Chicken Tikka Masala

  • Prep Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
  • Total Time: 2 hrs
  • Servings: 4

    • About This Recipe

    “This recipe appeared in the Chicago Tribune today (4/17/02). I haven’t tried it yet, but it promises to be delicious and I thought I should share it.”

    Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbsboneless skinless chicken, cut in 1 inch cubes

    • Marinade

  • 1cupplain yogurt
  • 2tablespoonslemon juice
  • 2teaspoonsground cumin
  • 2teaspoonsground red pepper
  • 2teaspoonsblack pepper
  • 1teaspooncinnamon
  • 1teaspoonsalt
  • 1pieceminced ginger( 1-inchinch” long)
  • 6bamboo skewers( 6-inchinch”)

    • Sauce

  • 1tablespoonunsalted butter
  • 2garlic cloves, minced
  • 1jalapeno, minced
  • 2teaspoonsground coriander
  • 1teaspoonground cumin
  • 1teaspoonpaprika
  • 1teaspoongaram masala( buy in Indian market)
  • 1/2 teaspoonsalt
  • 1 (8ounce) cans tomato sauce
  • 1cupwhipping cream
  • 1/4 cupchopped fresh cilantro

    • Directions

  • Soak bamboo skewers in water.
  • Thread chicken on skewers, and marinate (in the refrigerator) for an hour or so.
  • Discard marinade.
  • For sauce, melt butter on medium heat.
  • Add garlic & jalapeno; cook 1 minute.
  • Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala & salt.
  • Stir in tomato sauce.
  • Simmer 15 minutes.
  • Stir in cream; simmer to thicken- about 5 minutes.
  • Grill or broil chicken, turning occasionally, to cook through- about 8 minutes.
  • Remove chicken from skewers; add to sauce.
  • Simmer 5 minutes.
  • Garnish with cilantro Serve with basmati rice, naan or pita bread.
  • Note: You can make your own garam masala. McCormick also makes garam masala; it’s available in super markets.

    • Reviews

  • “This recipe is my favorite Indian recipe so far… it tastes authentic! It’s just like the Chicken Tikka Masala at my favorite Indian restaurant, and that’s a first. I’ve made this recipe several times and found that instead of the marinading step, you can stir fry the chicken cubes in 2 tbsp of Tandoori Masala and it tastes just as good (if not better) and speeds up this recipe by quite a bit. Some other changes I’ve made to tweak it to my liking: I add small a white onion, one green pepper, 1tbsp of cayenne, and I substitute the 1 cup of whipping cream for 3/4 cup of half and half and 1/2 cup of plain yoghurt (still comes out very creamy). I highly recommend this recipe to anyone who craves a taste of India without having to go to a restaurant!”

  • “I’ve made this several times now and have learned a few things. 1) Grilling the chicken is an unnecessary step. Broiling is easier or you could just saute the meat with the garlic and jalapenos. 2) If you’re using coconut milk instead of cream, go with the REAL high-fat milk, not the lite stuff. The difference in texture and creaminess is worth it. 3) I make this with sweet potatoes sometimes instead of chicken. Cube the taters and marinade, then grill in foil until they’re nice and soft (but not mushy). Add them to the sauce once the sauce is almost done.4) Halving the cayanne in the marinade is a good idea unless you are insane and really want to blow your head off. This is fantastic and delicious!”

  • “I make this recipe once a month.It is my standard Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.I recently made it for the family.Friends of mine have often mentioned that this is their favorite Chicken Tikka Masala.It’s better than many dishes I’ve had at restaurants.I agree with another reviewer who bakes and broils the chicken.I rarely grill it, unless there’s someone I’m cooking for who loves to have chicken grilled.Don’t worry about being too picky about certain creams/yogurt.I’ve used whipping cream, milk, yogurt, half/half, etc.People can never tell the difference.It’s more noticeable if you don’t use the right spices.Doing this review has made me crave some more!”

