Tonight we decided to try something different.  We like Indian food but not if it’s super spicy so we decided to make Indian food our way…slightly milder.  However,  we added extra heat to the veggies for mom and dad.  We made Chicken Tikka Masala with rice, raita, spicy vegetables and naan.

The first step was to chop the chicken and marinade it in a yogurt marinade for at least an hour. The marinade was simple: plain yogurt,  chopped ginger, lemon juice, cumin and salt and pepper.

After we mixed the chicken and marinade together, we put it in the fridge and rinsed the rice.  We always rince our rice 6 times (till rinse water is clear) and let it sit in water for at least 30 minutes.  It makes it fluffier.

Once the chicken was ready, we sauteed it about 5 minutes each side, and then removed it from the pan.  Then we made the sauce which consisted of:  tomato sauce, chopped garlic, cumin and paprika. Finally, we added the chicken back in and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, we went to work on the spicy vegetables and the raita.  For the vegetables we had red onions, green beans and cauliflowers, which we tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper.  For our parents’ half, however,  we added the cayenne pepper that we didn’t add to the marinade (hahaha).  For the other half of the veggies: just the olive oil, salt and pepper.  For our raita, we combine plain yogurt, chopped cucumbers, chopped tomatoes, finely chopped red onions, cumin. and salt and pepper. We like having something to cool off any spiciness, and mom and dad really needed it with their vegetables.  We didn’t make the naan: we just bought it and reheated it for about 2 minutes in the oven.

Everything was delicious, and it just shows that the best way to eat what you want to eat is to MAKE IT YOURSELF!