The Chicken Tikka Masala is often referred to as the national dish of Great Britain even though it reminds of Indian cuisine. While the level of difficulty for this recipe is quite low, you need a lot of time to prepare it right, about 3 hours to be more precise. The measurements are suitable for 4 servings. The aromatic spices create strong flavors that will delight your senses.
List of ingredients
28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 ½ tsps. garam masala
2 tbsps. Chopped fresh cilantro
5 garlic cloves
1 ½ coin ginger
2 tsps. coriander seeds
2 tsps. cumin seeds
1 cup Greek yogurt
3 tsps. paprika
freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 tbsps. butter
1 onion
1 serrano pepper
2 tsps. lemon juice
1 ½ tsps. sugar
½ tsps. ground turmeric
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
kosher salt
steamed white rice
That’s a quite long ingredients list and it’s mostly made of spices. Nonetheless, each and every one of them is important to the final result, so don’t try to cut corners if you want to make a delicious meal.
Instructions
The first thing you need to do is to roughly chop the garlic cloves and the ginger after you peel them. Add them into a food processor to obtain a puree. Put a skillet on high heat and add the coriander and cumin seeds. Stir for 3 minutes and then grind them into a special spice grinder.
Taka a big bowl and add the following: 2 tbsps. of the garlic puree you made earlier, 2 tsps. of the freshly ground seeds, 1 ½ tsps. paprika, the juice of half a lemon (2 tsps.), ½ tsp. sugar, ¼ tsp. turmeric, the Greek yogurt and then the cayenne pepper. At the end, don’t forget about 1 tsp. of salt and ¼ tsp of pepper. Cut the chicken thighs in half and coat them with this mixture. It’s recommended to marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Quarter the peeled tomatoes and set them aside. Take a wide heavy bottomed pot and heat it at medium level. Add the serrano peppers together with the onions and stir for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the seeds, 2 tbsps. of the garlic puree, the rest of the turmeric and paprika. After 3 minutes of stirring, add the rest of the sugar, the tomatoes and 1 ½ cups of water. Leave it on low-medium heat for 25 minutes to simmer.
Take the chicken out of the fridge and get rid of the excess marinade. Put them on a preheated broiler and then sprinkle some extra salt and pepper. Let the chicken broil for about 5 minutes and then flip it. After a few more minutes check the temperature with a meat thermometer. If it shows 165 degrees F, the chicken will be done after 3 more minutes.
Add the cream and garam masala to the sauce and simmer for 5 more minutes before you add the chicken and the cilantro. Serve with steamed rice and voila! You cooked a traditional British meal.
