Chicken Tikka Masala

I sometimes play that game where you ponder what foods you could live on forever. Not nutritionally, of course, because that one's a clear winner: hard-boiled egg, shell included. Nope, I just like to think about foods that I could eat for the longest period of time without getting sick of.

Chicken tikka masala is at the top of that list. Rich, tomatoey sauce, dense, smothered cardamom seeds, tender chunks of broiled chicken all on top of fragrant coriander basmati rice.

I only tried to make tikka masala once before, and it was a total disaster. This time, it turned out great.

I'm not going to re-type the whole recipe here, since I just followed this one pretty much exactly. But here are a few tips and photos:

1. Buy almonds pre-blanched (skinned). While blanching almonds is not difficult, it adds time to an already time-consuming dish.
2. Garam masala: go easy on it. Better to add some later than too much to begin with. It is overpowering.
3. Note 2 on garam masala: the cheapest I could find was at Whole Foods. Surprise! Same thing for ground cardamom.
4. Use whole cardamom seeds/pods in the mix. They are so wonderful to bite into.
5. Don't be afraid to add more tomatoes. I doubled the amount for this recipe and didn't regret it even a little bit.

Toasted almonds! Yummm...

Broiled "tikka" chicken.

And the whole delicious dish.

My Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Eggs seem to be a particularly personal food. I think this is partly because eggs are one of those foods that almost everybody eats growing up, so we all have unique and strong food memories about them. For instance: I am convinced that my dad makes the best fried eggs in the world. I never liked egg yolks when I was a kid (I'm still not really a fan), and each weekend we stayed with him, he would make me two fried egg whites on toast for breakfast. And of course it wasn't just the eggs; it was that he teased me for not liking the yolks, for eating the crust of my open egg sandwich first, that he would eat the yolks that I refused to because he couldn't bring himself to waste them. So I always try to make fried eggs like my dad.

But scrambled eggs I make my way. A simple dish, but one I'm particular about. Method as follows.

Gently whisk:

Eggs

1 teaspoon milk per egg

1 dash pepper per egg

1 pinch salt

**If you want super-fluffy eggs, you could use about a teaspoon (total) of cream of tartar rather than or in addition to the milk; but I don't like them that way...so there.

Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a pan over low heat. As soon as the butter is melted, add diced onions (about 2 Tablespoons diced onion per egg) and sauté for a few minutes.

Use spatula to make sure onions are evenly distributed across the pan. Add egg mixture all at once and allow it to fill pan. Do not stir eggs right away.

Let egg mixture "set" so that the "bottom layer" is cooked. Then push eggs in toward the middle of the pan, letting runny egg mixture flow and fill the pan.

Repeat until eggs won't run anymore, then flip eggs and stir as needed. Don't over-handle them; they will get rubbery and gross.

(Remember how I hate yolk? I always hard-cook my eggs. Not a popular thing, but they makemy perfect scrambled eggs.)

My favorite way to eat these eggs is in a burrito with sour cream and salsa. I probably make this dish at least twice a week (and usually for dinner), but using half whites.

Curried Split Pea Soup

I don't make a lot of money, and I'm not that great at budgeting what I do make. Inevitably, by the end of each month, I've exhausted my grocery budget and resort to cooking out of my pantry. This means the ingredients I have on hand dictate my meals rather than the whims and cravings that rule the first half of the month - which is probably the way more practical people live all month long, but, well...I'm not them.

It's the 29th of June, and even my pantry is anxiously awaiting my next paycheck. The cornmeal and dried legumes hanging out in there are getting a little lonely. Even so, the following is one of my favorite easy meals month-round.

This recipe yields 4 servings and takes about one hour to make (most of which is waiting time!).

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1.75 cups split peas, rinsed

1 Tablespoon curry powder

5 cups vegetable broth

2 Tablespoons butter (or olive oil)

Steps:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat.

2. Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. The salt isn't added at this stage for flavor; it's added to help breakdown the onion and draw out its flavors and milk. Stir the onion around for a minute or two, then

3. Add the minced garlic. Make sure you don't let the garlic burn or brown (this means stir with a watchful eye, ensuring that the garlic is always involved with the oil/butter).

Is there any smell quite as auspicious as that of

onion and garlic being sautéed in butter?

4. Add the veggie broth (chicken broth is fine, but I prefer to keep the dish vegetarian). Of course it would be fine to use liquid stock here (I don't like canned; I prefer Pacific or other boxed brands. This preference is probably irrational, but I don't care), but since this a cheap, end-of-the-month version and I don't have any liquid stock on hand, I use bouillon cubes reconstituted with water.

5. Add the rinsed split peas. 1.75 cups is approximately 12 ounces. Yeah, yeah, I know that generally one cup = 8 ounces - but most dried legumes (for whatever reason) weigh a little light.

6. Add the curry powder. The given measurement is a pretty "average" curry flavor. You can definitely adjust down or up according to your tastes.

8. Stir everything together, and bring to a boil.

9. Once your pot's come to a boil, turn the heat to low-low-low and cover (you want things cooking at a simmer). Leave it for about 50 minutes (even if you've halved the recipe). You want your split peas to hydrate and then break down.

10. Your soup is done when the peas are tender and no longer holding their shape.

11. Blend! You can do this with an immersion blender (ohh, I want one), an actual blender, or a food processor. Alternately, if you lack any of these appliance and want to cut back on time and clean up, you can use a fork or potato masher to mash up the peas (just be sure to stir well periodically if you use this last option).

This isn't a pretty-looking dish. As with most split-pea soups, it looks kind of like baby food - and this one doesn't have the advantage of carrot or ham chunks to break up the unappealing green goop. But don't count it out just because it looks bleghhh! If you've cooked it alright and don't hate the flavor profile (peas and curry tend to be polarizing), then it's a sure-fire hit.

Good sides would be a tomato or cucumber salad (or a tomato-cucumber salad! Go crazy!) and a nice, crusty, grainy bread. I keep thinking of this Zuni Indian bread that my friend Aaron makes. It would be perfect.

Zuni Goodness.

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown.

Introduction

If you're reading this blog, then you probably know me. Which means you know that I am most definitely not any kind of professional cook. But I do cook for myself on a regular basis, and in doing so I've discovered something incredible: when I cook, I'm not anxious or shy or easily-stressed. I cook the way I sometimes wish I could live; I laugh at my mistakes, revel in my successes, and unabashedly reveal some of myself in every dish I make.