Mixed Vegetable Curry (Mix Sabji)

This dish could be made with any assortment of leftover vegetables in the refrigerator. It was healthy and flavorful.

The recipe was adapted from Chetna’s 30 Minute Indian: Quick and Easy Everyday Meals by Chetna Makan. I must mention that prepping all of the vegetables was not taken into account when including this dish in a 30-minute meal cookbook! I did double the recipe though. It was worth the extra time.

I served it over brown Basmati rice with warm naan on the side. Topping it with cucumber raita was also suggested in the original recipe.

Yield: Serves 4

• 4 T canola or sunflower oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 large yellow onions, finely chopped
• 2 jalapeños, seeded, if desired
• 6 garlic cloves, grated or pushed through a garlic press
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
• 2 tsp coarse salt
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp amchur (mango powder) or tamarind concentrate
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 3 large tomatoes, finely chopped
• 200 ml (7 oz) boiling water

For the Vegetables:

• 4 T canola or sunflower oil
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 12 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

To Serve: (as desired)

• brown Basmati rice
• warm flatbread such as naan
• cucumber raita or whole milk plain yogurt

1. If desired, mince the jalapeños and garlic in a food processor; remove and set aside. Chop the onions in a food processor; set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan (with a lid available) and add the cumin and mustard seeds as well as the bay leaves.
3. Once the spices start to sizzle, add the chopped onions with the jalapeños and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until golden.
4. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
5. Meanwhile, heat the oil for the vegetables in a large frying pan.
6. Add all of the vegetables and cook them over medium to high heat for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly colored.
7. Stir the salt, ground spices and sugar into the onions with the tomatoes and cook for a minute.
8. Add the vegetables and pour in the boiling water.
9. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.
10. Serve with rice and/or flatbread, as desired. Top with yogurt or raita, if desired.

Sous Vide Butter Chicken

Everyone loves butter chicken. This recipe was adapted to make sous vide from a viral Instant Pot recipe. The original recipe by “The Butter Chicken Lady,” Urvashi Pitre, was even published in The New Yorker.

This version was simple to prepare and resulted in perfectly cooked, ultra tender and moist meat. The sauce was amazing too. My husband declared that it was the best butter chicken I’ve ever made! Easy and delicious.

The recipe was adapted from How to Sous Vide: Easy, Delicious Perfection any Night of the Week by Daniel Shumski. We ate it with roasted asparagus and warm naan.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

• 2 tsp garam masala, divided
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 to 2 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5 or 6)
• 1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, divided
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, packed, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup (4 T) tomato paste
• brown Basmati rice, for serving
• warm naan, for serving

1. Set the water temperature to 165 degrees F. (It took a little bit shy of an hour for 10 quarts of room temperature water to reach the temperature with my Anova machine.)
2. In a small bowl, mix 1 tsp garam masala, the garlic powder, turmeric, paprika, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper, and ginger.
3. Dust both sides of each chicken thigh evenly with the spice mixture. Pour any remaining spices into the sous vide bag.
4. Place the chicken in the bag and evenly distribute 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of the butter.
5. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Place in a second bag; remove as much air as possible.
6. Place the bagged chicken in the preheated water. (I clip the top of the bag to the side of the water bath container.)
7. After 1 hour 30 minutes, remove the bagged chicken. (Near the end of the cooking process, I cooked the rice and vegetables.)
8. Remove the chicken from the bag and set it aside.
9. Pour the juices from the bag into a blender. (I used a Vitamix.)
10. Add 1/4 cup (4 T) cream, the cilantro, the remaining 1 tsp garam masala, and the tomato paste. Blend until smooth, about 10 seconds.
11. Pour the blended sauce into a medium-size skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the remaining 4 T (1/2 stick) butter and the remaining 1/4 cup cream. Cook, stirring gently, until the butter is melted and the sauce becomes homogenous, about 1 minute.
12. Gently place the chicken in the pan and stir to coat.
13. Cook over medium-low heat, about 1 minute.
14. Serve the chicken over rice drizzled with additional sauce and garnish with cilantro. Serve with warm naan, if desired.

Note: Any extra sauce can be refrigerated in a covered glass container for up to 5 days. Serve over rice, roasted vegetables, or chicken.

