Chicken Tikka Masala (Recipe 86 of 150)

Back in the day at MP we used to have lunch brought in for us. We'd all put in our orders by a certain time and voila lunch would come to our little lunch room. I miss those days. 

One of the placed we'd order from was an Indian restaurant. I cannot remember the name of it to save my soul. Every time I'd order either the butter chicken or chicken tikka masala (they are almost the same thing). Their tikka masala was what dreams are made of. Spice, cream, full of that glorious garam masala flavor. I'm drooling just thinking of it. 

Well, after tonight's recipe I need not drool for that dish because I found a replacement. Cafe Delites Chicken Tikka Masala is so fantastic that I swear I almost licked my plate (but good manners made me not do it).

This dish seems like it has a lot of ingredients but most of them are spices and seasonings. This was an easy to put together recipe and cooked well within 30 minutes. I marinated the chicken for about 45 minutes and it was fine. I made it pretty spicy too...and it was perfect.

Pro tip though, have everything measured and ready. Once you start cooking it tends to go fast and you need to be ready. 

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe from Cafe Delites

Serves 6

For the chicken marinade:

• 28 oz (800g) boneless and skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 c plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 T minced garlic
• 1 T ginger
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili (or 1/2 teaspoon ground red chili powder)
• 1 tsp of salt

For the sauce:

• 2 T of vegetable/canola oil
• 2 T butter
• 2 small onions (or 1 large onion) finely diced
• 1 1/2 T garlic finely grated
• 1 T ginger finely grated
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 14 oz tomato puree (tomato sauce/Passata)
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili (optional for color and flavor)
• 1 tsp ground red chili powder (adjust to your taste preference)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 c heavy or thickened cream
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 c water if needed
• 4 T Fresh cilantro or coriander to garnish

In a bowl, combine chicken with all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade; let marinate for 10 minutes to an hour (or overnight if time allows).

Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm. (You will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.)

Melt the butter in the same pan. Fry the onions until soft (about 3 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.

Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander. Fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.

Pour in the tomato puree, chili powders and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown red colour.

Stir the cream and sugar through the sauce. Add the chicken and its juices back into the pan and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling. Pour in the water to thin out the sauce, if needed.

Garnish with cilantro (coriander) and serve with hot garlic butter rice and fresh homemade Naan bread!