Well, not eating Indian food, but cooking it. The first time I ever had Indian food was on a date with Jay, probably around 3 years ago. I can’t believe it took me so long to try it! There are so many delicious flavors and spices in each dish… and Naan is addicting. We were feeling adventurous this past weekend and decided to try to make our favorite dish, Chicken Tikka Masala, with homemade Naan of course.

Chicken Tikka Masala
Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients

• 5 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (breasts, legs, or a mix), skin removed
• 3 tablespoons toasted ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons toasted paprika
• 2 tablespoons toasted ground coriander seed
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 12 cloves garlic, smashed through a garlic press or grated, divided
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated, divided
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup fresh juice from 4 to 6 lemons, divided
  Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly mashed
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

• Place the chicken pieces on a cutting board with the flesh-side up. Score deeply at 1-inch intervals with a sharp knife. Place in a large rimmed baking dish.

• Combine cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, garam masala and cayenne in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside 3 tablespoons of spice mixture. Combine remaining 6 tablespoons spice mixture, 8 cloves garlic garlic, 2 tablespoons ginger, yogurt, 1/2 cup lemon juice, and 1/4 cup salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Pour marinade all over chicken pieces, using hands to coat every surface. cover loosely and refrigerate. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 8, turning occasionally.

• Meanwhile, heat butter or ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until melted and foaming subsides. Add onions, remaining 4 tablespoons grated garlic, and remaining 2 tablespoons ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until dark and beginning to char in spots, about 10 minutes. Add reserved spice mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and half of cilantro, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan with a spoon. Simmer for 15 minutes, then puree using a hand blender or by transferring to a tabletop blender in batches.

• Stir in cream and remaining lemon juice. Season to taste with salt, then set aside until chicken is cooked.

TO COOK ON THE GRILL: Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over half of coal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover gill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Wipe excess marinade off chicken and place over hot side of grill, flesh-side-down. Grill without moving until well charred, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip chicken and cook until second side is charred, another 4 to 5 minutes. (Chicken will not be completely cooked through—this is ok). Transfer to cutting board and allow to rest 10 minutes.

TO COOK UNDER THE BROILER: Line a broiler pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and preheat the broiler to high with the rack set 6 inches below broiler element. Wipe excess marinade off chicken and place on foil-lined pan, flesh side up. Broil until charred and blackened on surface, about 8 minutes (chicken will not be completely cooked through—this is ok). Transfer to cutting board and allow to rest 10 minutes.

• Remove chicken from bone using a sharp knife and cut into rough bite-sized chunks. Transfer chicken chunks to pot of sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro, then serve immediately.

Naan Bread
Adapted from the Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Melted butter for slathering on the finished naans
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

• In a large glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F). Let it sit on your counter until it’s frothy, about 10 minutes.

• Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large, deep bowl.

• Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and the olive oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn’t enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2 to 4 hours.

• When you’re ready to roll, make sure you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it, and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky-this is good! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking to each other.

• Shape the naan. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape, narrower at the top than at the bottom. It should be 8 to 9-inches long, 4-inches wide at its widest point and about 1/4-inch thick. Once you’ve formed the general shape, you can also pick it up by one end and wiggle it; the dough’s own weight will stretch it out a little. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough.

• Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it’s nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.

• Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your naans, flip-flopping it from one hand to the other to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it in the skillet and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble.

• After about 1 minute, flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened, don’t worry – that’s typical of traditional naan! Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

• Remove the naan from the skillet, brush with a bit of butter and sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt. Place the naan in a tea towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the naans and serve.

I know there are A LOT of steps to this, but it’s so worth it! We ate this for about 3 days, it was so delicious. The rice is just white Basmati made in the rice cooker.  My tip is to cook the Naan right before you eat. There is nothing better than hot, fresh Naan to soak up all the goodness of the Tikka Masala.

… and Happy Valentine’s Day! Any special plans for tonight? Jay and I are going to chillax at home and catch up on Top Chef and the Office.