So here it is, my first foray into Indian cooking.  Chicken Tikka Masala was my gateway dish into Indian cuisine, despite the fact that there’s a debate over whether this dish is even Indian in origin.  Many people believe it first appeared on a menu in London.  But no matter how it came about, I’m sure glad it did.  Grilled, yogurt-marinated meat submerged in a vibrant orange tomato-cream sauce with a noticeable yet subdued hit of spices make this a dish more in tune with western palates.  I’ve had this dish several times in restaurants, but controlling the quality of ingredients at home makes such a noticeable difference in the final product.  So let’s get to it, shall we?

The real power of this dish comes from the homemade, toasted then ground spice blend, garam masala.  I picked up a spice grinder for this adventure (just a basic coffee grinder that hasn’t been used for coffee yet) which will be necessary.   If you haven’t cooked Indian food before, you’ll probably be lacking in the whole spices required for this, and it will take a little investment to gather all these ingredients.  You can find pre-ground garam masala on the spice rack, but common, we’re foodies.  This takes some commitment.

Garam Masala
(Alton Brown’s recipe)

2 tbsp cardamom seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp brown mustard seeds
2 tbsp black peppercorns
20 cloves
1 dried arbol chili, stemmed, seeded and crumbled
1 cinnamon stick (about 2.5″) broken in peices
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all the spices except the nutmeg in a dry skillet.  Take a moment to smell these spices.  You should find that the sweeter, more desserty spices are more prevalent: the cardamom, the cinnamon, and the clove.  Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook, moving the pan constantly, until you start to smell the cumin as the prevailing spice, about 3-4 minutes.    About the same time I really started to smell the cumin, my coriander seeds starting popping and jumping about the pan.  That’s a good marker that things are done.  Here’s a shot of the spices pre-toasting.

Pour spices onto a plate and allow to cool for 5-7 minutes.  Once cooled, mix with the nutmeg, pour into a spice grinder and blend for 1 minute, until evenly pulverized into a fine powder.  Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

For this recipe you’ll also need an additional teaspoon of cumin and coriander, so go ahead to repeat the process with those guys now and get it out of the way.

Lamb Tikka Masala
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Chicken Tikka Masala recipe
Serves 5

For the Lamb Tikka:
1-3/4 lb boneless lamb leg, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander, toasted and ground
1 tsp cumin, toasted and ground
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

For the Masala Sauce:
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 serrano chile, seeded, ribbed and finely minced.  ( I went for 1/2 a pepper for heat-sensitive guests and felt like there was zero heat.   I like a kick and would go with 2 peppers, seeded and minced next time, or plan on making a spicy condiment to up the heat on a per-plate basis)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp garam masala
1 28oz can crushed san marzano tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

In a large ziplock bag, combine garam masala, coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Drop in the lamb and shake to combine, making sure it’s all thoroughly coated in spice mix.  Pour in the yogurt, and again, shake the bag to combine.  Tuck this into your fridge for at the very least 1 hour, but I recommend overnight.

30 minutes before grilling, pull your lamb out of the fridge and skewer them like kabobs, leaving a 1/4 inch space in between each piece.  If they were in the fridge overnight, you’ll want to let the skewers sit at room temp for about 20 minutes to take some of the chill off before grilling.    Right before these guys head to the grill, season both sides with a healthy pinch of kosher salt.

Lets get to that sauce.  Place a dutch oven over medium-high heat and pour in the vegetable oil.  Saute the onion until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala, cooking until fragrant and slightly caramelized on the bottom, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, sugar and salt.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low, pop the lid on, and let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Now’s a good time to get that lamb grilled.    On a preheated super hot gas grill, give those skewers 3-4 minutes per side to get a nice char and still retain a tiny bit of pink on the inside.

Back to that sauce. Add the cream and stir for a minute or so until warmed through.  Then add in the lamb (pulled off the skewers, please) and top with the handful of cilantro (which I neglected to do in my rush to the table.  But do it.  Seriously.)  We served it up with some steamed basmati rice, peas, a delicious cucumber raita, and some toasted naan bread from Trader Joes.  Kim’s hands celebrated the meal!  Hurraaaay!

Sorry, no time for better pictures.  Must eat.

