Naan (bread)

While preparing Chicken Tikka Masala - I desired delicious Naan to accompany my Indian Restaurant meal.  Having made a different type of flatbread in my family, preparing naan was totally new to me and I was skeptical of how it would turn out...

In the end, I had nothing to fear as my naan cooked perfectly and was great with my Chicken Tikka!

Ingredients:
1/2 package Instant Yeast (or less than 1 Tbs)
1/2 cup Water -Warmed
2 Tbs Sugar
1 1/2 Tbs Milk
1/2 Egg beaten
1 tsp Salt
2 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour*
*Note- you could use wheat flour as a healthy alternative but honestly, the naan wont be as good as the white flour makes the dough soft and stretchy!
1 Tbs Olive oil

Bloom/Proof the yeast (like we did when making Pizza) with the water in a large bowl.
Add the sugar, milk, egg, salt, and flour.  Mix well till the dough comes together and is soft.
Oil the bowl and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour till dough doubles in size.
Separate the dough into balls of equal size - about 6 golf ball sized dough balls will be made.  Use some flour to roll the balls of dough.  Set the balls on the counter and lightly cover with a cheesecloth or saran wrap - allow the dough to rise a second time for about 20 minutes.

While waiting, put a pizza stone in your oven and preheat to 475-500⁰F.
Allow the stone to get nice and hot (if you don't have a stone, cook your naan outdoors on a grill or on a griddle pan on the stovetop).

Once you are ready to cook your naan - melt 2 Tbs of Butter and set aside
Roll out your first ball of dough into a thin round circle on a floured surface.  Make sure to keep your counter floured so that the dough will not stick.

Using a brush, spread some of the butter on the dough, and poke your rolled out dough with a fork.

Put this first round of dough on the hot stone and cook for 2-3 minutes until puffy and golden brown.

Continue for remaining dough.

Enjoy your Naan plain, with Chicken Tikka Masala, or add garlic to the melted butter and sprinkle cilantro to make Garlic Naan!

Chicken Tikka Masala

This is my attempt to replicate Indian restaurant food- which is unlike true Indian food but still very tasty. I also have a recipe for my first attempt to make Naan.
The spices used can be found in large supermarkets as well as specialty Indian/Pakistani stores.


Chicken Tikka Masala


Ingredients:
Chicken Marinade
1-2 lbs Chicken breast (I used tenders but whole or cut breast meat is also good)
2 tsp Cumin powder
2 tsp Ground Corriander
1/4 cup Yogurt (I used my homemade skim yogurt)
1/2 Tbs Salt

Coat the chicken with salt, cumin, and coriander. Then mix in and coat the chicken with yogurt. Let the chicken marinate for one hour (can do ahead overnight too).

Marinated Chicken 

Broil the chicken 5-7 minutes on each side.  Allow the chicken to cool.  Once the meat is cool to the touch, chop into 1 inch chunks.

Broiled Chicken

Either while the chicken marinates or after putting the chicken in the oven, begin to cook the Basmati rice:

Basmati Rice - sorry no pics!

2 cups Basmati rice

3 cups of Water

1/2 tsp Tumeric

Rinse the rice very well - until the water is almost clear.  You can cook the rice in a rice cooker, adding the water and cumin or bring water to a boil on the stovetop, add the rice and tumeric, and then turn the stove very very low - cooking the rice for almost 40 minutes or until the water cooks off and rice is tender. 

Finish cooking the chicken while the rice cooks:
Chicken Tikka:
3 Tbs Butter
1 large Onion chopped
4-5 cloves Garlic chopped
2x1 inch chunk of Ginger - finely minced
1 Tbs of salt (I prefer to use less, like 1/2 Tbs)
1 can of diced Tomatoes
1 small can of Tomato sauce
3-4 Tbs Garam Masala
3 tsp Cumin
2 tsp of Chili Powder (or more to taste)
1/4 cup Half & Half or Heavy Cream (optional to use more ~1/2 cup)
1 cup Water
4 Tbs Chopped Cilantro (a big handful chopped)

Finely chop your onion and garlic.  Also mince the ginger - I used a microplane and that was fast and didn't leave any chunks.

Garlic on top left, ginger on bottom left and onions on right

In a large saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat (too high and it will burn).  Add the garlic and onions and cook about a minute, then add ginger and continue to cook till lightly they are almost melted - soft and aromatic.

Cooking onions, garlic, & ginger till clear

Add the salt to the mixture and then the tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Cook the mixture over medium-low heat.  Add the remaining spices (garam masala, cumin, chili powder, and additional salt/pepper to taste).

Tomato mixture and spices added

Allow the mixture to cook for about 5 minutes and add the half and half (lighter version) or heavy cream (rich and fatty!).  

Half&Half added

After 5 more minutes, add the chicken. Continue to cook the chicken tikka over low heat till the cream is fully cooked through - about 10 minutes.  *If you feel that your chicken tikka is too thick and wish to create more sauce - add some of the water in 1/4 cup increments - you may need to adjust the spices (adding more but being careful not to add tablespoon fulls - don't add too much!).  I added about a cup more of water and used about 4 Tbs garam masala and more chili powder and continued to allow the water to cook through another 10 minutes (so the sauce wont be a watery mess).

Once you are ready to serve your meal - sprinkle the chopped cilantro over the chicken tikka masala.

Serve your delicious masala with the Basmati Rice and Naan Bread!

Final dish with cilantro!

Chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati Rice

Chicken close up!