OT- Favorite Ethnic foods

 

• The recipe I followed is below, but the area I live in is not very diverse, which is reflected in the restaurants and markets here, so I had one hell of a time getting garam masala.
• I decided to make the garam masala as well, but even had trouble finding some of the ingredients that went into that (some called for acacia bark, and rose buds!!) but found there are more basic garam masala recipes as well, that you can either find the seasonings necessary, or if you have an Indian market, they are likely to have the blend already made. It was a pain, so I recommend finding it in a market, or online, but here is a link to the real stuff I tried if you want to try making it.
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• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cut in 1 inch cubes

Marinade

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 piece minced ginger (1-inch" long)
• 6 bamboo skewers (6-inch")

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (buy in Indian market)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

 

Directions:

1. 1 Soak bamboo skewers in water.
2. 2 Thread chicken on skewers, and marinate (in the refrigerator) for an hour or so.
3. 3 Discard marinade.
4. 4 For sauce, melt butter on medium heat.
5. 5 Add garlic & jalapeno; cook 1 minute.
6. 6 Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala & salt.
7. 7 Stir in tomato sauce.
8. 8 Simmer 15 minutes.
9. 9 Stir in cream; simmer to thicken- about 5 minutes.
10. 10 Grill or broil chicken, turning occasionally, to cook through- about 8 minutes.
11. 11 Remove chicken from skewers; add to sauce.
12. 12 Simmer 5 minutes.
13. 13 Garnish with cilantro Serve with basmati rice, naan or pita bread.
14. 14 Note: You can make your own garam masala. McCormick also makes garam masala; it's available in super markets.
    
    
    
    
     

Oh yummy!  I already have all of the other spices, just need the garam masala.  I do have an Indian market.  People where I live love specialty markets.  I think I even have TWO Indian markets within like 3 miles.  lol

I wonder if there is a decent bulk spice base as well.  When I was cooking in the dorm cafeteria, they had these huge bags of spices mixed with oil -- super potent stuff - that they mixed in with the heavy cream.  Really made the spice mixing easy.  I wonder if they have something similar for non-bulk cooking (I was making 6 gallons of tikka masala with that stuff...haha).