Chicken Tikka Masala

adapted from two recipes (one from Pastor Ryan on PW's site, and one from a book).

Chicken:
1 cup Fagé yogurt
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 pounds thawed chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

Combine all ingredients in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Seal and knead together in bag. Marinate at least an hour; preferably overnight or all day. After marinating, removed chicken from bag. Grill or broil chicken until cooked through. Try to remove as much marinade as possible before cooking (feel free to give it a QUICK rinse if needed), in order to cook chicken evenly. No need to save marinade.

Sauce:
1 Tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt. Add tomato sauce and cover skillet. Simmer 15 minutes, then add cream and simmer until sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Add cooked chicken to sauce; simmer an additional 5 minutes. Serve over rice (below).

Rice:
2 cups Basmati rice
4 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon turmeric
4 cups water
1-2 cups frozen peas

Add all ingredients except peas to a rice cooker, turn on and walk away (or go make your sauce!). When cooked, stir in your frozen peas and re-cover, allowing the hot rice to cook the peas.

Serve with naan bread, if accessible!

Bombay Chicken

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup yellow mustard
¼ cup honey, melted
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
½ teaspoon chili sauce
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Place all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours, or HIGH 4-5 hours.

To FREEZE:
Place all ingredients in a large Ziploc freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal bag and freeze. To cook, thaw (overnight or in a sink of hot water for about 5 minutes) and dump into crockpot, then cook as above.

Chicken with Green Curry Sauce

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into ½-inch strips
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon Garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup couscous, cooked according to package directions
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Season both sides of chicken with salt and black pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 2 minutes per side until golden brown. (Or cook it in the crockpot until tender.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut milk, green chilies, curry powder, garam masala, and cumin. Add mixture to chicken and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce reduces slightly. The sauce will be quite runny. To thicken it up a bit, I mixed one teaspoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water and added it to the sauce and let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Serve chicken and green curry sauce over couscous and garnish with cilantro.