Veggie Tikka Masala

Many curries are intimidating to make at home. You have to be brave enough to try it, and honest enough to realize you probably won't get it right. It's still worth trying, learning, and potentially creating something you really like. 

What exactly is tikka masala? Traditionally made with chicken, tikka masala features a well-seasoned cream sauce. The history of this dish is quite a mystery, with many different. Some say it is Punjabi, others say it originated in the UK or Scotland. You can read more about it here.

Being a fan of all things curry, this recipe I had it recently and it got me in the mood to make it at home. This night, though, I was looking for a meatless dish. I've used squash and sweet potato in similar dishes in the past and found it worked out well, so this was an ideal improvisation. Generally, though, you marinate the chicken in a yogurt marinade, similar to Butter Chicken, resulting in super tender protein. I'm undoubtedly itching to give that a go, too.

I put some zucchini, sweet potato, and onion in a pan and sautéed it for about 5 minutes. I then added garlic and ginger, then let it cook another few minutes. Next, I added the seasoning, mixing in garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander and tossed the vegetables to coat them.

I added tomato sauce and brown sugar, then stirred everything together. I then lowered the heat to a simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes, stirring it every now and again to prevent sticking to the pan. I slowly stirred in the half and half, creating a deep brown sauce. I actually added in a little bit extra garam masala to make this a little more of the traditional brown color I was familiar with. I did find that it looked redder until the half and half was added in, then that made the color look more brown.

While fairly spicy, I can't say this one topped the charts in heat terms. Being my first go around, I went fairly light. But the sauce was very flavorful and the meal was excellent in texture - I love squash cooked just enough to leave some solidity in the bite.

Not only was I impressed with the sauce overall, but come on, didn't it photograph nicely?

You know, some of the time I don't get to post a recipe strictly because I didn't photograph it properly. Cell phones work pretty beautifully for a great may things, but photographing food under artificial home lighting is not conducive to success. I do things fairly basically, with one light. The goal is to recreate the daylight as much as possible. The point of this technical rambling is that I got a new softbox to play with - one that has a zippy setup.

Photography aside, I was happy with this dish, but think a bit more spice would do it more justice. The original poster of the recipe recommended Kashmiri chilies, but those weren't readily available for my use. Is that the secret to the perfect level of spice? I'll have to find out when I go for the chicken version. But for a hearty use of vegetables, I highly recommend giving V1 a go.

Veggie Tikka Masala Recipe

Ingredients:

2 zucchini, cut into cubes

1 sweet potato, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons of cooking oil or butter (I used avocado oil)

3/4 cup finely chopped onion (I used one medium onion)

1 1/2 tablespoons garlic finely grated

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon garam masala

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 cans tomato sauce (or puree) (16 ounces total)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 cup of half and half

2 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

Add oil to a large nonstick cooking pan. Add zucchini, sweet potato, and onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes, then add garlic and ginger. Continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes. Add garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander. Fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally. Add the  tomato sauce, chili powder, crushed red pepper, salt, and sugar. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce will begin to thicken. Stir in the half and half. Serve over cooked rice.

adapted from chicken tikka masala