Chicken “Jay-Frazi”
Curry Indian Dish with Jalfrazi inspiration-
It all started around 2 PM on a Thursday afternoon just around that time when you stop working at your desk and start drifting over to pinterest and checking your facebook to escape the black white normalcy of the mundane 9-5.
I starting thinking.. maybe I should be an awesome girlfriend and cook a delicious meal for my boyfriend, Jay. I started googling “quick and easy” dinner recipes hoping for an easy way out. Now, I do love to cook but every once in awhile I get burned out. I pretty much rotate most of the recipes you’ll find on this blog along with the boring grilled chicken and veggies. So I was looking for something different, something new, something I’ve never done before… but.. quick and easy. I kept seeing Indian curry recipes popping up and thought hmm.. I’ve never made that before? I also saw recipes for baked chicken and mashed potatoes and my mouth just started watering for something comforting. I knew without even asking Jay that he would pick the curry over anything I ran by him so I just went with it.
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Serving with peas and chopped cilantro -
Put turmeric in the rice to make it yellow -
Simple preparation -
Lots of turmeric and heavy cream in this preparation
- 2-3 Chicken Breasts
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Coriander
- Cumin, To Taste
- 1/2 c. Plain Yogurt
- 6 tbsp. Butter
- 1 whole Large Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 piece (approximately 2 Inches) Chunk Fresh Ginger
- Garam Masala Spice
- 1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes
- Sugar
- 1 1/2 c. Heavy Cream
- 2 c. Basmati Rice
- Fresh Cilantro
- Chili Peppers
- Turmeric
- Frozen Peas
Next dice one large onion. In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned. As the onions cook, mince your garlic. Next, cut off the outer skin and mince or grate a 1 by 2 inch chunk of fresh ginger. Add the garlic and ginger to the onions. Also throw in about 1 tablespoon of salt.
Next you are going to add about 3 tablespoons Garam Masala spice. And if you like it hot, this is also when you will add your hot chili peppers. Serranos work well. Now you are going to add your can of diced tomatoes. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add about 1 tablespoon sugar. Let this mixture simmer on medium for about 5 minutes.
To a rice cooker add 2 cups Basmati rice, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Ground Turmeric and 4 cups water. Cover, turn on your rice cooker and walk away. If you do not have a rice cooker, cook your rice as usual but make sure that you use Basmati rice.
After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a little bit, add in the 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. Now, chop up your chicken breasts into chunks and stir them into the Tikka Masala sauce. A handful of chopped fresh cilantro is a nice addition if you like cilantro. You can also throw some frozen peas into the cooked rice, give them a stir, and allow the heat of the rice to cook the peas. It tastes great and gives another nice dash of color. Serve the rice with the Chicken Tikka Masala over top. Make sure to have some Nann bread handy, too.
Recipe Adapted from https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a9634/chicken-tikka-masala-by-pastor-ryan/
Wine Pairing- German or Washington Riesling, Spanish Cava, or California Pinot Noir.