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.

Yellow Dal

It's another chilly Friday filled with reading for school, but I don't mind because I started my day off with a free yoga class from the Lexington Healing Arts Academy. Now that I have read some scripture, focused my mind and body, and made some simple dal, I can sit down with my tea and read about American diplomacy/negotiating strategy.

If you are like me and have been neglecting the "third pillar" of physical fitness (cardiovascular/aerobic, muscular strength/endurance, and flexibility), yoga is a great way to relieve stress and work on flexibility at the same time. I also find that, when I include it as part of my morning routine, it helps me to be more in touch with my body throughout the day. What does being "in touch with my body" mean? When I use that phrase, I mean being able to hear and identify what my body is asking for, whether it be more or less of a specific type of food/nutrition or a kind of movement (running, dancing, strength training, or a walk at the arboretum).

Believe it or not, now that I have been trying to listen to what my body wants and have given myself permission to follow those requests for over a year, I actually find that I crave things like carrots much more than ice cream. I always thought that if I ate what I truly wanted, I would eat nothing but cookies and cake, but it has been the the opposite. Of course, I still love a good dessert and eat them at least once a day, but I find I am satisfied with smaller amounts and do not "crave" them in a frightening way like I used to.

Preparing the onions, garlic, and masala.

Cooking the yellow split peas.

Time to mix the onion mixture and yellow split peas together. It smells so good!

Simplest Yellow DalFrom Whole Foods

1 cup yellow split peas
3 cups water
½ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
2 cups chopped yellow onion, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons garam masala
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Whole wheat naan, for serving (no longer gluten free if you serve with naan, btw)

Rinse peas and soak in water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse and place in a medium saucepan with water, salt and ½ cup of the onion. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

While the split peas are cooking, heat oil in a skillet and sauté the remaining onion with garlic and garam masala over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are golden, soft, and just beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the onion mixture to the cooked peas, stirring to combine. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes to blend flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 to 6.

CousCous with Roasted Bell Peppers, Turmeric and Mango Sausage, Cherry Tomatoes

Yum, a big bowl of couscous. What isn't to love about that?

Summer makes me want simple and light dishes that rely on the boldness of just a few, high-quality ingredients. Though, I have to admit, I am in the mood for light dishes almost every day, so maybe summer just makes me want simple and bold dishes.

My roomie roasting peppers. Yep, she's that awesome.

Indian Infused CousCous

2 cups cooked couscous

2 Turmeric Mango sausages from whole foods

2 roasted red peppers, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup onion, finely minced

1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Place a fry pan or grill pan over medium heat and cook sausages. Add garlic and onion if using a fry pan, until softened/fragrant (it is easier to use a separate pan for the onion and garlic if using a grill pan for the sausage). Cut sausages into bite-size coins. Toss together all ingredients and enjoy!