Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into bite size (about 1 inch) pieces
Extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garam masala (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee), or more as needed
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger, or more to taste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 (13 ounce) can coconut milk
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garam masala (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee), or more as needed
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger, or more to taste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 (13 ounce) can coconut milk
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
Put chicken into a gallon ziploc bag or airtight container. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and add spice mix. Toss to coat. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.
When you're ready to cook, use a Dutch oven or deep skillet to put some color on the chicken. No need to fully cook yet. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
Cook onion and peppers in residual chicken juices and oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent, then add garlic, ginger, and tomato paste. Cook until the aromas bloom, about a minute. Smells great, doesn't it?
Add diced tomatoes and coconut milk, and bring to a full simmer.
Put the chicken back in the pan, stir, cover.
Cook on low/medium heat for 10 minutes until chicken is tender and fully cooked, and sauce thickens a bit. Add cilantro and lime juice, and stir it in.
Serve mixed with broccoli over coconut lime cilantro rice or noodles in a deep bowl.
When you're ready to cook, use a Dutch oven or deep skillet to put some color on the chicken. No need to fully cook yet. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
Cook onion and peppers in residual chicken juices and oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent, then add garlic, ginger, and tomato paste. Cook until the aromas bloom, about a minute. Smells great, doesn't it?
Add diced tomatoes and coconut milk, and bring to a full simmer.
Put the chicken back in the pan, stir, cover.
Cook on low/medium heat for 10 minutes until chicken is tender and fully cooked, and sauce thickens a bit. Add cilantro and lime juice, and stir it in.
Serve mixed with broccoli over coconut lime cilantro rice or noodles in a deep bowl.
Notes:
Prep the chicken, onions and the peppers ahead of time to make it even easier to cook. When you're ready, you can just throw it all together. You've heard of mise-en-place, right?
You can add 1/2 cup of chicken broth to stretch and thin the sauce. But why would you?
Add some red pepper flakes when cooking the onions if you like more heat (we do!). Substitute 2 jalapeños for the green pepper, and/or habenero powder for the cayenne, too.
Use reduced fat coconut milk. Full fat is fine, but doesn't add anything but more fat and calories. Nobody needs that.
You can make the spice mixture days or even weeks in advance. Just keep it stored in an airtight container. I like to make a big batch ahead of time so I don't have to mess with all those spice jars every time we make it. And we make this a lot.
Like this:
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup garam masala
1/3 cup ground cumin
1/4 cup ground coriander
1/4 cup smoked paprika
1/4 cup ground turmeric
2 Tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
(Enough for 12 batches. Or fewer, if you go extra heavy on the spices, like me.)
You can add 1/2 cup of chicken broth to stretch and thin the sauce. But why would you?
Add some red pepper flakes when cooking the onions if you like more heat (we do!). Substitute 2 jalapeños for the green pepper, and/or habenero powder for the cayenne, too.
Use reduced fat coconut milk. Full fat is fine, but doesn't add anything but more fat and calories. Nobody needs that.
You can make the spice mixture days or even weeks in advance. Just keep it stored in an airtight container. I like to make a big batch ahead of time so I don't have to mess with all those spice jars every time we make it. And we make this a lot.
Like this:
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup garam masala
1/3 cup ground cumin
1/4 cup ground coriander
1/4 cup smoked paprika
1/4 cup ground turmeric
2 Tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
(Enough for 12 batches. Or fewer, if you go extra heavy on the spices, like me.)