Tikka Masala

Tikka Masala with Gravy as the star

Tikka masala gravy is versatile and can be used in many different ways - most common being Paneer tikka masala and Chicken tikka masala. The gravy is the star of this recipe. It gives the tikka the lift it needs to pair with rice or naan. The main ingredient (tikka) is also marinated and cooked to perfection before getting a swim in this gravy. 

This blog post is for the recipe we use at our household to please the palates of 11 year and 8 year old kids without compromising what parents can enjoy. We are a nut-free household so this recipe has been adapted to fit the need and the taste we expect from tikka masala gravy

Ingredients for the Gravy

• 2 large red onions chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes chopped (Roma works best)
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp spoon minced ginger
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Garam masala (can be adjusted to taste)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil or 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup cream

Directions to make the Gravy

• Warm the oil in a thick bottom sauce pan. If using butter, place a thick bottom pan on low heat and melt the butter. wait till the bubbles clear up. 
• Add cumin to the oil and wait for 10 seconds, till you see the sizzle
• Add the ginger and garlic and gently stir - do not let the garlic turn brown
• Add chopped onions and stir the ingredients. 
• Stir in the turmeric. 
• Saute this onion mixture on medium heat till the onions are soft and brown (about 5-6 minutes)
• Now add tomatoes, salt and paprika, give it a mix and place a lid to cook the tomatoes down (about 5-6 minutes) - tomatoes should be soft and skin starts to separate.
• Add the garam masala now and mix it well. Cook for a minute with a lid on. 
• Add 1/4 cup heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes (this is a replacement for the cashew paste that would have gone in to thicken the gravy)
• Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down. 
• Once the mixture is at room temperature, you can blend this to a gravy. 
• Bring the gravy back to the sauce pan and cook with the tikka in it for 10 minutes on low heat. (see my recipe for the tikka below - I cook the tikka before adding it to the gravy)
  
  

Making your Tikka

Your tikka is really the main ingredient but this post is for the nut-free gravy. I will not make you go to a whole new post yet for the tikka recipe. Here is a short-cut method to make chicken/paneer tikka

• Use about 1 lb chicken or paneer. Cut your chicken or paneer into small cubes.
• Marinate the pieces with 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp turmeric
• Marinate for 2-4 hours in your refrigerator
• Bake at 375F for 15 minutes or Grill to the texture you like.

Droid Withdrawal

On a bright summer afternoon, my dear husband had a rather wide awakening after his Smart phone went blip. Here is his email 2 days later addressed to the rest of the Smart world

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Hello all,

You won't be receiving prompt replies from me anymore! With great sorrow, I bring you this news.

On Saturday, 8/13/2011 at 12:36pm, my Droid met with an accident and though alive, it is presumed clinically dead....I mean Electronically dead. I sent my Droid swimming for a few seconds unintentionally. All efforts were made to revive it, to give it a fighting chance. It did fight back, to live for a brief time, just few seconds of glimmer in its eyes, as if to say goodbye. The display flickered briefly, letting me touch it's touch interface for one last time and then it went black forever. I tried to shock it to life again, but alas, only the ringer came on to speak the last words. Ultimately, it had to be put on the ventilator. After some deliberation and not willing to see it suffer any more, I decided to pull the plug. USB cable that was keeping it alive was removed. And slowly, the one ounce of life it had faded away too. RIP!

My Droid was so attached to me that it accompanied me everywhere, even to places where my wife does not . My wife can attest for the fact that I spent more time with my Droid than her. Slowly but surely, it had taken control of my life delivering to my insatiable demand for information over load. As you can imagine, it was so dear to me that it cannot be replaced with another one. So I did the right thing and also I wanted to get my life back anyway.

I decided to take the road not taken...err..previously taken. Back to my old flip phone. As the Soup Nazi would say....NO DATA FOR YOU!

The last 24 hours have been very rough and also tough. Data withdrawal symptoms are peaking as I write this email. Please forgive the long narrative but it had to be done to scratch the itch.

It will be hard, but I will rebound quickly, it is a question of survival and back to the wild without smart phone. Perhaps my brain has the tools that it once used, stashed away for use in times like these.

Sent from my PC. Droid's DEAD!

In the belief

A few moons ago, one of my friends asked me if I believe in God. It may sound surprising but I did not know what to answer. There was a ‘yes’ and a ‘no’ in my thoughts but I lacked the confidence to say the former and lacked the courage to say the latter. After taking a moment, I told him that I chose not to answer that question. The conversation ended, that friend left, the days passed but that question still rings in my head. ‘God’ must mean much more than the idol, the place of worship and the offerings. When I close my eyes and bow my head I am talking to someone. Who is that? I don’t believe that there is someone up there who can fix anything and everything. I do know that there is always someone who helps me get through situations. I take the steps and I make the effort but something inside me keeps me going. I have my morals, my beliefs and my personality and all in all my conscience. Do I believe in God? I still need to seek answer to this question.

What is the definition of God anyways? Is it ‘super power’? Is it ‘enforcer’ or is it the inner conscious. When we offer prayers to God whom are we satisfying? Is it not the inner conscious? What is the feeling after donating money or offering services at religious gathering? Is it not the inner peace? We did not make anyone but ourselves happy in the end. Is that the ultimate reason to believe in a God?

