Name: Chicken Tikka Masala
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 18 oz or 500 g or 8 boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces; 350 ml or 12 fl. 0z or 1 ¼ cups Tomato passata or puree; ½ cup yogurt, full fat; 2 + 2 tbsp ginger and garlic, minced; 1 big onion, diced into quarter inch pieces; 1 + 2 tbsp cooking oil; 1 tbsp sugar; 2 tbsp butter; ¼ cup heavy cream; 1 + 1 tsp salt, to taste; 1 or 2 sprigs cilantro leaves; 1 + 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 1 + 1 tsp smoked paprika powder; 1 + 1 tsp turmeric, ground; ½ + ½ tsp cumin, ground; ½ + ½ tsp garam masala powder

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Presenting a chicken tikka masala recipe to astonish your senses! Boneless pieces of chicken thigh are marinated in yogurt and spices, chargrilled to perfection and smothered in a creamy and luscious sauce to make this insanely gorgeous chicken curry.

Question: How do you say no to food that’s so stunningly beautiful and mouthwatering as this chicken tikka masala?

Answer: You don’t. Say no, that is. You silence that little voice of reason in your head and focus on stuffing your face with a big bowl of this incredible curry and rice or a warm, fluffy naan to mop up all the sauce.

Haha! That’s what this better-than-takeout chicken tikka masala does to you! Make it at your own risk ‘cause it’s the most addictive curry you’ll ever have. Not to mention that it’s the most popular.
Don’t believe me? Here are a few cool facts about this dish:

It is a British invention, inspired by Indian cooking. The story goes that it was invented by a Bangladeshi chef in Glasgow who wanted to appease a customer. The customer found the chicken tikka served to him too dry, so the chef dunked the chicken pieces in a tomato and cream sauce and chicken tikka masala was born!
It has been declared the unofficial national dish of Britain, second only to Chinese stir-fry in popularity.
Marks and Spencer claims to sell 18 tonnes of the stuff every week.
It is on the menu of most Indian restaurants worldwide.

Why this recipe works

1. It is a restaurant style chicken curry that replicates the same bold taste and flavors. Why order takeout when you can have fresh, homemade food that tastes just like your favorite restaurant fare?

2. The sauce can be frozen for future use. You can double or triple the quantity of sauce and store it in individual portions in the freezer. When the urge to have some chicken tikka masala strikes, all you need to do is prep the chicken, thaw the sauce and mix the two. And you’re ready to go!

3. It is not a very difficult dish to prepare at home. The steps are pretty straightforward and easy to implement. Yes, the ingredient list is a bit long but there’s nothing in there that you will have to hunt high and low to get. It’s all commonly available stuff, most of which you will already have in your pantry or refrigerator.

A time-saving tip: If you want to save time and get going, use store-bought ingredients rather than making everything from scratch. Ginger and garlic pastes, tomato puree, ground cumin, garam masala are all things you can make at home, but if you don’t have time, they are easily available in any supermarket as well.

Ingredients

18 oz or 500 g or 8 boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces.
350 ml or 12 fl. oz or 1 ¼ cups Tomato passata or puree – available in bottles or cans in any market. I wouldn’t recommend making your own puree for this recipe because fresh tomatoes just don’t have the same color and smoothness. Unless you want to make things complicated by hunting down the reddest, ripest tomatoes, pureeing and then straining them to get the desired result. Not happening in my kitchen!
½ cup yogurt, full fat
2 + 2 tbsp ginger and garlic, minced
Tip: you can make ginger garlic paste together by adding equal quantities of peeled and chopped ginger and garlic in a small blender along with a little water and whizzing to get smooth paste. Use the quantity called for in the recipe and store the rest in a sealed glass jar in your fridge for future use.
1 big onion, diced into quarter inch pieces
1 + 2 tbsp cooking oil – use a vegetable oil like canola. Olive oil is not recommended since this recipe calls for some pretty high temps.
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup heavy cream
1 + 1 tsp salt, to taste
1 or 2 sprigs cilantro leaves

Spices

1 + 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder – it gives a vibrant red color to any gravy without a lot of heat. If you can find it, do use it. It is easily available in supermarkets these days. But if you don’t have this, don’t fret! Just use whatever variety of ground chilli you have at hand.
1 + 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 + 1 tsp turmeric, ground
½ + ½ tsp cumin, ground
½ + ½ tsp garam masala powder – a spice blend that’s almost a must in every Indian curry. It is made of whole spices like cardamom, cloves and black pepper and like Kashmiri chilli powder, easily found in most supermarkets or Indian stores.

