To me, a delicious bowl of Chicken Tikka Masala is perfect comfort food. Being from California, where diversity abounds, there’s never a shortage of ethnic favorites.
In fact, I grew up in a city that proudly features its own Little Indian Town. Imagine Chinatown, but with a neighborhood full of Indian eateries and shops instead.
Funny little fact: Chicken Tikka Masala doesn’t have any origins from India. I was tickled to discover that the dish was actually invented in a London curry house.
Regardless of how it came about, it’s now one of the most popular dishes served up in favorite Indian restaurants everywhere. Good thing, because some of my all time favorites are found in those restaurants.
The only bummer: though I like my new turf, really good Indian restaurants around here are few. And the prices on those menus are double what I’m used to paying. What to do?
So obvious. Make it my mission to find the very best homemade recipe. If you can’t buy it, make it. Or something like that.
In my quest, I have tried numerous recipes for chicken tikka masala – some recipes were more involved than others, some were fully homemade, and some were partly homemade. But none of them really resembled the deep, rich, distinctive flavors of restaurant style chicken tikka masala.
Until now. Hubby and I agree that this is by far the best home cooked chicken tikka masala we’ve had.
Finally, finally a flavorful and robust chicken tikka masala that can easily be cooked up at home.
My boys are used to different spices, and they loved this stuff. Even the 3 year old, who doesn’t remember eating anything similar before, reached for thirds. Cooks Illustrated, how can we applaud thee? You are simply genius. With a capital G.
Some heavy cream aside, this dish is actually pretty healthy. Chicken breast, a diverse array of good spices, plain yogurt, tomatoes… it’s all the good stuff!
It goes fabulously with Basmati rice. Add a little saffron to your rice before cooking, and you’ve got the best accompaniment to your dish. You’ll want to pour the yummy sauce all over that rice and slurp it up, right down to the last grain.
This was such a success that I’m now eager to give another favorite Indian dish a shot.
Tandoori Chicken, anyone??? (Teaser below.)
P.S. There’s a fair variety of spices to this Chicken Tikka Masala. Try not to skip any of them, if at all possible. Each spice lends a special flavor to the overall dish, with all of the individual spices melding together perfectly. Results can’t be guaranteed if you change things up 🙂
PrintChicken Tikka Masala – This is IT!
This Chicken Tikka Masala is the only one we’ve tried that tastes just like it came from our favorite Indian restaurant. No need to go out for this anymore; make your own big batch at home and watch it disappear.
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: main dish
Ingredients
- FOR THE CHICKEN:
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts – dried well, pounded evenly flat
- 1 cup plain (unsweetened) whole milk yogurt
- 2 TB vegetable oil
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 TB ground garlic
- FOR THE SAUCE:
- 3 TB vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger (peeled)
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 2 TB garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
- 1 TB tomato paste
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- dashes of kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- For the Chicken: Combine salt, cumin, coriander, and cayenne in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of dry, evenly-pounded chicken with spice mixture, pressing in so mixture sticks. Place chicken in single layer and set aside. Whisk yogurt, oil, ginger, and garlic together in large bowl and set aside.
- For the Sauce (can be made a day or two before, without chicken): Heat oil in large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, tomato paste, and cook about 3 minutes. Add the rest of sauce ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce to medium low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lastly, stir in cream and return to simmer a few minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
- While sauce is keeping warm, place oven rack 6 inches from heat broiler. Dip chicken well into yogurt mixture, coating with thick layer of yogurt. Arrange each piece on wire rack set in foil-lined baking sheet or broiler pan. Broil chicken about 5-9 minutes, flip over halfway, and broil another 5-9 minutes. The exterior will be lightly browned in spots.
- Let chicken rest 5 minutes. Cut into bite size chunks and stir into warm sauce when ready to eat. Do not simmer chicken in the sauce. If sauce needs warming, warm it up first and then toss the chicken in when ready to serve. Lastly, season with kosher salt to taste, toss in fresh cilantro, and serve immediately over Basmati rice.
