Dal Tadka & Chicken Masala

Dal tadka.

The man enjoys spices and his favorite cuisine is Indian, so I thought I’d attempt cooking that at some point. The man does superb Indian food, but the point is for me to do it instead of having him cook it all the time. Getting butter chicken right isn’t an issue for me; the usual simple dal is always stocked in our fridge. I wanted to try variations of that. I was certain that I could churn out decent- dal tadka and chicken masala.

Had a look at the recipes online, and tweaked the portions to two servings and reviewed the larder for available spices. Of course the shelves had all requisite spices for cooking basic Indian food! They’re always in use and replenished regularly. I even have a go-to shop in Little India where I could get all the spices, especially for Kerala dishes. Okaaaaay. Dinner at home on a rainy evening was settled.

Too bad there couldn’t be charcoal fire to smoke the dal tadka, and I didn’t have poppy seeds for the chicken masala, but I made do. When I tasted both dishes, I knew they were winners. YES. Authentic. I’m quite sure this would garner a passing grade by any not-overly stringent Indian grandmother. I’m very picky about Indian food too. Hurhurhurhur. There’re distinct differences in regional flavors and our local style dishes. #ImpieCooks2019 

It was a busy week for the man and he was glad to sit down to dinner at home. When he took his first few bites of the food, his facial expressions were priceless. It ranged from a slight frown to quizzical and eyes widening before he grudgingly uttered a “Wow.” He cleaned up every piece of meat and every last drop of masala.

He was stunned that I could produce these foods at these standards. Well, I do like these foods, and chances are, if I like the foods, I can re-create them. I probably had this smug smirk on the face all night. Competitive much? 😆🤣 He was like, “Damn, we could set up an Indian takeout.” Well, nooooo. But we could make dal and such and deliver them to the friends who would enjoy these spices. 

Chicken masala.