Celebrating 300 Posts: A Culinary Journey with Healthier Butter Chicken and Irresistible Curried Potatoes

Reaching a milestone of 300 blog posts feels surreal, a testament to consistent effort and a passion for sharing culinary adventures. Three hundred! It’s a number that truly makes you pause and reflect. How can this be? It feels like just yesterday I was struggling with the first few entries, yet here we are, celebrating a significant achievement in this digital space. And to be perfectly honest, I still haven’t managed to meticulously sort all these recipes into a neat, alphabetical, and categorized database. It’s becoming a rather monumental project, I assure you, but it’s one I’m actively chipping away at!

Three hundred posts represent countless hours of cooking, writing, photographing, and sharing. Imagine what else one might accomplish if such dedication were applied to every aspect of life. I often wonder what I could achieve if I committed myself to this blog every single night, regardless of how tired I felt or what other demands life threw my way. I can guarantee there isn’t much else I’ve done consistently for 300 consecutive days, except perhaps the fundamental acts of eating and breathing. And, of course, changing diapers in my younger days, though that was a different kind of challenge entirely.

A Celebratory Feast: The Birthday Trilogy and Indian Potluck

This particular milestone day coincided perfectly with a celebratory family gathering, which felt incredibly fitting. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to mark day 300 with something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich and a double-double, although in its own way, that would have also been characteristically “me.” This week marks our annual “birthday trilogy” – my sister, my husband Mike, and myself all celebrate our birthdays within days of each other. My actual birthday falls later in the week, but we typically gather the family for a celebratory dinner on the closest Sunday, which happened to be today.

The festivities took place at my sister’s house, and we opted for a potluck style dinner with an Indian theme. Our choice was partly a playful attempt to induce labor in my other sister, who is expecting (it might have worked, who knows!), but mostly, I admit, it was a fantastic excuse for me to indulge in one of my all-time favorites: Butter Chicken.

Reinventing Butter Chicken: A Lighter Take for Everyday Indulgence

Preparing the Butter Chicken for our large family gathering of thirteen people was an enlightening experience. As I delved into various recipes, I was struck by the sheer quantity of butter and cream many called for – some demanding up to three cups of whipping cream or a full cup of melted butter! It was then I realized that this rich, flavorful dish doesn’t actually need to be half butter and cream to be utterly delicious. With a few adjustments, it could easily be transformed from a special-occasion indulgence into something that could be enjoyed more frequently, without the guilt of excessive fat.

My journey to a lighter Butter Chicken led me to the slow cooker, a true lifesaver when cooking for a crowd or preparing a dish that needs to be transported and easily reheated. The beauty of this method is its simplicity and efficiency. This afternoon, I simmered the succulent chicken pieces, aromatic tomatoes, and a fragrant blend of spices in the slow cooker for several hours. This allowed the flavors to meld beautifully and the chicken to become incredibly tender. Once at my sister’s house, I simply plugged it back in, kept it on a warm setting, and stirred in a generous dollop of plain yogurt and just the merest splash of cream. The result was a creamy, deeply flavored Butter Chicken that tasted every bit as decadent as its traditional counterparts, but with a significantly lighter touch. It proved that you don’t need a heavy hand with dairy to achieve that signature richness and complex spice profile, making it a surprisingly healthy Indian food option.

The Unexpected Star: Phenomenal Curried Potatoes and Cauliflower

While my adapted Butter Chicken was certainly a hit, the real showstopper of the evening, and perhaps the entire potluck, was my sister’s absolutely phenomenal curried potatoes and cauliflower. This dish, she explained, was something she vaguely remembered seeing Jamie Oliver prepare on TV years ago. With that distant memory as her only guide, she bravely “winged it,” and the results were nothing short of spectacular. I was so impressed that I immediately asked her to recount her process:

The secret, she confessed with a twinkle in her eye as I was leaving, likely lay in the generous quantity of butter – a full half-cup! While it was a large batch for our gathering, that’s still a considerable amount. She began by melting this butter along with about a quarter-cup of coconut milk (the last bit from a can) in a large electric frying pan, which she used to free up stovetop space for other dishes like soup and rice. To this rich base, she added a big spoonful of curry paste. Jamie Oliver, of course, would have likely made his own custom spice blend, but a good quality paste works wonders. This mixture was cooked until the butter and coconut milk were fully melted and the coconut had reduced to a “sort of oily” consistency, filling the kitchen with an intoxicating aroma.

Next, diced potatoes and cauliflower florets were added to the fragrant pan and cooked until they began to brown, developing a lovely caramelized crust. The pan was then covered, allowing the vegetables to steam and soften. Finally, a half-pint of sweet grape tomatoes was tossed in, and the cooking continued until everything was wonderfully tender, infused with the rich curry flavor, and slightly saucy. These curried vegetables cooked for quite a while, allowing them to absorb all the spices and develop an incredible depth of flavor. Served alongside the Butter Chicken, fluffy rice, and warm naan bread, they were absolutely phenomenal. Despite feeling as if I’d eaten enough for quintuplets, I honestly couldn’t wait for the leftovers tomorrow. It’s truly ironic to think that these delicious veggies, designed as a side, ended up having more butter than the Butter Chicken itself, which, in my adapted version, had virtually none!

A Note on the Recipes:

While specific recipe blocks are not provided here, the essence of my healthier Butter Chicken involves marinating chicken in yogurt and spices, then simmering it with crushed tomatoes and more spices in a slow cooker until tender. A final swirl of plain yogurt and a hint of cream or coconut milk at the end adds richness without overwhelming the dish. For the Curried Potatoes and Cauliflower, follow my sister’s brilliant method: melt a generous amount of butter with a splash of coconut milk and a big spoonful of curry paste, cook until fragrant and slightly oily. Add diced potatoes and cauliflower, brown, then cover and cook until tender. Finish with grape tomatoes and cook until soft. These simple steps yield incredibly flavorful Indian side dishes.

A Sweet Ending and a Childhood Dream

No birthday celebration, especially one marking a blogging milestone, would be complete without something sweet. For dessert, we indulged in delicious cupcakes from Crave, simply because we could. This treat brought back a humorous memory: about five years ago, when we were living in Vancouver, I distinctly remember telling Mike that we should move back to Calgary and open a cupcake shop. He didn’t go for it then, but oh, the missed opportunity! We could have been heirs to our own cupcake fortune. Seriously, when you see a dozen gourmet cupcakes and a dozen minis ringing up at $47, you realize the potential. It seems I was on the right track with my entrepreneurial spirit even as a child.

My first foray into the world of baking and business began when I was about eight years old. I launched “The Kooky Cupcake Company” – though my mom had to gently explain why spelling it with three ‘K’s might not be the best branding decision. Armed with a $20 loan for ingredients and the reliable “One Egg Cake” recipe from The Joy of Cooking, I embarked on my sugary enterprise. A lot of the profits, I confess, were immediately eaten up by the chief baker and taste-tester (me!). It’s funny how some passions circle back, years later, finding new expression in a different form. From childhood cupcakes to 300 blog posts, the journey continues, always fueled by a love for food and family.