my first homemade indian meal

bon appetit's april 2013 article inspired me; it was a success!


chicken tikka masala, spicy sautéed spinach, onion naan, basmati, and cilantro yogurt sauce

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/04/chicken-tikka-masala

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/04/onion-naan

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/04/spicy-sauteed-spinach

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/04/cilantro-yogurt-sauce

Looks delicious! Did you have any problems finding any of the ingredients, specifically ghee?

I'm still making my way through the issue, but you may have inspired me to try some of those recipes.

Thanks for sharing!

kathleen, it was delicious, and even better as leftovers (just had it for lunch). the supermarket didn't have ghee, so i made my own clarified butter using this link as reference:

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2007/05/14/how-to-make-ghee/

this was my first time making ghee, so although melting butter sounds easy enough, having the pics as illustrated in the link was helpful. it took about 30-40mins to get to clarity level where i could see the bottom of the pan. i made the ghee a day in advance so that it had time to solidify.

my other small obstacle was the naan. this was also a first time for me cooking with yeast. fortunately i did know it had to froth and when it didn't after 5 or so minutues, i started it over again. think i over whisked the sugar and yeast when i added it to the milk. second time around i gave it a short whisk and it worked.

do you subscribe to any other food mags? i find bon appetit inspires me the most.

That's real dedication to make your own ghee! I think I would try to buy it. We live in an area that has Whole Foods and Fairway, both of which should carry it.

I just subscribe to BA now. I used to keep all the back issues, but with the online availability, its not necessary anymore. I do keep the Thanksgiving issues and I have them marked with paperclips for the recipes I've used each year. I also keep a list of my Thanksgiving menues with the BA year & page number listed for each dish.

BA definitely inspires me to cook well and even if I don't make many of the recipes, it gives me ideas for my own dishes.

Happy Cooking!

Kalustyans in Manhattan sells Ghee.
And in NJ there is an International Market somewhere. Can't remember....near Secaucus maybe? Around near Ikea?
Good luck!
Cheers
irina

kalustyans has everything! i wasn't in nyc when my craving hit, unfortunately, and ethnic food supplies are not as readily available where i was at the time. it was just as easy to make my own.

I really miss Kalustyans. And all the other foodie places in the city.
I can't even get Duck Legs for confit here in Miami.
Sad cheers
irina

updates:
-chicken tikka masala freezes nicely. i defrosted the leftovers and had it for dinner yesterday.
-i made a new batch of naan, but only had low fat milk and low fat yogurt on hand. while it tasted ok, from now on i would make this with whole milk and yogurt.