YATS cooks!

Want a cost effective and delicious foray into Indian cuisine?  Try it yourself at home!!

Here at YATS, we do it all...yoga poses, media reviews, fashion, and now:  COOKING!  Don't get me wrong...I've always cooked - I just never blogged about it before.  Then, when I was fixing up dinner last night, I looked down at the table and decided it WAS something worth writing home about.  Heck, it was even something worth blogging about!  I know you'll appreciate it:

So, the key to this evening's meal was this TastyBite "Good Korma" simmer sauce, which I picked up for the low-low price of $1.99 at Fairway last week.  All of the TastyBite simmer sauces were on sale, but this one had a catchy name, AND I was pretty sure I could get my kids to eat it.   While I was there, I also picked up a package of Garlic Naan (already made - I just needed to warm it up) and some Basmati Rice.  All other ingredients I had at home (and purchased at Stop & Shop for a fraction of the cost at Fairway.  Fairway is great for specialty foods, but terrible for other things...it's just a matter of whether or not you have time to visit another grocery store to find out if saving the 5 bucks is worth it to you.  I'm on a tighter budget these days, and I have the time to shop around, so I did).  Here's a list of ingredients along with what they cost, so you can get a sense of what a bargain this meal was for my family of 4!  My standby curry place lists Chicken Korma at $16.95.  I think it comes with the rice, but add in the Garlic Naan at $3.95, and you're talking over 20 bucks, and there's no guarantee that would feed 4, let alone with leftovers!

Here's what you NEED for a home-cooked curry, YATS-style:

• TastyBites "Good Korma" sauce ($1.99 on sale)
• Garlic Naan (2 large pieces $2.99)
• 6 Frozen boneless chicken tenderloins (we call this "magic chicken" - it cooks from frozen and never disappoints!  The HUGE bag costs $5.99, and I only used 6 pieces (about 2 breasts' worth).  There's plenty more in the freezer for several other uses!)
• Frozen cauliflower florets store brand "steam in bag" variety ($1.79 - I only used half the bag)
• Basmati Rice ($4.99 for a 1 lb. bag...pricey, but this is the variety of rice you need for an Indian cookup!)
• 1 can Swanson fat free chicken broth (.79 on sale)
• Cardamom pods (I had these in the pantry...don't remember how much they cost)

Here's what you DO:

1.  Place 1 cup plus 2 Tbs.  Basmati in a medium-sized microwavable bowl.  Add the can of chicken broth (1 3/4 C), stir to mix, and toss in 4 or 5 cardamom pods.  Put the bowl, uncovered, in the microwave, high power, for 5 minutes.  Once that's going...

2.  Heat 1 Tbs. Olive oil over high heat in a saute pan (I used a braiser, actually).   Add frozen chicken tenderloins, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 3 minutes.  By this time, the microwave is beeping.  Give the rice a quick stir, and cook uncovered for 12 more minutes on 50% power.

3.  Turn your chicken.  Cook for 2 minutes, remove from heat.  The chicken will not be cooked through OR browned - and this is how you want it.  Cut the semi-cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Return to braiser and add the 1/2 bag of frozen cauliflower.  Cover and steam over medium heat for 2 or 3 more minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

4.  Add the Good Korma simmer sauce and stir to coat all the pieces.  Let this simmer at low heat until the rice is done.  Meanwhile, on the next BARE burner, gently toast the Naan.  You are doing this over an open gas flame, so your undivided attention is necessary.  I just let the naan sit right on top of the burner and it does the job nicely!  When I see the bread smoking, I use tongs to lift it and move it to a new spot.  Once toasted to your liking, turn off the flame and transfer to serving dish. I cut mine into 4 pieces, otherwise the kids would leave "naan" for us - :P

5.  By now, your rice is done (to perfection, I might add!).  You can toss the cardamom pods or leave them in as garnish.  Don't eat them.   Transfer your curry to a serving dish, or plate onto dishes right from the pan. 

Yum!

So, how did it turn out?  See for yourselves:

As you can see, I did have the expectation that my kids would eat this meal...but I was realistic about it.  The little one needed some apple slices because there was no way he was touching the cauliflower.  He did dog the rice and naan, though.  The older one tried everything, and took an extra spoonful of chicken.  He, too, probably could have done with some apple slices since he didn't eat much cauli, either.  Hubbs wasn't in the mood to eat very much, so we ended up with a lunch-sized leftover...perfect for bringing to work during the week.  All in, this meal probably would feed 2 hungry adults, or 2 sorta hungry adults and 2 picky children :)

Not bad for a Saturday night; it was easy, tasty, and wallet-friendly!  I paired it with a glass of chianti - not my first choice, but it was already opened. 

So, comment and let me know if you would attempt this, or better yet, share your own meal ideas!