Turkey in a Tomato Cream Sauce
By: Rinku Bhattacharya
Published: Thursday, December 1, 2011 - 2:43pm

Ingredients




1/4 cup oil (canola or grapeseed)
3 tablespoons grated ginger
4 pods of pressed garlic
2 onions, finely diced
8 tomatoes, cut into a small dice
2 black cardamoms
1 tablespoon cumin coriander powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced green chilies
1 tablespoon tandoori masala
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup low fat sour cream
2 tablespoons kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
1 cup whole milk or evaporated skim milk
2 cups of cooked leftover turkey or chicken
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Preparation

1 Place the oil in a heavy hard anodized pan and heat on medium heat for a minute. 2 2. Add in the ginger and the garlic followed by the onion and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes. 3 3. Add in the onion and cook slowly for about 6 to 7 minutes. 4 4. Add in the chopped tomatoes and the black cardamoms, cumin coriander powder, salt, the tandoori masala and the minced green chilies and mix in well. Gently, cook the tomatoes on low heat stirring frequently for about 15-20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and gently melt into a smooth sauce. 5 5. Cool slightly and blend the mixture into a smooth sauce. 6 6. Return the tomatoes to the cooking pot and stir in the sugar and the kasuri methi and the sour cream and mix well. 7 7. When the mixture begins to simmer add in the evaporated milk and the turkey and simmer for 10 minutes. 8 8. Add in the butter and let the butter melt and simmer for 5 minutes before serving. 9 9. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro before serving. 10 We enjoyed the meal with fresh homemade naans and a very interesting Indian red wine. It was the first time I had an Indian red that I had bought outside of India a young cabernet that completed the meal and made it interesting and eventful.

About

One of my thanksgiving traditions is about having company on Saturday, I like to use the day to catch up with people I somehow could not fit in mostly due to scheduling constraints on Thursday and usually make something that has become one of my unlikely signature dishes. It is unlikely, because unlike most signature dishes I do not make it all the time but this time of the year, I make it once or twice and it is usually a much loved dish. Even the turkey averse husband likes it.
If you are looking for an impressive way to use up those leftovers give this recipe a try. It also works well with leftover chicken and certainly adapts well to fresh shrimp.
This recipe is a riff on the classic tikka masala and butter chicken preparations, it is somewhat milder and significantly more dependant on the use of tomatoes. I do not use any fresh cream but do finish of with a touch of butter