Soo Min turned a whooping 23!! I had to give her a present that fit our friendship and something she would love, thus as a hard core lover of food, a hot and spicy meal was what the birthday girl requested.

Indian food is known to be hot, but Soo wanted to burn her palate, so I had to add extra spices in order to satisfy her. The meal which I had planned to be hot and great just like Soo took a rough start. I began to make bharta, (eggplant dish in the bowl) without having the majority of the ingredients. Perfect way to make a dish, without the essentials! I had to make a rush trip to Walmart in between class and work because I could not disappoint Soo. I left half chopped up vegetables and pans laying around, (my poor roommates) and ran out to go shopping. I then returned with only 30 minutes left to cook the tandoori chicken and bharta – only a little stressful!

Despite the stress and lack of time I managed to actually make it and not leave my kitchen as a disaster. So here are the recipes:

Tandoori Chicken

Marinate chicken breast in tandoori shan masala, chicken shan masala, lemon juice, salt, pepper, curry powder, yogurt. Cut and stir fry onions until lightly brown, add in chicken and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add a little water, reduce heat and let it simmer for around 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and add cilantro and green onions.

Bharta

Cut eggplant in half, cover with olive oil and score the skin of the vegetable with a knife. You can add fresh garlic in the crevices if you would like. Grill/Broil eggplant with the skins  (blacken on gas stove if possible) for around 15 minutes on high, until the insides on the eggplant can easily peel off. Peel the insides and skins of the eggplant and mash them up slightly in a bowl, add yogurt, salt, pepper, green chillies, green onions, cilantro, cumin powder. Mix it all up and its a spicy hott bundle of joy, just as hot as Soo.