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Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

For the marinade

  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 tsp ginger, finely grated
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp sweet paprika or kashmiri chili powder
  • 150 ml plain yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
  • 800g skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed

For the sauce

  • 50g cashews
  • 50 ml whole milk
  • 3 Tbsp. ghee or butter or olive oil
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 green cardamom pods, whole
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 3 medium onions, divided (2 thinly diced, 1 cut into rough chunks)
  • 1 green chilli
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 inch ginger, grated
  • 400g canned crushed tomatoes
  • 4 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 bunch coriander leaves and stems
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 50 ml heavy cream
  • 1 green capsicum, cut into rough chunks
  • 1 red onion, cut into rough chunks

Method

  1. Combine the minced garlic (6 cloves), ginger (4 tsp), turmeric (2 tsp), garam masala (1 tsp), ground coriander (1 tsp), ground cumin (1 tsp), paprika or chili powder (1/2 tsp), yogurt (150 ml), and salt (1 Tbsp) in a big bowl. Mix well. Add cubed chicken (800g) and mix thoroughly so all sides of chicken are coated. Refrigerate for 2-8 hours.
  2. Combine cashews (50 grams) and milk (50 ml) and set aside for as long as chicken is marinating.
  3. Heat oven to 200°C/400°F. Spread marinated chicken on a baking sheet. Make sure the pan isn't crowded—you want there to be enough space for each piece to brown on 5 sides. You may need to use 2 baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.
  4. Heat ghee (3 tbsp) in a big pot. Add ground cumin (1 tsp), bay leaves ('2'), green cardamom pods (6), cinnamon (1/2 tsp) and fry for 30 seconds. Add thinly diced onions (2) and green chilli (1) and fry until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
  5. Add minced garlic (3 cloves) and ginger (1 inch grated) and fry for 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes (400g can), cover and turn heat to low, letting everything come together for 15 minutes.
  6. Add tomato paste (4 tbsp) and coriander stems (1 bunch). And let sit covered for another 10 minutes.
  7. Add about 1/2 cup of water to deglaze the pan and rehydrate the sauce.
  8. Add coriander (1 tsp), garam masala (1 tsp), and turmeric (1 tsp).
  9. Pulse cashews (50 g) and milk (50 ml) in a food processor until smooth. If needed, add some of the sauce mixture to the food processor to help homogenize the mixture. Depending on how much texture you like in your curry, process as much or as little of the sauce with the cashew mixture as you like.
  10. Add the cooked chicken back into the pot with the sauce. Add heavy cream (50 ml). Add green capsicum chunks (1) and red onion chunks (1) and let simmer until vegetables become slightly tender but still crunchy, about 5 minutes.
  11. Garnish with coriander leaves.