I am a big fan of Indian cuisine. The layers and layers of flavor, and frankly have always been intimidated by attempting to tray my hand.
Living with my wife is somewhat like living in the Food Network Chopped kitchen. I as my wife what kind of a protein she wants and what kind of cuisine and then scramble to figure it out. Working from home these days gives me the extra time to do some research on the internet, find recipes that sound promising and then, I spin it a little bit to make it my own.
This was my wife’s birthday dinner. She wanted Indian cuisine and who am I to say no?
What you are looking at, starting bottom to top:
- Basmati Rice (We were out of Basmati so I used Sushi rice
- Chana Masala
- Roasted Portobello Mushrooms
- Tandoori Chicken
- Chicken Tikka Masala
The common denominator in all the recipes is a spice blend called Garam Masala. I have two huge spice racks each holding a total of 100 jars of spices, and up until this point, no garam masala.
I googled garam masala and found a few recipes. After doing this research, this is what I came up with
- 2 Tablespoons of Cumin
- 3 Teaspoons of Coriander Seed
- 2 Teaspoons of Cardamom
- 3 Cardamom Pods
- 2 Teaspoons of coarse Black Pepper
- 10 Black Peppercorns
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Clove
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
I heated up a non-stick small frying pan and toasted the Coriander Seeds, the Cardamom Pods and the Peppercorns. To do this, you gently roll everything around over medium heat until you start smelling the fragrance of the spices. Once I do that, a keep going for another 20 seconds and then pull it off the stove. I then crush these in a mortar. If you don’t have these items, then just adjust ground spices by an additional 1/3rd.
Once the spices are ground, add the other ingredients, mix thoroughly and put everything in an air tight container. It’ll last for months.
Be the first to comment