Chicken Tikka Masala

Making chicken tikka masala at home in a single skillet with basic ingredients is quite straightforward.

This chicken tikka rivals any dish from an Indian restaurant in terms of flavor and richness. When you can make it better at home, why go out? This Chicken Tikka Masala recipe is one of the best you will taste, with flavorful golden chicken chunks swimming in an amazing curry sauce! Serve it with our naan flatbread with butter and garlic!

How do you make Chicken Tikka Masala?

You might already have these ingredients in your kitchen, which is the BEST part of this recipe and similar to our Butter Chicken. If not, you won’t need to look very far because they are so simple to find in any grocery store! When making authentic Chicken Tikka Masala, the chicken is typically marinated in yogurt, skewered, and chargrilled for fantastic barbecue flavors. We are utilizing a skillet or saucepan to cook everything in in order to make this recipe much simpler for us to prepare at home while retaining the great flavors.

thighs or breasts of chicken

For juicy and luscious results, we continue to use chicken thighs rather than breasts while coating and marinating our chicken in an aromatic spiced yogurt called Tikka. Using thighs also reduces the amount of time needed to marinate because they only require 10 minutes at the most!

Breasts CAN be used if desired, but for best results, marinate them overnight. When cooked over high heat, they will turn out better since the yogurt has had time to tenderize them.

pot or skillet

Use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, if you have one, for the best charred results. Over high heat, you can also use a typical nonstick pan. To prevent overcrowding the skillet while searing the chicken, work in batches of two or three. This will assist the chicken pieces fry or char (not burn) rather than boil in fluids. You want chicken that is golden.

The chicken won’t be fully cooked at this stage since you’ll finish them in the sauce later, infusing the flesh with ALL of the sauce’s flavors for the best flavor possible.

spices

This sauce’s creamy, tomato-based base and well balanced spice blend give your curry an explosion of flavor.

• Masala Garam
• Cumin
• Blended Coriander
• Turmeric

choices for chili

f you can find Kashmiri Chili, use it! It’s a mild chili but intensifies the colour and adds a wonderful flavour to the Masala sauce. If you can’t find it, don’t worry. Any ground red chili powder or Cayenne powder will do! You can adjust the amount to suit your heat preference, or leave it out all together for a non spicy Tikka.

to blend or not to blend the sauce

This is personal preference. Over the years I’ve tried both AND made both options over the last couple of weeks for the purpose of this post. In the image above, we blended the sauce and then strained it for a smooth lump free sauce. In the image below served with rice we are showing the non blended sauce.

We like the sauce that is not mixed. It’s simpler, cleaner, and unnecessary! especially when the essential flavors are immediately filtered away. Those flavors SHOULD BE IN YOUR CURRY.

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken marinade:

• Chicken thighs weighing 28 ounces (800 grams) that have been chopped into bite-sized pieces.
• Yogurt, plain, one cup
• 1 and a half tablespoons of minced garlic
• a teaspoon of ginger
• Garam masala, two teaspoons
• Turmeric, 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon of cumin, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red chili powder or 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili
• a pinch of salt

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil
• Butter, two tablespoons
• 2 small onions, chopped, or 1 large onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated garlic
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• Garam masala, 1 1/2 tablespoons
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of cumin powder
• one teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of coriander, ground
• 14 oz (400 g) of tomato puree (passata/tomato sauce)
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili (for flavor and color, if desired)
• 1 teaspoon of red chili powder, ground (adjust to taste)
• 1 salt shakerful
• 1 1/4 cups of heavy or thickened cream (for fewer calories, substitute evaporated milk)
• 1/9 cup brown sugar
• If necessary, 1/4 cup water
• Fourths of a cup To garnish, use fresh coriander or cilantro.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine the chicken and all the marinade ingredients in a bowl; let sit for 10 to 1 hour (or overnight, if time permits).
2. In a sizable skillet or pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces in groups of two or three when they begin to sizzle, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Just 3 minutes should be spent frying each side until browned. Keep heated and set aside. (You’ll complete the chicken’s cooking in the sauce.)
3. In the identical pan, melt the butter. About 3 minutes of frying the onions at a time, scraping off any browned bits that have remained on the pan’s bottom as you go.
4. Garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and coriander are added after the garlic and ginger have been added and have been aromatic for 1 minute. Stirring occasionally, fry until aromatic for about 20 seconds.
5. Salt, chili powders, and tomato puree should be added. Stirring occasionally, let sauce to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until it thickens and turns a rich, dark crimson color.
6. Mix the sauce while adding the cream and sugar. When the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce is thick and bubbling, add the chicken and any remaining liquids to the pan and simmer for an additional 8 to 10 minutes. If more water is needed to thin the sauce, add it now.
7. Serve over hot garlic butter rice and freshly prepared Naan bread, garnished with cilantro (coriander).