One thing I like the most about the times we live in is the fact that we can easily access foreign stories, recipes and spices across borders. I come from Romania, and 10-12 years ago, I was barely finding soy sauce in our supermarkets. I used to travel to France and come back with bags full of noodles, soy sauce and spices. Now, I can find everything I need in my own town and I can enjoy the flavors from the comfort of my home.
When talking about Indian cuisine, I have a few favorites, but closest to my heart is tikka masala as it was the first Indian dish I ever tasted. Very interesting and also gentle and velvety, it was love at first site. So today I am preparing this dish in my own interpretation, while staying close to the traditional ingredients. Enjoy!
Easy chicken tikka masala
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 whole chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 250 g low fat Greek yogurt 2% fat
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tsp garam masala powder
- 3 tsp sweet paprika
- 3 tsp salt
- a pinch chilli flakes or to taste
Sauce
- 500 g tomato passata
- 200 g low-fat heavy cream 15% fat
- 100 ml tomato juice
- 100 ml hot water
- 30 g low fat butter 40% fat
- 7 garlic cloves minced
- 3 small yellow onions chopped
- 2 puffs olive oil
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp curcuma powder
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes or to taste
Rice
- 250 g white rice
- 1/2 tsp curcuma powder
- 1/2 tsp curry madras powder
- salt to taste
Garnishing
- 1 bundle fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Remove all fat traces and connective tissue from the chicken breasts, dice them into medium sized chunks, them add them to a large bowl. Add the remaining marinade ingredients and mix thoroughly. Taste the marinade sauce and check if you need more salt or boost up any of the spices (it's totally up to you). Wrap in cling foil and insert it in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
- Heat up a large frying pan on high heat. Add the marinated chicken chunks a single layer and cook on both sides until slightly brown. Take out the cooked meat (it won't be cooked all the way through) and set aside. Repeat the process with the remaining meat.Total cooking time here will depend on how large your pan is, your stove and how large the meat chunks are. but this process took me about 15 minutes and 3 batches to cool all the meat.
- In the meantime, boil the rice together with the spices, then completely drain. Season with salt if needed.
- Take a deep large frying pan and heat up on medium heat. Spray the olive oil and add the butter to melt.Add the chopped onions and minced garlic cloves. Stir for 1-2 minutes, then add all sauce spices and seasoning. Stir for half a minute to release the spiciness and then add the tomato passata and the tomato juice.Stir, cover with a lid and set to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the hot water, stir and set to simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat.(Optional) Take away from the heat and puree the sauce with an immersion blender.Add the chicken chunks and the cream and leave to simmer on medium to low heat for 15 minutes with the lid on. Take the lid away and check to see if the largest chicken chunk is cooked through. If it is, then you are all set, if not, leave to simmer until completely cooked, but be careful not to overcook it.
- Add the rice and chicken tikka masala to a deep serving plate, then garnish with freshly chopped parsley and enjoy!
