Chcken Tikka Masala is a creamy curry dish with marinated boneless chicken. The origin of Tikka Masala is somewhat disputed. Most likely, it was invented by immigrants from the Indian subcontinent.
The most famous story revolves around a Pakistani restaurant in Glasgow. One fine night, a customer supposedly sent his order back to the kitchen, complaining the chicken was too dry. As it was almost closing time and there were not enough ingredients left to prepare a new dish, the restaurant chef simply added tomato soup and some other spices to the already prepared meal. The customer loved it. Chicken Tikka Masala became a thing and quickly grew in popularity throughout the UK and beyond.
INGREDIENTS
(3-4 servings)
800g chicken fillet
400g canned tomatoes
400g coconut milk
150g yogurt
2 small onions
2 tbsp. garam masala
2 tbsp. curcuma (tumeric)
2 tbsp. cumin
2 tbsp. chilli powder
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. ginger
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic
Fresh coriander
serve with rice and naan breads
PREPARATION
Start by cleaning your chicken fillets. Cut them in half and put them into a bowl. Combine the chicken fillets with a tablespoon garam masala, curcuma, chilli powder, grounded cumin, salt and yogurt. Finally, cut a piece of ginger (about a tablespoon) and one clove of garlic into little pieces and add it into the bowl. Mix until the chicken is fully coated by the marinade. Let it rest for at least one hour.
Heat some olive oil in a big deep pan and fry the chicken shortly for about 3 minutes on each side until slightly brown. Don't worry, we will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce later. You don't want to over crowd the pan so you will have to do this in batches.
Once all pieces are fried, set the chicken aside. In the meanwhile, cut the onions, a piece of ginger and one clove of garlic.
Use the same pan to fry the onions until slightly softened. Use some extra olive oil if needed and scrape the brown bits stuck at the pan with your wooden cooking spoon. Add the minced garlic and ginger to sauté for another minute.
Put garam masala, cumin, coriander seeds, curcuma, chilli powder, brown sugar and salt in your mortar. Use the pestle to ground and blend the spices together. Add it all to the pan fry for another minute.
Pour the canned tomatoes and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally until the sauce thickens and takes on a deep brownish red color.
Now stir the coconut milk into the sauce. Add the chicken and its juices back into the pan as well.
Let simmer for another 10min or so until the chicken is fully cooked. In the meanwhile, cook rice and heat up the naan breads. Garnish the Chicken Tikka Masala with fresh coriander before serving.
Winner winner chicken dinner!
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