If you haven’t had Chicken Tikka Masala, you haven’t lived. I must say this now: this is not authentic, it’s just damn good. I rarely do authentic anything, because I love and kinda must put my OWN spin on just about everything I cook. This stuff here is magic in your mouth, just sooo yummy and rich. The chicken literally melts in your mouth. I need you to try this version, just do it. Make it a weekend project, because the 4 hour marination REALLY sets this off.
Living near an international market is a blessing. I highly recommend you Google or Yelp for one in your area, you’d be surprised. Some of them hide in places you’ve probably driven by or flat out ignored. International markets are amazing for many reasons, but my favorite reason? The low prices on spices and seasonings! I remember going to regular grocery stores and paying between $5-$11 for a single spice. Girl, why? I can find a bag of dried chilis, or ground shrimp powder, or Indian cumin for like $2. So, naturally, I have a VERY large collection of spices and seasonings. I want to be able to whip up just about any kind of cuisine whenever the mood strikes. Today, the mood was chicken tikka masala. We literally buy chicken thighs several times a week, so the only thing I needed to buy was the yogurt.
Typically, people make this dish (which originated in Britain — wild!) with chicken breasts. No. No. Absolutely not. I mean, you’re grown, you can do what you want, but I don’t recommend breasts at all — at least not in this context. I HIIIIIIIGHLY recommend you find a pack of boneless/skinless chicken thighs and proceed to the magic. Thighs are just way juicier, more flavorful, and they are able to be braised a lot longer than breasts — which dry out fast and become leathery and chewy and just…no. No! Please don’t use breasts for *THIS* recipe, because I’m suggesting you let this baby cook for a while. Not too long, under an hour but not the normal 20 minutes it would take with breasts. I am all about developing flavors, so sure, you could make this in 20 minutes with breasts, but I can’t guarantee you’ll get the kind of mouthgasm we got from the thighs and a longer braising time. It’s up to you though, boo.
I also added more spices than most recipes you’ll find online, just due to personal preference. Again, we like flavor around here, and I like to make things my own.
This is Chicken Tikka Masala, the CarnalDish way.
If you want authentic, you might wanna skip this recipe. But if you want damn good, keep scrolling.
Chop your thighs into bite sized pieces.
Gather your spices.
Combine the spices, yogurt, ginger and garlic paste.
So, this is how I cook. I add things as I think of them. Here, I was like “hey! lemme add some dried cilantro”, so I did.
Add that blob of goodness to your chopped up chicken.
Mix it all around. See how thick it is? I mean, that’s cool and all, but I want it a tad creamier…
So, I added about 2-3 tablespoons of water…oh, I’m not done on the moisture front.
See…it needs a nice squeeze of lemon. I used a whole lemon. Roll your lemon around on the counter with some pressure to release even more juice.
Now, this is the consistency I wanted. If you use regular yogurt instead of greek, you’ll already have this consistency. But still add lemon.
Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to your skillet. You could also use ghee, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I’m using this. This works perfectly in a nonstick skillet, but I didn’t feel like fumbling around for mine.
Over medium-high’ish heat, brown the chicken until you get lil golden brown specks like this. The goal here is just to get a little color (if possible), but we don’t want to fully cook the chicken because it’s gonna stew later. So do this for about 3min per side.
So you should have some nice brown bits at the bottom of your pan, as well as some fat from the chicken. We’re gonna sauté the onions in that. So throw those in, with the garlic and ginger paste.
Add kosher salt. This will help the onions release some liquid, which will also help you scrape up even more of those yummy brown bits at the bottom.
Add the curry, garam masala, cumin, and turmeric. Toss around so those spices bloom and release their flavors.
Oh! I added some hot and sweet paprika here, optional for you, but I highly recommend it if you have it.
A nice blob of rich tomato paste.
Mix the tomato paste around to coat the onions and cook this down for about 3-5 minutes, or until the paste kinda turns brownish-red.
It’s just pretty. Let’s take a second to admire.
Now, add the tomato puree, diced tomatoes, and add about a half cup to a full cup of water. The water will help loosen the sauce, so it gives you a lil more time to cook it down and reduce.
Let this simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. I didn’t take a pic, but I added some cayenne pepper, granulated garlic and onion, and a little more salt here.
Brown sugar will really help round out all of the flavors. It’s not going to make it sweet, but it will give it a much needed balance so it’s not so harsh. I added about two tablespoons total. Start with one tablespoon, taste, and see if you need more.
Ok, so assuming you’re in control of this dish, seeing as how you’re cooking it — and you’ve been tasting it along the way, making sure it’s perfect for YOUR standards, this is when you add a nice hunk of cold butter. The cold butter will slowly melt and emulsify this sauce, making it velvety AF!
See how thick? Nice and perfect. Well-seasoned, just yes. YAAAS!
Add the cream.
Stir that cream up in there.
Add the rested chicken to the sauce, stir it in there, and get ready…because we’re down to the wire.
I added a little more turmeric, about a half teaspoon if I had to guess, just to help emphasize that yummy burnt orange color. Plus, turmeric is just lovely for the body. Cover this, turn the heat to low, and let this get happy for about 10-15 minutes.
Give it a taste, if it needs anything at all — which it shouldn’t, because yanno, you’ve been cooking and tasting this whole time — go ahead and add it now. Then sit back and marvel at your sexy dish. You did that. Garnish with cilantro, serve it over rice or naan/roti/chapati/whatever (or both if you’re into fatassery like myself). Enjoy, m’love!
This. Was. SO. DAMN. GOOD!!!
It was even better the next day, I swear. The chicken was STILL tender and damn near melting in our mouths, just so good after being reheated. I’m sad it’s almost gone. I may have to warm up a bowl before my boyfriend wakes up — because I know he’ll kill it and leave me assed out.
Products/Tools used:
- 4 qt. Enameled Cast Iron Braiser
- Silicone Tongs
- Glass Mixing Bowls
- Wooden Spoon
- Large Cutting Board
- 10-inch Chef’s Knife
- Metal Bowl
Chicken Tikka Masala
- Total Time: 4 hours 50 mins
- Yield: Invite friends, hella servings
Description
Please understand how amazing this is about to be for you. I need you to prepare yourself, kthxbi.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 8–10 boneless/skinless chicken thighs, chopped into chunks
- 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 rounded tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 rounded tablespoon ginger paste
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup water (optional, SEE NOTE BELOW)
- 1 rounded tablespoon kosher salt (SEE NOTE BELOW)
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
Masala Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter, ghee or vegetable oil
- 2 large white onions, diced
- 1 rounded tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 rounded tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon hot curry powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon hot paprika (optional)
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika (smoked would be great)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 15oz can tomato puree
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1–2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt & pepper to taste
- Fresh cilantro, to garnish
- Serve with lime wedges, rice and/or flatbread of choice
- Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle (optional)
Instructions
For the marinade
- In a large bowl, combine all of the dried spices and herbs with the greek yogurt. Add the garlic and ginger paste, and the lemon juice and water (if using). Mix well, and add the chunks of chicken thighs. Mix to evenly combine, cover with plastic wrap and set aside on your kitchen counter for at least 1 hour on your counter, up to 2. You can also marinate this for up to 4 hours in your fridge. Do not let this marinate more than 4 hours! The lemon juice and yogurt will start to “cook” the chicken and compromise the texture. So FOUR hours MAX!!
- Heat a large skillet (nonstick would be easier to deal with, but not entirely necessary) over medium-high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of fat (butter, ghee, or oil). When the fat is hot, add enough chicken to cover the pan, but leave about an inch of space between each piece. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan because then the chicken will steam instead of brown. And because you’re using thighs, they’ll need a bit more room to release their fat. Brown both sides of the chicken until spotty brown, some will be browner than others and that’s okay. Also, if your chicken is sticking to the pan (and you’re using a non-stick), leave it alone until it’s ready to release on its own. You may need to do this in batches, I had to do mine in 3 batches total. Which was cool, because I had a nice layer of fond (browned bits) at the bottom of the pan by the time it was over. The goal here is to just get a little color on the chicken, you don’t want to cook it all the way through because it will continue to braise in the sauce later. Set your chicken aside and let’s work on the sauce.
For the sauce
- You should have a good amount of fat left in the pan from the chicken, but if you don’t, add a little more. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onions, garlic paste, and ginger paste. Add some kosher salt to help the onions sweat a little faster. Cook the onions until softened — about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add all of the dried spices to the onions except for the granulated garlic and onion. Let these spices bloom in the fat, continue to scrape the pan if necessary. Tip: If at any point your heat is too high and things are burning, please lower it! Add a splash of water if the browned bits aren’t releasing easily enough, and don’t worry, this will evaporate.
- Add the tomato paste. Stir the paste around and toast for about 5-7 minutes or until the paste deepens in color. Add the pureed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and water. Continue to scrape any browned bits if necessary. Bring to a simmer, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Leave uncovered or semi-covered. If it’s splashing everywhere, reduce the heat! Add the granulated garlic and onion, kosher salt and pepper to taste. Let this sauce reduce until its nice and thick, about 15-20 minutes. Add the cold butter, and stir in in to let it slowly melt and emulsify the sauce. When it’s visibly thicker in consistency, add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Give it a taste! See what it needs, add whatever you need to. You are in full control here. The measurements I give you for the seasonings specifically, are starting point measurements. You may want to add more of this and that, and feel completely free to do so!
- When you’re happy with it, add the heavy cream. Stir that around until it’s fully incorporated. Give it another taste, because cream can mute some flavors, and you may or may not need to re-boost certain things. Now, add the rested chicken and the accumulated juices back to the sauce. Stir gently and make sure each piece of chicken is basically covered. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for an additional 10-15 minutes. Give it one last taste, because this is your last chance to adjust anything.
- Finally, you’re done. Serve this delicious stuff over rice, or alongside any kind of flatbread. We’re fans of the carb, so we ate it with both. Garnish with fresh cilantro, and serve with wedges of lime and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Whew! Get your life.
Notes
If using regular plain yogurt, you may not need to add the water. I used water to help thin out the super thick greek yogurt, but it’s totally optional either way.
If you don’t have kosher salt, which is a much bigger flake and less salty than regular salt, you will need to adjust the measurement. Don’t use a full tablespoon of fine or table salt, it will give you high blood pressure! That’s way too salty, maybe a teaspoon at the most. Be safe and use as little as you can, because you can always add it later, but you cannot take it away.
If you cannot find garlic or ginger paste, just use finely minced fresh garlic and ginger instead.
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 50 mins
Great recipe! My fiance, who loves Indian food, was really excited about this dish. FYI the ingredients listed don’t include tomato paste. Still a win!
★★★★★
Pretty much how I’ve been making it! And I agree 100% about using chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. I think I’m gonna add a little Ancho chili powder and some Chipotle powder to bump up the heat and smoky goodness.