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Our favorite (and only) nearby Indian restaurant closed just before Storkbite was born and we haven’t found a place worthy of replacing it. We have since been faced with making Indian food at home. I’m not really good at it, but there is an amazing grocery store nearby called Patel Bros. and the have all the best ingredients. We just got back from visiting Storkbite’s grandparents earlier in the day and I had a jar of masala simmer sauce. I had never used a totally prepared - just add chicken - simmer sauce before. We had been on the plane and Storkbite behaved badly (she is just 5 months so I should give her a break), so I decided that it was an excellent occasion for the Masala simmer sauce. I just added cubed chicken breasts from my frozen reserve and made some basmati rice. For a quick meal, it was pretty darn delicious. It’s going to be a bland week here at Storkbite Stew. I had to give last week’s CSA box away due to our vacation. We will be back to frozen foods until Thursday night. Stand by…
The little jar of masala sauce only suggested that I use water; however, I should have used less water and more heavy cream. I simmered for 15 minutes and then added about a 1/4 cup of heavy cream and stirred.
We plated the basmati rice, covered it with chicken tikka masala and topped it with fresh cilantro. Not a bad meal for a night that was headed towards take-out.
One thing I’ve learned is that if it’s popular, do it again. I tend to vary the ingredients slightly and use the same flavors. If you are like me and buy spices when you have a particular dish in mind rather than having a fully stocked collection, then this trick is right for you. First off, I want to say that my favorite of all spices are from The Spice House and their gift boxes make excellent holiday presents.
Everyone here at Storkbite’s house liked the tandoori tilapia from a few nights ago, that I decided to put on a revival with chicken. It’s still really hot outside and all I could cook was a chicken breast rubbed with tandoori. I served it over the last of our delicious red leaf Boston lettuce with a yogurt, curry, vinegar and olive oil dressing. I served some naan on the side which is in the frozen section of Trader Joe’s. It was fantastic!
The best part about this meal was that it took minutes. Storkbite’s Papa gave me a 10 minute warning that he was going to be home for 20 minutes before leaving for a meeting and he needed to EAT. I have no idea how I conjured up something so quick and satisfying, but I did.
I took a little trip to Jackson Heights with Storkbite and a friend yesterday. We ate at one of the best Indian buffets around - Jackson Diner. I had to bring home some local flavors to Papa who doesn’t get to go on as many adventures as we do. I bought some delicious chicken and vegetable samosas which are in the center. In addition I made Tandoori Tilapia with more of my Trader Joe’s stock and Haricot Verts in curried coconut sauce. Papa was happy to have some of the flavors brought home to him.
I rubbed tandoori seasoning on the tilapia then pan fried it in butter and oil. I mixed a little tandoori into plain yogurt for the sauce. The coconut curry green beans need to be fine tuned a bit, but it was also easy. I added yellow curry powder to one can of coconut milk then simmered until it reduced. Once it reduced I added defrosted green beans. We served basmati rice and the samosas that I picked up in Jackson Heights. It was quick, easy and delicious. Total time start to finish was 20 minutes.
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