love me tandoor

indian food is delicious. that's a fact.
making it at home isn't that quick n' easy, but it's doable, and can look quite impressive when you've got company.
the flavouring ingredients that comprise the beginnings of pretty much every indian dish are: garlic, ginger, cumin, and turmeric. if you've got those in your kitchen, you're set. you may also want to have cardamom, cinnamon, and some kind of curry powder if you really want to get serious about this whole cooking thing.
as well, you MUST have basmati rice in the house. in general, but also specifically for indian food.
in my fridge i keep a couple of jars of chutney and tandoori paste that patak's (http://pataks.ca/) makes, because they really have their recipes down pat.
if you've never cooked indian, start with the basics, make a curry or rice and daal (cooked lentils). if you feel ready for more, then start experimenting. 

there she is, all baked up.
she could have been really tasty on the bbq as well.

there are lots of recipes online. don't fret.


the inspiration to cook an indian meal came from my little thawed-out cornish hen. i wanted to cook her differently than usual and 'tandoori' came to mind. i used patak's tandoori paste mixed with yogurt to slather the whole bird, then stuck her in the fridge overnight.

to accompany henny on her journey to my tummy i made: 

-spicy red and green lentil daal

-mushroom curry

-creamy saag

-raita

-and (obvi) basmati rice

the fruits of my labour can be seen below with a slice of store-bought garlic naan bread. 

no i didn't bake my own naan. 

seriously, enough is enough.