Bhog Keejeeae!

When traveling the vast universe that is the Internet, it is simply impossible not to learn something new every day. Early yesterday morning, I gained awareness of the Indian Taco after a friend mentioned a mysterious craving on facebook. My imagination immediately turned to India, considering the words Native and American were not mentioned. And, from there, my head began to fill with ideas about what this curried creation could be.

To my surprise, a thorough search of the world wide web informed me that there is no such thing as the kind of thing I was thinking. An Indian Taco is essentially a Tex-Mex style taco served on fry bread. No offense to any of our indigenous peoples, but that is not at all what I had in mind!

However, what I made this afternoon is. I'm not practiced enough to concoct a curry on my own, so I consulted several sources to come up with a base, and tweaked it with a few of my own ideas. Get ready for:

Murgi Curry Tacos

Here's what you need:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ teaspoon of minced ginger
Olive oil
1 tablespoon of hot curry powder
½ teaspoon of cumin
Seeds from 3 cardamom pods
¼ teaspoon of yellow mustard seeds
½ teaspoon of Aleppo pepper
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
2 teaspoons of flour
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
⅓ cup of non-fat Greek yogurt
⅓ cup of natural, unsweetened applesauce
1 cup of chicken broth
1½ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
Flour tortillas

Here's what to do:

Coat a medium skillet with olive oil and add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté until onions are cooked thoroughly.

Meanwhile, put cardamom and mustard seeds in a spice grinder and whiz until ground. Add all spices, plus the salt, to the onion mixture and cook, stirring, until spices become fragrant. Whisk in flour, tomato paste, and yogurt until smooth. Cook until slightly thickened, then stir in the applesauce and broth, continuing to reduce the sauce for about five minutes.

Transfer sauce to a dutch oven and add chicken to it, turning to coat. Marinate, refrigerated, for about two hours.

Bake at 325° for about 1-1½ hours until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and shred using two forks. Spoon enough reserved sauce onto the shredded chicken to add moisture without being overly juicy. Save the remaining sauce. You're going to make a poutine with the leftovers, you just don't know it yet.

Serve on warm tortillas.

P.S. This was spectacular beyond my expectations. Wow.

P.P.S. When I was at the grocery store, I tried to think of a green that would be complementary to the flavor, knowing that lettuce and cabbage wouldn't be. I couldn't decide on one and left with nothing. But, now that I've tasted it, I think julienned snow peas would be perfect. Try it!