/chicken-tikka-masala-recipe

Nader's chicken tikka masala recipe

Nader's Chicken Tikka Masala recipe

Pictures of Nader's Chicken Tikka Masala

This is one of my favorite dishes, and a lot of people who eat this tell me it's one of their favorite meals as well. They often ask for the recipe, so I decided to open source it. This will probably evolve over time as I improve and experiment with it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Chicken marinade

  • 28 oz boneless and skinless chicken thighs or tenders cut into 1 inch cubes or so
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
  • 3.5 teaspoons chicken tikka masala seasoning (MDH or Shan brand)
  • 1/4 teaspoon Kashmiri chili (or 1/4 teaspoon ground red chili powder)
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 3 tablespoons butter for sauteing / cooking the chicken

Sauce

  • 5-8 tablespoons butter
  • 3 small onions (or 1 - 1.5 large onion) finely diced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic finely grated
  • 1 teaspoon ginger finely grated
  • 3.5 teaspoons chicken tikka masala seasoning (MDH or shan brand)
  • 12-14 oz  tomato puree / tomato sauce2 medium fresh tomatoes diced
  • 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups of heavy or thickened cream
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup water if needed

Instructions

The chicken

  • Put the chicken in a bowl with all of the ingredients of the chicken marinade, stir everything together well and let it sit for 10 minutes to a few hours

  • In a frying pan, add butter and saute the chicken until it is fully cooked and browned on each side. Set to the side until later.

The gravy

  • In a large and tall cooking pot, melt the butter and fry the onions until soft while stirring occasionally.

  • Add ginger and garlic and let cook for just about 30 seconds while continuing to stir. Then add chicken tikka masala seasoning, pepper, and salt.

  • Add in tomatoes and tomato sauce. Let this simmer until the tomatoes start to break down.

  • Once the tomatoes are breaking down, use a masher to crush the tomatoes and onions into a paste / sauce with no large pieces left

  • Add the heavy cream and the brown sugar, stir everything in. Finally, add the chicken and let it simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. From here, check the consistency and decide to your taste to add more cream or water.

Serve with butter rice or naan bread. 🚀