Chicken Tikka Masala

-
During a brief period of my life, which I like to refer to as my Plump Years, my affection for certain foods was limited only by my willpower. Of which I had none. And while I would certainly doff my cap to the makers of those delightful Haribo gummied bears or the entire pantheon of Cheetos snacks, I would be remiss if credit were not given to a dish which, even now, I have trouble putting down. Chicken Tikka Masala, you test the limits of my will! And I love you for it.

The problem was twofold. First, there was an all you can eat Indian buffet near my law school that served CTM. And the answer was "I can eat 5 plates of rice and Chicken Tikka Masala before I need a nap." Second, there was an amazing delivery joint near my house, specializing in Subs, Pizza, and Indian food (and yes, they did all 3 amazingly well), meaning that on a good day, I could polish off 4 pounds of CTM during my lunch break, then head home and order CTM delivery, eating half for dinner, and the other half for "later dinner."

Look ... I have a problem. Chicken Tikka Masala might just be the best food I have ever ingested. ... Please don't tell Wings I said that ...

I have searched far and wide for a good, simple Chicken Tikka Masala recipe to make at home. This one, from Bon Appetit, fits the bill entirely! A simple marination, a simmering of the sauce for 40 minutes, broiling the chicken until its starting to blacken and crisp up, and suddenly you're having Chicken Tikka Masala to rival the best restaurant version you've ever tried.

This recipe makes a lot. Easily enough for 4-6 people. Or for one CTM addict to eat every day for 4 days.

In a "that's a simple touch" add-on, when I made my basmati rice for this dish, I added some cloves and some cardamom pods. This little trick made for some of the most fragrant rice I've ever had at home, and made the entire apartment smell delightful. Great for making your neighbors jealous!

Do not be afraid of this recipe at all. Just be sure to get extra of the garasm masala (grab this at Whole Foods in their bulk spices section) so you have it on hand for the cauliflower jalfrezi recipe I posted earlier.




Ingredients

  • 6 garlic cloves, grated
  • 4 tsp ginger, grated
  • 4 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1.5 cups whole-milk yogurt (not Greek yogurt!)
  • 1 Tbs kosher salt
  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets
  • 3 Tbs ghee (clarified butter) or vegetable oil
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced (see pic above)
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 6 cardamom pods, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 28 oz can whole tomatoes
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup cilantro


To Prepare:
  1. In a small bowl, combine the garlic and ginger, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cumin.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, salt, and half of the spice mixture. Add the chicken, submerging completely. Cover this bowl and refrigerate for 4-6 hours. Cover the remaining spice mixture, and refrigerate this as well.

  3. 4-6 hours later: Heat your ghee or vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, tomato paste, cardamom, and red pepper flakes. Stir until the onion has become soft and started to darken, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining spice mixture and continue to cook for 5 minutes.

  4. Add the can of tomatoes, juices and all, breaking the tomatoes apart with the back of your spoon. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan as you stir. Add the cream and the cilantro to the pot. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens - approximately 40 minutes.

  5. Preheat your broiler. Cover a baking sheet with foil, then place a rack on the sheet. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in a single layer on the wire rack. Broil the chicken until it begins to blacken, approximately 5-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chicken).

     
  6. When the chicken has blackened, remove it from the broiler. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, and, when the sauce has finished thickening, add the chicken to the sauce. Cook for an additional 8-10 minutes to ensure the chicken is cooked through.
  7. Serve over a bed of steamed basmati rice. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro.


Et voila!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Homemade Pizza with a Spicy Pepperoni Sauce

-
Image
The keys to a good pizza, in my humble opinion, all rely on minimization. A good crust, light on the sauce (but let's intensify that sauce, shall we?), easy on the toppings, washed down with a nice IPA. There are few things better in life than good pizza and a beer. And believe me when I tell you, a little bit of this pepperoni sauce goes a very long way. Resist the urge to drown your pizza in it, or to bathe in it yourself. Like all good things, it should be enjoyed with restraint and moderation. HAHAHA. Psyche! You're going to want a straw for that junk! Baking and food blogging are new to me. When you start a new hobby, there are so many things you can do to make huge improvements on the front end. In the early stages, changes and purchases are improvements of miles; later in the game, major changes and purchases are improvements of inches. In terms of moving ahead miles with this new blog project, I have recently acquired: a light source and reflector (expect impr
Read more

Argentine-style Pork Chop with Chimichurri

-
Image
Time to shake off the dust and get things going again here, folks! So here's a recipe I concocted that's perfect for summer grilling and meat-loving. Things of note before we get into it: as my friend Cookie put it, "Argentine-style pork chop is called steak." Yes yes, I know, Cookie, I know. Thing is, I recently partook of the annual Pig Share with some friends and, with a freezer burtsing at the seams with pork products, right now I'm playing a little month-long game called "but can you put pork in it?" Spoiler: the answer is always yes. So fine, "Argentine-style" and "pork chop" may not fit with tradition. But you know what? Who cares? This pork chop tastes gooooood. After looking at a bunch of Argentinian steak marinade recipes and sauces, I mapped out this little ditty on my own. First off - citrus. I went with orange over the sour of lemor or the tart of lime, because I figured the sweetness would intensify when ca
Read more

Andouille and Sweet Potato Hash

-
Image
The first time I ever had hash, I was in high school. I'd spent the night at my friend Rob Dentry's house, and in the morning his father made us corned beef hash. We smothered it in hot sauce, and I ate until my stomach hurt. It was one of the most delicious things I'd ever had, and I think some part of me wondered why, in a childhood where I grew up eating scrapple and Taylor Pork Roll and S.O.S. (chipped beef gravy), my family had deprived me of this delicious, salty, starchy vehicle for Crystal Hot Sauce. To be fair, everything can be turned into a viable vehicle for Crystal Hot Sauce. At any rate, years later, after the baptism of my godson, the lot of us went out to breakfast. This is where I first experienced corned beef hash in a non-cat food state. Giant chunks of tender but crisped corned beef (rustic), with a perfectly poached egg on top. This was the elevation of something I never knew could be elevated. It was only in the last year that I first came up
Read more