Chicken Tikki Masala and Peshwari Naan Bread

So I decided to be adventurous a few days ago and make Chicken Tikki Masala. I get like that every once in awhile, adventurous in the kitchen. It's not something I can do all the time that's for sure. Anyway, a couple years ago I got take out from an Indian restaurant with some old roommates of mine and we had Chicken Tikki Masala and Naan bread. So since then I've always wanted to make it. So I heard about it somewhere else recently and I bought the few spices I needed for it and made it. No one really appreciated all the time and effort I put into it but it was fun to make anyway. I even took pictures this time trying to spice up my blog. The naan bread recipe is different than the naan bread I had from the Indian restaurant but I really liked this naan bread. It has cashews, coconut, golden raisins, and honey in it and all those things are really good alone and make the bread extra yummy. I loved the naan bread. Also, I didn't have cardamom for this recipe. It was about $12 a bottle at the store so I decided to pass on that one. I used cinnamon as a substitute but from what I read it's a very unique spice so I might have to buy it one day and try it.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Marinade:

1 cup plain yogurt

1 T. lemon juice

2 t. cumin

1 t. cinnamon

½ t. cayenne

1 t. black pepper

1 T. minced fresh ginger

2 t. salt

½ t. curry powder

1 t. garam masala

pinch of cloves

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

Mix all ingredients together in a gallon plastic bag and allow to marinate for 2-4 hours. Then thread chicken on either metal skewers or wooden skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes. Grill on a BBQ grill until no longer pink and set aside. You could also broil them. Line a jelly roll pan with foil, place a cooling rack on top and spray it with PAM before putting the skewers on it. Rotate every few minutes until the edges are slightly blackened and the meat is cooked through.

1 T. butter

1 large anaheim pepper, diced

1-2 shallots, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 t. cumin

1 t. paprika

½ t. cardamom

2 t. garam masala

pinch cloves

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 cup cream

¼ chopped fresh cilantro

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the peppers, shallots, and garlic for a few minutes until the peppers begin to soften. Add the spices and sauté for another minute. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the tomato sauce and cream, stirring until well combined. You can also adjust the quantity of sauce and cream to make more of it. Add the chicken and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is rich and slightly thickened. Stir in the cilantro just before serving, reserving some to sprinkle on top. Serve over a bed of basmati rice.

Peshwari Naan

2 c. flour mixed with 1 t. baking powder

½ cup warm water

½ cup warm milk

½ t. sugar

¾ t. yeast

½ t. salt

¼ t. cardamom

1 ½ T. plain yogurt

1 ½ T. oil

Additional flour for kneading

Mix milk, water and yeast in a bowl and set aside for 15-20 minutes. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the four mixture and add the yogurt and oil. Gradually stir in the milk mixture until you get a soft, bread like dough (it will take a little more flour and not quite all of the milk). Knead well, and place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Set in a warm place and allow it to rise for 4-6 hours until about double. Knead the dough again, and allow it to double again. Turn your oven on to the highest temperature – usually about 550 degrees. Mince ¼ cup cashews, 1-2 T. coconut, and ¼ cup golden raisins together, and stir in enough honey to hold it together (about ¼ cup) and another dash of cardamom. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Take each portion and flatten slightly, put a spoonful or two of the filling into the middle, and pinch the dough together to enclose it.

Roll out each portion as thin as possible into an oval.

Put a heavy duty cookie sheet into the oven to preheat for a couple of minutes, then pull it out and quickly lay the four naan on it. Bake for 5-7 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 2-3 minutes until lightly golden. Immediately after removing from the oven, brush with butter and drizzle with honey. Cut into fourths to serve.