Chicken Tikka Masala

Does anyone else feel intimidated when trying a new cuisine? I had never made Indian food before and tried it for the first time on a group of about 10 people. It could have gone horribly wrong, I know. It's the first rule of cooking for a group of people, to not cook a new recipe -I should know better. But thank goodness, this recipe was so easy, it turned out just fine.

Actually, it's a good thing that "fundamental" rule has never actually turned out to be true, because just about every time I cook for a group of people, I cook something new. I don't think I have made the same recipe twice in over a year. It keeps my mouth from getting bored, I guess.

By the way, if any of your are looking for a way to clear your head and help get in touch with your body in an attempt to eat intuitively, I highly suggest trying a bikram yoga class. I just started going last week and really feel much more in tune with my body's nutritional needs afterwards. I suppose clearing your mind, meditating, or doing any mind-body focused activity would help with getting in touch with that kind of thing, but I have found the past few days extremely satisfying when analyzing my emotional, fullness, and hunger levels.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Adapted from Alton Brown

Serves 5-6

• 2 tablespoons garam masala*, divided
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon toasted, ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon toasted, ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger*
• 1 medium serrano chile, seeded and minced
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• Cooked rice for serving

*If you are serving to kids or those who don't like very spicy things, you can halve both or either the amount of garam masala and of the ginger, that way you get the flavor, but not really a "kick"*

Combine 1 tablespoon of the garam masala, 1 teaspoon of the salt, cumin, coriander, and pepper in a 1-gallon resealable bag. Seal and shake the bag to combine. Add the chicken and shake to coat. Add the yogurt to the bag, seal and squish to coat. Refrigerate the bag in a leak proof container for 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium-high. Add the onion and remaining teaspoon of salt, and cook until the onion is browned around the edges, 11 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, ginger and chile. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions have softened and browned completely, approximately 7 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of garam masala and stir several times to coat.

Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have reduced slightly and deepened in color, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the bag, leaving as much yogurt on the meat as possible, and spoon into a large skillet that has been coated with cooking spray or oil over medium heat (you may have to do this in batches to fit all of the chicken in). Cook until the yogurt has slightly charred and the chicken is cooked all the way through, about 3-5 minutes on each side. Add the lamb and coconut milk to the tomato mixture and stir to combine and heat through. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with cilantro, serve over rice.