Did you ever have one of those recipe that comes up on your radar and you could not WAIT to try??? That you found in, say, a magazine and it became the center of your cooking week? One that seems so different and unique that you know it'll put all the rest of your weeks dishes to shame?
Or is that just me??J
Anyway...such was the case of our dinner last night that I could not WAIT to try out: Cashew Indian Chicken.
I just loved, loved that the marinade was made with TOASTED CASHEWS....I love me some cashews!
I whirled 2/3 cups of those up along with:
- 2/3 cups marinade
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon garam masala (you can buy a bottle, or whip up a quick batch if you have these spices laying around. They used seeds, but I just made a mix with the dried versions of these spices)
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
Add the blended up marinade to some diced chicken and let it hang out in the fridge for a few hours. (Ironically, I thought the marinade smelled like TACO DIP...hehehehehhehee)
When it was time to cook, I let 2 chopped onions & a sprinkle of cardamom and cinnamon cook in a covered pot for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally...
...till the onions got nice and spiced!
Next in went the marinaded chicken to cook for 10 minutes....
Then a quick deglaze of the pan with a mix of 2 cups of chicken broth & 1 cup of crushed tomatoes...
And, if you follow me on Facebook, here's the part where I almost made "Amateur Cooking Mistake: 101"!!! Thankfully, I had read the recipe when I was marinating the chicken and noticed you needed to let everything simmer together for ONE HOUR!!!!! I had just assumed it was a 'once the chickens cooked & you've added all the stuff together, you're good!" I was SOOOO GLAD I SCANNED AHEAD! That would NOT have been a welcome surprise when I thought we were about 5 minutes away from having dinner only to discover it would be a whoooole nother hour!!
ANYWAY, after the chicken mix slowly simmered for 1 hour until it thickened up, you lastly add in 3 tablespoons of half & half and some salt to taste (oh yeah, you could also add paprika & red peppers to this dish if you like things SPICE-A!) and WALLAH! Done!
And as a side, I couldn't decide if I wanted to serve dinner with some brown rice...orrrrr a nice slice of Garlic Naan. So we had a little of both!!
I LOVEEED mixing the chicken with the rice and sopping up the extra sauce with the naan. The chicken was soooo tender after the hour of cooking and the marinade was suchhhhhh a good mix of smoooooothhhhhh spices all mellowed out by the yogurt & cashews. I was REALLY looking forward to this dish and it was WORTH the hype. If you have a fear of Indian cooking, try this dish out. It might just change your mind!
Yeesh...well, it's a gloomy day in the neighborhood. Guess I can't complain after the positively San Diego weateher we've had lately! I'm off to send Scott an email of his THREE dinner options for the nightJ Either a pasta, a sandwich or something completely new. Stay tuned to see what he picksJ
Have a good Friday, everyone!!!
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