Sheet-Pan Garam Masala Chicken with Cauliflower & Chickpeas

I love yogurt-based marinades because the resulting meat is always juicy and tender. This dish not only had a yogurt marinade, it was made on a single sheet pan and had a bright and spicy “finishing condiment” as well. A winner. 🙂

The rimmed sheet pan did accumulate a lot of pan juices, but the chicken and cauliflower were still perfectly crispy on top. The cauliflower and chickpeas absorbed a lot of wonderful flavors from the pan drippings as well.

This recipe was adapted from Bon Appétit, contributed by Kat Boytsova. I added chickpeas and served the roasted chicken, cauliflower, and beans over rice, drizzled with pan juices. We also had warm naan on the side. The lemony cilantro-onion-jalapeño finishing condiment was essential and absolutely delicious.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

For the Chicken:

• 3″ piece ginger, peeled
• 2 cups whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup (or more) 2% Greek yogurt, for serving (can substitute whole-milk yogurt)
• 2 lemons
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 T garam masala, divided
• 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 lbs)
• 2 T plus 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 head of jumbo cauliflower (about 3 lbs)
• 3 T vegetable oil or olive oil

For the Finishing Condiment:

• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and ribbed- if desired
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• rice and/or warm flatbread, for serving, optional

To Marinate the Chicken & Prepare the Dish:

1. Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 425°. (I set my oven to convection roast.) Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
2. Finely grate 3″ piece ginger into a medium bowl. Transfer all but 1 teaspoon of the grated ginger to a large resealable plastic bag, reserving ginger in bowl for the finishing condiment. (I used a gallon-size bag.)
3. Add 2 cups whole-milk yogurt to bag with ginger.
4. Cut 1 lemon in half crosswise and squeeze juice from each half into the yogurt mixture.
5. Add cayenne and 2 T plus 1 tsp garam masala. Seal bag and shake to combine.
6. Season 8 chicken pieces with 5 tsp salt. (I placed the chicken on a plate, seasoned with half the salt, turned each piece over, and seasoned with the rest of the salt.)
7. Place chicken pieces in the marinade bag, seal, and shake again to cover all the pieces.
8. Squeeze out as much air as you can from the bag, which makes sure that all the chicken is covered with the marinade. Let marinate at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or keep in the fridge for up to 4 hours. (I marinated the chicken 3 hours in advance, letting it come closer to room temperature for 20 minutes or so before roasting.)
9. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Lay out on a paper towel to dry thoroughly.
10. Cut 1 head of cauliflower into quarters through stem end. Place quarters cut side down and remove most of the core. The cauliflower florets should fall apart and separate naturally, but you can slice any larger florets in half or into quarters until all florets are about 2″ in size. You want the more or less evenly sized so they’re cook evenly.
11. Transfer cauliflower and beans to the prepared baking sheet.
12. Drizzle 3 T oil and 1 1/2 tsp salt over and toss to coat. Spread evenly all the way to edges of pan, making sure that the pieces aren’t too crowded, otherwise they’ll steam instead of roasting. (If you ended up with more cauliflower than can fit in a single layer, take some out and save it for something else.)
13. Remove chicken from marinade, slightly shaking off excess. Arrange on baking sheet skin side up, nestling into cauliflower. (It’s okay if some marinade clings to the chicken, just make sure it’s not pooling in pan.)
14. Roast chicken and cauliflower, turning pan halfway through and moving chicken around with tongs to ensure even browning, until chicken skin is blistered, meat is tender all the way to the bone, and cauliflower is nicely charred, 35–40 minutes. (The internal temperature should reach 165 degrees.) Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

To Make the Finishing Condiment and to Serve:

1. Chop the onion, place it in a colander, and rinse it with cold water. (This removes some of the onion’s sharpness.)
2. In the bowl of a food processor, finely chop the cilantro.
3. Add the onion to the food processor, finely chop.
4. Add onion and cilantro to the bowl with the reserved ginger (from step 2 above).
5. Finely grate zest of remaining lemon into the bowl. Cut lemon in half and squeeze 1 half into the bowl; reserve remaining half for another use.
6. Remove seeds and ribs from the jalapeño, if desired, finely chop. Alternatively, it can be thinly sliced into rings. Add to the bowl.
7. Season with remaining 2 tsp garam masala and 3/4 tsp salt.
8. Mix with a spoon to combine, taste, and add more salt and lemon juice if necessary.
9. Arrange chicken, beans, and cauliflower over rice, if desired, on individual plates or on a platter. Drizzle with pan juices, as desired.
10. Top with lemon condiment and serve with a dollop of yogurt or yogurt to pass at the table, as desired. (I served 2% Greek yogurt with the meal.)

