Two Faced Chef

I don’t know what it is, but I crave Indian food.  Often!  Actually, the first birthday Rico and I spent together was celebrated by me taking him out for Indian food to a sweet, little spot called Panna II.  Here, in the East Village, is an interestingly decorated restaurant in which the walls and ceiling are COMPLETELY covered with Christmas lights.  The food is cheap, delicious and it’s BYOB.  Unfortunately, the meal lasts as long as Lindsay Lohan’s music career.

I was harassing Asim, a coworker of mine, for good Indian/Pakistani recipes and he finally let me in on a big secret.  A lot of companies now make spice mixes with recipe directions for common and traditional dishes.  One such company, Shan Foods, is his favorite.  I lumbered down to Lex in the late 20′s, found a nice Indian grocer, and picked up Tandoori Chicken Spice Mix.  The rest is history (written with my delight and reflux).

I think my camera has trouble focusing.  Look how clear the green beans are!  My lens must be farsighted.  Yeah, I don’t suck at pictures–my camera does.

I tweaked the recipe on the box a little–feel free to follow either!  A “broken down chicken” is basically a whole chicken, but separated out for you (wings, thighs, breast) all with the bones in.  I prefer to get mine skinless, but I usually make sure the dark meat has skin for Rico.  One chicken breast with about 8 ounces of meat is around 350 calories and it’s A LOT of food (well, meat).

Ingredients:

• Bone in chicken, broken down (Fresh Direct doesn’t have this, so I used 2 bone in breasts, 3 thighs and 3 legs)
• 1 1/2 cups yogurt (I used fat free Greek)
• 8 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup butter (warm)
• Tandoori spice mix

Mix ingredients in bowl, making sure chicken is coated.  I let it marinate overnight and it definitely made a difference.  However, you could probably pass with an hour.  Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.  Place chicken pieces (shaking off excess marinade) on a lightly greased, large cookie sheet or baking pan and bake for 40 minutes and then turn on the broiler for 3.  Enjoy!

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I see Indian food in three ways, carbs, coconut milk, and tomato-based.  I try to avoid the first two.  However, two of my favorite dishes, Biryani (rice) and Korma (a curry with coconut milk), are in the first two categories.  Many curries contain coconut milk, which are much higher calorie, as well as served over rice.  Its very simple to find healthier Indian food choices, especially if you stick to Tandoor options (basically baked in an oven, no sauce) or tomato-based curries.  Patak makes a bunch of bottled curries, and if you are in a rush, they are the closest you can get to the real thing.  Here’s my favorite way to enjoy the Patak Rogan Josh curry with chicken and mushrooms.  Rogan Josh reminds me a lot of Bhuna, another tomato- based treat.

This recipe is about 250 calories a serving and  makes 3 servings (Hey, it’s easier that way since there’s 3 servings in the bottle of sauce!)  You can also use frozen veggies that you drain, but they might be a little bit mushy.  Mushy veggies remind me of high school cafeterias, which remind me of spicy curly fries.  Oh how I love spicy curly fries.  Where was I again?

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of Rogan Josh sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (or more to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon of red chili powder (or more or less to taste)
• Olive oil Pam
• 1 pound diced raw chicken breast (I did about 1 inch cubes)
• 1 cup mushrooms, or a bunch of your favorite veggie either blanched or quickly thrown over some heat in a pan so they are slightly cooked

Mmm look at that simmerage.  I can smell the spices from here.  Oh by the way, totally not date food.  I think I scared Rico out of the apartment with my breath.  And everyone in the laundry room.  And the building.  However, the delicious mushrooms added plenty of low cal bulk and I’m way full.

Heat up a deep saucepan and spray with Pam.  Throw in the cubed chicken and brown for about 5 minutes.  Toss in your cooked veggies and give it a good stir.  Pour in the bottle of Rogan Josh sauce and let simmer for 15 minutes without boiling too strongly.  Stir every so often.  Check that the chicken is cooked through, serve and enjoy!

This is a small digression, but there is this girl who goes to the gym at 5:30 in the morning with me and feels the need to sing on the treadmill.  Who, in their right mind, thinks it’s F&(*&(*^)(*^ acceptable to F*&)*(&)( sing on the TREADMILL?  IN PUBLIC??  Plus, I heard her on her phone in the elevator yesterday telling her friend she had a great recipe for chicken in the microwave.  There is NO REASON to ever microwave chicken unless it’s leftovers or a frozen dinner.  NEVER.  And leftovers are even a stretch.  I think from now on you should have to sign a waiver to read my blog that states that you do not microwave raw meat.

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