Chicken Tikka Masala

Prep Time:
30 Min

Cook Time:
50 Min

Ready In:
2 Hrs 20 Min

Ingredients

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 4 long skewers
•  
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 3 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat a grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.
4. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

I have visited 4 different Indian restaurants over the last 2 years (since being introduced to Indian food). I LOVE chicken tikka masala. This recipe tastes above and beyond all the restaurants I've been to. It's also at least twice as spicy. During my first attempt at this recipe I made it verbatim minus the salt. Turned out perfect but a bit spicy for my taste. My second batch was double. Again I left out the salt (per reviewers' suggestions) and halved the cayenne. Deliciously met my Indian food requirements. My suggestions to you all: 1. Leave out the salt altogether 2. The recipe as written is pretty spicy. Make it the first time as written (minus the salt), but if the spiciness is more/less what you want than modify it the next time. 3. Please don't diss this recipe without trying a few modifications of your own. This is the first chicken tikka masala recipe I ever tried. It turned out wonderfully, but it was way too spicy in the beginning and I listened to the salt warnings, so I modified it slightly. This is the only recipe I will ever use for this meal. !!!!! :-)Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
559 users found this review helpful I have visited 4 different Indian restaurants over the last 2 years (since being introduced to... Reviewed on Apr. 23, 2007 by HAWESA    This was sooo good! We loved it! I did make some changes. In the marinade, I used 1 tsp. garam masala instead of cinnamon, and only 1 tsp salt. I marinated all day. For the sauce, I used 3 cloves garlic. I doubled the amount of the sauce, which I would definitely recommend doing or there won't be enough to soak up with rice. :) For a doubled recipe, I used 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp paprika, and 3 tsp garam masala (garam masala is KEY!) and only 1/2 tsp salt. I used a 15oz can of tomato sauce and about 1.75 cups heavy cream (we'll try coconut milk next time). Seriously, this tasted just like the chicken tikka masala we get at our favorite Indian restaurant. Would be delicious with Naan! Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
441 users found this review helpful This was sooo good! We loved it! I did make some changes. In the marinade, I used 1 tsp.... Reviewed on Feb. 11, 2008 by MTV    Excellent with the following changes--1) For medium heat, omit all cayenne pepper. Believe it or not the black pepper in the marinade provides plenty of heat. 2) Choose a jalapeno pepper with a rounded tip & remove the seeds. The rounder the more mild, the more pointed the hotter the pepper. 3) Aside from a sprinkle of salt in the sauce, omit all salt. 4) If you don't want to fire up the grill, make a makeshift "grill" using a cookie rack over a foil-lined cookie sheet. Place the marinated chicken on the rack and broil on high (@ 5 min. each side) I also used thigh instead of breast meat & used olive oil instead of butter to saute the garlic & jalepeno. For easy sides, I served with basmati rice, naan, choli/garbanzo beans & raita (all from Trader Joes). Enjoy! Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
413 users found this review helpful Excellent with the following changes--1) For medium heat, omit all cayenne pepper. Believe it... '); Reviewed on May 2, 2003 by CALIMORTENSON    Good grief! This recipe as written has WAY too much salt in it! My fiance and I couldn't even finish it, the salt was overpowering. 7 teaspoons in all. I am going to try it again with about 1/2 teaspoon for each sauce (the marinade and the tomato cream sauce.) Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
169 users found this review helpful Good grief! This recipe as written has WAY too much salt in it! My fiance and I couldn't even... Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2007 by LisaDee    This is excellent, tastes just like at our local restaurant. I made the following changes: for the marinade I used 5 tsp of garam masala in place of the cumin/cinnamon/cayenne (it's a mixture of these spices and others.) I only used 1 tsp of pepper and 1 tsp of salt plus added two crushed garlic cloves. I marinated all day. For the sauce I added one chopped onion and my spice mixture was 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp garam masala, no salt. I excluded the jalapeno but added a dash of cayenne. Wonderful! The second time I made it I doubled the sauce to have lots of extra to top our basmati rice. Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
154 users found this review helpful This is excellent, tastes just like at our local restaurant. I made the following changes: ... Reviewed on Jan. 25, 2004 by CHTHONIC1239    This recipe was so delicious that my toes curled up, I fell over in a pleasure-induced coma, and floated to heaven! I will never have to go to an Indian restaurant again for my favorite dish! The other reviews are right, I used one teaspoon of salt for the marinade and one teaspoon of salt for the sauce, and that was plenty. I also added a teaspoon of garam masala to the sauce. Since it was rainy and dark outside, I couldn't use my grill, so I baked the chicken on a rack at 475 degrees until done, and it came out perfectly fine. I like extra sauce to soak my jasmine rice, so next time I will either add less chicken or more cream and tomato sauce. The Indian restaurant I used to frequent put some thinly sliced almonds for garnish so I may try that next time too. THIS RECIPE IS A KEEPER! Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
123 users found this review helpful This recipe was so delicious that my toes curled up, I fell over in a pleasure-induced coma,... '); Reviewed on Jun. 9, 2007 by JANICER8    We loved this. I did change a few things after reading a few other reviews. I only added 1/2 the jalapeno pepper, I reduced the salt to 1 tsp in the marinade, and 1/2 tsp in the sauce. I used 1 tsp of garam masala instead of cinnamon in the marinade. I doubled the sauce recipe and added 3 teaspoons of the garam masala to what was already called for. I also marinated the chicken 30 hours; I was going to just marinate it all day, but something came up and we were unable to cook it that night, so I just cooked it the next night. It was tender and delicious. We grilled it on the barbecue and served it over rice with Naan. Thanks for sharing this recipe! 5 Stars with the changes! Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
82 users found this review helpful We loved this. I did change a few things after reading a few other reviews. I only added 1/2... Reviewed on Jan. 25, 2004 by SESSASMOM    This was so salty, we couldn't even eat it! I should have salted to taste, but instead went by the recipe. I thought it would be okay since I like salt anyway. I really can't say how good it would be without all the salt, I can just tell you to definitely taste before you add! Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
62 users found this review helpful This was so salty, we couldn't even eat it! I should have salted to taste, but instead went... Reviewed on Oct. 20, 2006 by milpt    My husband and I love this recipe. have made it 3 times in a month. I followed other suggestions and reduced salt to a 1/4th and used red chilli peppers instead of cayenne. I also used the fat free half and half and is great. After the first time, I went to the World Market and but garam masala per another review and substitued that for the cumin in the sauce. The first time I thought there was too much cumin and reduced it in in the marinade. At first, the sauce doesn't taste anything like the restaurant, but when you put the marinated chicken in it, it changes the flavor. I am making it regularly, especially since I can't find plain yogurt in anything but a large size. Thank you for this delicious easy recipe. Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
61 users found this review helpful My husband and I love this recipe. have made it 3 times in a month. I followed other... Reviewed on Aug. 28, 2010 by Robbie Rice    Great recipe - TOO MUCH SALT! Reduce the salt at least by half in both the marinade and sauce. We are making this for the fourth time, so needless to say, it's a great recipe with that small change. Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
58 users found this review helpful Great recipe - TOO MUCH SALT! Reduce the salt at least by half in both the marinade and sauce....