What’s for Dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala

A few years ago, I went to visit my cousin Kelli in Rocklin and she spoiled me by making Chicken Tikka Masala. Amazing! The girl has got some serious culinary skills! Of course she wouldn’t share her recipe because it was “not quite right”.

That is one trait I lack when it comes to cooking. While I am always on a quest to find great recipes, I can’t tell what spice is missing or what spice would change the dish. My taste buds are just not that picky. 

Kelli came to visit me in Portland at the end of August so I convinced her to make it again and teach me her magical ways. We had a blast cooking together and I significantly expanded my spice rack. 

So if you are interested in bringing in a little variety into your cooking, try this Chicken Tikka Masala. Killer flavor! It has such a complex flavor that isn’t like anything else I cook. It’s a great change from our typical spice pallet. 

We got to pull out our adorable BBQ again to cook the chicken. I wish we had a bigger BBQ and one that we could keep out all the time. But our little guy is just going to have to do for awhile. 

We had both spinach and naan to go with it. I love love love naan but the spinach was a nice compliment to it as well because it was not as rich and heavy as the bread.You can also eat it with rice. Kelli suggested using purple rice because the deep color looks wonderful with the burnt orange Tikka Masala. 

The recipe is below for you to try out yourself. It was adopted from The Pioneer Woman and Paster Ryan’s Tikka Masala. She includes a photo tutorial to help you out a little more. 

I would say it was a successful dinner. 

Chicken Tikka Masala

2014-09-05 09:45:01

Serves 3

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Chicken Marinade

1. 1.5 up to 2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
2. 1/2 of an individual Plain Yogurt cup (3oz ish9
3. 1 TSP Lemmon
4. 1/4 TSP Salt
5. 1/4 TSP Ground Coriander
6. 1/4 TSP Cumin
7. A couple dashes of black pepper

Garam Masala Spice Mix

1. 1/2 tablespoon coriander; ground
1/2 tablespoon cumin; ground
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper; ground
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds; ground
1/2 tablespoon ginger; ground
1/2 tablespoon cardamom; ground
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg; ground
1/2 TEASPOON cloves; ground

Masala Sauce

1. 1.5 Tablespoons Butter
2. 1/2 Large yellow onion
3. 2 cloves Garlic (or 1 TSP minced from a jar)
4. 1 sq inch fresh Ginger Root, minced/ finely chopped
5. 1.5 TBS Garam Mix
6. 1/4 tsp cinnamon
7. 1/4 tsp paprika
8. 1/4 tsp salt
9. 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
10. 3/4 tsp fennugreek
11. 1/4 tsp Turmeric
12. 14 Ounces tomato sauce
13. 1/2 TBS Sugar
14. 3/4 cup Heavy Cream

1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped Taste Additions

1. Salt to taste 1+ Tsp Garam
2. Cayenne pepper to taste 1/4 + tsp Cayenne

Rice

1. 1 cups Basmati Rice.
2. Optional: 2 TBS Black Japonica, Frozen Peas

Instructions

1. 1. Chicken Marinade: In a medium-large bowl, mix together the yogurt, spices, and lemon juice. Stir in chicken, cover, and let marinade in refrigerator for at least 30 minuets.
2. Measure out ingredients for other steps. Seriously. Do it. Do it right nowwwww.
3. 2. Set the chicken on a metal cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and broil until the juices run clear and the edges are slightly blackened. 5-10 minuets. Set aside.
4. 3. Garam Spice Mix: Mix all these together and set aside (this makes 4 TBS but you will only need 1.5. Save the rest for next time).
5. 4. Start rice. For purple, substitute in 2+ TBS Black Japonica rice. Soak Japonica in the cold, measured rice water for steps 1-7, before adding white rice. Will be slightly crunchy. For yellow rice, add 1+ dash turmeric to water.
6. 5. Masala Sauce: Dice onion. In large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger.
7. 6. Add all the spices, and Garam Masala Mix.
8. 7. Add tomato sauce. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it.
9. 8. Add 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Let this mixture simmer on medium-low for about 5 minutes.
10. 9. After the Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a little bit, stir in the heavy cream.
11. 10. Chop chicken breasts into 1 inch chunks and stir them into the Masala sauce.
12. 11. Chop cilantro and add to sauce.
13. 12. Continue to stir sauce periodically, on medium-low heat until it is desired thickness (10-15 minuets if using diced tomatoes, less with tomato sauce). Spice/salt to taste. Add more cayenne for heat.
14. 13. You can also throw some frozen peas into the cooked rice, give them a stir, and allow the heat of the rice to cook the peas.

By Kelli Nordstrom

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

A Red Ember http://gdmig-aredember.com/