Sunday, November 10, 2013

Chicken Tikka Masala

I am always intrigued by exotic Indian dishes and the aromatic spices that go into them. I have very little experience with this cuisine so when I saw a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala in local food market’s weekly flyer, I decided to give it a try. I was happily surprised that I had most of the ingredients on the list but found I did have to purchase a couple of the spices I didn’t have… garam masala and ground cardamom.

I was appalled at the price of the little jar of ground cardamom… $9.19 … but I went ahead and bought it anyway.  I am sure it MADE the dish…. hah!  But I digress. Please don't tell me I could have left it out.

Apparently the fondness for Indian food has become so widespread  in Great Britain, that a creation rooted in that cuisine called Chicken Tikka Masala has become a national dish.  It is so popular that it surpassed fish and chips as the favorite take-away. (That would be take-out to us North Americans.)

Anyway, the dish blends Indian flavors with a British food preference, and how it was created is hotly debated.  One popular story behind Chicken Tikka Masala says that many years ago a customer in a Glasgow curry house demanded gravy with his Indian-style chicken. The chef made a nicely spiced sauce and a new dish was born.

Nicely spiced it certainly is, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it… I hope you will too.  It smells absolutely divine as it cooks.  I tweaked the ingredients for the recipe a wee bit  so I will share it and the N.I. as I prepared it.  Enjoy!  I just may use crushed tomatoes instead of diced next time to make the sauce even thicker.

And by the way, I have done some Googling, and learned that TIKKA means ‘bits or pieces’ and that MASALA means’ a mixture of spices’.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala
Makes 6 servings
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
  • 1/4 tsp curry powder (or turmeric)
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tbs coconut oil
  • 1 cup diced white onion
  • 1 Tbs tomato paste
  • 1 Tbs finely grated fresh ginger root
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
  • 1/2 large can diced tomatoes (14 ounces)
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 3 Tbs fat free plain Green yogurt (leave out for Paleo)
  • fresh cilantro for garnish
  • salt to taste
  1.  Combine the first  8 ingredients (garam masala to cinnamon) in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Place the coconut oil in a large skillet over MEDIUM heat.
  3. Add the onions and cook until translucent and tender, about 5 or 6 minutes.
  4. Add the spice mixture, tomato paste, ginger, and garlic to the skillet and stir to combine.  Allow to cook about 2 minutes.
  5. Add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth.  Bring to a light boil and cook 5 minutes.
  6. Add the chicken pieces to the pot and allow to simmer 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced a bit and thickened.
  7. Stir in yogurt and allow to heat for a couple of minutes.
  8. Serve with fresh cilantro sprigs as garnish and season with salt to taste.
Per serving including the yogurt.
Weight Watchers P+ = 5.
Calories 224; Protein 37g; Carbohydrate 7g; Fat 4g; Fibre 1g.

And now I am off to find a local Indian food market. I am sure I can find these lovely aromatic spices at a much better price…  I intend to be using them a lot, very soon.


Nov 9 Chicken Tikka Masala 001
Assembling the ingredients before starting to cook. This dish comes together pretty quickly once you start cooking so preparing ahead of cooking is a good step with this dish especially.


Nov 9 Chicken Tikka Masala 002
Adding the spices, grated ginger, minced garlic, and tomato paste to the cooked onions.


Nov 9 Chicken Tikka Masala 003
After the tomatoes and chicken broth are added, the sauce needs to simmer for several minutes.


Nov 9 Chicken Tikka Masala 004
And the chicken will get really tender as it cooks in this sauce.


Nov 9 Chicken Tikka Masala 005
The night I made it The Captain had his on rice… mine topped cauliflower rice.


Nov 10 Chicken Tikka Masala 001
To change things up a bit I served my lefotvers on baked kabocha squash with some string beans…


Nov 10 Chicken Tikka Masala 002
But The Captain chose rice again, so I gave him some veggies on the side, too.



Are you an Indian Cuisine fan?  Have any favorite dishes I should try next?

8 comments:

  1. I would be a fan if you made this for me! :)

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  2. This looks delicious. I love Indian food but have always been intimidated to try it at home but this doesn't look super complicated.

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  3. Im with JODY.
    or more aptly put ID TRY IT...ID TASTE IT.
    maybe? :-)
    I have such a boring nonspicy palate :-)

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  4. ok totally agree, I freak out when ingredients cost that much and I'm not sure if I will like it or not!! I end up looking for substitutes and I"m sure it doesn't taste as good!

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  5. Delicious! Thank you for the recipe! I love Indian food.

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  6. This looks wonderful! I have never tried making Indian food but love the complex flavors and all of the spices!

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