Tomatoes and fresh cilantro are two of my favorite things. Although, I suspect that most recipes I will post here will contain a line or two with me proclaiming, “[insert edible item here] is one of my favorite things!!”
I digress.
Leftover in our fridge from last week was some fresh cilantro and homemade tomato soup I threw together on a snowy day when I was jonesing for a grilled cheese/tomato soup dinner. Channeling Ted Allen, I began thinking about what I could make that would use up what I already had on hand*.
My Vegetarian Tikka Masala was born.
I did some online recipe-hunting and found Pastor Ryan’s Chicken Tikka Masala recipe on the Pioneer Woman’s site. The recipe below is based substantially on Pastor Ryan’s recipe, with some modifications to accommodate my own personal “Chopped” challenge, spice-preferences, and kitchen equipment (i.e. I don’t have a rice cooker).
Primary modifications
1. Ditch the chicken and bulk up on veggies. I chose potato, carrot and zucchini since I had most on hand and I knew we wouldn’t miss the meat when biting into a chunk of potato. Big Portobello mushrooms, broccoli or cauliflower, and peas would also be a good trio. Big Guy commented that chick peas would have been good. There really are no rules – just use up what you have, stick to three so as not to overwhelm the plate, and try to pick one hearty “meaty” option.
2. I wanted to use up my leftover tomato soup. I also didn’t want the Tikka Masala to be too chunky with all the veggies plus diced tomatoes. So rather than 28 oz of diced tomatoes, I used 14 oz of leftover soup and 14 oz of diced tomato. This was the perfect compromise. There was still something to chew on and you got that little squirt of biting into a tomato chunk, but it wasn’t all thick and stew-like.
3. We had half & half on hand so I used that, rather than buy heavy cream. Unplanned calorie bonus…woot!
4. I also really like Paneer, an Indian cheese. Apparently it is quite easy to make at home, but I wasn’t feeling that ambitious, nor did I want to wait much longer for dinner. Since I couldn’t find it in my grocery store (try an Indian market or Ethnic grocery), I opted out. But my intention was to lightly fry cubes of Paneer and add that to the finished Tikka Masala. Next time…
Vegetarian Tikka Masala
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: about 4
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 2 medium Russet potatoes, scrubbed, skin-on, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 Carrot (2-7 inches long), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 Zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil (vegetable, canola, olive, whatever your preference)
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Coriander, about 1 tsp, to taste
- Ground Cumin, about 1 tsp, to taste
- 2-4 Tablespoons Butter (2 for the onions, 2 for rice, if using)
- 1 medium yellow Onion, diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped or minced
- 1 piece (approximately 2 Inches) Fresh Ginger or 2 tsp Ginger Paste (available in Asian markets)
- 3 Tablespoons Garam Masala**
- 14 oz diced tomatoes plus 14 oz crushed tomatoes (or tomato soup)
- 1-½ cup half and half
- 2 cups Basmati Rice
- Fresh cilantro
OPTIONAL:
- Fried paneer cubes (Indian cheese)
- Chili Peppers
- Sugar
Preparation Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
For the vegetables:
In a 9x13 baking dish, mix your chopped vegetables with the 1 Tbsp cooking oil to coat them evenly. Add some kosher salt (about 2 tsp, to taste), the ground coriander and ground cumin, also to taste. I estimate that I used about 1 tsp of each. Stir to coat all vegetables. Bake in oven for 30-45 minutes, until tender and brown in color. Give the vegetables a stir about halfway through to prevent them from sticking and burning. Keep warm until Tikka Masala sauce is finished.
Basmati Rice:
This takes about 30 minutes on the stove. If you have a rice cooker, follow those directions. Just be sure to time your rice accordingly. I did mine on the stove top and started it when I added the Garam Masala to the onions (see below). I’m no rice expert: mine was not light and fluffy like at an Indian restaurant - tips and tricks on the perfect Basmati are welcome!
Tikka Masala sauce:
Dice one medium onion. In a large, high-walled skillet (so you have room for all the ingredients) melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned. As the onions cook, mince your garlic. Add garlic and ginger (fresh or paste, but not powdered) to the onions and sauté. Also add about 2 tsps kosher salt and stir.
Next, add about 3 tablespoons Garam Masala spice. This is where much of the flavor comes from, so adjust for your preferences. If you like it hot, you can add hot chilies at this point. I omitted chilies and felt the Garam Masala had enough heat for our taste this time around. Stir everything in the pan to prevent clumps. You will have a paste-like consistency with the onion, garlic, ginger and spices giving off a really nice smoky aroma flavor as they heat up.
Now add all 28 oz of your tomatoes. Whether you use all diced or all sauce or soup is up to you and your preference for texture. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it, mixing spices well through the tomatoes. Taste your sauce and adjust seasoning. You can add about 1 tablespoon sugar if you want to sweeten it. Let the sauce simmer on medium for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the sauce has had a chance to simmer, add 1.5 cups half & half and combine. Add the roasted vegetables to the Tikka Masala and stir everything in. If you love cilantro, like I do, add a healthy handful of chopped fresh cilantro and stir. (You can also add chopped cilantro to the basmati rice.)
Serve the Vegetable Tikka Masala over the rice.
*OK, so I still had to go buy potatoes and basmati rice, but I think most people would keep these things in the pantry. I, however, do not have a pantry in my tiny
**I had a store-bought Garam Masala blend. You can also make your own if your grocery store doesn’t carry it.
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