Family Dinner with JP

During a brief period of my life, which I like to refer to as my Plump Years, my affection for certain foods was limited only by my willpower. Of which I had none. And while I would certainly doff my cap to the makers of those delightful Haribo gummied bears or the entire pantheon of Cheetos snacks, I would be remiss if credit were not given to a dish which, even now, I have trouble putting down. Chicken Tikka Masala, you test the limits of my will! And I love you for it. The problem was twofold. First, there was an all you can eat Indian buffet near my law school that served CTM. And the answer was "I can eat 5 plates of rice and Chicken Tikka Masala before I need a nap." Second, there was an amazing delivery joint near my house, specializing in Subs, Pizza, and Indian food (and yes, they did all 3 amazingly well), meaning that on a good day, I could polish off 4 pounds of CTM during my lunch break, then head home and order CTM delivery, eating half for dinner, and the o...

Not long ago, staying in a group house in the Belgium with an assortment of talented home cooks, a discussion ensued about cooking Indian food at home. My take on it: the start up cost for cooking Indian can be cost prohibitive when looking at finding a specialty store to buy all of the unique, authentic spices and accoutrements to make something as simple as a chana masala. A few weeks later, a cookbook arrived unexpectedly on my doorstep, and a promise that those very friends would be visiting me soon, and a full day of Indian cooking would ensue. That November, the Day of Too Much Everything did in fact occur, and it was probably the best day of 2013 for me. Plus, Dutton and Nic left all of the Indian spices at my place, making it easy to play pickup games of Indian Cuisine anytime I want! I chose this recipe for two main reasons: vegetarian-ish dinner guest, and the ease of entry. This recipe does not require too many specialty ingredients: the ghee can be made beforehand at ...