Oh home sweet home.  For some reason I get the most homesick during the spring and fall.  Probably because there’s such a disconnect here in LA from actual seasons.  So to hold me over until my Christmas visit, I pull out some classic Robson family recipes.  My papa is a master of concocting beautiful one pot dinners… goulash, chicken ala king, stirfrys, and this marvelous orange curry.  I learned from him at a young age about creative freedom in the kitchen:  the joy of experimenting with unfamiliar cuisines and exotic spices and being bold and fearless in your cooking.  This recipe has all of these things with a couple minor Gwen tweaks, like swapping in fresh herbs, whole spices, and toasting the nuts pre-cooking for maximum flavor.  It’s a great dish to cozy up with particularly on a chilly fall evening.  Or at least as chilly as LA can get.  Happy November everyone!

Keith’s Orange Curried Chicken over Rice
Makes 4 dinner servings

A whole chicken (3-4lb), cut up
1 sweet onion, diced
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup cashew pieces, toasted
1 apple, peeled and diced
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
A touch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 fresh sage leaves, finely minced or 1/2 tsp dried sage
1 packet chicken bouillon
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted or 2 cups OJ simmered over low heat until reduced to 1/2 cup
2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/8 cup reserved broth
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1.5 cups jasmine or basmati rice
4-5 cups reserved broth

Start by breaking down the chicken.  Place in a large stock pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer over medium-low for 7-10 minutes, until chicken is just cooked through and broth is gently flavored.  Remove chicken and reserve broth.    Allow chicken to cool 20-30 minutes, then shred the meat by hand into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.

In a large saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups rice with 3 cups reserved broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to steam for 20-25 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.  Turn heat off and allow rice to stand covered for at least 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork before serving.

While rice is cooking, return your broth pan to the skillet over medium-high heat.  Melt butter, then saute onion until tender, about 7 minutes.  Add in apples, raisins, cashews, chicken, curry powder, nutmeg, sage, bouillon, and season generously with salt and pepper.    Saute 5-6 minutes until the fruit starts to get some color.

Pour in 1 1/2 cup reserved broth and the orange juice concentrate and bring to a simmer. Add the cornstarch slurry and cook 1-2 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken.  Remember to taste again at the end and adjust your salt and pepper seasonings accordingly.  Right before serving, stir in fresh parsley.

Serve in a bowl over the warm rice and dig in.

Currrrrry! I’ve been having a craving for curry lately. The weather has been a little cooler so I thought it would be the perfect time for the yummies.

Ingredients:
Boneless Port Cutlets (1 per person)
Eggs
Chicken Broth (or water)
Chopped Onions (or mushrooms! in melissa’s case)
Garlic Paste
Panko (or bread crumbs)
Golden Curry Bricks
Sesame Seed Oil
Veggie or Canola Oil

I chopped the onions before I found the camera. Basically it’s one large Sweet Mayan Onion . I like the sweet ones more than regular. They don’t taste so strong and are actually sweet! They also don’t break my heart and make me cry. Waaaah. hehe.

Here’s what I did!

Take the chopped onions, about two tablespoons of sesame seed oil, and a tablespoon or two of garlic paste.
Cook for 3-5 minutes on a medium heat until clear.

Add the chicken broth and/or water. Basically I add enough until the onions are covered.
I put the the whole box of chicken broth in there and a cup of water.
Cover and leave it at a medium heat.
Leave it until it starts boiling.

While the broth is going, work on the porks!

I took regular boneless cutlets and cut off the fat and butterflied the cutlets so that they’re thinner. If you buy the “wafer thin” ones, you won’t need to cut them in half.

Next, pound those guys down until they’re nice and flat and tender and thin and yum!

Put the Panko on a plate.
Mix up some eggs!

Dip the tenderized cutlet into the egg.
Make sure that it’s coated nicely on all sides.

Lay the pork onto the crumbs and get those covered all flakey!

I double dip it into the egg mixture again!

Then back to the Panko!
The double coating makes sure that the cutlet is nicely covered and also makes it crispier when cooked!

On a medium heat, let the pan heat up a bit.
Add enough Canola or Veggie Oil to nicely coat the bottom of the pan.

Place the cutlet into the firrreeee!

Press down on the cutlet gently to keep it nice and flat and yummy!
It takes a good while to brown on a medium heat, but it will keep it from burning! It takes about 5-10 minutes on each side.

While the cutlet is cooking, attend to the curry!

Add the Golden Curry bricks!
Make sure to stir frequently so that it dissolves nicely.
Cover with a lid and let it stay warm on a low heat.

Back to the cutlet!

When it’s brown, flip that shite!

When the cutlet is done, put it on a cooling rack (not your boobs), with a paper towel on top to collect some of the excess oil.
Let it cool for a few minutes until it’s warm to the touch but touchable and not burninating the countryside.


Slice that shit!

EATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!