Indian Experimenting

Okay, clearly this is not a recipe of mine, this isn’t even pilfering. However, it was a great find and I had to share. As I have said, I am thrilled with the new made over Food Lions. I know! I swear just go in, you will be shocked. It used to be so bad I called it the Food Dog (well that and the logo looked more like a dog than lion to me). So one day while shopping in there new little international section, I came across something I typically would not have bought if not been for my giddy mindset. (Okay… don’t expect whole foods or Ellwood when you go there. It is still a Food Lion after all, it is just so nice to have a decent store, other than Ukrops which I hate, near me.) While in this happy state, perusing the Indian section, I put two things in my cart. The first, I might have considered before, it was a “Kitchens of India” paste for butter chicken curry. The other was “MTR” Palak Paneer. It was a ready to eat package. I know! I would have never done this if not intoxicated by my new choices! (can you tell we are woefully in need of a really good store hear on the city’s south side?)

I made both last night, more as a precaution hoping at least one would be good. Let me tell you, Palak Paneer is one of my favorites and a must order for every Indian outing Joel and I have. Butter chicken curry I have never had, so I didn’t have any point of reference. I augmented the butter chicken. The package calls for you to melt 3 tbs of butter and add a pound of chicken, season packages and a cup of water and cook for 20 minutes. I wanted more than sauce and meat. I added onions and carrots (I know not a big deal, but made me feel less like a total carnivore). I have to tell you, it was outstanding. It had a great heat level that built, it was rich (butter will do that though!!) it was wonderful, easy and CHEAP. The seasoning was $1.60 or there about, a pound of chicken, some rice and viola a great meal for two in under thirty minutes for about $5. Can you beat it? Really? Next time I would add potatoes, I thought that would be a really good addition. Leave it to me to make the simple more complicated!
Now on to the Palak Paneer. I have a mixed review on this. It was good. It was. It was NO WHERE near as good as what you would get in a restaurant. Nowhere close. That said, it was good. The spinach was thin and saucy not thick like I am used to. The cheese was good. I suspect that an Indian would look at this like an Italian looks at Chef Boyardee. That said, I would get it again. Honestly, some days you just don’t want to cook. This was about $2.75, throw it over some rice and again, viola a meal for two. Like I said, we made both last night. My husband had one and a half helpings and we still have enough left over for a really nice lunch. So for under $10 bucks and under 30 minutes I get two meals that maybe aren’t as good as the restaurant but are a heck of a lot better than a hot pocket.

Try it out and enjoy!!!