Monday, January 24, 2011

National Hot and Spicy Food Day

I bought myself a Food Network daily calendar for my kitchen counter and it has recipes, tips and fun food facts for each day.  Yesterday was National Hot and Spicy Food Day!  How fitting because I was literally in the process of cooking up some eggs for some huevos rancheros (well, more like egg and bean burritos, but it's what we had in the fridge).

Along with the hot and spicy theme, I made Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner.  My brother, Casey, introduced me to this dish this past summer.  He was in town over his birthday, visiting from Chicago.  He was a little sad because his (then-fiance) wife wasn't able to come with him, and so I told him I'd cook him whatever he wanted for his birthday dinner and he picked this.

I've done some reading online about chicken tikka masala and it's a little foggy where it's origins lie.  Some say it started in Punjab, the region between India and Pakistan, however it's known as "Britain's true national dish" and that it started in Soho, London.  Some attempt to clear up this confusing by claiming it was first created in a British Pakistani or Bangladeshi restaurant.  So it's either British or Indian... Either way, it's amazing!

Chicken tikka are chunks of chicken that have been marinated in yogurt and spices.  The great thing about using yogurt (I use fat-free plain greek) as a marinade is that it's super thick and allows all of the spices and seasonings to stick to the meat better than if using a water-based marinade.  It also helps keep the chicken super moist!  The chicken chunks are either baked or grilled, or broiled, depending on your preference, and served with a beautiful, orange-colored, creamy, spicy, tomato sauce.

I like to serve chicken tikka masala over jasmine rice with some curried cauliflower.  This cauliflower dish has a very different flavor, but is really, really good!

Chicken Tikka Masala
  
     1 cup plain yogurt                       1 t butter
     1 T lemon juice                           1 clove garlic, minced
     2 t ground cumin                         1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
     1 t ground cinnamon                   2 t ground cumin
     2 t cayenne pepper                      2 t paprika
     2 t ground pepper                        1 t salt, or to taste
     1 T minced fresh ginger              1 8-oz can tomato sauce
     1 t salt, or to taste                        1 cup heavy cream (I use fat free half and half)
     3 boneless skinless chicken         1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
         breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

- In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, pepper, ginger, salt and chicken.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Thread chicken onto skewers and grill.  Discard leftover marinade.
- Melt butter and saute garlic and jalapeno 1 minute.  Season with 2 T cumin, paprika and salt.
- Stir in tomato sauce and cream and let simmer 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Add chicken and simmer 10 minutes more.
- Serve with rice and top with chopped cilantro.

Curried Cauliflower
Chicken Tikka Masala











Curried Cauliflower

12 cups cauliflower florets                             3 1/2 t curry powder
1 large onion, peeled and quartered               1 t cumin
3/4 c olive oil                                                 1 T Hungarian hot paprika                                           
1/2 cup red wine vinegar                               1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
                                            
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place the cauliflower florets in a large roasting pan.
- Pull apart the onion quarters into separate layers; add to cauliflower.
- Whisk together oil, vinegar and dry spices to make a vinaigrette.
- Pour dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Spread in a single layer.  Roast until tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.
- Mound vegetables in a large bowl, sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.


Enjoy!


(photos have been borrowed from other websites, and are not my own pictures.  I hope to have some good pictures of my own food soon.)

2 comments:

  1. Awesome! One of my favorite meals here!! I am not much of a cook as you may guess. I made it one time with a store-bought sauce, and it was good, but I think I could handle this recipe! mmMMmm

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you're thinking about photographing your food, I think the way Smitten Kitchen does it is pretty cool. http://smittenkitchen.com/ Check it out!

    ReplyDelete