A while back our oldest son and his wife talked my husband and me into going to a fantastic local Indian restaurant. They raved about the Chicken Tika Masala and after tasting it I could totally see why. It is delicious! Naturally I wanted to go again, frequently!, but my husband is... shall we say, thrifty and resists paying a lot of money at restaurants on a regular basis. So I decided I needed to learn to make this on my own. A few different recipes, some suggestions from other cooks and some tweaking and I have achieved Chicken Tika Masala perfection!
Now I just need to learn to make my own naan.
Chicken Tika Masala
Ingredients:
Marinade
1 cup plain yogurt (I prefer Greek)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons smokey paprika
1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 - 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cups heavy cream
Directions
In a large bowl combine the marinade ingredients, blend well, until the powders and yogurt are smooth. Add the chicken pieces, mix well so that chicken is thoroughly coated. Cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour. I like to go overnight.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it in a single layer on a baking sheet and broil on low until done. Time will vary depending on the size chunks you have.
Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and the salt, heat over medium heat until the onion starts to caramelize. Add the garlic and jalapeno, heat an additional minute or two until the pepper is slightly cooked. Add the spices (you'll want them pre-measured so you can add them all at once) and stir to coat the veggies.
Stir in the tomato sauce to deglaze the pan slightly, then add the cream.
Simmer on low heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce starts to thicken, about 20 minutes.
Add the cooked chicken and heat an additional 10-15 minutes.
Serve with your favorite rice.
Tips and Hints
- Garam Masala is an Indian seasoning blend. I picked up a bag big enough to last a lifetime for just a few dollars at a local "Bollywood" market.
- If you like your food more mild, omit the cayenne pepper from the marinade and the crushed red pepper from the sauce. The heat of the jalapeno can also be controlled by the seeds, the more seeds the more heat.
- You can cut fat and calories by subbing some of the heavy cream for half-and-half. I did a 50/50 split and it still tasted fantastic. You could probably cut back even more by using milk in place of the half-and-half, but I haven't tried that yet.
- A more traditional approach would be to skewer and grill the chicken then remove from the skewers before adding to the sauce, but I like the simple and year round broiling option.