Chicken Tikka Masala

For years, this was the most popular recipe on Food and Wine.com. It was included in the 40th Anniversary edition of Food and Wine magazine titled “Our 40 Best-Ever Recipes.” I have tried several recipes from this wonderful collection.

This is an easy version of this classic and popular Indian dish. I especially loved it because the sauce was so amazing. The original recipe makes a note that the marinade and sauce are also delicious with shrimp, lamb, and vegetables.

The recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Grace Parisi. I doubled the garlic and used slivered almonds. We ate it over brown Basmati rice with warm naan and sautéed spinach. Yum!

Yield: Serves 4

For the Marinade:

• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 T finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Chicken:

• 2 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed (8 to 10 thighs)
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T plus 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup blanched whole or slivered almonds
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 T garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp pure chile powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• One 35-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved (I used San Marzano tomatoes)
• pinch of granulated sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• warm naan and/or rice, for serving

1. In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cayenne and turmeric. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Using a sharp knife, make a few shallow slashes in each piece of chicken. Add the chicken to the marinade, turn to coat and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat the broiler and position a rack about 8 inches from the heat.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade; scrape off as much of the marinade as possible.
5. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and spread the pieces on a baking sheet. Broil the chicken, turning once or twice, until just cooked through and browned in spots, about 12 minutes.
6. Transfer to a cutting board and cut it into 2-inch pieces.
7. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil.
8. Add the almonds and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a plate and let cool completely. In a food processor, pulse the almonds until finely ground.
9. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering.
10. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 8 minutes.
11. Add the garam masala, chile powder and cayenne and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
12. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the sugar and season with salt and pepper.
13. Cover partially and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
14. Add the cream and ground almonds and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes longer.
15. Stir in the chicken and pan drippings; simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and serve.

Note: The Chicken Tikka Masala can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat gently before serving.

Indian Butter Chickpeas

This is an incredible vegetarian adaptation of the much loved classic Indian dish. It was also a fabulous weeknight dinner. I served it with steamed spinach which paired perfectly. 🙂

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Melissa Clark. I increased the amount of garlic, used San Marzano tomatoes, and served it over brown Basmati rice with warm naan. Great.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

• 4 T unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 4 to 8 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
• 1 T grated fresh ginger
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp sweet paprika or smoked paprika
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 (28 oz) can whole peeled San Marzano plum tomatoes
• 1 (13.5 to 15 oz) can coconut milk
• 2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained
• ground cayenne
• cooked brown or white rice, for serving
• ½ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, for serving
• naan, for serving, optional
• steamed spinach, for serving, optional

1. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Stir in onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook until golden and browned around the edges, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. (Don’t be tempted to turn the heat up to medium-high; keeping the heat on medium ensures even browning without burning the butter.)
3. Stir in garlic and ginger, and cook another 1 minute.
4. Stir in cumin, paprika, garam masala and cinnamon stick, and cook another 30 seconds.
5. Add tomatoes with their juices. Using a large spoon or flat spatula, break up and smash the tomatoes in the pot (or you can use a pair of kitchen shears to cut the tomatoes while they are still in the can).
6. Stir in coconut milk and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and continuing to mash up the tomatoes if necessary to help them break down.
7. Stir in chickpeas and a pinch of cayenne. Bring the pot back up to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10 minutes.
8. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
9. Serve spooned over rice, topped with cilantro, with warm naan and steamed spinach, as desired.

Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken (Chicken Makhani)

One more Indian dish to share… for now. 😉 This is another wonderful pressure cooker version of a classic Indian dish. A pressure cooker is a great tool to use when making Indian food.

This recipe was adapted from The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Authentic Flavors and Modern Recipes for Your Electric Pressure Cooker by Archana Mundhe of Ministry of Curry. I used my stove top pressure cooker instead of an Instant Pot. I also modified the proportions and omitted the sugar.

