Fry
Ultimate Chicken Tikka Masala
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49 Reviews
Michele
September 2, 2023
My husband & I made this dish together, a team effort and it was extremely well worth it! So excellent, but we used coconut cream for the sauce (we didn’t have dairy cream). The entire recipe is scrumptious, and the spices…my husband could not stop raving about it! Job well done. We’ll be making this recipe again and again!
hungryhouse
September 30, 2022
Looks Yummy!! I love chicken very much. I would love to see more recipes on Chicken.
If you are looking for chicken biryani home delivery then visit Hungry House, find your favourite restaurant near your home and get the food delivered at your doorstep.
If you are looking for chicken biryani home delivery then visit Hungry House, find your favourite restaurant near your home and get the food delivered at your doorstep.
[email protected]
March 1, 2022
So Delicious!! I work so I made this on the third day after marinating. It was time consuming but well worth it! The only thing is I forgot to roast the peppers. I'll make it again with the roasted peppers and I'm sure it will be even more delicious. SO many wonderful layers of flavor! Thank you!
Natalie T.
December 23, 2021
So yummy! Since I found this recipe I make it regularly. It's a bit spicy but has such a depth of flavor. It makes extra sauce which is great to mop up with flat bread or naan! (I recommend only one serrano pepper and pureeing the sauce before adding the chicken.)
Darian
March 2, 2021
Delicious! The only adaptation was to cook the chicken with marinade instead of grill. Remember to take out the whole cloves before adding to the sauce for this method - you do not want to bite into one of those! It was spicy but pleasantly so, not too much. The husband and kid served a little Greek yogurt on top to moderate the heat. Served over rice.
Hannah
April 26, 2020
I needed to turn this into a dairy-free version for myself, so I used cashew-yogurt and coconut milk. I’m just as happy with the coconut milk results as some other reviewers. I decided to make rice and roasted butternut to serve the chicken in and I’ve got to say, the quartered butternut becomes four perfect ladles for the tikka.
In the future, even if it becomes a far cry from tikka masala, I’ll marinate tofu and serve it over butternut for a meatless weekday meal. Thank you, LittleMissMuffet, for this idea!
In the future, even if it becomes a far cry from tikka masala, I’ll marinate tofu and serve it over butternut for a meatless weekday meal. Thank you, LittleMissMuffet, for this idea!
LittleMissMuffin
November 18, 2017
oh, I didn't want to wait for rice to cook, so I served the sauce over some roasted butternut squash I had, and I think I liked that better than the chicken!
LittleMissMuffin
November 18, 2017
this was very yummy. cut the cayenne in half and didn't have any serranos or ginger (so omitted both) and used coconut milk instead of heavy cream (since I didn't have that either). was plenty spicy and very good
Alison
September 24, 2017
I made a double recipe for a group last night. I can't comment on how authentic this recipe is, although I thought that chicken tikka masala was an Anglo-Indian invention rather than actual Indian food. whatever it may be, this dish is very tasty. Based on the comments below, I added coriander to the spice blend in the marinade and the sauce, and thai chilis instead of serrano. To accommodate a range of tastes, I cut the overall heat back by about 50%, and thought it still had some heat but not enough to put off anyone other than the truly heat-averse. I also used the heavy cream, but perhaps only about 75% of it. My own preferences would have led me to use coconut milk, but having not made this before, I didn't want to range to far from the original recipe. It was very good and quite well-received. I served it with basmati rice and a cucumber raita (from this website, the Antonia James recipe).
Alicia
September 10, 2017
I'm married to an Indian guy and have been trying to improve my Indian cooking skills, so thought I'd give this recipe a go. When I tasted the recipe, it tasted more like an American-Indian fusion curry than authentic chicken tikka masala. I asked my husband for feedback on the recipe and he said the use of American paprika as well as the absence of more traditional spices (i.e. coriander) is what's making it not taste as authentic. Alas, back to searching for a true, authentic chicken tikka recipe.
A couple suggestions to people looking to learn Indian cooking:
- In India red onion is the dominant type of onion used in all recipes. Make sure you are using red onions only.
- Serrano peppers are not used in India. If you live next to a specialty market you should look for thai or birds eye green chilies. They are generally spicier and have a different flavor profile than serrano.
- Puree the sauce before adding the chicken.
A couple suggestions to people looking to learn Indian cooking:
- In India red onion is the dominant type of onion used in all recipes. Make sure you are using red onions only.
