Tikka Masala Chicken & Naan

A few weeks ago I went to an Indian restaurant with my friends. I didn't think I had ever had Indian food but then I remembered I had this delicious chicken. A good friend of my family, Nicole Ward, had us over when I was in high school and made this for us. It was good so my mom got the recipe.

Chicken:

1 c plain yogurt

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix together the ingredients above and stir in chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Place pieces on 4 long skewers. Oil grill and grill on high for 5 minutes each side. (no grill?- just toss chicken in fry pan and cook until done.)

Sauce:

1/4 c cilantro

1 Tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 (80z) can tomato sauce

1 c cream

Melt butter in skillet. Saute garlic, jalapeño for one minute and add cumin, paprika, salt, tomato sauce and cream. Simmer 20 minutes. Add chicken and simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Naan

I got this recipe from melskitchencafe (a different Melanie). This is Indian flat bread that is served with most Indian dishes.

3-4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 c milk

1 tsp sugar

3-4 Tbsp melted butter

Pour the milk into a liquid measure and heat in the microwave until warm to the touch. Mix the sugar and yeast into the milk and let it sit for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is foamy and the yeast has activated. Once the yeast/milk mixture is foamy, pour the mixture into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and add the salt and 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

Mix well to combine. Continue adding flour gradually in small amounts, until a soft dough is formed that cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest at room temperature, covered lightly with greased plastic wrap, for about 2 hours (I just turned the oven on warm and place the bowl in the oven on a cookie sheet for 30min and it turn out fine).

After the dough has rested, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, rounding each into a ball shape. Cover the pieces with a towel and let them rest for 30 minutes. While the dough rests, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F and place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, try grilling the dough on a lightly oiled outdoor grill or use a hot griddle to bake the naan – you’ll have to experiment with cooking times but I’ve seen either of those methods used with cooking naan also.)

Once the dough has rested for 30 minutes, one by one, roll each piece into a circle about 6-8 inches wide, depending on how thin or thick you want your naan. Lay the circle of dough on the hot pizza stone and spritz lightly with water. Close the oven and bake the naan for 2-4 minutes, until it is lightly puffed (some pieces will puff more than others) and brown spots begin to appear on the top. Remove the naan from the baking stone and place on a cooling rack. Brush lightly with melted butter. Stack the hot naan on top of each other as it comes out of the oven. Cover with a towel and let the naan cool completely or serve warm.

–Melanie