Indian night - Tandoori Chicken, Masoor Dal, and Shahi Tukri

Dal with rice, Tandoori Chicken, and Tandoori Naan

Shahi Tukri

I'm not a fan of Indian. It's spicy and yet plain. I don't care for curry. I don't love mint and yogurt...especially not together. So, when we studied Ancient India in school I decided to branch out with my cooking. I bought lentils. Not so exotic so far. Fresh ginger. Yup, done that before. So far, no big deal. Then on to the spices: garam masala, turmeric, cumin, cardamom. What the what?! At least there was no curry.

I looked up recipes from allrecipes.com. Here they are:

Tandoori Chicken
Masoor Dal
Shahi Tukri 

The verdict: Tandoori Naan (the bread)- fantastic. But we've had that before.
Tandoori Chicken - just ok. Won't make again and won't keep the recipe.
The Dal - loved it! I surprised myself here. I am keeping the recipe and will make it again. My girls (picky as a couple are) even loved it.
And now...my favorite part of just about any meal: the dessert. Shahi Tukri. Fancy (and Indian) name for sweet fried bread. Those 3 words in just about any ethnicity are delightful. Sweet. Fried. Bread.