- Serrano peppers are not used in India. If you live next to a specialty market you should look for thai or birds eye green chilies. They are generally spicier and have a different flavor profile than serrano.
- Puree the sauce before adding the chicken.
Jenny
March 19, 2016
Do you think I can switch out the heavy cream with full cream coconut milk?
I think curries go well with coconut milk, but i'm not sure if it will add the same thickness to the curry
I think curries go well with coconut milk, but i'm not sure if it will add the same thickness to the curry
Halli
March 19, 2016
Try it and let us know! It can't be bad! I use half the cream it says, but also cook the chicken in the yogurt and add all of it into the sauce.
Lost_in_NYC
January 21, 2016
Could you add the remaining marinade to the pot of the sauce and cook it down before adding in the cooked chicken? I hate wasting good marinade
Halli
January 21, 2016
I cook the chicken in a pan and cook all the marinade along with it, so it would probably work fine to cook the marinade alone in a small saucepan stirring often. I do use less spice than it says though, because adding all of that to the dish made it much too spicy!
Taylor T.
October 15, 2015
I love this recipe! It's as good as tikka masala from our favorite Indian restaurant. I would love to make your spicy creamy peas and vegetable korma recipes but I can't find them on Food52. Can you share the links?
SweetTooth
April 29, 2015
I made this recipe today and it was pretty good. I put in both serrano chiles (not roasted, with seeds scraped out) and it was a good level of spiciness for me (although a little too spicy for my mom). I added in some nutmeg, coriander, and ginger, which worked very nicely with it. I also added a smoky flavor by lighting a coal, putting it in some ghee in an aluminum-lined bowl, putting that bowl in the pan and covering the lid for 5 minutes. The best addition I made was putting some brown sugar in- gave it some amazing depth.
donna1963
February 3, 2015
Does "stove top grill iron” mean a cast iron grill pan? If not, would you please tell me what it means. Thanks.
Cklavin
January 27, 2015
Unbelievable dish! My husband and three young boys LOVEd it. I omitted the roasted Serrano chiles and still it was plenty spicy for us. Grilling the meat is a must.
dillybug
January 6, 2015
Very tasty. I had to back down on the cayenne a bit for my family's tastes. Wasn't sure if to use sweet paprika or half sharp so I did half and half. Will definitely make again!
ECMotherwell
November 25, 2014
Just made this last night, and this dish is PERFECTION! I found, too, that it stands up to some minor shortcuts made for time (I marinated the chicken bites for 7 hours rather than overnight, broiled them on high since I don't have a grill, etc).
I will certainly be making this again.
I will certainly be making this again.
LJF
November 3, 2014
Do the leftovers freeze well?
rachiti
November 3, 2014
Yes, as long as you don't add the heavy cream to the part you're going to freeze. Once cream or milk is added freezing will change the texture. I Also, once you defrost it you may end up adding a bit of freshly toasted garam masala and more fresh cilantro.
Halli
January 21, 2016
I use much less cream than it says, about half, and it's been fine frozen with it added.
fablee
October 5, 2014
Look forward to cooking this. Searched for your recipes for spicy creamy peas and vegetable korma and didn't come up with anything. Are they posted somewhere else?
Halli
September 2, 2014
This was our first attempt at Indian cooking and we're very happy with it! That said, now that I read the author's note at the very bottom of the comments to use only San Marzano tomatoes, which I did not, I'll have to either find these or try using fresh, since I used crushed tomatoes, which he advises against in his comment; however, I avoid canned foods due to BPA concerns, and buy whatever organic jarred tomatoes I can find. We used 3 cups, rather than 3 1/2 for a full 28 ounces, and they were a little overpowering, as he says that pureed tomatoes may be, though I don't necessarily think that these were of poor quality as he suggests, but only more broken down than whole chopped tomatoes. (I did have diced on hand, so perhaps those would have been a better choice.) The chicken was spicy for me (I like moderate spice) but the sauce less so, even with the serrano chilis (which I stuck in the oven on 350 for about 20 minutes), and all mixed together the flavors were very nice, and my fiance, who likes spicy, said it was just right for him. I cooked the chicken in a pan on the stovetop along with the extra marinade and it came out great. The extra marinade clumped up a bit while cooking and I garnished my dish with it for extra flavor.
