Indian Spiced Chicken

I have to first say I'm not a HUGE fan of Indian food. I have a few favorites that I get when/if I go to Indian food. But overall, I'm not a fan. It always smells better than it tastes to me.

Which is exactly what this recipe was. While it was tasty (I should have seasoned it more with salt though) it smelled WAY more delicious than it tasted. It was fragrant, and filled the Jendo with an aroma that made even a dead man hungry.

The recipe calls to add half and half after you add tomato paste. In all my life, I've never been able to add a dairy product to a tomato base without curdling. It looks disgusting. Still, in this case the curdles tasted just okay. I may make it again, but it won't be on my top 15 list. Enjoy though. Your taste buds may be different. And if nothing else, it was super uber simple.

Indian Spiced Chicken
Recipe from Dave Liberman (former food network show)
Serves 4

• 1 1/2 lbs Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup Whole milk plain yogurt
• 3 cloves Garlic, pressed
• 1 inch Ginger, grated
• 8 Cardamom pods; cracked with the back of a chef knife (I used cinnamon because I can't afford cardamom pods)
• 1 T Curry powder
• 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp Ground coriander
• 1 T Sweet Paprika
• 2 T Honey
• 1 tsp Salt
• 20 grinds Pepper
• 3 T Vegetable oil
• 1 medium Onion; cut to medium dice
• 3 T Tomato paste
• 1/3 cup Half and half

Basmati rice for serving

Cut the chicken breasts roughly into 2 by 2-inch pieces. Mix together the yogurt, garlic, ginger, cardamom, curry powder, chili flakes, coriander, paprika, honey, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined. Add chicken pieces to yogurt mixture, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or as long as overnight. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stir in tomato paste until evenly distributed and then add the half-and-half. Slide in the chicken and marinade, stir well, and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat so that the liquid remains at a low simmer. Cook about 15 minutes until chicken is no longer pink in the middle but still tender and moist. Serve immediately over basmati rice.