RECIPES CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Peel and finely grate the garlic and ginger, and deseed and finely chop the chillies, then add to a bowl. Peel and finely slice the onions.
  2. Heat a good splash of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add them to the ginger and garlic mixture along with the paprika, cumin, ground coriander and 2 tablespoons of garam masala.
  3. Put half the mixture into a clean bowl with the yoghurt. Roughly chop and stir in the chicken, then leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer.
  4. Place the butter in the empty pan over a medium heat, add the onions and the remaining spice mix, then cook gently for 15 minutes, or until softened – it should start to smell fantastic!
  5. Add the tomato purée, the ground nuts, 500ml of water and a good pinch of sea salt. Stir well and simmer gently for a few minutes, or until slightly thickened slightly, then remove from the heat.
  6. Sear the marinated chicken on a hot griddle pan or barbecue and until golden and cooked through – you can also do this under the grill, if you like.
  7. Warm the sauce, then add the cream and remaining garam masala, then taste and correct the seasoning, if needed. As soon as it boils, take off the heat and add the grilled chicken.
  8. Pick, roughly chop and scatter over the coriander leaves, then squeeze over the lime juice, to taste. Delicious served with a bowl of steaming basmati rice, some poppadoms and lots of cold beer!

Steps:

• Combine garam masala, turmeric, cumin, paprika, 1½ teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl.
• In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup yogurt, lemon juice, 3 cloves of garlic, half the ginger and half the spice mixture together. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, up to 8 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned in spots, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add tomato paste, remaining garlic, ginger and spice mixture and cook, stirring frequently until spices are fragrant and tomato paste has started caramelizing on the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes.
• Crush tomatoes with your hands, leaving some larger bits and add them and any liquid left in the can to the pot along with the heavy cream and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper and stir, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until flavors meld and the sauce is thickened slightly, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and cover until chicken is ready (or after cooling, refrigerate if marinating chicken for more than 4 hours).
• Once chicken is ready, turn on the broiler and place oven rack about 6 inches away from heat source.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminium foil and place a wire rack inside the pan. Remove chicken from the marinade, scraping off any excess, and place the pieces on the rack. Broil just until lightly charred in spots, 5 to 7 minutes on the first side, before flipping pieces and broiling an additional 2 to 3 minutes.  
• Bring tomato sauce to a simmer if it’s not already. Remove chicken from the oven and transfer to spiced tomato sauce along with remaining ½ cup yogurt. Continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened nicely, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Divide chicken among four bowls and top with cilantro. Serve with rice or naan for dipping.