Chicken tikka masala

This delicious chicken tikka masala is so full of flavour and a hugely popular Indian favourite. After my recent trip to India, I wanted to revisit this beautiful dish to share with my family. It was a hit.

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Course: Main Course, Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 30

Servings:

Calories: 778kcal

Author: Nellie Kerrison | Relish Mama

Cost: 20

Equipment

1 Frying pan or use two if you want to brown chicken at same time as making the sauce.
1 Chopping board
1 Cooks knife
1 Cooking spoon or spatula
1 cooks bowl for marinating

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs cut into cubes (approx. 600g)

Marinade for the chicken

4 garlic cloves peeled and finely diced or crushed
50 g ginger (a good thumb sized piece finely diced or grated
1 lemon zested & juiced
2 teaspoons of garam masala
1 teaspoon of cumin toasted
250 g Greek yoghurt
Sea salt

For the sauce

1 tablespoon of olive oil
30 g unsalted butter
1 large brown onion diced
4 cloves of garlic peeled and finely diced or crushed
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika
1 teaspoon of ground cumin toasted
½ teaspoon of ground cloves toasted
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1-2 teaspoons of garam masala
400 g tin tomatoes crushed
400 ml water I use the empty tinned tomatoes tin for this
30 g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
300 ml cream
1 chicken stock cube crumbled
Freshly cracked black pepper

Serving suggestions

Coriander leaves for serving
Warm Roti or Naan bread
Steamed rice

Instructions

Marinate the chicken in the marinade ingredients and leave for a minimum of 15 minutes, on the bench top. Alternatively, you can do this overnight and cover and place in the fridge. If you do this, just take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before you start cooking.
Place a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a heavy based pan over medium – high heat. Cook the chicken in two batches to not overcrowd the pan. Leave the chicken for 2 minutes before turning to the other side. You want the chicken to get a little golden colour but it wont yet be cooked all the way through. Transfer the first batch to a bowl or plate & continue with the remaining chicken & add a little more oil to the pan, only if it is required.
In the meantime, place a second large heavy based pan over medium heat. Add the oil & the butter. Once the butter has melted, sautee the onion for 5-8 minutes until it is has softened and is aromatic. Stir from time to time to ensure it doesn’t burn and cooks evenly.
Add the garlic and salt and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
Add all of the ground spices. Toast these, stirring often for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes and the water.
Add the butter and the sugar. Once the butter has melted into the sauce, add the cream and stock cube. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Add the browned chicken.
Bring this up to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer and cook for approximately 15-20. You can add more water (just a little at a time) if it is needed during the cooking).
Turn off the heat. Taste & season to taste.
Place rice in your bowls and top with the chicken tikka masala.
Garnish with the coriander leaves when serving.
Enjoy with steamed rice and or warm Roti or Naan breads.

Notes

For a vegetarian friendly curry, swap the chicken for cauliflower florets and add ½ cup of red lentils instead. Omit the yoghurt.
No need to brown the cauliflower as you did the chicken. Add the cauliflower and the lentils just after the ground spices and then proceed as normal. Cook until the lentils are cooked through. Adjust liquid accordingly. Taste & adjust seasoning, if required

Nutrition