Chicken Tikka Masala – Sandra Sookoo

My love for this cuisine started when I met my husband on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. He’s from a big, loud Indian family. It took me a few years after we got married before I started perfecting the dishes and they’re much cheaper than take out.

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Ingredients

1 cup yogurt (plain) (Greek yogurt works incredibly well)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 Teaspoons ground cumin

1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Teaspoons ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger

½ Teaspoon salt

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces

Sauce Ingredients

1 Tablespoon butter

1 minced garlic clove

½ cup chopped onion

1 Teaspoon cayenne pepper (feel free to omit if you don’t want it spicy)

2 Teaspoons ground cumin

2 Teaspoons paprika

½ Teaspoon salt

1 eight ounce can of tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

In a large container or bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, gingers and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir in the chicken, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Sauté garlic and onions for one minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon cayenne, paprika and ½ teaspoon salt.

Add chicken in pan to cook. Discard leftover marinade.

Let chicken cook halfway.

Stir in tomato sauce and cream. When incorporated, stir and simmer on low heat until sauce thickens and chicken is fully cooked which will be about 20 minutes. Taste sauce. You may need to add a pinch of salt.

Serve over basmati rice and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve also with warm na’an bread.

Losing something you want the most makes you stronger—or an easy target.

Joy Debinham, daughter of an English missionary, hides a secret heartache while working with Egypt's poverty stricken. As she attempts to save the children from easily curable diseases, she has another interest—keeping Egypt's treasures in the country. But the arrival of Quinn ignites her banked passion and becomes the obsession that might put her life in danger.

Quinn Handry, an enterprising American from humble roots, has come to Egypt for one reason—the money. He's done many things for a buck, but brokering stolen antiquities is the most lucrative. In order to reclaim what he lost years ago, he's always on the hunt for treasures until the day he meets Joy and everything dims compared to the desire she invokes in him.

During perfumed Egyptian nights, the heat between them flares while acquaintances conspire to destroy them. Danger doesn't stay confined to tombs and pushes them to finally realize what matters most—if they can live long enough to claim it.

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http://www.sandrasookoo.com/