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My chicken tikka masala recipe is a must for when you want a new spin on the classic weeknight chicken. A super simple and delicious dish full of Indian spices and flavors! This is a must when you want to amp up the classic chicken dish!
I have been a bad little blogger. I promised my Facebook fans this recipe months ago and I have kind of forgotten all about it. And as I was going through my collection of photos from the past few months I realized this naughty blogger tots forgot about this super easy and elegant dish!
I made this dish one day on a whim after the kind folks at Red Gold Tomatoes sent me loads of their awesome tomato products! I needed to clear the pantry out and it just so happened to be a boring Sunday afternoon where I was home and the munchkin was napping. And so instead of taking some much needed cuddle time with the big ole’ couch, I decided to experiment with a recipe I have been pining for some time.
Tikka Masala is an Indian chicken dish that is absolutely divine! It has all the colorful flavors of the rich culture and feels like your mouth just had its tongue zapped with every flavor profile out there. Sweet, salty, tangy and creamy are all adjectives you will use to describe this chicken. And the most important adjective you can use to describe it is “different”.
We all get stuck in our same routines with chicken… I know I do. Sometimes we need something to shake us up! And this chicken will do just that.
The best part is that this dish is definitely a lot more waist friendly than your neighborhood Indian place. I used a whole lot less butter than most recipes include and only one can of light coconut milk rather than 2 of the full fat version. Best of all, you can substitute the chicken with tofu or eggplant and make a yummy vegetarian dish that will leave you full and satisfied.
And this dish freezes wonderfully! Make a double batch and freeze the rest. Heat it up in the oven when you realize you forgot to go grocery shopping because you were too busy staring at blogs on your phone (true story…this actually happened to me) and it will be as good as the first time you made it!
So if you will excuse me…I am going to put on a sari and some famous Bollywood music and trot away to make this fabulicious dish!
First we need to make a marinade for ournice lean boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You can use the breast as well, I just find the thighs are way more flavorful. A mixture of Greek plain yogurt, cilantro, lime, garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, salt and pepper gets placed into a food processor or a blender. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ goes the blender.
Grama masala you can find online or in Indian grocery stores. In fact, most decent grocery stores will have it in their ethnic section. And if not, there’s always Amazon 🙂 It is the heart of Indian dishes and combines several spices includingcoriander seeds,cumin seeds,black peppercorns,black cumin seeds (shahjeera),dry ginger,black cardamom,cloves,cinnamon andbay leaves. It gives Indian dishes its telltale flavor.
In the meantime, cut off any access fat off the chicken and place into a large ziplock bag. Pour marinade over it and let it sit for 2-24 hours.
Slice one shallot, mince 4 garlic cloves and 1 inch sized piece of ginger.
Place 2 tbsp of olive oil into a large pan and heat up on high. Place the chicken into the pan making sure not to over crowd it and sear until gorgeous and golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.
Remove the golden brown chicken and set aside.
Turn the heat to medium and place 1 tbsp of butter into the pan.
Add in your shallots, garlic and ginger. Let them sweat for 3-4 minutes until they are nice and fragrant.
Pour in one 15 oz can of Red Gold Tomatoes or any brand of choice.
Let this reduce a bit for 2-3 minutes. Then go ahead and add in your one can of lite coconut milk.
And to make the sauce a bit thicker, pour in a cornstarch slurry, equal parts corn starch and cool water. It will start thickening up as soon as your mixture comes to a boil…so preferably do this once your mixture is boiling.
Add in your chicken thighs and let it simmer for another 7-8 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Turn off the heat and add in some frozen peas.
Sprinkle with some cilantro and serve with naan or over rice.
*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.*
Chicken Tikka Masala…Featuring Red Gold Tomatoes
Ingredients
Scale
For the marinade
- inch nubs of ginger (1)
- 3 whole cloves of garlic
- 1 Tbsp . Garam Masala
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 small handful of cilantro (about a 1/4 cup washed)
- juice of one lime
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp of water (this will get the marinade a bit more liquidy)
- 2.5 pounds boneless (skinless chicken thighs)
Sauce
- 1 tbsp of butter
- 1 large shallot sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1 inch of ginger (minced)
- 1 can of Red Gold Diced Tomatoes or comparable
- 1 can of lite coconut milk
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup of frozen peas
- limes to garnish
- cilantro to garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First we need to make a marinade for our nice lean boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You can use the breast as well, I just find the thighs are way more flavorful. A mixture of Greek plain yogurt, cilantro, lime, garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, salt and pepper gets placed into a food processor or a blender. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ goes the blender.
- In the meantime, cut off any access fat off the chicken and place into a large ziplock bag. Pour marinade over it and let it sit for 2-24 hours.
- Slice one shallot, mince 4 garlic cloves and 1 inch sized piece of ginger.
- Place 2 tbsp of olive oil into a large pan and heat up on high. Place the chicken into the pan making sure not to over crowd it and sear until gorgeous and golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.
- Remove the golden brown chicken and set aside.
- Turn the heat to medium and place 1 tbsp of butter into the pan.
- Add in your shallots, garlic and ginger. Let them sweat for 3-4 minutes until they are nice and fragrant.
- Pour in one 15 oz can of Red Gold Tomatoes or any brand of choice. Let this reduce a bit for 2-3 minutes. Then go ahead and add in your one can of lite coconut milk.
- And to make the sauce a bit thicker, pour in a cornstarch slurry, equal parts corn starch and cool water. It will start thickening up as soon as your mixture comes to a boil…so preferably do this once your mixture is boiling.
- Add in your chicken thighs and let it simmer for another 7-8 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Turn off the heat and add in some frozen peas.
- Sprinkle with some cilantro and serve with naan or over rice.
Notes
Grama masala you can find online or in Indian grocery stores. In fact, most decent grocery stores will have it in their ethnic section. And if not, there’s always Amazon 🙂 It is the heart of Indian dishes and combines several spices including coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, black cumin seeds (shahjeera), dry ginger, black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves. It gives Indian dishes its telltale flavor.
***Originally posted June 14th 2014***
