Passage to India

We’re going to India! We’ve bought our tickets and have made most of the arrangements for the ten days that we’ll be there–and I cannot believe how soon that is! We would usually try to space things out a bit more, but Aron had the rare opportunity for a longer break so that, in spite of the long flight, we would still have enough time there to justify the trip–we figured we needed to jump at the opportunity. And we thought traveling in April would mean we’d be there before it really got hot. (Which we’ve since learned from the reactions of those in the know is not going to be the case. But we’ll be fine!)

To celebrate (and in the name of research) we made Indian food and watched Gandhi on Friday night (having already re-watched Darjeeling Limited and Slumdog Millionaire recently). Aron made his “Norwegian Tandoori Chicken.” I’ve heard him call the dish this a few times now and I can’t believe I never realized how ridiculous a name this is until now! “Wait–why Norwegian?” He explained that his Norwegian roommate in Australia used to make it and claimed it as a Norwegian dish because it used dairy. “You know, they eat so much yogurt.”

Our house smelled like curry for most of the following day, but it was wonderful! Thank you, Aron’s roommate.

Update: Thank you everyone for all the comments and well wishes! We’re very excited! 
The recipe for “Norwegian Tandoori Chicken” is actually really easy–though I’ll probably make it sound harder than it is. 

You’ll need a Tandoori spice mix (I use Rajah Tandoori Masala spice, which we get from an Indian store near Ashley’s work), chicken, onions, garlic, yogurt (I prefer the Greek-style yogurt), and an oven-proof pan that will hold your cubed chick in a single layer.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
-Cube boneless skinless chicken and cover each piece completely with the spice
-Chop 2 medium onions and 1 clove of garlic
Sauté the chicken in some butter (Norwegian, remember) or ghee. Avoid the temptation to manipulate the chicken until the cubes are browned on one side; then flip.
-Once browned on both sides (but not cooked through) remove chicken from heat and set aside.
-Deglaze the pan: cook the chopped onions and garlic in the pan until the onions are clear
-Combine the
sautéed garlic and onions with the yogurt (enough to halfway cover the chicken in the pan) and add more masala spice along with salt and pepper to taste. I also add cayenne pepper at this point.  
-Place the chicken on the yogurt-onion mix, and bake until the chicken is cooked through, usually 10-15 min depending on how thick your cubes are.
Enjoy!
(Photo of Victoria Station from here)

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