Creamy Chicken Tikka
Delicious spice room’s one of the best indian dish!
Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe
Chicken Tikka Masala is widely considered Britain’s national dish. This culinary delight has Indian origins and was modified to satisfy the desire of British people to have their meat served in a gravy. Tikka Masala is made of boneless chicken (can substitute chickpeas, sweet potato, or mushroom for vegetarians) marinated in spices and yogurt, roasted in an oven, and served in a rich, creamy tomato sauce. Pairs With Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc wine.
The scene: An Indian restaurant in 1960s Britain, not long before closing. Most dishes are already sold out.
The players: A hungry British man and a Bangladeshi chef (at the time, most of Britain’s Indian restaurants were owned and run by Bangladeshi chefs.)
The conversation: “Excuse me,” says the man to the chef. “This chicken tikka is a bit dry, can you please bring something else, something better than this.” Wanting to please his customer, the chef returns to the kitchen. Looking around he spies a can of tomato soup and has either a light bulb moment or a moment of desperation. He warms the soup, throws in some spices and a dollop of yogurt and pours it over the chicken.
He presents the dish to his customer, who is thrilled with the result, returning again and again for what is now one of the UK’s most popular dishes, chicken tikka masala.
Yield: 8 Servings
Ingredients
For the Chicken Marinade:
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breast cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp minced jalapeno pepper
- 1 tsp of salt
For the Sauce:
- 5 tbsp butter
- 2 small white onions (or 1 large onion) finely diced
- 1 tbsp garlic finely grated
- 1 tbsp ginger finely grated
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 can (156 ml) tomato paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups of 40% heavy cream or use heavy Greek yogurt 9% or 11%
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Combine all chicken marinade ingredients, except oil, into a bowl and mix. Let stand for 10 to 20 min.
- In a heavy deep cast iron pan or other deep frying pan heat oil.
- Once the oil is hot pour chicken and marinade into oil and cook for roughly 3 min aside. Moving it around to keep it from sticking. After 6 to 8 minutes, remove from pan and set aside. It won’t be fully cooked at this point. It will finish cooking in the sauce during the next steps.
- After removing the chicken from the pan, add butter, onions, and garlic and cook till soft.
- Add spices, jalapeno and tomato paste into the pan and mix. cook for about 2 min while stirring.
- Add cream or yogurt, chicken mixture, and brown sugar to the pan and cook for about 10 to 15 min. Add water as and if needed to reach your desired sauce consistency. The sauce should be nice and creamy.
- Serve with basmati rice or naan.