Source: Chew Out Loud, adapted from Cooks Illustrated Cookbook
Here are a few more seriously delicious Indian inspired recipes you won’t be sorry you made:
1. Tandoori Chicken. This is the closest you can get to that clay oven awesomeness you find at restaurants. Yum-a-licious.
2. Naan-like Grilled Flatbread at home? Fresh off your stove? Yes. Yes, you can.
3. Asian Scallion Pancakes (Green Onion Cakes) Yeah, this one’s Chinese rather than Indian, but I figure if you like Naan, you’ll adore these.
Probably my most favorite dish to order when out for a meal. Can’t wait to try making at home, how exciting.
This looks fabulous!! I will be giving this recipe a try! I tried making Chicken Tikka Masala about a year ago at a friends urging. I had never had it before and it’s one of his favorite dishes. I used a recipe I found on allrecipes. I should have read the reviews. It was sooooo over the top salty!! And I’m a bit of a salt fein! It called for like 7 teaspoons of salt! Against my better judgement, I used 5 not being familiar with the dish. Needless to say, it looked and smelled delicious but was a fail in the taste department. At least we’ve had a number of laughs over it! LOL!!!
Hope you have a massive success this time around! Kitchen bloopers are funny… but only after one has recovered from it, right? 😉
I tried this recipe tonight and it was fabulous!! Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing! No bloopers this time around. LOL!
Yay!! Success 🙂
I know what I am eating for Dinner tomorrow. Thanks so much, looks insane.
This looks awesome! I’ve been looking for a great homemade chicken curry-like dish. Now all you need is some hot and crispy naan bread to go with it!
This looks awesome! I’ve been looking for a homemade chicken curry-like recipe. Now all you need is some hot and crispy naan to go with it!
This looks delicious. I’ve written it in my book. Thanks.
Most amazing recipe! I made it tonight and actually felt compelled to comment on its greatness <3
Soooo glad you guys liked it! 🙂
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe! It’s definitely a hit and you deserve great credit. Thanks, also, for stopping by my humble blog. =)
I just got an electric pressure cooker. How do I adapt this recipe to use it?
I don’t own a pressure cooker, as I haven’t fully recovered from the scary memories of my dad’s old fashioned one. Heard the modern ones are less scary 🙂 Found this page for you, which is full of pressure cooker ideas, which might be helpful for you. Congrats on your new pressure cooker! http://peggyunderpressure.com/2011/01/tikka-masala/
This is maaagnificent! It tastes so authentic, a real good curry! My friend came over and were both only 17, we followed your recipe and it came out perfect! We were so proud, the creamy sauce is to die for. At first I was worried about just the can of tomatoes because it seemed that there wasn’t enough for the sauce, but after simmering for 10 minutes it flowed with juices. Thank you so much 🙂
Does your masala have curry and cinnamon in it? I always make sure to add extra of both of those two when making my own, and was curious.
Hi, Spenser! Yes, it has all the ingredients of a usual “curry powder.” Curry is typically comprised of such spices and cumin, coriander, tumeric, etc. I’m sure you can go ahead and add more of whatever spices you love, and it will work for you 🙂
Made this tonight for dinner. So, SO tasty! It wasn’t quite the same as most chicken tikka masalas that I’ve had before, but I think it was better and even more full-bodied. YUM!
Yay! So happy to hear it 🙂
Real newbee on the cooking scene but this is to die for! Its as good as any curry I have had if not better! Is a lot of work but well worth it!
It looks absolutely perfect..gonna try this recipe.. for more Indian chicken recipes http://chicken.org.in/
I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. We are eating it NOW and felt like we had to comment instantly on it’s greatness. Thanks!
Awesome 🙂 Thanks for letting us know – we love to hear how people like the food!
