tagine dream

My innagural attempt at cooking Indian food was not so bad! I chose a hearty chicken dish, coupled with aloo tikki, or little potato patties.

Chicken Tikka Masala
Active prep time: 20 minutes
Inactive prep time: 24 hours
Cook time: 3 hours
Serves: The Masses

You'll need:

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 3 inch piece ginger root, peeled
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 Lemon
• 2 T. Tomato Paste
• 1 C. Vegetable Oil
• 1 C. Plain Yogurt
• 1 T. garam masala spice blend
• 1 T.
• 1 T. Salt, Black Pepper
• 1 Can crushed Tomatoes (to be added later)

For the marinade:
Crush ginger and garlic and blend into paste (food processor would be easiest, but I used a garlic press for both the ginger and the garlic). Add the juice from one lemon, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and garam masala. Blend until smooth. Add the vegetable oil, blend again. Add the yogurt, blend. Add the chicken, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

To cook:
Add the crushed tomatoes to the chicken mixture, and stir. Put the whole mixture into either a tagine, or a pot with a lid on it. Bake at 250-300 for 3 hours.

Serve over basmati rice.

Aloo Tikki
Prep time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

You'll need:

• 3 large potatoes
• 1 T. tomato paste
• 1 T. Madras Curry
• 1 T. Salt
• 1 t. cayenne pepper
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 oz. frozen green peas, thawed
• 1 T. vegetable oil

Boil potatoes until tender, then mash.

Blend peas, tomato paste, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, vegetable oil, and madras curry. Add mashed potatoes and blend well. Form the potatoes into small patties, then let sit for 1 hour.

When ready to cook, use a nonstick pan and cook one batch at a time. Sautee them on medium heat for 2 minutes a side, and add 1 T. oil per batch (too much oil and they will fall apart, not enough and they will not sautee properly).

Enjoy with sauce of yogurt and tobasco sauce.