I’m sure I ate tikka masala when I used to eat in Indian restaurants more often, but I’d forgotten about it completely. Then I recently got a “butter chicken” frozen dinner and thought “why haven’t I been cooking this?”
This may be the classic Anglo-Indian dish, mixing Indian flavors with the British preference for plenty of gravy with their meat. A restaurant in Glasgow claims credit, and though this is not universally accepted, it was most likely created in Britain not India or Pakistan. There is also no universally accepted recipe, but the basic idea is spicy tomato cream sauce, and that’s comfort food in any language. Butter Chicken that I mentioned above is a close relative of this recipe but more of a cream sauce with only a little tomato.
This recipe is a mashup of the ones from CafeDelights and Food Network.
Re: ingredients —
- Kashmiri chili is described as smoky and medium-hot, and the substitution I found was smoked paprika (or regular paprika) plus some cayenne. The Indian market I went to didn’t have it.
- Fenugreek is an interesting flavor described as nutty and minty. You want the leaves not seeds or powder. Omit if you can’t find it. The Indian market near me did have it but I had to recognize the Hindi name.
Chicken Tikka Masala
serves 4 to 6
The outline is:
- Ahead of time, marinate the chicken.
- Start cooking the sauce. In parallel, half-cook the marinated chicken in the broiler.
- Dice the chicken and add it to the sauce to finish cooking.
For the chicken marinade:
- 28 oz (800g) boneless and skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1-1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili (sub ¾ tsp smoked paprika + ¼ tsp cayenne)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
For the sauce:
- 4 tablespoons ghee (or 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil)
- 2 small white onions (or 1 large white onion) finely diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 tablespoons garlic finely grated
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely grated
- 2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves
- 1-1/2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili (sub ¾ tsp smoked paprika + ¼ tsp cayenne)
- ½ teaspoon cayenne (adjust to your taste preference. CafeDelights says 1 tsp.)
- 14 oz (400g) tomato puree
- 1 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk or coconut cream
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro to garnish
-
For the chicken marinade: Whisk together the yogurt and spices in a large bowl until combined. Toss the chicken in the spiced yogurt marinade until evenly coated. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to 24. (Overnight works best.) .
-
For the sauce: Melt the ghee or butter and oil in a large Dutch oven or wide heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions, season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and beginning to caramelize, 8 to 10 minutes. [This might be a good time to preheat the broiler for step 4.]
-
Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until very fragrant and the ginger starts to turn golden and sticks to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the fenugreek leaves and the dry spices and cook, stirring occasionally, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes, until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown red color.
- Meanwhile, position a rack directly under the broiler and preheat to high. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on the rack. Broil until the chicken starts to brown in spots, 3 to 6 minutes per side (it will not be cooked through). Remove from the broiler. When cool enough to handle, cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces.
-
Add the cream and sugar to the sauce and stir well. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add the chicken and its juices to the sauce and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling. If the sauce is thicker than you want, add a little water.
-
Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or Naan bread.
---—
What’s for dinner at your place? Please tell us about it in a future WFD! Message ninkasi23 if you want to write for us.