Saveur Cooks Authentic American - Editors Of Cook's Illustrated Magazine [35]
Special Sauce
The winning combination of succulent chicken and creamy, spice-laden tomato gravy known as chicken tikka masala has, over the years, become a comfort-food staple on Indian restaurant menus and in home kitchens around the world. Its beginnings are murky, though it likely originated in Great Britain in the 1970s, when an Indian restaurant cook attempted to replicate a famous Delhi restaurant’s signature dish, murgh makhani (butter chicken): tandoor-baked chicken in a sauce made with butter and tomatoes. Though some condemn the British riff on the dish, known as chicken tikka masala, as inauthentic (many recipes call for canned tomato soup, after all), I would argue that it belongs to a long and illustrious line of South Asian dishes that have been reinterpreted throughout the colonial and postcolonial eras, giving rise to a distinct, Anglo-Indian style of cookery. The dish’s main component, chicken tikka, or boneless chicken pieces marinated in a mixture of yogurt and spices and then cooked in a clay tandoor oven, is itself a classic Punjabi dish. The tandoor imparts a smoky flavor to the chicken, which acquires a vivid orange or scarlet hue from turmeric, cayenne, or, often, food coloring in the marinade. Today, many chefs opt for fresh tomatoes instead of tomato soup; some also enrich the sauce with ground almonds and substitute more-fragrant coconut milk for cream. Home cooks, too, have furthered the evolution by grilling or broiling the chicken to reproduce the tandoor-baked flavor. While the exact lineage of chicken tikka masala remains a subject of debate, I regard it with affection as an example of the dynamic nature of Indian food.
—Lizzie Collingham
Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings
Paprikás Csirke
When saveur reader Isabelle Zgonc of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, sent us her family recipe for paprikash, Hungary’s famous paprika-spiced braised chicken dish, she also shared some of the happy childhood memories it evokes for her. “It was good, hearty food that pleased all our senses,” she recalled. Soft dumplings, sautéed with butter and parsley just before serving, are perfect for soaking up the paprikash’s thick red sauce.
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
2½ cups plus 2 tbsp. flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3- to 4-lb. chicken, cut into 6–8 pieces, skin removed Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup canola oil
2 tbsp. sweet paprika
1 Italian frying pepper, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 large yellow onion, minced
1½ cups chicken stock
¾ cup sour cream
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley
Serves 4
1. First, make the dumplings. Bring an 8-qt. stockpot of salted water to a boil. In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the flour and 1 tsp. of salt and form a well in the center. Add the egg and ½ cup water to the well and stir to form a dough. Knead dough in the bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a teaspoon, scoop walnut-size portions of the dough into the pot of boiling water. Boil the dumplings until tender, 6–8 minutes. Drain the dumplings and rinse in cold water; cover with a tea towel and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put ½ cup flour on a plate, dredge the chicken in the flour, and shake off the excess. Heat the oil in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, turning once, until brown, 8–10 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside.
3. Add the paprika and half the frying peppers, along with the tomatoes and onions, to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring, until the onions