Why would anyone who has failed previously in making Indian food buy garam masala and coconut milk of all things?

What kind of weirda$$ combo of ingredients is this? What did you think you will make?

Here is a recipe for you. Put 1/4 tsp of butter in a pan, heat it, add a slice of white bread in it, turn when the side start to become brown and crispy, drizzle a spoonful of coconut milk on the brown side, then after 20 seconds flip the bread, again add some coconut milk so that it starts to bubble up and become brown. Sprinkle a pinch of garam masala on both sides and continue to brown the bread. Take it off the pan and serve with tea.

Here is another recipe.

Dice 1/3 cup carrots, potatoes and cauliflower. add 1/4 cup peas. Blanch veggies in hot water and let it cook for up to 1 minutes. Take it out of water and put in icecold water to prevent further cooking. Now, mix 1 tsp of graam masala in a cup coconut milk with a whisk to prevent lumps. Add 1/8 tsp salt in the mixture and whisk again. Then add the liquid to veggies in a pan. Once the veggies get cooked and the coconut milk gets reduced, serve it with rice.

Anonymous wrote:Did you get the garam masala from an Indian store? Otherwise it will likely be quite bad. Of course, most Indians make their own.

I think she's likely looking for something to feed her kids and family on a Wednesday night, not to impress your grandmother with her amazing cuisine.

Salmon pairs well with the ingredients you have. Stir fry onions, ginger garlic paste, add 2-3 tomato’s, cook till mushy, add g masala, turmeric,salt, coco milk. When it starts boiling add salmon pieces. Garnish with cilantro

Also Indian cooking doesn’t use coconut milk. Fresh grated or shredded coconut. Coconut milk is used more in Thai cooking.

Chicken tikka masala is a British invention (or British Indian, bland and creamy to satisfy the white Brits)

Someone posted a chicken tikka masala slow cooker recipe recently that I tried and it was with garam masala and coconut milk. It was very good, but I am not sure it was authentic

Did you get the garam masala from an Indian store? Otherwise it will likely be quite bad. Of course, most Indians make their own.

You’ll also need turmeric, cumin, coriander, garlic, and ginger to make the most basic recipe. Garam Masala is just like a proprietary blend of spices and they are vastly different.

Not true. In South India we use coconut milk to flavor some curry recipes. Try this one: https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/kerala-chicken/

Coconut milk is more a SE Asia thing. Not especially common in Indian cooking.

Try take out.

I make a sweet potato and spinach curry with garam masala and coconut milk, it's pretty decent.

https://ministryofcurry.com/recipes/

If you have an Instant Pot, it does a really good job with curries.

Myheartbeets.com blog has some good recipes.

I've never been impressed by the Indian (or India-adjacent, sorry geography) recipes that I've tried at home. I can't seem to get it right.

What are your tried and true South Asian recipes for the untalented cook?