Chicken Tikka

An Indian Restaurant is coming to Owensboro!!! For. Real. Behold photographic evidence below. It's called Basant, and is located by the Frederica Wal-mart. (I've got marked off with a big X on my map). John and I tried to go and check it out yesterday, (having received info that it was already open), but were forced to turn around when it wasn't. 

In the mean time, since we wanted Indian NOW, and didn't want to run to Evansville, I decided to make Chicken Tikka myself. Chicken Tikka and Chicken Tikka Masala are not the same thing. Chicken Tikka is actually an ingredient in Chicken Tikka Masala - the orange colored chicken pieces. (Obviously, it's also a dish by itself). The masala part is the accompanying gravy, (well, it more complicated than that - a masala is an Indian word for 'a blend of spices') which is a delicious, creamy, spicy recipe all of its own, of which I have made before on this blog, here. 

Like the masala sauce, it took me several tries to figure out how to make Chicken Tikka. 


The first trick I couldn't fathom was HOW IN THE WORLD DO THEY MAKE IT ORANGE? (This really bothered me). I started out by looking up a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala on Allrecipes, which was similar, but no cigar. Watched informative videos on Youtube. Finally, just tried using some good old fashioned creativity. The secret to the orange color is to add the colorful spices to the chicken first, especially the paprika and Indian chile, then let it marinate, and add the yogurt later, before marinating some more. My chicken doesn't come out as orange as the restaurant versions do, but it's very close.

Another absolute must with chicken tikka is - cook it on the grill! Grilling makes for chicken tikka that tastes like heaven (but burns like h**l. This dish is quite spicy, fyi!)

Please, don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients on this list. All your going to do is mix them together! To get the color right, however, you need to do them in a specific order, as though your baking. Here is what I do: lemon juice, paprika, Indian Chili powder (similar to cayenne pepper), minced garlic, fresh ginger, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, MDH Kitchen King Masala, poppy seeds, garam masala.  I've included links to where I bought the unusual ingredients listed here. Kitchen King Masala is some of the most amazing stuff I've ever come across. I use it in so many things that aren't even Indian! Smells amazing. So does the nuts.com garam masala.

When you've mixed all of these ingredients, cover the bowl and refrigerate for about half an hour, then pull out again and add the yogurt. Give it longer, if you can. This allows the chicken to better absorb the spice flavors, and to pull in the color. Ideally, your chicken tikka should be allowed to sit overnight, but I wanted to eat my chicken tikka right NOW, so it only received a few hours.

Serve this with masala sauce, basmati rice, and if you have the time, naan bread. (Didn't have that kind of time, sadly).

Lentil Soup with Cumin and Celery Seed

Yesterday was Vegetarian Monday and Thanksgiving is now over! Thank goodness, cause my figure can't handle much more meat and dressing and pie. John and I just finished spending a week at home in Nebraska with my family. Was so happy to be there, even for such a short time. Mom and I cooked up a storm while I was there. Sadly, I'm not going to post about any of the amazing deserts and dishes we made! (Well, at least not right now).

This delicious lentil soup came from Fatfreevegan, a cooking blog devoted, as I'm sure you've guessed, to vegan style cooking. Making vegan dishes, ones that actually taste good, is a heck of a challenge. Especially when using no oil or butter, like in this dish! But as soon as I saw the recipe for this soup, I had to try it. Not so happy with this photo... Needed more light. I'd like trying to take it again sometime. Since this recipe is soooo worth it.

Truthfully, my version of this soup isn't fully vegan, because I didn't have vegetable bouillon on hand (and I was NOT going back to the store), I wound up using chicken instead. Also, Fatfreevegan's version included coriander seed... I don't dislike many things, but coriander (aka cilantro), is of the devil. I can't really describe what it tastes like to me. Soap, maybe. I can think of harsher words, but they are inappropriate to a blog about cooking!

So, instead of coriander, I substituted celery seed. Not exactly the same. Not really the same at all. Made for a spicier soup, which I further enhanced with a 1/8 tsp of white pepper and a 1/2 tsp of paprika.

In the end, it turned out a very flavorful dish. The lentils still came out strongly, despite all of the spices.

