Indian Cousine

I haven't made anything that spectacular this week because of the surprise birthday party I threw on Saturday for my sister's 21st birthday . There was so much preparation into that, I was didn't feel like doing much else! I did bake a sheet cake, and it turned out yummy! Not very pretty though... There's no future as cake decorator for me I'm afraid. I made spaghetti for all the guests staying late and staying the night. And I made enough I guess, because everyone ate what they wanted, and Paul and I have been eating the leftovers for supper every night since then! You can never get sick of spaghetti though. ;)

For supper tonight, it was Indian. I made Indian Curry Chicken and Naan bread.



It was very tasty!! And filling! My baby (who is 11 1/2 months old) always wants bites of what I'm eating. I really didn't think she'd like it because it has such a strong curry flavor. But she insisted she wanted to try it, so I gave her a tiny bite, and she wanted more! I gave her a bite of a few sauce soaked rice grains at a time, and each bite was followed with a "mmm". So it was a hit with the baby and with us! :)

Indian Curry Chicken
(from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 tablespoons curry powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon paprika 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

1/2 teaspoon white sugar salt to taste 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 cup plain yogurt 3/4 cup coconut milk 1/2 lemon, juiced 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
2.	Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes.

The only changes I made was I didn't have plain yogurt, so I used sour cream instead, and I didn't have cayenne, so I used chili powder. Oh, and in case your wondering, the 1/2 lemon; you can use 1 - 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice instead.

I served this on brown rice, but you can use any rice you like. They suggested jasmine rice.


Naan Bread
(a recipe I got from my friend)

1 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 C warm water
1 C flour, plus kneading
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C butter or oil

Combine yeast and sugar to water, set aside 5 minutes. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Make a well in the center of flour, and pour yeast mixture and oil into the center. Mix by hand until dough forms, work in small amount of additional flour as needed.
Knead for 3 minutes. Oil small bowl, place dough in bowl, trying to coat, and let rest 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Divide dough into 6 pieces and roll into circles. Place onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake about 8 minutes.

Yummy! Delicious meal that will make you feel like your eating somewhere exotic... If you close your eyes. :)