Saved by the Tikka Masala!!

Happy valentines curry, I mean day.

  Last night for dinner I had to make a curry.   I had bought some fresh cilantro and wanted to put it
to good use but mostly because I knew I could make a spectacular supper to make up for the lackluster
lunch experience as noted in the previous post.  Thanks be to Jamie Oliver.

This also makes even more spectacular leftovers which I am eating right now - so goooooood.

This recipe is from Jamie Oliver's food revolution cookbook which my sister bought me about 1.5 years ago.  Now, I am a late blooming Jamie Oliver fan, and quite frankly I can't watch him on TV for more than 10 minutes without getting annoyed.  What I do love though is how straightforward many (most) of his recipes are and you know what?  I've made at least a couple dozen from that cookbook alone and every single recipe I tried (and repeated!) is good,  if not great.




THE CURRY  - CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
Great thing - you can muck with this recipe and it should work well, but don't omit the cilantro
if possible, it makes the dish!  You can find the original recipe here: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chicken-tikka-masala  (i do realize this is a martha stewart website, but hey, it's the same recipe!)   The one below has my own tweaks.  This will make about 4-5 adult portions.

1 T of veg oil
1 T unsalted butter
1 medium onions, chopped fine
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, leaves removed, stems finely chopped
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup Mild Patak's curry paste (Can use the Tikka kind too)
1 T of curry powder
1.5 lb of chicken breast cut into 3/4-inch strips
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatos (plain, or I used Alymer accents spicy red pepper)
1 (14-ounce) can of coconut milk
small handful of red lentils

Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, ginger, garlic, red pepper, and chopped cilantro stems. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and golden, about 10 minutes.
Add curry paste, curry powder, and chicken; stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and coconut milk and lentils. Fill one empty can half way with water and add to pot; stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook, checking curry occasionally to make sure it does not begin to dry out and adding water (this should definitely not happen), if necessary, until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Serve curry, top with yogurt and sprinkle with cilantro leaves. Serve with rice

THE RICE:
Basmati rice - i had a cup of brown uncooked.  Make this according to package directions.   and add
2t of butter and 2t of olive oil, a handful of cilantro leaves, a dash of salt and the juice of one
medium lime.  Stir gently, serve immediately.

This meal goes great with Papadum's and Naan.  Watch it though, it's easy to eat this too fast and end up too full :)