Go Green

As a 2010 resolution, I decided to go green. To me that means using less disposable materials and to conserve natural resources. Simple right? so I started carrying flimsy cloth bags to grocery stores, bought a bunch of glassware to replace the plastic ware in my kitchen and finally on the natural resource end, conserve water. That is to not let the water run into the sink drain while I brush away finding the sparkle in my teeth. Yes it is a lifestyle change. What I did not guess are the strings that come attached with going green thing. It is not only a change to live efficiently but also to build tolerance towards people’s actions who don’t share that resolution with me this year (or like I want to believe). So here I am going green with a personality development lesson focusing on patience, tolerance and forgiveness. It is like searching nirvana while saving the world from 3 plastic bags I use each month. So here comes the first amendment to the resolution..go green as an individual not as a part of a dysfunctional team J. Feels better…..Then came along a thought in my head, by not using disposable materials I am using a lot of ceramics and hence the increased dishwasher usage. Oh no…what am I doing? Filling up our water bodies with harmful chemicals. There….another eye opener for the green citizen. Next run to the grocery store had a earth-friendly dish wash detergent. Now I am stuck with a detergent that just clogs up its own dispenser and gives me a total upper body workout to clean the tough stains on my grill. I think this is the other part of the whole green deal – physical fitness. So my dear to-be green citizens. Read the fine print..it says “Personality development and physical fitness lessons included”.

Go Green!

It was not just another day.....

As I was going through yet another busy routine day at work, my husband called and said something that sent chills up my spine. He started speaking in a low hush-hush tone and I could tell he is rushing somewhere. Okay so he is going somewhere…..as I worry deeply, I close my eyes and continue to focus on his words rather than the thoughts in my head. I was cold in my palms as he told me the security alarm at home went off. The monitoring company called him and informed the cops as well. Everyone is on the way to rescue us from this situation. My husband hung up and would call me after he figures out what is going on. I sat there with a near mental breakdown thinking what could be so precious in my house that can call for a break in? the new furniture? Oh the new drapes with fancy laces? May be the sterling silver bracelet I bought from Macys. Oh wait, I know what it is the pure gold ring I got for my daughter…..but none of this is worth more than a few hundred dollars. What could it be? What can it be? The phone rings again

So my husband and the cops slowly got into the house. They walked around the house quietly to check each and every room. They could find anything wrong. Still they were very cautious. They came back to the main entrance and waited calmly to notice activity and sounds. They squat with a hand on their weapons (my husband managed to grab the kitchen knife as he was walking around). There..they saw it. A shadow move from the farthest corner of the house towards them. They all stood up as the culprit came into sight, slowly moved into the dining area and settled next to the chair. My husband walked towards the chair and quickly grabbed and almost pierced the knife through the culprit. Yes….its true. It was the mylar balloon reading ‘Congrats!!’. It was floating around as it set off the motion sensor and the security alarms that go with it. The balloon that came in to my home to entertain my daughter. The balloon that my daughter managed to release the previous night. Now check who all it managed to entertain. The cops and the dad got their laughter dose for the day. The security system at home got a thorough testing and I guess we got to use some part of the tax money we gave uncle Sam. J

Drops of Heaven

No matter how much progress mankind makes, true happiness is far from materialistic pleasures. You feel it in your heart and soul. That is what I experienced today and decided to blog about it in a deliberate attempt to save those happy moments. We friends at work have a great morning routine – ping each other and gather in the cafeteria for a quick breakfast. Today was no different (till that point). We all marched up to the cafeteria and found a cozy seat in a corner. As we sat there sipping coffee and chatting about highly relevant and most mundane things of life, this dear friends leans forward to grab our attention. She smiles, pauses and slowly whispers the golden words. All of a sudden the archetypal morning turned into this daybreak full of excitement. We all jumped in excitement and celebrated it with giggles and hugs. I for one, after giving her a brief hug, slipped into my thoughts to celebrate the moment - the bliss of motherhood that is waiting at my dear friend’s doorstep. It is amazing how one person can touch your life and make it so beautiful. How much fun it is when you are able to feel the joy and excitement in someone else’s life to make it yours. Friends are the heartbeat of my life and the rhythm they set makes me dance in joy. Thanks for keeping me sane and sprinkling joy on me.

Sisters

The best gift my parents ever gave me. We three sisters laugh together, sing together and then fight like there is no tomorrow. The beauty of the relation is that the anger fades but the memories linger till eternity. If one of us makes a mistake all of us are scared. Mom scolds one and sends into the study room and here we are, all three of us walking in with books in our hand. We used to wait for the birthdays. Not only ours, sister's birthdays were also special. It is a bonus!! We all are excited about the gifts because mom taught us sharing. "It’s 'our' gift not 'yours' "as we would say. It still makes me smile how mean we would get at times.

When I hear grown-ups complaining about how their siblings don’t treat them right, I realize that we sisters did the same to each other but it never mattered. After parents, only siblings have the right to express their thoughts to you. They have the right to guide you, tell you about anything and ask you for anything.

As I think about it I wonder why this bond is so special. What is it in the blood that makes the relation so strong? We could never stop fighting when we were young but now when we are miles away from each other, a single day doesn't pass by without thinking about each other. School, job, wedding, kids nothing changes this special relation. I dont know what it is but I thank goodness for one soul and three hearts that share the same blood to create a whole new universe.