Turkey Breast Tikka Masala

blog lead photo credit: FoodNetwork.com

If you're like us, you're always looking for some fun, new way to eat your family favorite cuts of meat and veggies. And, of course, use what you've got around! This meal was exactly the perfect combination of those two ethics - except we didn't even realize turkey breast was such a family favorite!

If you've got a Large Bundle, you likely have already received some of the fresh turkey breasts we've been sending out recently. If you are curious about how these turkeys are processed, I did a short video on our Instagram detailing the process of deboning and parting a turkey last summer. The tenderloins are going out in packs of 2, but the breasts are trimmed down to about the size of a chicken breast and then packed in packs of 2 as well.

For this recipe, our friends and sometimes farmhands (ask us about work share if you're interested!) Noah and Sonia sent a list of recipes they've been using with cuts from NMP. One recipe, Turkey Tikka Masala, didn't have a link but the first one I found on the Google was from one of my old favorites, Alton Brown. 

While I tried to follow this recipe, I have a technique down for making what Anna and I have come to refer to as "fake Indian" whenever we want to make our version of Saag, Tikka Masala, or any curry with Indian spices. I'll give you the technique first, and then explain how this recipe worked.

We actually toasted the spices in a popcorn popper this time but I usually just fry them after grinding. We toasted whole and then ground in a mortar and pestle to give Terra a job...the cumin was flying out of the air popper!

"Fake Indian" -

• Sautee two onions in butter until almost browned, add in some garlic at the end
• Fry half the spices in the butter with the onions, or coconut oil separately and then combine the two
• Add the liquid base for the sauce (saag - loads of spinach and milk/cream, tikka masala - tomatoes and coconut milk, if you're making stuff up, coconut milk, broth and nut milks are a good bet!)
• Add veggies according to the ground-up principle (roots take longest to cook, then stems, then leaves, then fruits)
• Cook meat separately or add in small chunks at the end (depending on cut)

That's the basics - obviously different for a cut like turkey breast than for lamb shoulder, where a longer, slower cook is needed on the meat. You can cook braises in the curry, but we usually use leftovers for this, so they're already cooked.

For this recipe, which became more of a Turkey Tikka Ma-Saag-la than anything, I altered the Alton Brown recipe by using:

• Turkey breast instead of thighs
• Adding some milk we had
• Adding a bunch of spinach we had frozen last year and not used (hence the ma-Saag-la)
• Canola oil, Alton? Come on...use butter or coconut oil

So here's our turkey breasts with the spices on, I only let them sit for half an hour or so:

Here's the onions frying with the recently added garlic and then the addition of the spices, tomatoes and coconut milk:

The addition of the coconut milk:

And the final product....whoops I forgot to take a picture. So here's a stock photo of chicken tikka masala:

Ours was delicious, we keep it mild and add spice at the table with not-at-all Indian Calabrian Pepper Paste, but that's what we use! Or we have some cubanelles roasted in olive oil that work great, too. Have fun with it, make something you love and you'll have leftovers if you make a big batch. 

Keep experimenting!

~Brooks