As a gluten free girl, there are few cuisines I can indulge in. If I were to make a list of my top three favorite international flavors, it would have to be Thai, Indian and Mexican. One thing that all these cuisines have in common is LOTS of flavor and tons of gluten free options. My husband always teases me when we go out and I ask the waiter for the most FLAVORFUL food. I am not one of those girls who likes my food to be bland with a hint of lemon. Rather, I like intense flavors, exotic spices and complex food.

So after attending an Indian wedding on Bainbridge Island, mentioned in my previous post, I thought it was time to learn how to cook Indian food. I have always been intimidated by all the hard-to-find ingredients and complex dishes, but after doing some research, I found a yummy recipe that wasn’t too hard. And with a five star rating and a pretty picture, I made Chicken Tikka Masala,

My Chicken Tikka Masala came out AMAZING, so now I am totally addicted to making other Indian dishes and found a perfect cookbook that will teach me to make easy and authentic dishes with unsurpassed flavor! Written by Ruta Kahate, 5 Spices, 50 Dishes promises to make Indian food that is not intimidating — simple recipes, but not simple flavors, and ways to mix and match the five spices to get many different results. So in a Julia, Julia sort of way, myself and you readers are going to become really aquatinted with coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cayenne pepper and ground turmeric. I promise to make all the gluten free recipes in this book and share my journey.

And this is my Chicken Tikka Masala!