Chicken Tikka Masala

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Chicken Tikka Masala, i’ts spicy, creamy and most of all delicious. It will take some time to cook this Indian dish, but trust me it is worth it!

I found this recipe on YouTube on a channel of a Dutch food blogger and just had to try it. It turned out to be so delicious that I forgot to take pictures for you when we finally had dinner.

I marinated the chicken overnight and oh it was so tender, so I can recommend to marinate your chicken rather longer than the 6 hours in the recipe. Next time I will try to grill the chicken so it will have that nice caramelized taste to it. And I will try to remember to take a picture when serving this dish!

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Pre-marinade

Ingredients for the chicken pre-marinade

• 1 kg chicken thighs
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 9 cloves of garlic
• 4 cm ginger
• 2 red chili peppers
• 2 tsp. salt

How to pre-marinade the chicken

• Add the cloves of garlic, ginger and chili peppers to the food processor, add a table spoon of water and make a paste.

• Add the chicken thighs to a bowl and add the salt, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the garlic, ginger and chili pepper paste.
• Mix and set aside for about 20 minutes.

Chicken marinade

Ingredients of the chicken marinade

• 200 g yogurt
• 60 ml oil (sunflower or coconut)
• 1 tbsp. Garam Masala
• 2 tsp. tumeric
• 1 tsp. chilli powder
• 3 tbsp. garlic, ginger and chili pepper paste

How to make the chicken marinade

• Mix all the ingredients together.
• Drain the chicken from the premarinade and add to the second marinade.
• Set aside for at least 6 hours in the fridge, if you have the time set aside for 24 hours.

Oven baked

• If you want to bake the chicken in the oven, pre-heat the oven to 180 °C.
• Add the chicken to an ovenrack and bake for 25 minutes.
• Cut the chicken pieces in half and set aside to cool.

Grilled

• If you want to grill the chicken, set a grill pan on high heat on your stove.
• Add the chicken to the pan and grill for 7 minutes, flip over and cook the other side until it is cooked.
• Cut the chicken pieces in half and set aside to cool.

Tikka sauce

Ingredients of the Tikka sauce

• 450 g of tomatoes
• 350 ml of (filtered) water
• 1 tbsp. of garlic, ginger and chili pepper paste
• 2 cardamom seeds
• 2 cloves
• 10 g of fresh cilantro
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp. of butter
• 50 ml of heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. of brown sugar

How to cook the Tikka sauce

• Slice the tomatoes in half.
• Add the garlic, ginger and chili pepper paste, the sliced tomatoes and 350 ml water to a stainless steel pan.
• Add the cardamom seeds, cloves and cilantro to the pan and cook for 45 minutes on low heat.

• After 45 minutes remove the cardamom seeds, cloves an cilantro and add the mixture to a food processor.
• Make a smooth sauce and again add to the pan.

• Cook for another 10 minutes on low heat and add the sugar, heavy cream and butter.
• Add salt to taste.

Masala sauce

Ingredients of the Masala sauce

• 50 ml oil (sunflower or coconut)
• 250 g onions
• 1 tbsp. garlic, ginger and chili pepper paste
• 200 g tomatoes
• 1 tsp. Garam Masala
• Salt to taste

How to cook the Masala sauce

• Put a skillet on medium heat.
• Cut the onions and add to the pre-heated skillet, bake for 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic, ginger and chili pepper paste and bake for 8 minutes on low heat.
• Cut the tomatoes in cubes and add to the skillet, bake until the tomatoes are soft.
• Add the Garam Masala and salt to taste.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients of the Tikka Masala

• 200 g butter
• 3 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 red chili pepper
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 50 ml heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. Garam Masala
• Salt to taste

How to cook Tikka Masala

• Add 150 g of butter to a big skillet together with the chili pepper and cumin seeds and bake for 1 minute on medium heat.
• Mince the garlic and add to the skillet, bake for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the cooked chicken, Masala sauce and the Tikka sauce.
• Put on medium heat until the sauce is boiling.
• Set the heat to low and add the rest of the butter and the Garam Masala.
• Add salt to taste.

Tips

• When adding the cardemom seeds, cilantro and cloves to the Tikka sauce put them in a teabag. After 45 minutes you can remove the herbs easily from the sauce.
• Serve with cauliflower or green beans and Naan bread or rice.

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