Mom's Sloppy Joes

With the onset of colder weather, my cravings for comfort food become irresistible. My favorite comfort food is sloppy joe, a loose meat, saucy sandwich, which I grew up with served on either a piece of bread or a bun. This recipe really is my mothers. Wouldn't eat anything else!

Just let me say, Sloppy Joe doesn't photograph well. Not that I'm a great food photo taker. (I've been practicing!) But don't be fooled - it tastes like heaven on a bun.

When I say 'sloppy joe is my favorite food' to most people, they grimace and then look at me like I smell bad. Trust me, this is NOT that school lunch horror on a stale white bun you're remembering.  That is this stuff, <---, and it comes in a can. Just looking at this picture gives me a stomach ache. Not like momma makes! A junior high flashback-nightmare, that's what manwich is. (Sorry, anyone who's a lover of this horror. I'm sure you're out there.) John gets excited when I tell him I'm making sloppy joe (he gave me the 'you smell funny' look before I converted him), and eats more than he should. If that doesn't convince y'all on its tastiness, I don't know what will.

Anyway, making real sloppy joe, which does not stick together like a salty, glutinous mass from a can, is very simple. Hamburger, a can of tomato soup, water, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, cracked pepper and meat seasoning ala Lawries. (Mom and I have a secret seasoning. It's a SECRET, however.) If you're like me, and you want left overs, double it.

This is one of those recipes I'm so familiar with, I don't need a recipe. A little bit o' this, a big glob of that, smells right, tastes right, done!  Too ketchupy, add some mustard. Not sweet enough? Add ketchup. Should be nice and sloppy when done, so it dribbles all over the place if you actually are foolish enough to pick it up with your hands. True sloppy joe is only eaten with a fork, and is very saucy.

If you make anything off this blog, make these! I promise you will not be disappointed.

Must be served with mac-n-cheese on the side.

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls

The difference between 'Fresh' and regular spring rolls is that one is fried, the other is not. Watching my waste line as we come into the holiday season, I opted to make the fresh version of these. (That and I'm horrific at frying food. Someday, soon, I shall try frying again.)

While with my friend SW last Saturday night, she mentioned making Fresh Spring Rolls to me. My mouth watered at the thought. I've made these once before, and they are surprisingly easy to make. The only challenging part is getting them to wrap up nice and tight! (I give myself a 6 out of 10 on tight wrapping skills. Completely ripped one, much to my frustration.)

Spring rolls, like all Asian cuisine, are 70% preparation and 30% actual cooking. (You could argue its 80/20, honestly.) First I made and prepped all my ingredients: pan-fried shrimp for extra flavor, boiled rice vermicelli (available at Kroger, fyi. A similar noodle is mai fun), avocado slices, lettuce leaves, basil leaves, julienned carrots, and then the dried rice wrappers (also available at Kroger. If you can't find these ingredients at your local grocery, then head to an Asian grocery store.)

To fold them: have you ever been to a Chipotle before? Did you watch how they make the burrito? Pile up all the goodies in a line in the center. Fold two of the sides in. Turn it and start rolling, keeping the pressure constant. Rice wrappers are sticky, a bit like saran wrap, so it won't be as easy as tortilla rolling, but the idea is the same. Dip the wrap into a large bowl of hot water (don't burn yourself, people), for just a few seconds. It'll go limp immediately. Lay it out on a dry surface, place your ingredients, and Chipotle roll. Should be a short, round, chubby little thing when finished, about the width of your palm.

These are a delicious appetizer, any time. I pulled the original recipe off of Allrecipes.com. The hoisen/peanut butter sauce I make to go with it came from there too, but from the comments, not the actual recipe.

Two shrimp cut in half to each roll is how I make these. Some versions you see the shrimp left whole, which makes for an interesting image from the outside. I think that cutting them in half makes the layering and rolling easier, however, and spreads the shrimp per bite ratio better. These would be excellent with tofu, or no meat whatsoever, too. Cucumbers, bean sprouts, pickled daikon, thinly sliced beef... I can think of many ways to change these up!

So good! Crisp, refreshing. John loves these, he ate the majority.