Chicken tikka masala
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photographs by Catherine Gratwicke
Chicken tikka masala
Recipe by Anjum Anand
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
411Kcal
Fat
31gr
Saturates
16gr
Carbs
8gr
Sugars
7gr
Protein
26gr
Salt
0.7gr
Anjum Anand
Anjum is a British-Indian cook with a passion for healthy food and incredible Indian flavours. She has written eight colourful cookery books showcasing authentic and vibrant Indian dishes
Anjum Anand
Anjum is a British-Indian cook with a passion for healthy food and incredible Indian flavours. She has written eight colourful cookery books showcasing authentic and vibrant Indian dishes
Ingredients
For the tikka marinade
- 3-4 tsp lemon juice (depending on the tartness of the yogurt)
- 100g Greek yogurt
- 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and grated into a paste
- 10g fresh root ginger (peeled weight), grated into a paste
- ¼-½ tsp chilli powder
- 1½ tsp paprika powder, for colour (optional)
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the curry
- 6 boneless chicken thighs
- 20g fresh root ginger, peeled weight
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 75g butter
- 1 black cardamom pod
- 6 green cardamom pods (optional)
- 2cm cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 500g vine tomatoes, blended to a fine purée
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2-4 small green chillies, whole but pierced
- 75ml single cream, or to taste
- 1 tsp sugar, or to taste
- ¼-½ tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp paprika powder, or to taste
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 rounded tsp dried fenugreek leaves, crushed to a powder (optional)
- a small handful of coriander leaves, to serve
Step by step
Get ahead
Make up to the end of step 2 a day ahead
- Mix together all the marinade ingredients with 1 tsp salt. Add the chicken and marinate, preferably overnight, covered, in the fridge.
- Blend together the ginger and garlic for the curry, using a little water to help. Heat the oil and half the butter in a large nonstick saucepan and add the whole spices. Once they have sizzled for 15 seconds, add the ginger and garlic paste; cook until all the moisture has evaporated and the garlic smells mellow and looks grainy. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée and cook down until the resulting paste releases oil; it should take around 20 minutes. Now brown this paste over gentle heat, stirring often, for 6-8 minutes, or until it darkens considerably. Pour in 250ml water, bring to a boil, then pass through a sieve, pressing down to extract as much liquid and flavour as possible from the tomatoes and spices. Discard the solids. Set the sauce aside.
- Heat the oven to 240°C, fan 220°C, gas 9, ideally with the grill on too, if your oven can do that. Place the chicken on a foil-lined baking tray on the uppermost shelf of the oven and cook for 8 minutes, or until slightly charred. Remove from the oven. The chicken will finish cooking in the sauce. Cut or pull the meat into large chunks.
-
Heat the remaining butter and add the green chillies. Add the sauce, salt and a good splash of water and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken, cream, sugar, chilli powder and enough paprika to get a colour you like, then add the garam masala and the powdered fenugreek leaves, if using. Simmer, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken is done and the sauce is lovely and creamy. You may need to add a little more water. Taste and adjust the balance to your palate by adding more salt, sugar or cream. Sprinkle over the coriander leaves and serve.TipTaste carefully while you cook, as the sweet/sour balance of tomatoes changes with the season and variety. Do not use plum tomatoes; they're too sweet. Serve with naan or paratha.
