat for sauce to thicken. Add a cup of heavy cream slowly while stirring. Add the cooked chicken and fresh cilantro. Sprinkle 0.5 tsp garam masala and 1 tsp ghee. Cook on low heat few more minutes.

mother of all thai curries

We've been trying to recreate the Penang curry recipe from Taste of Thai, Fayetteville for years. We've gotten good curries but none of them exactly like the one. Today was attempt number 555 and although it is not the same as their's, this is the best Thai curry I've made or had.

Here's the recipe: Put pan on stove and add peanut oil, just enough to cover the bottom. Dice Thai ginger and put in pan along with kaffir lime leaves, basil leaves, and Thai chillies. Let the flavors infuse into the oil. Add Mae Ploy pastes: red curry, penang curry and yellow curry- equal amounts of each and stir. Take a can of coconut milk and add about quarter cup of the coconut milk and stir. Add salt and brown sugar. Add Jiff creamy peanut butter and rest of the coconut milk and stir. Add a dash of fish sauce. Add crushed red pepper to increase heat.

Separately, add salt and cayenne to shrimp. Take little oil in a pan and fry the shrimp until cooked. Then add shrimp to the curry. Let sit on low heat for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy the amazing shrimp curry.

Some of the ingredients I used....

Chingri Malaicurry with Tomatoes

Dim Korma

Shrimp Curry

Take raw shrimp. Sprinkle with Cayenne and Turmeric Powders. Heat oil in wok and fry shrimp until cooked and set aside.

Using the same oil, add minced onion and garlic. Sauté until browned. Add green chilies and salt. Add cayenne powder and ginger powder. Keep stirring on medium heat. Add spoonfuls of water every minute or so... this will prevent drying up or burning of spices. Sauce consistency should be like posted picture. Add the fried shrimp. Stir fry. Sprinkle with garam masala powder and chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Shrimp MalaiCurry

Heat mustard oil. Fry shrimp and set aside. In same oil, add finely chopped onions and garlic, and grated ginger. Add bay leaf and dry red chilies. Stir fry until onion starts browning. Add turmeric and red chili powder and a pinch of garam masala. Stir fry for a few minutes. Add coconut milk. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Add shrimp, salt and a little bit of sugar. Keep on low heat for 20 minutes. Add green chilies at the 15 minute mark. Serve and enjoy!

Stuffed Potatoes and Eggplant

Chicken Roast

		Chicken
Ghee	2 1/2 cups	Onion (sliced)	4 counts
Onion	1.5 cup	Garlic paste	1 tab spoon
Ginger paste	4 tab spoons	Mace paste	¼ tea spoon
Nutmeg paste	½ count	Cinnamon paste	1 teaspoon
Cardamom paste	½ teaspoon	Cloves paste	3 counts
Salt		Sugar	1 tab spoon
Lemon juice	2 tab spoons	Plain yogurt	1 cup
Milk	2 cups	Keora or Rose Water	2 tab spoons
Saffron	Lemon yellow color

Heat the ghee and add the sliced onions. When browned, remove half the fried onions. After few minutes put the chicken in and fry until golden brown. Mix the yogurt with other spices and add to the pot. Stir and cover. The chicken will release water. When the water dries up and the chicken is cooked, stir in high heat until the sauce thickens and the ghee separates. Add the reserved fried onions, sugar, lemon juice and keora and keep stirring for a few more minutes.

This can be made into Morog Polao by mixing this with polao.

King Prawn in Coconut Milk

Salt and fry the shrimp in oil until red color appears.
In the same oil add two pieces of star anise, cumin, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, black pepper, pinch of mustard seeds and let it sizzle.
Dice onions and add to the oil. Fry until golden brown.
Add turmeric, red chili powder, and pinch of cumin powder and stir for couple of minutes.
Add salt and a can of coconut milk.
Let it simmer and cook until the oil separates and it looks like picture above.
Add the shrimp and  sugar (to taste) and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes until sauce thickens and the flavor develops.
Optionally, add two green chilies and cover and cook on low heat for the flavor to infuse.
Sprinkle half to one teaspoon (to taste) of garam masala. Stir and keep on low heat for 10 more minutes.
For a little extra decadence- add a tablespoon of ghee. Yummmmm!
Enjoy!

Snap Peas in Kadhai "Paneer"

Ingredients:

Red chilies

Coriander seeds

Garlic paste

Ginger paste

Tomato paste

Mozzarella Cheese or Cottage Cheese

Curry Leaves

Salt

Directions:

Grind the red chillies and coriander seeds.Heat oil in wok and add garlic paste. Saute till brown. Add the gound red chillies and coriander. Saute. Then add green chillies and ginger. Saute for about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and stir. Add curry leaves, salt and garam masala. Add the snap peas and stir fry. Cook until they are cooked through. I added bits of sliced mozzarella as I didn't have paneer. Let the cheese melt and serve!

I adapted this recipe fom the Kadhai Paneer Recipe in The Indian Menu Planner

Chicken in Yogurt and Garam Masala Sauce

Ingredients:
1 tbsp tomato paste
0.75 cup plain yogurt
1.5 tsp garam masala
0.5 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1.5 tsp chili powder
1.5lb chicken breast
2 medium onions sliced
2 tbsp ghee
1 inch cinnamon
4 green cardamoms
cilantro

Cut chicken in strips and marinate with tomato paste, yogurt, garam masala powder, cumin seeds, garlic, ginger and chili powder. Heat oil and fry sliced onions to make them brown and crispy. Remove onions, cool and crush. Reheat the oil and and add back the crushed fried onions. Add chicken to the onion fried oil and stir fry for a few minutes. Stir until cooked. If needed add little water.

