My Indian Food Creations
Kris loves Indian food so I thought I would try my hand at making some Indian dishes. I'm not very familiar with Indian cuisine (literally only had it about twice in my life), so I read some recipes and then created my own versions. Here are two recipes that I've done and they weren't too shabby.
Chicken Masala (thanks to Sandra Lee for this one... love her!)
- 4 chicken breasts
- flour (for dredging)
- oil
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 tsp of garlic
- 1 tbl + 2 tsp of garam masala seasoning (it can be found in the grocery store with the spices, it took me about 20 minutes to find it but it's there! I think I actually added a bit more than this... I don't really do a lot of measuring when I cook so these are estimates or what was found in the recipe I used)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can of tomatoes - slightly drained (I almost always use stewed tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup cream of condensed chicken soup (I added a bit more than this)
- 1 cup light cocunut milk
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- cooked white rice or egg noodles
- coat chicken breasts with flour
- heat pan with oil and add the chicken breasts, fry until brown on both sides. Set chicken aside.
- Add onion and garlic to pan and cook until soft. Add the garam masala seasoning, tomatoes, soup, coconut milk, salt and pepper. Bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer and return chicken to the pan. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then add frozen peas.
- Return to simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Serve over rice or egg noodles. You can also serve with naan bread (delicious!) or make your own version with pizza dough (roll it out and cover with olive oil, salt and rosemary and cook according to dough package instructions).
Chicken Vegetable Curry (I adapted this one from three different recipes and then added some things as well)
- chicken breasts (sliced into strips)
- olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt to taste
- 1 1/2 cans of light cocunut milk (most recipes call for 1 can, but we found we liked it a little more saucy)
- chicken stock (I added about 1/2 cup to get the consistency I wanted)
- potatoes (I used a mixture of gold, red and fingerling because that's what I had on hand. russett potatoes would be perfect too)... I used just as many as looked good in the pan :-)
- tomatoes (optional... I didn't do it this time around, but might try to add some next time)
- broccoli florets
- carrots
- zucchini
- frozen peas
I used the following spices - you don't need to use ALL of them (in fact none of the recipes calls for all of them). I added and tasted, added and tasted until I was satisfied. I used more curry powder than any of the others (about 4 tbl) and about 1 tsp of the rest (give or take).
- curry powder
- cinnamon
- paprika
- cumin
- sugar
- turmeric
- chili powder
- red paper flakes
- garam masala
- allspice
- ginger powder
- cayenne pepper
- Heat oil in skillet and add chicken strips. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until done. Set aside.
- In the pan saute the onion and garlic. Stir in the spices, about 2 minutes. Add coconut milk (and broth, optional) and bring to a boil.
- Add potatoes and carrots, cover and and simmer until almost done (about 15 minutes). Add broccoli, zucchini, chicken. Cover and simmer until all veggies are tender (about 10 minutes).
- Add the frozen peas and simmer about 5 more minutes.
- Serve over rice or egg noodles and with naan bread.
Enjoy!
