I’ve got another great recipe for you from the  “The Epicurious Cookbook: More than 250 of Our Best-Loved Four-Fork Recipes” by Tanya Steel and the Editors of Epicurious and tonight it is their Indo-Chinese Lettuce Wraps. If you have ever gone to P F Chang’s just to get their lettuce wraps, then you will love these. These are similar, but with a delicious Indian flavored twist. I pretty much stayed true to the recipe, with a few exception which are in red below.

So far I have made 4 dishes from this cookbook and they have all been excellent. I highly recommend you get this book. In fact, I like the cookbook t so much my Mom bought me the book for my birthday yesterday. Thanks Mom!!

The recipe is below and also on my Main Dishes page here on the website.

Indo-Chinese Lettuce Wraps

Yield: Says is makes 4 servings, but really only makes enough for 3 people.

2 teaspoons garam masala (I used Butter Chicken Masala spice)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 large yellow onion, cut into medium dice
1 cup chopped mushrooms (pea sized) (This is my addition to the original recipe)
1 large fresh jalapeno chile, seeded and minced (I only used ½ pepper)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely grated (I used double)
1 pound ground chicken
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 romaine hearts, leaves separated (I used Boston lettuce)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the garam masala, cumin, coriander, and cayenne.

2.  In a large saute pan over moderate heat, heat the oil until hot but not smoking.  Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add the jalapeno, garlic, and ginger and saute, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.

3.  Add the chicken and mushrooms and saute, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the spice mixture, along with the salt and ketchup, and saute 1 minute.

4.  Stir in 1/4 cup water, and saute, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 6 minutes.  Stir in 1 tablespoon cilantro, then transfer to a medium bowl.

5.  Serve the chicken alongside the lettuce leaves and the remaining 1/2 cup chopped cilantro.  To eat, pile chicken onto a lettuce leaf and top with cilantro.