Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Chicken Masala


Chicken Masala

Well the folks have gone home and after a week of fantastic gustatory adventure, it's back to the grind. We needed something quick and easy so I reached in the cupboard for a jar of masala simmer sauce. Usually if I can, I try to make most meals from scratch, but Indian food is something you can't really rush. Besides, there's too much to know in order to pull it off authentically (for me anyway). I really wouldn't know where to start.

Pops once told me that unless you were born into and grew up watching cricket that you could never really completely understand and fully appreciate it. I have to agree. I still can't get my head around the game not to mention those strange (to an American) cricket terms like googly, sticky wickets and yorkers. I assume the same can be said for Indian cuisine. There are so many spices and ingredients and preparations that unless you grew up in an Indian household, it would be a challenge acquiring all the knowledge that constitutes Indian cuisine. Thankfully, there are a lot of pre made simmer sauces, curry pastes and masala spice mixes available in the market place to make things easier for us naan Indians. (yes...pun intended however bad it may be) So it is what it is. Chicken, peppers, onion and peas in a masala simmer sauce a la Trader Joe's)

It's tasty that's for sure. Easy to make? check! Indian tasting? check! Good enough for seconds? double check! Worth repeating? Until I learn my way around the Indian kitchen, absolutely.

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