I made some delicious Tikka Masala tonight, and someone asked for the recipe, so time to do a blog post, right? Before you begin, remember, mis en plasse. read everything, get your stuff pre-set and on hand, then read again, *then* start doing stuff. Also, cooking is usually experimental, so don’t be afraid to experiment with coconut oil, tofu and rice, soy or coconut milk for a v*gan version. Or be sacrilegious and use beef!

All Ingredients, w/ measures, in order of appearance:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 c diced onion
• 1½ lbs chicken (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• ⅓ c heavy cream
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper

I bought a spice kit from McCormick that contained measured amounts of the spices. (2tsp paprika, 1tsp minced garlic, 1tsp. garam masala, ½tsp cumin(ground) and ½tsp crushed red pepper.)

Using a medium heat, melt 2tbsp. butter, add 1 medium onion finely chopped (approx 1c) (I diverged a little from the recipe by allowing the onion to sauté a little by itself before continuing;) about 1.5lbs of  chicken cut into bits.; and 2tbsp lemon juice. Keep it cooking until the chicken is thoroughly done.

Add all the spices except red pepper, mix it all in well. Let it cook for a minute or so, then stir in 1 can (about 14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes (juice and all.)  Stir it well to get the seasoning well mixed in. Create a thickening agent by mixing ½tsp. salt (I prefer fine grain sea salt;) 1tbsp; corn starch and ⅓c heavy cream until smooth, stir the thickening agent in slowly. Add red pepper to taste (the ½tsp. for great for me. nicely warm w/o being too hot.) When this boils, reduce to low and simmer for a few minutes, or until the sauce is as thick as you like.

Serve with rice and na’an!