  • “Amazing!I doubled the sauce, added sliced onion and green pepper, and stir fried, the chicken instead of grilling.It was a HUGE hit!I cannot wait to make it with coconut milk!”

  • “This was SOO yummy! I used coconut milk, and about 1/2 a cup of fresh cilantro. This is definitely a recipe that is going into the books!”

  • “A delicious recipe!!I agree with the previous reviewer…. I just sauteed the chicken in the garlic and jalapenos as suggested.
    I didn’t want mine so creamy, so I used 1/2 c half and half instead of 1 c whipping cream and I thought that worked out great!
    I left the cayanne and jalapeno quantities alone, but I love spicy food!”

  • “Very impressed! I used 3 boneless, skinless thighs with half the marinade. Sub’d milk for cream. Also used my toaster oven to broil – very easy!”

  • “Loved it! Made it exactly as described. Don’t let the long list of ingredients deter you. It is easy list and you’ll be thankful once you taste the wonderful way all the flavors meld together!”

  • “Very tasty! I found the jalapeno overpowered the other ingredients, and made the dish much hotter than the milder tikka masalas I’m used to. Next time I’ll leave the jalapeno out and I think it will be perfect!”

  • “YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!I am a chicken tikka masala SNOT and this was so delicious.I have been trying to recreate this dish at home for alot of years and this is the best yet!THANK YOU!”

  • “I have never tasted Chicken Tikka Masala, but it always looked delicious in the magazine pictures, and I always look for new chicken recipes to add to our repertoire, so I decided to give this recipe a try and I am so glad I did.The recipe is 4 servings and there are 3 of us, so I thought we were going to have a leftover lunch portion for one of us for tomorrow.The entire family loved it and DH who usually is very tentative when I try a new recipe went back to the pot and scooped out everything to his plate before we even started the meal.I broiled the chicken and was not disappointed, it charred very nicely and we did not miss the grilled flavor.I will go back and marinate and broil another batch or two of this chicken and freeze, so that when we feel like having it in the middle of the week, all I have to do is make the sauce and reheat the chicken right in the sauce.I will also double the sauce next time, it was soo good.Thank you so much for sharing, this is definitely a keeper!”

  • “This wasn’t what I was looking for. Maybe chicken tikka masala is just different around here. One of my guests liked the spiciness of it, while the other thought it was too spicy (but he really doesn’t like spiciness). The rest of us were just ok with it.”

  • “This is the BEST chicken tikka masala recipe I ever came across! >br/br/br/br/

  • “This was excellent! After reading some of the other reviews I lowered the heat by using 1/4 tsp red pepper in the marinade and then reducing the amount of jalape?o in the sauce to 1/4 jalape?o. It still had plenty of heat but not overwhelming. I also used shrimp instead of chicken and just added it to the sauce and cooked a few minutes until the shrimp were done.”

  • “I have been making this recipe for the past year & did’nt realize I had not given a review for it. So here it is… It’s very rare that you find a recipe for something that you love to order when you go out that tastes just as delicious, but this recipe does just that. It is the best. I use about 2 1/2lbs. of chicken and double the sauce. Comes out perfect every time. Thanks for posting this great recipe. We make this at home all the time.”

  • “Loved it! Very tasty just like restaurant! V little left! Defo make again!5 stars!”

  • “Whew!Spicy :)but, good :)Left overs are just as spicy…almost too much.I had doubled the recipe and had only used one jalapeno… but it was a good sized one.I may take others advice and cut that and the cayenne in half next time.It is really good though!”

  • “Wow, great guide.”

  • “Pretty surprised this recipe got such high marks across the board–it’s REALLY spicy.Most of you must have palates with a higher threshold for heat.Having eating chicken tikka masala dozens of times from a wide variety of restaurants, in both location and quality, this was the spiciest I’d ever had, hands down.I nearly quadrupled the tomato sauce and doubled the cream and it’s still got a kick.I used cayenne for the crushed red pepper.Could that be it?What other types of crushed red pepper are there?It’s a good recipe, but it needs tweaking to me.”

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