Chicken Tikka Masala
This recipe comes from one of the world’s greatest chefs, Heston Blumenthal (Owner of the Fat Duck, 3 Michelin Stars), in a YouTube show called “In Pursuit of Perfection”. Heston is a crazy man - in his pursuit for Tikka Masala perfection, he tried to recreate a Tandoor oven by digging a 6 foot hole in his backyard and starting a massive fire in it. Thankfully, in this recipe we can use a conventional oven or barbeque.
Heston’s Video: Click Here
Time: 3 hours to 2 days (depending on marinade duration)
Difficulty: 3/5
Tested: YES
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes (can also use 6 chicken thighs)
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup plain yogurt (regular style, not Greek or Balkan)
2 tbsp minced garlic (about 6 small cloves)
1 tbsp minced ginger root
2 tsp kosher salt (1.5 tsp table salt)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp paprika powder
5 bamboo skewers (soaked in cold water for at least 30 mins)
Tikka Sauce
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion (finely chopped)
2 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp paprika powder
2 tsp ground coriander seed
2 tsp chilli powder
1 631 ml can tomato sauce
1 small can fire roasted chopped tomatoes
½ can (the fire roasted tomatoes can) of water
¼ cup cream or half-and-half
2 tbsp butter
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Naan bread and rice, to serve
Method
In a large rimmed baking dish, submerge the skewers in cold water using a plate to keep the skewers submerged.
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, yogurt, garlic, ginger, salt, cumin, garam masala, and paprika. Stir to combine. Place cubed chicken pieces in the sauce and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
While the chicken is marinating, heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil, diced onion, garlic, and ginger and sweat until onions are translucent but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.
Once onions are translucent and mixture fragrant, add the cumin, garam masala, turmeric, paprika, coriander, and chilli powder to the pot. Mix well and let spices cook off and become aromatic, about 1 minute.
Add the tomato sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, and water. Stir well. Still on medium-low heat, let sauce simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes stirring every 10 mins (we are trying to cook off liquids so don’t worry if sauce is getting thicker and volume reducing).
Once the sauce has been simmering for 30 mins, preheat conventional oven to 500 F.
Once oven is preheated, remove marinated chicken from the fridge. Ready a baking dish which is wide enough to balance the skewers sideways so that just the ends of the skewers touch the pan sides and there is at least 1 inch of clearance below the skewer in the pan.
Skewer the marinated chicken and place sideways on the baking sheet so that the chicken is suspended in the air and not touching the bottom of the dish. You may wish to put foil under the chicken so the clean up is easy!
Bake chicken in preheated oven for approximately 15 mins or until fully cooked. (165 F is safe cooking temp)
While chicken is baking, turn sauce heat down to low and add butter. Stir until dissolved.
Add cream to sauce and stir.
Remove chicken from oven and remove chicken cubes from skewers. Place cooked chicken in hot sauce and cook for 3-5 minutes over low heat.
Taste sauce for seasoning. Add a pinch of salt if needed.
Serve over rice with a garnish of cilantro and warm naan bread. Enjoy!
*NOTE: Instead of baking, using a BBQ is a great way to cook the chicken. You can either skewer and grill or, in a pinch, just leave the chicken pieces whole, grill them and cut them into cubes to then go into the sauce. I usually prefer the grill method if available.