Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe for fried chicken in a spicy creamy curry sauce

Chicken Tikka Masala, often abbreviated as CTM, is a curry dish of grilled marinated chicken in a spicy tomato sauce, widely served in Indian restaurants in Europe and North America, and is actually part of British cuisine.

The dish originated in post-war Britain as a way of bringing Indian food into line with English eating habits. There are different versions about the time and place of origin of the dish. According to one version, an Indian or Bengali cook served the traditional chicken tikka (grilled marinated chicken pieces) to an English guest. The guest was used to sauce being served with the meat. Therefore, the dish seemed too dry to him, so the cook improvised a sauce made of tomato soup and Indian spices.

Ingredients (serves 4)

800 g chicken thighs and chicken breast
800 g canned tomatoes
200 ml cream
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
3 cm fresh ginger
2 tbsp ground almonds
3 tbsp clarified butter (Ghee)
3 tsp garam masala
1-2 tsp chilli powder (e.g. Bhut Jolokia)
1 tsp sugar
Salt
Pepper

For the masala marinade

200 g yoghurt
2 cloves of garlic
3 cm fresh ginger
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cardamom seeds
½ -1 tsp chilli powder (Bhut Jolokia)
1 tsp turmeric
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:

Prepare the marinade the night before. To do this, peel and roughly chop the ginger and garlic. Then process the garlic and ginger into a paste in a mortar or food processor and mix with the yoghurt, tomato paste, cumin, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, salt and pepper. Stir all the ingredients together until smooth.

Cut the chicken breast into large bite-sized pieces and let it marinate overnight together with the chicken thighs.

Now peel and finely dice the onion, peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger. Fry everything with the clarified butter over medium heat for about 6 - 8 minutes until golden brown. Add the garam masala and chilli powder and fry for another 1 - 2 minutes.

Now add the canned tomatoes and sugar, stir everything well and let it simmer for about 20 - 25 minutes with the lid slightly open. The masala sauce should become nice and creamy. Stir occasionally.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to the highest grill setting. Remove as much marinade as possible from the chicken pieces and spread them on a baking tray. Cook under the oven grill for about 10 minutes until the meat is golden brown

Puree the masala sauce with a hand blender and then add the cream, ground almonds and chicken pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Chicken Tikka Masala is best served with basmati rice or naan bread.