Leftover Chicken Curry

If you're looking for an easy weeknight dinner, this curry is it. Use almost any leftover chicken you have. This works well with rotisserie, roasted, or grilled chicken. I have made this with leftover cut up Peruvian chicken and it is still delicious. You can add or subtract vegetables to this as well based on what you have at home. If you want a spicier curry, add some chopped serrano pepper with your spices.

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Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka

Having an easy sheet pan dinner in the weeknight cooking rotation is always a good call. This one is one of my favorites so far with a great Indian flavor and veggies cooked to a perfect level of doneness. Smitten Kitchen does it again with this recipe! And if you're lucky enough to have leftovers it's even better the next day.

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Lighter Chicken Korma

I absolutely love Indian cooking and am a huge fan of anything with a sauce that can be poured over rice or mopped up with naan. Traditional Indian recipes tend to be on the heavier side with lots of cream or butter. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. It's not as rich as a traditional korma, but the flavors are fantastic and this is a great recipe for the days you want Indian food with a lighter approach.

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Homemade Garlic Naan

My sister's family and I recently made an Indian feast for dinner. We had some of the usual suspects, like chicken tikka masala and raita. But this time my brother in law was brave enough to try making garlic naan. I should preface this post by saying that he did all the legwork in making this naan and the rest of us simply got to enjoy it. But it was a fun process to share a kitchen with someone dabbling in naan making. We quickly discovered some group favorites. When the naan is fresh, everyone preferred the garlic naan, but on the next day, the few plain naan pieces we the winners as the garlic didn't taste as good on day 2. My brother in law also played with cooking temperatures for a bit before finding the ideal naan cooking setting. This will vary in each stove so experiment with what works best for your naan so it still browns and bubbles, but doesn't burn.

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Traditional Indian Raita

I serve raita with almost any Indian dish I cook. I personally love it and can eat it plain by the spoonful, but it's also great to serve if you have some guests who don't have much of a tolerance for spicy food. The yogurt definitely helps cool things down. I think is complements pretty much any Indian dinner. It's extremely easy to make and will last a few days in the fridge.

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Masoor Dal (Spiced Red Lentils with Sweet Potatoes)

It's that time of year again where hearty stews and soups are back on my dinner rotation. I wanted to make a filling, vegetarian dinner and came across this recipe. I love Indian food and the ingredient list for this is fairly simple if you already have the spices. The recipe is very easy to follow and the leftovers taste delicious. This makes a generous portion which can feed 4 to 6 easily. Serve this with a side of cucumber raita and rice and enjoy.

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Chicken Tikka Masala

My entire family loves Indian food. I wanted to make dinner for us one night and decided to try out this recipe. I made the tikka masala on a Sunday, knowing I would serve it on Monday. Sunday night I tried the dish and I thought it was ok, but then I re-heated it Monday night it was fantastic. The flavors really come out when you let it all sit together overnight. I would suggest making this ahead of time and serving it the following day. The sauce will be outstanding and the consistence will come out perfectly. I served this dish with rice, but you could have it with naan and even a raita or yogurt with cucumber. Make this one night ahead of time and enjoy this delicious homemade Indian food.

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Indian Spicy Stewed Cauliflower and Potatoes (Masaledar Gobi Aloo)

This is not your typical aloo gobi you buy at an Indian restaurant. This version is much lighter and has a different taste to it. I was surprised by this dish's flavor since it wasn't what I expected, but I loved it nonetheless. This is a great side dish for any Indian meal. I didn't have mustard seeds on hand the last time I made this and still loved the result.

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Spicy Chicken Curry (Murgh Masala)

I love trying out Indian recipes when I visit my parents. My mom has all the spices and both my parents love Indian food. This recipe comes from a great cookbook full of delicious Indian recipes. I didn't find this curry to be to spicy, so I added the serrano pepper. Feel free to omit it if you don't love spicy food. This curry has a lot of sauce, so it's best to serve this with rice. The curry also makes great leftovers.

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Murgh Masala (Spicy Indian Chicken)

This is another great Indian recipe that I got from my mom. I'm still convinced Ismail Merchant's cookbook has some of the best Indian recipes and this one passes the test. It's a pretty easy dish to make and doesn't require any special kitchen equipment. The ingredients, as with most Indian dishes, are an investment the first time around. Once you have the spices stocked in your pantry, you'll probably be more likely to try similar recipes.

If you enjoy Indian food as much as I do, this recipe is a keeper. If you like really spicy food, you can add another chile. If you prefer you food milder, this recipe will still be delicious, just use a milder chile or half a jalapeno. If you find your end result to be too hot, you can always mix in a little more plain yogurt. In the original recipe, a whole chicken is used (skinned and cut into pieces), but I find it much easier and just as great with chicken thighs. This dish is great the next day if you have any leftovers.

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Indian Cilantro Chicken (Dhaniya Murgh)

Indian food used to intimidate me. I thought every dish would be made up of lots of spices I'd never heard of and ingredients that would be hard to find. Luckily, I was wrong. Very, very wrong. This chicken was one of the first Indian dishes I ever made and it continues to be a favorite. It's easy to make and is so flavorful. I never thought Indian food could be easy, but some of it is.

Serve this over some rice, preferably basmati or cardamom cilantro rice, along with cucumber raita on the side and you have yourself a very satisfying dinner. It tastes like you went to a gourmet Indian restaurant, but it only takes you 40 to 45 minutes. Make your rice and raita while the chicken is simmer and everything will be ready around the same time. This also re-heats really well, so don't worry if you have leftovers.

The kitchen has been smelling like spices for 45 minutes and I want to dig in. I have a one track mind when it comes to food, so I will leave you with this amazing recipe. Just take my word on this one and try it out! It's not what I call spicy, but it has a tiny kick to it. If that's not your thing, just reduce the crushed red pepper flakes by half.
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