Chicken Tikka Masala

My youngest son made this delicious naan bread that the whole family can’t get enough of. It was good on its own but I love dipping it in tzatziki.  On the weekend, we decided to make it again and this time, I made chicken tikka masala to go with it. Although the list of ingredients is a long one, it is worth the effort. The chicken tikka masala came out so tasty and flavorful; it is comparable to the one we usually order in a restaurant. The chicken coated with the spices and then fried was already good, cooking it in the flavorful sauce made them taste even better. We had this awesome chicken dish with the naan bread but they go well with steamed rice as well. Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Author: Liza A

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1½ lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Marinade:

• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ⅛ tsp ground cardamom

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 4 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 tbsp finely grated ginger, or more to taste
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 (13 oz/398 ml) can coconut milk
• ½ cup water, or as needed
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place chicken in a bowl and drizzle 1 tbsp vegetable oil over chicken; toss to coat.
2. Whisk kosher salt, garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, ground turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom together in a small bowl. Season chicken with spice mixture and turn to coat evenly.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Cook chicken thighs until browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. When cool enough to handle, cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
4. Reduce heat under the skillet to medium-high. Stir onion into skillet; saute until onion softens and turns translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir. Saute until paste caramelizes, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic and ginger into tomato-onion mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Pour the diced tomatoes (with the juices) into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Pour in coconut milk and chicken broth; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors blend and sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.
6. Stir chicken, any accumulated juices from the chicken, cilantro, and red pepper flakes into tomato mixture; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
7. Serve with steamed rice or naan bread.

Notes

Recipe slightly adapted from: Chef John

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