Carnival Blog: A Favorite Indian Recipe

This is really a tough decision, since I like so many different foods. I grew up in an English, Irish household where roasts were our Sunday dinner staple, of course with all the trimmings; Yorkshire pudding, baked potatoes, vegetables. But as my life expanded, so did my taste in foods. I think my favorite food which I primarily cook is Italian, which is my kids favorite also. Even now that one of my son’s (Ryan) has gotten his own apartment – I still get requests for my homemade sauce – which is then delivered. In fact last week I sent some over to him and his roommate, who ate here everyday for a few years. The look on their faces said it all, especially after 3 months of eating jar sauce! My other favorite food is Indian which I cook often also. My boys basically grew up on Indian food and all their spices since they were practically toddlers, since one of my closest friends is Indian and was always cooking for them. When she makes chicken curry which they love – she always manages to send some over for them. So now the decision is do I share an Italian or Indian recipe. Well since I know most people know a lot of Italian cooking (at least here in the East), I will share one Indian dish that I made for some friends from India – they couldn’t believe I actually made it and keep insisting that I had to have gotten take out from a restaurant. Well I did make it myself and here is the recipe. By the way, it is not very spicy at all!
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Murgh Makhani (Chicken Curry)
Marinate 2 lbs chicken (thighs, breasts) cut into pieces with lime juice, 1 tbsp. Ginger/Garlic Paste, 1 tsp Chili Power and ¼ c. plain yogurt. Let stand for about 4 hrs.
In saucepan, heat 2 tsp oil; when hot add 1 tbsp. Ginger/Garlic Paste; 1 chili pepper (minced) – sauté approx 1 min. Add 3 tomatoes skinned and diced; ¼ tsp Tumeric; 1 stick butter; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp. Garam Masala; 1tsp Ground Cumin; ¼ black pepper. Simmer 10-15 min, then puree in blender. Return to saucepan; add ¾ cup heavy cream. Add chicken, bring to boil, then simmer ½ hr, or until chicken is cooked. Before serving slowly stir in another ¾ cup cream. Serve with Basmati rice.


One picture above is an ancient (approx 2,000 yr) carved building. The colors are still magnificent to see. The other picture was taken of me speaking to an audience at a school dedication in Tamil Nadu, So India. I actually spoke partly in their language Tamil.