Indian Food: Chiken Tikka Masala

Hello fellows!

Pinu the Chef with the spicy flavours of India has arrived to share a nice and tasty recipe.

First of all, my apologies to my dear bloggers, it's been a long week and now I am ready to discover the wonderful Indian cuisine with you. While checking your votes, I found out that all the options had one vote only, it was a tie! so I decided to go for the first option for this weekly post. 

For next week we have mexican food, vote for your favourite one!

A thing you have to know: this recipe has changed throughout time, it's well known by many cultures and countries, so bear in mind that there IS NOT only one way of cooking this dish. 

There are recipes and videos for you to be delighted in this post, so don't miss it!

Chiken Tikka Masala: Enjoy! 

Ingredients (Servings 3) 

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1st Marinade

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon red chili powder (preferably kashmiri type)

2nd Marinade

• 4 tablespoons yogurt
• 2 tablespoons double cream
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon mustard oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon garam masala
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves, crushed (kasoori methi)
• salt

Tomato Masala 

• 6 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons coriander seeds
• 5 cm cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cloves
• 4 green cardamom pods, slightly crushed
• 4 black peppercorns
• 1 ³⁄₄ lbs tomatoes, cut in half

Gravy

• 6 tablespoons ghee
• 4 ounces onions, finely chopped
• 1 ounce blanched almond, toasted almonds
• 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
• 1 tablespoon double cream
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 2 green chilies, finely chopped
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon turmeric
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon paprika
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 -3 teaspoons honey
• 1 processed cheese slice
• 6 tablespoons double cream
• 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves, crushed
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon garam masala
• salt
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped

Directions 

Check the videos below, bear in mind that the directions are the same, though not the ingredients.

1. Mix ingredients for the first marinade. Add chicken pieces and marinate for 25-30 minutes. Dry-roast coriander seeds in frying pan over a medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add cumin seeds and dry-roast for 30 seconds. Grind these spices in blender, or mortar & pestle, then mix them in non-metallic bowl with other ingredients for second marinade. Salt to taste, and add chicken pieces. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
2. Thread the marinated chicken pieces onto metal or pre-soaked wooden skewers. Pre-heat a grill, chargrill or grill pan to hot. Grill the skewered chicken, turning a few times, so that the chicken gets cooked evenly from all sides. Remove the chicken from the grill. Take the pieces off the skewers and place on a plate.
3. For tomato masala heat ghee, or oil in frying pan. When the ghee is ready, turn the heat to medium-high and fry coriander seeds and cinnamon stick for 1 minute. Add bay leaves, cloves, green cardamoms and black peppercorns, and fry for 1 more minute. Now add halfed tomatoes and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add 125 ml of hot water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cover with a lid. After 20 minutes remove skin from the tomatoes and continue to simmer until the tomatoes have completely disintegrated. Now remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves from tomato masala and blend it with a hand-held blender and pass it through a sieve to obtain smooth puree. Set this masala aside.
4. For the gravy heat the ghee in frying pan. When the ghee is hot, add the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Fry for 10-15 minutes, or until onions are tender and golden.
5. In the meantime, put almonds and desiccated coconut in blender and grind to powder. Now grind this almond-coconut powder with double cream and a little water to make a fine paste.
6. When the onions are golden add garlic, ginger, and green chillies, and fry for 1 minute. Then add turmeric, paprika and cumin and saute for 30 seconds. Put in the tomato masala, almond-coconut paste, tomato paste, honey and 125 ml of hot water. Cook for 10 minutes, or until sauce starts to thicken. Remove the curry sauce from the heat, and blend it again with the hand-held blender until smooth. Return to a clean pan, reheat again and add cheddar cheese. When the cheese is melted, slowly whisk in the cream. Add dry fenugreek leaves, garam masala and salt to taste. Put in the chicken pieces and stir for 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
7. To finish the dish, stir in the chopped coriander leaves. Serve with naan bread or pilau rice.

This is the traditional way of preparing CTMasala.

And this one is the hot spicy way of preparing it (add English subs)

I hope you enjoy preparing this dish and marvel your guests or family with this spectacular indian food!

For the ones who voted for the other recipes, check this links:

• Indian Chiken butter (Murgh Makhani) With Jamie Oliver
• Sweet & Sour Lentil Dhal With Maunika Gowardhan
• Paneer Butter Masala (hmmm yummy!!) With Vahchef 

 Have a lovely weekend!

 Pinu