A Tikka Surprise: Feeding Myself After a Night at Fats

So if you've been reading along, you know I'm currently exploring what Single Girl Cooking is and what that means for me.

This week, it's meant eating a lot of sandwiches for dinner, which isn't terrible. I'm not just sitting around eating turkey sandwiches every day. I've kept it interesting by trying different combinations of food I currently have.

For example, one night I made a cheeseburger with a kimchi mayo (so good). If you're not familiar with kimchi, I wrote a post about making it last year. This is that same kimchi.

So none of that was really anything new.

This weekend, a group of friends went out to celebrate one of my girlfriends' birthdays. Dinner first. Thai food. Then bar. Single girls need to get out, get a beer, jump in a DJ booth, and do some dancing.

So this morning I wake up hungry - as you do after spending the evening drinking lager. Ignored my hunger and opted to go for a run first. By the time I got home, I was seriously hungry. But what to make?

My first impulse was to settle my tomato craving with spaghetti sauce and gnocchi. Eh. Not a great combo really. Looking in my pantry, I spied a jar of tikka sauce I bought at the PA Gourmet Show. Aha! Now that sounded really good.

So boiled up some gnocchi and cooked up some chicken. I threw them in a pan with the tikka sauce (sadly no vegetables were available) and prayed for the best. From the smell, I knew it really wouldn't be bad. I was right. Tikka heaven.

I made the whole jar, so I will have leftovers for lunch this week. This Single Girl Cooking wasn't about paring down a recipe for one. It was about feeding yourself after a night out with the girls. Next time, add vegetables.

And now I'm off to decide Star Trek movie or Game of Thrones...hey I like Chris Pine, ok?

Patak's

If you've ventured into the International aisle in the grocery store, you've probably seen Patak's products in the Indian foods section. I don't have much experience cooking Indian food, so I thought starting with Patak's might be a good intro. For only about $5 you can get a jar of curry sauce, paste, marinades, or other simmer sauces like tikka masala. While I definitely encourage you to eventually venture out and learn to make your own sauces and seasonings, starting with a good pre-made sauce or seasoning is a great way to start exploring a new food category.

Patak's was formed by Lazmishanker Pathak, who eventually dropped the "h" in his last name to make it easier for people to pronounce. He opened his own shop in 1958 and formed the Patak's brand only a few years later, in 1962. While Patak's was originally sold in the UK, it expanded to the US in 1984.

Patak's describes itself as the marinara of Indian food - making Indian cooking as easy as sautéing plus sauce. Most recently, they have teamed up with Aarti Sequeira of Aarti Party.

My first try was with their korma curry sauce, which is a mild coconut sauce. It's easy to use, and makes a quick meal. I cut up chicken, potatoes, green pepper, yellow squash, and added some hot peppers for some kick since I like spice. We ate ours over steamed basmati rice, but you could use pita bread, too. I plan to explore more flavors of the Patak's brand as well as some home made Indian recipes! I'd be glad to hear if you have any tips or suggestions!

P.S. Check the back of the jars for "gluten free"!