Chicken tikka masala is a rich and creamy curry that goes well with pulao, naan or roti. This curry is prepared using boneless chicken and with lots of cream for the silky texture. This curry is very similar to Butter Chicken. If you are a butter chicken fan then you should definitely try tikka masala as well. It doesn’t take much time to prepare and also doesn’t need any fancy ingredients except cream. I make this quite often because my children love tikka masala with pulao and roti. The other reason why I make this is very easy to carry for lunch box or picnic. Since we are using boneless chicken it is easy to eat with a spoon when we are having a picnic.
We can follow the same method and replace the chicken with paneer, mushroom or mixed vegetable for a vegetarian version. You don’t have to fry the vegetables before adding in the curry so it is an even more simple version. Pair this curry with Jeera rice, Peas Pulao, Ghee rice or even vegetable biryani for an excellent feast.
1. Shallow frying the chicken before adding them to the gravy is an important process.
2. Do not cook chicken fully before adding it to the gravy.
Here is the step by step process for Chicken Tikka Masala:
In a bowl, take 600 gms boneless chicken, 2 tbsp yogurt,
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tbsp chilli powder,
½ tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp coriander powder,
1 tbsp cumin powder, 1 tbsp garam masala,
Then add salt and mix well.
Now take a pan, add 5 tbsp oil, then add marinated chicken and cook them for 5 minutes on both sides.
Keep the half-cooked chicken aside. Then take another pan, add 4 to 5 tbsp oil,
Then add 1 finely chopped onion and saute till translucent.
Now add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and cook till you remove the raw smell.
Then add tomato puree and mix well. Then add salt,
1 tbsp chilli powder, 1 tbsp cumin powder,
Add little water to avoid burning. Cook till the oil separates from the masala. Make sure the onions are cooked and mashed well.
Now add fried chicken, ½ cup water and mix well.
Then cover the pan and cook for 8 to 10 minutes by stirring in between. Now open the pan and add ¼ cup fresh cream,
1 tbsp kasoori methi and give it a mix.
Serve with Pulao, Naan or Roti.
Boneless chicken is marinated with yogurt, Indian spices, ginger garlic and shallow fried the chicken in the oil. Then the fried chicken is mixed with the basic onion tomato masala, cream and kasoori methi to add extra flavour to the gravy.
Ingredients
Method
Notes
1. Use Boneless chicken to enjoy the real taste of tikka masala.
2. Shallow frying the chicken before adding them to the gravy is an important process.
3. Do not cook chicken fully before adding it to the gravy.
4. Always add kasoori methi at the end to avoid bitter taste in the gravy.
5. Adding cream is important to achieve rich and creamy gravy.
6. We can also add ground cashews for creamy texture.
Serve with Love