Easy chicken tikka masala is a classic recipe from Indian and British cuisine. And a recipe that you can easily make yourself and which is super tasty.
One of the best Indian / British dishes is surely Chicken Tikka Masala. Not only do I really enjoy the flavors. The joy starts with the preparation. While you're cooking all the fragrances are released. The whole house smells delicious. And if the dish then finally stands on the table, then it fills up all expectations. My Tikka Masala dish is an adaptation of the recipe from Jamie Oliver.
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What exactly is tikka masala?
Tikka is the Indian name for chicken that is marinated in spices combined with yogurt and then fried or roasted. Masala is the spice mixture, the curry, in which it's stewed.
Sometimes the sauce is colored with food coloring turning it into a bright red or orange curry. However the coloring doesn't add extra flavor, it's just a nice touch for the eye. This chicken tikka masala is quite a popular dish that is made and eaten all over the world.
Is tikka masala an Indian or British recipe?
A good and quite unexpected question. The Tikka, roasted chicken, is clearly a recipe from the Indian kitchen. It is widely made and eaten throughout India.
But if you are ever in India and are tempted to order Tikka Masala, it turns out that it is not a traditional recipe. Curries are not common in traditional Indian cuisine. It's an addition originated by British influences, who like to see their meat served in a gravy sauce. So that's why the Masala sauce is the British addition to this recipe. And therefore Tikka Masala is an Indian and British recipe.
Ingredients for tikka masala
Don't be alarmed by the list of ingredients, it will cost you some weighing, but once you have put everything together you will see that it is actually very simple to make.
The recipe for this stew
A printable recipe in easy steps can be found at the bottom of this blog.
Step 1: In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for this spicy marinade. Divide this paste into two portions. Place portion 1 in a large bowl and mix this with the yogurt. Marinate the chicken in this first bowl and keep it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Melt butter in the pan and add the other half of the spice mixture. Let this fry briefly and then add the marinated chicken cubes. Fry the chicken on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Spoon the tomato paste into the pan and fry briefly. Add the water, salt, and ground cashew nuts and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Stir in the cream and third tablespoon of garam masala. Season with lime and serve immediately. This recipe is delicious with rice and a salad.
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📖 Recipe
Easy chicken tikka masala
Ingredients
Spice mixture
- 6 cloves garlic
- 7 cm ginger
- 2 hot pepper
- olive oil
- 1½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika ground
- 2 teaspoons cumin ground
- 2 teaspoons coriander ground
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 200 mL yoghurt
Tikka masala
- 800 grams chicken breast each chicen breast cut into six
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 onions
- 30 grams tomato paste
- 30 grams cashew nuts
- 500 mL water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 100 ml cream
- 1 lime juice
Instructions
Preparation
- Peel the garlic and ginger. Grate both fine.
- Halve the peppers and take out the seeds. Cut in small pieces.
- Divide each chicken breast in six pieces.
- Peel the onion and slice them fine.
- Ground the cashew nuts.
- Juice the lime.
- Weigh and measure the remaining ingredients and put them at your counter.
Spice mixture
- Mix in a bowl the ginger, garlic, pepper, mustard, paprika, cumin, ground coriander and 2 tablespoons garam marsala.
- Mix the mixture well and put half of this mixture into a large bowl.
Marinate
- Pour the yogurt also in the large bowl and mix well with the spices to get a marinade.
- Place the chicken with the yogurt marinate and mix so that everything is well coated and leave for half an hour to marinate in the fridge.
tikka masala
- Melt the butter in a pan and add the onions and the other half of the spice mixture .
- Leave for 5 minutes on low heat and then add the chicken.
- Bake the chicken for about 10 minutes on medium heat.
- Add the tomato paste, cook for 2 minutes and then pour in the water, salt and ground nuts.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn of the heat and add the cream and 1 tablespoon garam marsala.
- Season to taste with the lime juice.
This is a long list of ingredients, but this recipe isn't intimidating! All those ingredients just means LOTS of flavor!