Recipe
of the week……….Chicken Tikka Masala
As
far as my knowledge goes about Chicken Tikka Masala is that it is known as the
national dish of Britain and came about into existence through a gentleman that
used to frequent an Indian restaurant and always ate the same chicken Tikka
dish but always complained to the chef that it needed a sauce of sorts to go
with it as it is dry, so eventually the chef had had enough and went back to
the kitchen, put some tomatoes and spices into a pot cooked it up quickly and
pour it over the chicken Tikka and the rest is history……
Difficulty:
Medium
Serves
4-6
Prep
Time: 1 hour
Cooking
Time 2 hours
Chicken
Tikka Masala
Ingredients:
For
marinade:
500ml
thick Greek yoghurt
1/2
Cup Chopped Coriander
¼
Cup Chopped Ginger
¼
Cup Crushed Garlic
½
Cup Garam Masala
¼
Cup Crushed Chilli’s or 2 fresh red chilli’s finely chopped with seeds
¼
Cup Lemon Juice
2
kg Chicken Breast Fillet cut into chunks, or chicken thighs (chicken on the
bone with skin on to me makes much tastier curry)
For
the sauce:
1
Onion finely chopped
2
TBSP crushed Garlic
2
TBSP Ground Cardomom
2
Tins Whole peeled tomatoes
¼
Cup Garam Masala
2
tsp cayenne pepper (if you like it hot add more)
¼
cup brown sugar
500ml
cream
Salt
to taste
½
cup flaked almonds
Preparation:
blitz
the chopped coriander and all other marinade ingredients (except the yoghurt)
to a smooth paste in a food processor.
Pour
the above mix into a large bowl and add yoghurt. Mix well. Add the chicken and
mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate. Allow to marinate overnight.
Preheat
your oven to 220˚c. Place the chicken onto a roasting tray and roast until
cooked through.
To
make the sauce: Heat the oil in a deep pan on a medium heat and add the onion.
Cook till soft.
then
add the cardamom and the garlic. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add
the garam masala, brown sugar, tinned tomatoes, almonds and mix well. Cook for
around 1 to 2 hours on a low heat.
Add
the grilled Chicken Tikkas (chunks/ pieces) and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.
Add
the cream and mix well. Turn off the flame.
Garnish
the dish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot naan breads, sambals and
chutney.
