I love Indian food and chicken tikka masala is the dish I always order. It makes my tummy happy. Most of the time, I could drink the sauce, it's just that good. So, when I saw this recipe on a website I follow, I pinned it but wasn't sure I would ever really try it. I mean, really. Could a homemade chicken tikka masala really be good? Well, I must have been feeling adventurous last weekend when Steve and I were planning the week's menu because I chose this recipe to make. It promised to be tasty and easy, a winning combination, so what did we have to lose? I figured that if it wasn't restaurant good, at least we'd know and would probably never make Indian food at home again.
Well, it was super easy to make and delicious! I'm so glad we made it. Now we can make my favorite Indian dish at home whenever we want. Mmmmm.
Here's the recipe with the changes I made to it in italics. I hope you love it as much as we did!
Chicken Tikka Masala
recipe from chef-in-training.com
Note: The chicken will need to marinate for at least an hour, so plan for this when you're deciding when to start prepping your meal.
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3 tsp. salt
SAUCE
1 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper seeded and finely diced, I only used 1/2 a jalepeno and it was still quite spicy...almost too much for me
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. salt, or to taste, I didn't add any to the sauce and it was great
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup or more of chopped cilantroDirections:
1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. No need to season with salt and pepper, something I almost always do. There are enough spices in the marinade that the chicken will be well-seasoned. Put the chicken pieces in a gallon-sized ziplock bag.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, ground pepper, ground ginger, and salt. Mix until everything is evenly combined then pour into the bag with the chicken. Close the bag, getting out as much air as you can first, then rub the marinade into the chicken to make sure each piece is well-coated. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. When the chicken is finished marinating, add the entire contents of the ziplock bag into a large frying pan and cook over medium to medium-high heat until the chicken is just cooked all the way through. Don't overcook the chicken but definitely make sure it's cooked all the way through!
4. Dump the chicken and marinade into a strainer and shake to remove the excess marinade but don't rinse it off the chicken. Set chicken in fridge for now.
At this point, I started cooking basmati rice. I boiled 2 cups of water and added 1 cup of rice to it and cooked it, covered, over simmer for approximately 20 minutes. It was finished a little bit before the chicken so I kept it covered until everything was ready.
5. In a medium-to-large sauce pan (I used my fabulous Le Crueset Dutch oven), melt 1 T of butter and add to it the finely diced jalepeno (seriously, 1/2 of one was spicy) and minced garlic cloves. Sautee for one minute. Mix in the cumin, paprika, and salt making sure to keep stirring so the spices don't burn. Add the tomato sauce and cream and stir until everything is well-combined.
6. Stir continuously until the sauce starts to simmer then reduce heat to low and let it simmer until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
7. Add the chicken to the sauce and stir so the chicken will be evenly coated. I cooked it a little longer to make sure to reheat the chicken - this is why I said not to overcook the chicken earlier, so the chicken doesn't get tough during this stage. When the sauce is as thick as you want and the chicken is heated through again, turn off the stove and add a pat of butter. I always add butter to sauces to give it a luxuriousness feel. You don't have to, though.
8. I added cilantro at this point (when the stove is off) because I always taste it in the chicken tikka masala sauce at restaurants. I'm glad I did because it really adds a freshness to the sauce. Stir it into the sauce and let it sit for just a couple minutes.
9. Serve over rice and with a side of garlic naan. See following recipe.
Garlic Naan
recipe by me :)
Ingredients:
1 pkg store-bought naan
3 T butter
2 garlic cloves
cilantro
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (or whatever degree the pkg says).
2. Melt the butter in the microwave. Mince the garlic and add it to the butter.
3. Put the naan on a cookie sheet.
4. Using a basting brush, spread the garlic butter mixture on the naan. Sprinkle chopped cilantro evenly on the naan, as little or much as you'd like.
5. Bake naan for 5 minutes (or as long as package directs) or until the naan is heated through and just a little toasted.
The naan we used came in two large pieces so I used a pizza cutter to slice them into smaller slices. It was really yummy, especially when dipped in the chicken tikka masala sauce.
Well, it was super easy to make and delicious! I'm so glad we made it. Now we can make my favorite Indian dish at home whenever we want. Mmmmm.
Here's the recipe with the changes I made to it in italics. I hope you love it as much as we did!
Chicken Tikka Masala
recipe from chef-in-training.com
Note: The chicken will need to marinate for at least an hour, so plan for this when you're deciding when to start prepping your meal.
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3 tsp. salt
SAUCE
1 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper seeded and finely diced, I only used 1/2 a jalepeno and it was still quite spicy...almost too much for me
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. salt, or to taste, I didn't add any to the sauce and it was great
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup or more of chopped cilantroDirections:
1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. No need to season with salt and pepper, something I almost always do. There are enough spices in the marinade that the chicken will be well-seasoned. Put the chicken pieces in a gallon-sized ziplock bag.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, ground pepper, ground ginger, and salt. Mix until everything is evenly combined then pour into the bag with the chicken. Close the bag, getting out as much air as you can first, then rub the marinade into the chicken to make sure each piece is well-coated. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. When the chicken is finished marinating, add the entire contents of the ziplock bag into a large frying pan and cook over medium to medium-high heat until the chicken is just cooked all the way through. Don't overcook the chicken but definitely make sure it's cooked all the way through!
4. Dump the chicken and marinade into a strainer and shake to remove the excess marinade but don't rinse it off the chicken. Set chicken in fridge for now.
At this point, I started cooking basmati rice. I boiled 2 cups of water and added 1 cup of rice to it and cooked it, covered, over simmer for approximately 20 minutes. It was finished a little bit before the chicken so I kept it covered until everything was ready.
5. In a medium-to-large sauce pan (I used my fabulous Le Crueset Dutch oven), melt 1 T of butter and add to it the finely diced jalepeno (seriously, 1/2 of one was spicy) and minced garlic cloves. Sautee for one minute. Mix in the cumin, paprika, and salt making sure to keep stirring so the spices don't burn. Add the tomato sauce and cream and stir until everything is well-combined.
6. Stir continuously until the sauce starts to simmer then reduce heat to low and let it simmer until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
7. Add the chicken to the sauce and stir so the chicken will be evenly coated. I cooked it a little longer to make sure to reheat the chicken - this is why I said not to overcook the chicken earlier, so the chicken doesn't get tough during this stage. When the sauce is as thick as you want and the chicken is heated through again, turn off the stove and add a pat of butter. I always add butter to sauces to give it a luxuriousness feel. You don't have to, though.
8. I added cilantro at this point (when the stove is off) because I always taste it in the chicken tikka masala sauce at restaurants. I'm glad I did because it really adds a freshness to the sauce. Stir it into the sauce and let it sit for just a couple minutes.
9. Serve over rice and with a side of garlic naan. See following recipe.
Garlic Naan
recipe by me :)
Ingredients:
1 pkg store-bought naan
3 T butter
2 garlic cloves
cilantro
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (or whatever degree the pkg says).
2. Melt the butter in the microwave. Mince the garlic and add it to the butter.
3. Put the naan on a cookie sheet.
4. Using a basting brush, spread the garlic butter mixture on the naan. Sprinkle chopped cilantro evenly on the naan, as little or much as you'd like.
5. Bake naan for 5 minutes (or as long as package directs) or until the naan is heated through and just a little toasted.
The naan we used came in two large pieces so I used a pizza cutter to slice them into smaller slices. It was really yummy, especially when dipped in the chicken tikka masala sauce.