Published: by Absolutely Recipes, in the Indian recipes category.

Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe.

Ingredients:

Marination
500 grams chicken cubes (1 lb boneless chicken)
1 tsp red chili powder , kashmiri
lemon juice from 1/2 lemon (refer notes)
1/2 cup greek yogurt or hung curd or 1 cup curd (refer and notes)
1/8 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp fenugreek leaves , dried kasuri methi
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil for frying
ingredients for gravy
3 tbsps oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
1 to 2 black cardamom
3 green cardamom
3 cloves (can use up to 5)
2 inch cinnamon stick
3 onions medium , finely chopped
3 tomatoes medium , (pureed)
2 tsps ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
15 to 16 cashew nuts (or 4 tbsps cashew paste)
1/2 tsp kasuri methi
1/4 cup cream (optional, can even use smooth almond or cashew milk or cream)
1/2 tsp garam masala
coriander leaves chopped
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
vegetables (chop large cubes)
1 onion large , separate the layers of onion cubes
1/2 green capsicum , small
1/2 red capsicum , small (Optional)
1 to 2 tomato (remove the pulp) (optional)

Recipe Instructions:

Making hung yogurt or curd
add yogurt or curd to a thin cheese cloth or muslin cloth and knot it, hang it inside the refrigerator for 5 to 6 hours for the whey to drip off completely.
Making the chicken tikka
wash and drain chicken thoroughly, pat dry with a kitchen tissues
add the marination ingredients to a bowl and marinate the chicken.
Set aside in the refrigerator for at least 2 hrs, overnight yields the best.
You can grill these in a preheated oven at 240 c for 20 minutes.
Adjust the timing slightly.
If you do not have a oven, you can pan roast the chicken tikka.
Add one tbsp.
Oil to a non-stick pan and heat it.
Swipe off the excess marinade from the chicken and fry them on a high flame till they are almost cooked.
The masala burns quickly at this stage, so take care.
Do not cook on a low flame, the tikka gets spoilt with all moisture oozing out.
Do not overcook the tikka, they turn hard
while the tikka is getting cooked, marinate the veggies in the left over marinate that was swiped off the chicken.
Repeat swiping off the excess marinade from the veggies and fry these for 2 minutes or more till the marinade dries up.
Transfer this to a wide tray.
The chicken should look moist, tender and veggies crunchy, with the marinade almost dried up
making the gravy
soak cashews in hot water for 15 to 20 mins.
Then grind them in a blender to make a smooth paste.
Keep this aside and grind tomatoes to a smooth puree.
Set this aside.
If you have a powerful blender, you can blend cashews and tomatoes together.
Add the oil for the gravy to the same pan.
Add dry spices, allow them to sizzle
add chopped onions, fry evenly till turn golden
add garlic ginger paste, fry till the raw smell disappears
pour in the tomato puree, red chili, coriander powder, salt.
Mix and fry for 2 to 3 minutes
add cashew paste, fry till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
Add sugar, chicken tikka pieces and veggies, stir well and fry for 2 to 3 minutes
add water just enough to make a gravy.
Bring it to a good boil
add kasuri methi cook for 2 to 3 mins.
Pour in the cream, add garam masala and add coriander leaves, off the flame.
Keep covered for at least 15 minutes
serve with paratha, roti, naan

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