Madelijn
June 12, 2014
Wow I´ve never commented here before, but this turned out so dlicious that I have to come rave about it! I dont have an oven nor a bbq, so I´m bummed about a lot of recipes that I can´t make, but with my grilling pan this went perfect! The flavour and consistency come really close to the real thing!
rachiti
May 1, 2014
If you're looking for ideas to personalize this recipe - substituting one teaspoon coriander powder for the cumin will compliment it nicely. Also, if you really like Indian food, consider ordering some Indian red chili powder...it has a subtly different more earthy/fruity flavor. Finally, if you have bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, this works wonderfully too. I add them to the masala/sauce as it cooks or bake them in the oven. I'm hoping to start grilling them soon. Using bone-in dark meat gives a juicer more flavorful finished product.
BARBARA W.
April 27, 2014
cooked this for dinner, it was great. I baked the chicken instead of grilling. I did not remove any of the marinate. I roasted the pepper, yes it is spicy, but good
Claudia
April 24, 2014
Made this as written (including grilling) this evening. I'm generally not a spice baby, but it was too hot for me (and I didn't use the roasted peppers). Husband and son-in-law loved it as it was.
rachiti
May 1, 2014
As written it would be too hot for me too...but that's one of the best parts of Indian cooking...you can adjust most recipes spice level just by adjusting the red chili element. I use Indian chili powder which gives a different flavor...and much hotter so it's more like 1/4 teaspoon for this size recipe...just enough for flavor but not too hot. I hope you try this recipe again.
NatWhit
April 24, 2014
Something that always confuses me in recipes that call for marinating the chicken in yogurt and spices-- how much of the marinade do you shake off before cooking the chicken? I usually use Greek yogurt, which is thick and tends to cling to the meat. Should I wipe off the excess? Use a thinner yogurt? Or is the yogurt supposed to remain on the chicken?
rachiti
May 1, 2014
Some of the yogurt will remain on the chicken and that's ok. In India it usually calls for thick yogurt anyway so you're fine with the consistency of Greek yogurt. The main purpose of the yogurt is to tenderize while it's marinating so having a thin coating is fine. I actually often cook my chicken right in the masala/sauce so a bit of extra yogurt means I can use a lot less cream at the end. Basically, as long as you like how it tastes & your grill doesn't flare up from drippy yogurt...it's the right way for you.
Bobiya
April 23, 2014
In order to get smoky flavour if you do opt for cooking chicken over stove, before garnishing create a little space in the middle of your curry and put a bowl with a tablespoon of ghee. To it, add a burning coal using tongs which will immediately starts sizzling and smoking. Shut the lid tight for few minutes and voila! Take the bowl out when done. This technique was used while cooking biryani or meat dishes in olden days before serving.
linda
April 23, 2014
Hello, this sounds so fresh and lovely, Indian food is my favorite however I am allergic to tomatoes. Any substitutes that are not nightshades? or can I just make it without?
Kate
April 22, 2014
Any options besides a stove top grill iron (which I don't have)? How would this work under the broiler?
rachiti
May 1, 2014
It's flexible. It tastes a bit different depending upon how it's done but it actually works on a slatted roasting pan cooked in the oven at 375/400 until it's no longer pink. I would imagine a minute or two under the broiler to finish would make it extra smoky.
sticksnscones
April 21, 2014
It sounds perfectly delicious! Could one substitute coconut milk for the heavy cream?
AntoniaJames
September 5, 2012
I made just the grilled chicken component of this a few weeks ago; everyone raved about it. In fact, I'm making it again tonight! I used some of the marinade on some firm fish (mahi mahi), and it was fantastic, too. Will probably make the entire dish at some point later in the year. Thanks for an excellent recipe! ;o)
Turtle W.
November 12, 2011
I made this and it was the best Chicken Tikka Masala I've ever tasted-- bracingly hot (my cayenne is super-strong) and all-around lovely. Where are those recipes for vegetable korma and spicy creamy peas? I checked your profile, but didn't see them linked.
kevin.townsley
December 12, 2011
I apologize for the delay. I've been pretty busy with school, and putting recipes on here fell off my radar. I'll go ahead and put those two recipes on tonight, and since I have some time this week, I'll see about making them and getting some good pictures. It's hard to get people to try your dishes without pictures, so thank you for giving this one a shot!
Turtle W.
January 13, 2020
I hope you do someday. I am making this again, ok fine with a few shortcuts since life has changed in the last nine years, but still with the caramelized onions. So good.
kevin.townsley
August 7, 2011
Just a quick note. I specify San Marzano whole tomatoes for a reason. They are high quality, and the taste can't be matched. Some recipes call for tomato puree. I strongly recommend against that option. Puree is often made of poor quality tomatoes, and the taste overpowers the dish.
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