Michelle, here at last are my recipes. They come from "The Complete Indian
Cookbook" by Mridula Baljekar wwith a few changes
First: Chicken Tikka
Serves 4-I always double or triple etc. It freezes well and since it is time-
consuming, why not! Also, for dinner parties I make it ahead and freeze it.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 t salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 t tandoori color or a few drops of red coloring mixed with 1T tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
1/2" (or more) cube of root ginger, peeled & chopped
2 t ground coriander
1/2 t garam masala (or allspice-never tried this)
1/4 of a whole nutmeg, finely grated
1/2 t ground turmeric
2/3 c thick set plain yogurt (Whole milk if possible-Stonyfield Organics has
one)
4 T veg oil
1/2 t chili powder (or to taste) I like spicy but I prefer my Chicken Tikka
Masala mild because it's so tasty.

1) Cut chicken into "bite-size" chunks. (I'd guess 1" to 1 1/2") Sprinkle with
1/2 of the salt (1/2 t)and the lemon juice. Cover & set aside for 30 minutes.

2) Put the rest of the ingredients into a food processor or blender. Stop when
smooth.

3) STRAIN this over the chicken. Press the marinade with the back of a spoon
until only a very coarse mixture is left. Discard the leftover spices.

4) Coat the chicken thoroughly, cover and marinate in the fridge for of a
minimum 6-8 hours. Overnight is much better.

5) Next day, preheat the oven to 450 F. Line a roasting pan with foil (heavy
duty is best if you have it). Theoretically this keeps the temps high for
quick cooking without drying out the chicken. (One day I want to use my clay
cooker for this!)

6) The recipe calls for you to thread the chicken onto skewers leaving a 1/4"
gap between each piece in order to heat all surfaces of the chicken. If you are
stopping with Chicken Tikka you may want to do this. (Or if you decide to BBQ
these or prepare them for a dinner. However, if I make Chicken Tikka Masala I
find that it's more of a pain because the meat slides around when you go to
turn it over anyway. It's easier to cook it in the pan and turn en masse. You
can experiment.

7) Cook in the center of the oven brushing with marinade if neccessary for
about 6-8 minutes. Turn chicken over. Repeat with marinade and cook for another
6-8 min. Don't overcook.

8) Shake off any excess liquid over the pan as you will use this for Chicken
Tikka Masala. (You can freeze this for future use. The sauce is so yummy that
any extra is welcome.) The author says to strain the liquid but I don't see the
point in it as all the coarse spices have already been sieved out.

9) At this point you can serve your Chicken Tikka as an appetizer or a main
course. It looks quite nice if you have fancy skewers on a platter for a
dinner party.

I'll post the Chicken Tikka Masala recipe separately so I don't run out of room
here. Feel free to ask any questions...I don't charge too much for
consulting!!!