Leftover Dinner for Breakfast

I can gauge how much I like a recipe by whether or not I have to call, text or email my sister Vauna to tell her all about it. It is a normal thing for me to check my voicemail and hear Vauna say, "You will not believe what I had for dinner tonight!" That followed by a ten minute blow-by-blow description of all three courses. No need for "hello." No for "Hi Lauren, hope you're having a good weekend." Vauna and I don't require these sort of niceties or small-talk crutches when we are reporting to each other about good food.

So last night I emailed Vauna to tell her all about my friend Michelle's recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. It was so good I actually woke up this morning excited to eat leftovers for breafast! Vauna replied that she has been perfecting a baklava recipe, and it's totally obvious that it's time for us to schedule a Middle Eastern dinner party. I love having sisters!

photo credit

Michelle's Chicken Tikka Masala

(adapted from melskitchencafe.com)

1 cup plain yogurt

1 T lemon juice

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp black pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 T fresh ginger (minced or grated on microplane)

1 tsp salt

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces (or more, I have increased the amount of sauce from the original recipe, so depending on how you like your sauce to chicken ratio, you may want to do 4 breasts. I used tenders and left them whole and then cut them into pieces after grilling them).

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour sauce over chicken and refrigerate for one hour or up to 8 hours. Grill or cook chicken in frying pan. Discard marinade.

2 T butter

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 T ginger, freshly grated

1 jalepeno pepper, finely chopped (remove seeds and membranes to reduce heat)

1 green pepper cut into bite sized pieces, optional

2 1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 1/4 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp cardamom

1 T Kasoori Methi (Fenugreek leaves) -- Available at Indian Markets

black pepper to taste

1 1/4 tsp salt

24 ounces tomato sauce

2 cups cream

Fresh cilantro to garnish (optional)

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic, ginger, and jalapeno for one minute. Add green pepper and saute until slightly softened. Season with cumin, paprika, cardamom and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken and Kasoori Methi and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste at the end to adjust spices as needed. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve over hot rice (any rice will do, but Basmati is most authentic).