My husband and I love Indian food. The two of us can easily drop $80 a dinner at Cumin, our favorite neighborhood joint. When we realized that our Indian food habits were costing us a pretty penny, I tried to make my own chicken tikka masala and naan at home.
I was intimidated, for sure. Indian food has so much depth and complexity. I thought it would take me hours to make. But, I found a shortcut to making my own versions of chicken tikka masala and naan. Though not nearly as good as Cumin's, they satisfy our bellies and wallets in a pinch.
SIMPLE CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of chicken breasts
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 24 fl. oz. jar of Bionaturae Organic Strained Tomatoes
- 1 can of light coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon of curry powder
- 2 tablespoons of garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (if you like it spicy)
- Dash of salt (to taste)
Instructions:
- In one pot, boil the chicken breasts until fully cooked (be careful not to overcook or the chicken will turn out dry).
- In a second pot, saute the onion until translucent. Then, add the jar of tomatoes and the can of coconut milk. Bring to a simmer.
- Once the pot of sauce is bubbling, add the spices. Feel free to adjust the spices as you like. You can even add some powdered ginger and black pepper.
- When the chicken breasts are cooked, move them to a plate and dice them into bite-size pieces.
- Pour the sauce into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the sauce back into the pot and add the diced chicken.
HOMEMADE NAAN
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 cups of warm water
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of rapid rising yeast
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of melted ghee or olive oil
Instructions:
- Mix the dry ingredients together: the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast.
- Slowly add the warm water as you knead the dough together. You should end up with a soft but pliable dough. Then, add the melted ghee. The ghee will make the dough less sticky and easier to work with.
- Keep the dough in the mixing bowl and cover it for at least an hour.
- Knead the dough a couple final times.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin (or you can use your hands).
- Heat up a well-oiled skillet and fry up the dough pieces.
