Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe
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Chicken Tikka Masala
Mixing your own spices
It wasn't until recently that I started deviating from a basic curry recipe, including pre-mixed curry powder. I still don't grind all of my spices from scratch, but I'm now more comfortable creating spice mixtures. I'm also more comfortable with more comlex recipes that go beyond "throw everything into the pot" and hoping for the best.
The first time I made chicken tikka masala, I had to get my head around coating chicken in yogurt before placing it under a broiler, but wow. The result was spectacular!
Chicken Tikka Masala
- Ingredients: chicken
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp table salt
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp)
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- Ingredients: masala
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp)
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 fresh serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Chicken: combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside.
Masala: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.
While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.
Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.
Serve with basmati rice.
(based on a recipe from America's Test Kitchen)
Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen