Chicken Tikka Masala is chargrilled chicken, cooked in creamy flavoursome sauce . It’s astonishingly simple and easy. Those who love curry and rely on curry paste and jar sauces should definitely try this. You will never return to using the bottled sauce again. I can guarantee you that making from scratch is completely worth it !
Chicken Tikka Masala served at restaurants is marinated and cooked on skewers in the Tandoor (clay oven). In absence of Tandoor at home we just replicate the chargrill effect by cooking it in the pan.
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How to Make Tikka Masala
The list of spices may look long, but don’t feel intimidated by it. All the spices are easily available. In Australia even the major supermarkets (Woolies, Coles and Aldi) sell these spices now. You wont need to go to an Indian Grocery store. The spices used in sauce and marinade are same. The main spices are Red Chilli powder, Turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala and Kashmiri red chilli. You will probably wont find Kashmiri red chilli in mentioned supermarkets. You can swap this with Paprika as its quite similar to it – mild with intense red colour.
Begin with marinating the chicken in yoghurt and spices. The longer you marinate the chicken the better will be the flavour. You can marinate it from 3 – 24 hrs. Put the chicken on skewers and grill it in the pan. The pan should be hot to achieve the chargrilled effect.
The second step is to make the sauce. And lastly grilled chicken is added to the simmering sauce.
Secret to a Smooth Sauce
Chicken Tikka Masala is all about smooth sauce. It all depends on how you cook onions and tomatoes. I have seen many recipes chopping the onions or pureeing them and even straining the sauce ( which is absolute NO !). None of these methods works. The best way is to sautee the onions until translucent. Allow them to cool and blend them with stick blender. This way the raw taste of onion is not there and texture of the sauce is not grainy. If you are using tomatoes its important to remove the skin as well. You can either blanch them and remove the skin and puree them. Or use canned crushed tomatoes or even passata. I used crushed canned tomatoes.
Watch how to make it
How to Serve it
My favourite way to eat chicken tikka masala is with Naan. The incredible sauce deserve a naan to be dipped into. You can also enjoy it along with steamed rice.
Other Curries to Try
Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 600 g Chicken Boneless ( Cut into Cubes)
- ½ cup Yoghurt
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli or Paprika
- 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 1 tbsp Garlic Paste
- 1 tbsp Ginger
Sauce
- 1 Medium Onion Sliced
- 1 tsp Garlic Paste
- 1 tsp Ginger Paste
- 1½ cup Pureed tomatoes or passata
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli or Paprika
- ½ tsp Cumin Powder
- ½ tsp Coriander Powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder
- ¼ cup Yoghurt
- ¼ cup cream
- ¾ cup Water
- ¼ cup Oil
Instructions
Chicken
- Marinate chicken using all the ingredients. Ideally marinate for couple of hours but if you cant ,marinate it for at least 30 minutes.
- Put chicken on skewers and grill it in pan using little oil. Turn while cooking ensuring it is nicely charred. Remove from the pan once cooked and set aside.
Sauce
- Heat oil in a pot. Fry onions untill translucent. Take them out leaving the oil.
- Puree the onion in a blender and return it back to the same pot. Add garlic and ginger, fry for a minute.
- Add all the spices except salt and garam masala. Cook for couple of minutes and add tomatoe puree.
- Add yoghurt and cook for another five minutes. Add water and cover the pot. Simmer the sauce for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and add cream while stirring continuously. Once cream is mixed in turn the heat on again. Add salt and garam masala.
- Add chicken into the sauce and cover the pot for 5 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh Coriander/cilantro.
