Good ole home cooking....ethnic style!

I always find it interesting the foods I crave when they are most difficult to find. After a few months in Italy, surrounded by the most delicious fresh (and cheap) ingredients for Italian food--mozzarella balls, gnocchi, spinaci, cheeses, etc.--we suddenly grew desperate for anything that wasn't pasta. We made our own handmade flour tortillas. We mashed our own refried beans. We went to Hard Rock Cafe just to have real cheddar cheese on a massive hamburger. I hoarded my jar of Skippy extra chunky peanut butter like it was the most sacred truffle oil in the world. We bought a bottle of maple syrup for an exorbitant fee and drizzled it conservatively onto French toast. After a lot of the same stuff, anything that wasn't Italian was a much needed culinary break. Now, of course, I'd cut off my right hand to find fresh mozzarella balls for only 5o euro cents or delicate gnocchi for a euro a pound.

As Americans, we've adopted the cuisines of many other nations, and have one of the most varied palates in the world. One thing I loved about D.C. was the sheer variety of ethnic restaurants. My American Studies buddies and I would frequently try out different cuisines--Thai, Lebanese, Indian. There were always a lot of different choices for each group and we were always guaranteed to find excellent food. Hawaii has its own unique culinary style here--macaroni salad, poi, taro, and fish--not to mention the rampant over-infusion of Asian foods. It's generally not so bad, but lately I have been craving different foods...most especially Indian.

My sister took me to my first Indian restaurant in the Notting Hill neighborhood of London where you can find some of the best Indian cuisine outside of India. Through the years, Indian food has become one of my favorite exotic food pleasures....the aromatic spices, the creamy curries and long-grain rice, the buttery naan bread and flavorful scorch marks from the tandoori oven. My absolute favorite Indian dish--chicken tikka masala--was supposedly created in England in the 1950s or 1970s (it's origin is heavily debated); the recipe is always different, but no matter where you find it, chicken tikka masala is absolutely delicious. So, after scouring the internet to find a simple yet seemingly authentic recipe, I decided to try it for myself. It was no small undertaking. For those who might be interested, the recipe I used can be found here: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=4526&bdc=54312#topOfPage.

I tried to find a recipe that gave enough instructions (I'm always surprised by recipes that just assume you know how to do something) and didn't utilize too many hard-to-get exotic or expensive ingredients. The most difficult item to find was garam marsala (which McCormick makes and is sold in the spice aisle). I couldn't find it at first, but the recipe also helpfully provides a substitution and I had all the ingredients to make it except for cardamon. So I went to the Safeway across the street (which I never shop at because it's so dang expensive) only to discover that a bottle of cardamon costs $14, but that they had the garam masala mixture for only $3.50, so that's what I ended up purchasing. The recipe is not terribly complex but it did require a lot of time, as most new and untested recipes often do. I did not include the peppers because I do not like really spicy foods but I added more of the other spices to add more flavor. The tikka masala came out really well and was very tasty, if I do say so myself.

The chicken tikka masala simmering in its pan.

I also attempted to make naan bread. Unfortunately, this endeavor did not turn out as good as the main dish, but some of the pieces were still okay and I know what I did wrong so that in the future, I can improve on it. Naan bread is so tasty. My rooommate Erin used to cook hers in a hot pan which works just as well as a pizza stone. I tried both methods. I haven't decided which I like better.

The dinner spread.

It was an absolutely delightful and delicious meal. As always with new recipes, I learned what I did wrong, what can be improved for next time, and how to make it go much quicker in the future. I'm glad I have all the spices I need now for making this dish again and again. I have a feeling I'll be craving it again in the near future. Once all the leftovers are gone.... Now if I could just find some tamarind paste, I can set about re-creating my other favorite ethnic meal--pad thai. It's such comfort food.