I served this wonderful, saucy chicken over brown Basmati rice with warm naan and steamed beet and turnip greens. Full-flavored, fast and fabulous.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

• 2 T ghee
• 2 large yellow onions, finely diced
• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, halved and patted dry
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes or tomato purée
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 T grated fresh ginger
• 5 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp ancho chile powder, Kashmiri red chile powder or another mild red chile powder
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup canned coconut cream
• 2 T tomato paste
• 2 T dried fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• brown Basmati rice, for serving (stove top: 1 1/2 cups rice & 3 cups chicken stock)
• naan, for serving, optional

1. Heat the ghee in a stove top pressure cooker or on high sauté in an Instant Pot.
2. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add the chicken, crushed tomatoes, water, ginger, garlic, Chile powder, salt, garam masala, and turmeric; stir to combine.
4. Meanwhile, cook the rice in a separate pot. (If using an Instant Pot, stir 1 cup rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1 tsp kosher salt in a stainless steel bowl that will fit in the IP. Place a tall steam rack in the pot, making sure the legs rest on the bottom, and place the bowl of rice on the rack.)
5. Secure the lid of the pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
6. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then vent manually to release any remaining steam. Open the pot. (Remove the rice if using an Instant Pot.)
7. Add the coconut cream, tomato paste, and fenugreek and stir to combine.
8. Sauté until the curry comes to a boil and is heated through, about 2 minutes. (At this point, I removed the chicken and continued to reduce the sauce for an additional 4 minutes.)
9. To serve: Spoon the rice onto plates and label the curry over the top. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with naan on the side, as desired.

Butter Chicken

This version of Indian butter chicken was lusciously creamy and subtly spicy. My entire house smelled like butter while it cooked- wonderful! According to the article, butter chicken was created in the early 20th century as a way to soften leftover tandoori chicken with tomatoes, butter, and cream. Genius.

I served it over brown Basmati rice along with warm naan on the side to soak up all of the sauce. We also had roasted asparagus.

The recipe was adapted from Bon Appétit, contributed by Rick Martinez. I marinated the meat for 3 hours, reduced the number of cardamom pods, and used the fenugreek leaves but omitted the fenugreek seeds.

For the Marinade:

• ½ cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves, optional
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

For the Sauce and Assembly:

• ½ cup (1 stick) cultured or unsalted butter, divided
• 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 3 to 5 green cardamom pods
• 1 whole clove
• 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds, optional
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 serrano chiles, split lengthwise (seeded, if desired)
• Kosher salt
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves, optional
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes
• ½ cup heavy cream
• chopped cilantro, Brown basmati rice, and naan, for serving

To Make the Marinade:

1. Whisk yogurt, garlic, fenugreek leaves, if using, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Add chicken and toss to coat.
3. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

For the Sauce and to Serve:

1. Melt 4 T butter in a large wide pot over medium heat.
2. Cook cinnamon, cardamom pods, clove, and fenugreek seeds, if using, stirring, until slightly darker and fragrant, 1–2 minutes.
3. Add onion and chiles, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden and beginning to caramelize, 8–10 minutes.
4. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until very fragrant and ginger starts to turn golden and sticks to bottom of pot, 2–3 minutes.
5. Add fenugreek leaves, if using, garam masala, paprika, and turmeric and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add tomatoes, breaking up into pieces with a spoon, and cook until brick red and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 1 minute.
7. Using a potato masher or large spoon, smash tomatoes and continue to simmer, uncovered, until sauce is the consistency of a thick ragù, 40–50 minutes.
8. Discard cinnamon stick (leave other whole spices).
9. Transfer mixture to a blender and purée until smooth. (I used a Vitamix.)
10. Cut remaining 4 T butter into pieces. Add butter and cream to blender and purée until creamy; season with salt.
11. Return sauce to pot and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, preheat broiler.
12. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a wire rack set inside a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.
13. Broil until chicken starts to brown in spots (it will not be cooked through), 7–8 minutes per side.
14. When cool enough to handle, cut into ¾” pieces.
15. Add chicken to simmering sauce, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, 8–10 minutes.
16. Top chicken and sauce with cilantro. Serve with rice and naan alongside.

Note: Butter chicken can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.