Note: the reason I’ve divided the quantity of some ingredients is because they are added twice in the recipe – once while marinating the chicken and the second time while making the sauce.

How to make chicken tikka masala on the stovetop

Step 1 – Make the chicken tikka marinade
In a glass bowl throw together the chicken, 2 tbsp ginger and garlic pastes, ½ cup yogurt, 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt and all the powdered spices – 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp garam masala. Toss well to make sure the chicken pieces are well coated with the marinade. Cover with some cling foil and keep the bowl in the refrigerator for anywhere between 2 and 12 hours.

Step 2 – Fry the chicken in a cast-iron skillet
Pour the oil in the skillet and heat it just below its smoking point. It should be very hot but not so much that it gives off fumes. Carefully slide in the marinated chicken and fry until the chicken becomes brown and slightly charred but not burned black. Flip over and fry on the other side too. The chicken need not be cooked through at this point, just seared to seal in the juices.

Step 3 – Make the chicken tikka masala sauce
Wipe the skillet clean of any burnt bits of chicken or marinade and add the 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter. Heat it slightly, then add the onions and fry until golden. There’s no need to caramelize the onions to a dark reddish brown, just enough that they start changing their color. Add 2 tbsp ginger and garlic pastes, salt and powdered spices – 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp garam masala. Fry for a bit (5 minutes) and add the tomato puree, sugar and a cup of water. Simmer until the gravy thickens. Let it cool, then blend to a smooth sauce in the blender.

Step 4 – Add the chicken and cream
Add the chicken to the gravy, followed by the cream. Cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken becomes tender, then switch off.

Top tips for making the best chicken tikka masala

1. Make it with boneless thigh meat, not breast meat – Chicken breasts dry out at high temps and become tough. Thigh meat remains moist and succulent. If you absolutely insist on using breast meat, then make sure that you marinate the meat for 24 hours to give it a chance to absorb the spices.

2. Make sure to chargrill the chicken – Authentic chicken tikka masala is made by chargrilling the chicken in a hot tandoor or clay oven. Since most of us don’t have a clay oven sitting in our kitchens, the next best thing we can do is to brown the chicken on the stove-top or broil it in the oven before adding it to the tikka sauce. Which brings us to the next point.

3. Use a cast-iron skillet for best results – A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet browns the chicken beautifully and gives the same results as a tandoor (minus the smokiness). Of course, if you don’t have a skillet, don’t let this stop you from making this recipe. You can use a non-stick pan or thread the chicken on skewers and grill in an oven.

If prepping the meat in the oven, pre-heat the oven on the broiler setting (525 Fahrenheit), position the skewers on a shallow baking tray and stick the tray in the oven for 10-12 minutes, turning the skewers once. When you can see that the chicken is getting charred, take it out and follow the rest of the recipe. Don’t worry, the chicken need not be fully cooked at this stage, that’s going to happen anyway when you add it to the sauce.

5. Blend the masala before adding the tomato puree – This is not an essential step, but if you want a smooth, lump-free sauce then do blend the masala prepared in step 3. If you don’t want to go the trouble, the curry will taste just fine without it too.

Frequently asked questions

1. What does chicken tikka masala taste like?

Rich, creamy, tomato-ey, vibrant, medium-hot and full of the flavor of different spices. Need I say more?

2. Is chicken tikka masala spicy?

No. It has an intense flavor thanks to all those tomatoes, yogurt and spices but it is not a very hot dish like many other chicken curries. Kashmiri chilli and paprika add a lot of color but they’re mild compared to cayenne. In fact, if you decide to use cayenne instead of Kashmiri chilli, reduce its quantity if you don’t want heat.

3. What is the difference between butter chicken and chicken tikka masala?

Both look almost the same but the main difference between the two is that in a chicken tikka masala recipe, the chicken is chargrilled before adding it to the sauce. In butter chicken there’s no need for this step although the chicken can be baked as a pre-step. Also, butter chicken, as the name indicates, is made entirely with butter.

Other Indian chicken curry recipes you might like

Pepper Chicken – made with just 5 ingredients besides chicken and oil and ready in 30 minutes!

Palak Chicken – boneless chicken and spinach simmered in an onion-tomato gravy made creamy with cashews.

Tomato Chicken – chicken in a tangy tomato gravy with green chillies and cilantro.

Almond Chicken Korma – tender pieces of chicken in a creamy and sumptuous almond gravy.