This was REALLY good! Not much like what I’m used to at Indian restaurants but still a really good flavor! For some reason mine turned out much more red than yours? I even added a tad extra cream thinking that was it but nope!
No matter, still wonderful! Chicken turned out really tender
Great to hear it, Jessica. Glad you guys liked it 🙂
Maybe I missed something but I was wondering how much chicken you use with this recipe. I’m new to making Indian Food and not quite sure what to be looking for.
Look under ingredients list “For the Chicken” and it specifies amounts 🙂 I hope you’ll love this recipe as much as we do! Enjoy!
Just made this tonight. It was outstanding! Thank you so much!
Yay, Jen! So happy to hear it 🙂 Thanks for coming over to let us know!
have you ever marinated the chicken in the yogurt before cooking?
Andrea, I just do it exactly as written and it turns out super 🙂
Pinterest is blocking your recipes 🙁 Says they lead to Spam (which obviously they do not. Thought you might not know this. Hoping you can contact them to correct this. I want to be able to Pin your recipes for easy access (as I am sure do many others!)
Wow, thank you so much for letting me know, PJ! I’m on it, emailed their team. I really hope they rectify it soon. I appreciate your note; I would never have known it until much later!
I made this yesterday and we both loved it. It will go into my recipe box and will be made again soon. Thank you for sharing!
You’re so welcome, Julia! Thanks for coming over 🙂
Will make this tomorrow but was wondering if you meant cover the wire rack with foil or line the pan with foil under the rack?
Oh, that’s a great Q, Jenn. I just updated the instructions to be a bit more clear. Use a wire rack that’s set in a foil-lined baking sheet. A broiler pan works great, too. Hope that helps. Thanks so much for coming over today. I hope you’ll absolutely LOVE this dish as much as we do! 🙂
I was just wondering if it would be possible to marinate the chicken in the yoghurt and spice mixture the day before ?
Patricia, I haven’t tried marinating that long before, but I’m guessing that you probably can. If you try it, I’d love to hear back on how it turned out 🙂 Thanks so much for being here today!
Hello want to make this now and was wondering if you put the broiler on low or high?
Hi, Nicole! I always put it on high broiler but watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn. Enjoy! Hope you guys love it! 🙂
Made this tonight! Oh my yum! I’m a ex Londoner living in Sydney and this recipe is the best I’ve eaten since I’ve been here!!! Thank you 🙂
Yay! So glad to hear it, Tina! 🙂 Thanks for coming over today.
Thank you for the Chicken Tikka Masala recipe! It is delicious! I am trying to expand my culinary experiences – breaking from the typical meat and potatoes of the Midwest. I made this with the assistance of my 8-year old grandson who loves to cook. He had a blast measuring and mixing all those spices! It smelled complex and lovely and a bit out of our comfort zone. The end result was a huge hit! My 6 year-old granddaughter, who doesn’t like meat and survives on fruits and veggies, had 4 small helpings! I have made it multiple times, following the recipe except for one single change – just a bit less grated fresh ginger as we are new to using it and are a bit timid on the heat spectrum for the little ones. I was anxious about so much garam masala because it smells like something that belongs in cookies – but oh my, what a rich, flavorful, sophisticated, but easy to make dish! I will be serving it again, and sharing the recipe with friends! Can’t wait to try another recipe from your collection. Thank you for sharing!
What a wonderful story, Ellen – thank you! Your comment brought a smile to my face 🙂 So very glad your family loved this, and so happy to hear you’re expanding your culinary fun 🙂
Going to try this recipe next weekend and just wondering if it is greek yogurt that should be used?
Debbi, Greek or whole plain yogurt will work. Excited for you to try it! 🙂
My sauce came out looking red instead of yellow like the picture. Am I doing anything wrong?
Joyce, I’m guess it might just be the color of specific brands of spices; or perhaps the tomato paste amounts were off? The color shouldn’t affect flavor, though, so hopefully it turned out yummy. Thanks for coming over and happy cooking!