Separately take some ghee and add cinnamon and cardamom to the ghee. Julienne green chilies and chop cilantro. Add the ghee, cilantro and the chilies to the chicken. Cover and let sit for sometime to let the aroma blend in.

Recipe from: Best Ever Indian Cookbook with several changes and substitutions

Spicy Cilantro Chili Rubbed Chicken

Chop a handful of cilatro and 3-5 green chillies in food processor. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, black pepper powders and sheekh kabab and chicken tikka masala to the food processor. Mix again. Use as much ingredients as you like- you can't go wrong... for me it's the more the better... but can get spicy if you add too much.
Rub half of the masalas, ... See Moresalt, and a dash of vinegar on the chicken and let it marinate. Make slashes on the chicken with a knife so the spices go in. I marinated only for 15 minutes and it turned out pretty good.
Heat oil in pan. Put the chicken in and fry at high heat. The spices will start to burn slightly. Keep stirring. Then about one cup of water. Cook on medium heat 35-40mins. Make sure chicken is done.
Sauce will have thickened... add the rest of the spices... stir... DONE!

Potato Yogurt Curry

Dice potatoes, add red chili, ginger, garam masala, cumin and coriander powders to the potatoes and mix.

Heat Nigella (Kalo Jeera) in oil. Add the spiced potatoes. Stir in high heat until the spices are cooked. Add salt. Add some whipped yogurt. Cover and cook until potatoes are done. Add water intermittently if its getting too dry, but don't add too much water at once.

Best with tortillas for breakfast.

Shrimp in Caramelized Onions

Take shrimp and add cumin, coriander, ginger, chili, turmeric, salt, black pepper and mix well. Marinate for 30minutes. Then fry in oil till golden. Remove shrimp and set aside.

Slice 3-4 onions into thin long slices. Take the slices in a bowl and add cumin, coriander, chili, ginger powders to the onion. Also add a pinch of garam masala powder. ... See MoreMix well with your hands.

Take the shrimp fry oil and put in the spiced onions. Add a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt. Keep stirring at medium heat. Do this till the onions are soft and brown. Then add the shrimp and cook for another 7-10mins.

Mutton Rezala II (Mutton Stew II)

Mix Goat Meat with yogurt, chili, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, ginger and garlic powders. Add oil and salt. Cover and cook on medium heat for 45-60mins. Add water if necessary.

When meat is cooked, add rose/kewra water and sugar, and stir at high heat. Sprinkle with garam masala, chili and cumin powders. Add green chilis and cover and cook on low heat for 30minutes.

Dim Korma (Egg Yogurt Curry)

Arpita Bala's Recipe with some changes:

Boil eggs. Cool and take off shell. Make etch marks on egg with fork.

Heat oil and ghee. Put in onion paste. Fry till golden. Add cinnamon and cardamom. Add whipped yogurt and keep stirring. I added some ginger powder and paprika powder for color- very little. Add sugar, kewra and rose water and heavy whipping cream.
Add eggs. Put in green chilies. Cover and cook on low heat.

Doi Begun (Eggplant in Yogurt)

I used Sharmin Hoque's recipe:

Slice eggplants 0.5 inches thick. Coat eggplant roundels with salt, chili and turmeric powders. Set aside for 30mins or so. Fry the eggplant.

Take plain yogurt with some water. Add cumin powder, chaat masala, black salt, chopped cilantro, garam masala powder, sugar. Mix well together.

Arrange the fried eggplants on a dish and pour the yogurt mix over.

Lazy Girl's Haleem (Lentil and Meat Curry)

This is made using Radhuni Haleem Mix. Fry onions, set 2/3 aside. In the onion fry, put in the meat and haleem masala. Cook on high heat for 4-5 mins then add water, lower heat and cook meat for 1.5 hours. Separately, soak the grains and pulses in two cups of water for about 30mins. When meat is done add the pulses. Cook on high heat for a few mins then lower heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally.

In addition I added some chaat masala, salt, pepper, chili powder, lemon juice and cilantro.... See More

Garnish with strips of ginger, set aside fried onions, chopped chillies, cilantro, lemon juice.

Jhal Beef (Spicy Beef Curry)

Heat oil and put 1 teaspoon of whole methi. When the methi starts sputtering, add onion paste and fry till golden. In a bowl mix chili, cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, garlic and garam masala powders and mix with water to make paste. Add this paste to the onion fry and fry for 5-10mins. Then add the meat and fry for 5-10mins. Add salt and little water if needed. When meat is 3/4 cooked, add potatoes. Cover and cook till done. Add some cumin and coriander powder and stir. It's ready to serve.

Chicken Kofta (Chicken Meatball Curry)

Take two chicken breast fillets. Defrost until soft but not completely defrosted- this helps make a nicer keema. Then add to a food processor and mince. Add garlic, ginger, chili powders and chopped cilantro and green & red chillies. Make balls and fry in oil. Don't fry too much as it will taste burnt. Remove the fried balls, the chicken does not have to cook fully as we'll cook it more later.
Take ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, chili, turmeric, garam masala and tomato puree and mix. Heat oil and fry onion paste. Then add these spices and fry until oil and masala separates. Add very little water if needed and keep stirring at high heat. Then put in the chicken balls and keep frying. Then add about 1.5 cups of water and let simmer. Keep as much gravy as you like. Put in cilantro and whole green chilis