Chicken Tikka Masala

The most popular dish in Britain

Category
Dinner
Cuisine
Indian
Serves
6-8
Time
2 days
From
Phil Price

chickencurry

This is the most popular meal in Britain, and was apparently invented in Glasgow, Scotland. You do need to plan ahead because of the marination time (typically overnight). This is an amalgamation of various recipes.

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 cup plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic put through a garlic press or finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder (mostly for colour)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or tenders, poked with a fork, and cut into large bite-sized chunks

Sauce

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds or powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or powder
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2-inch thumb ginger, sliced and minced
  • 1-2 serrano peppers, minced (seeds removed if you don't want it spicy)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 can of dice tomatoes or tomato sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 to 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
  • 10 dried curry leaves (optional) or 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/2 cup cream or plain yoghurt
  • Minced fresh cilantro, for garnish
  • Cooked rice, naan, or crusty piece of bread, for serving

Instructions

Marinade the chicken

  1. In a large bowl, mix together the marinade ingredients.
  2. Add the chicken and marinade to a ziploc bag and make sure the chicken is all coated.
  3. Marinate at least 3 hours, or in the refrigerator up to overnight.

For the sauce

  1. When you're ready to make the curry, place a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil and butter. If using whole seeds, add the mustard and cumin and fry gently until you can smell the spices (don't overheat or the mustard seeds will jump out of the pan). Add the ginger, garlic and serrano peppers. Saute until lightly browned around the edges.
  2. Add the tomato paste and cook until the tomato has darkened in color, about 3 minutes.
  3. Add the garam masala and the paprika (and cumin/mustard if using powder) and saute for about 1 minute to draw out their flavors.
  4. Add the tomatoes, salt, curry leaves (or curry powder). Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes.
  5. Once thickened to a paste-like consistency, add water to restore it to the desired volume (probably 1-2 cups). Stir to combine and return to a gentle boil
  6. Meanwhile, fire up your grill. When it is nice and hot, lightly brush it with oil. Place the chicken on the grill, shaking off some of the excess marinade. Cook until it's charred, about 2 minutes on each side. (Don't worry that the chicken will still be a little uncooked, it finishes cooking in the sauce).
  7. Pour the sauce into a blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender, and process until smooth. Pour back into the skillet and bring back up to a boil. Add the chicken and fenugreek leaves, if using. Take the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
  8. Add the yoghurt or cream and stir - I like to swirl it in rather than mix completely
  9. Garnish with minced fresh cilantro, and serve over rice, with naan, or a crusty piece of bread!

Notes

  • You can also fry the chicken in batches and add to the sauce to finish cooking. Add the 'fond' (the bits stuck to the pan after frying) to the sauce
  • The chicken is good on its own, I like to cook extra and use the rest for other dishes, e.g. salads
  • You can replace garam masala with 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice plus half a teaspoon of cumin,
  • Fenugreek is the herb that makes Indian food uniquely 'Indian'. If you don't have it, use a little curry powder (or just omit)
  • This is meant to be a mild dish, so only add a little chili. You can always add more heat if needed