Your Recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala

Telugammayi87

Aslo, biryani can be a bit difficult and time consuming.. it's worth it.... BUT you could try a much easier chicken pulaoo first if you'd like. Biryani is 10000000000000% better, but pulaoo is good! I'm hungry!!

Romans624

Aslo, biryani can be a bit difficult and time consuming.. it's worth it.... BUT you could try a much easier chicken pulaoo first if you'd like. Biryani is 10000000000000% better, but pulaoo is good! I'm hungry!!

Just saw this, yeah I should probably start with the tikka masala recipe, get some practice and go on up to more difficult recipes. One thing that I have absolutely no experience in is baking... I tried to make naan once.. horrible. Of course it helps to read through the whole recipe a couple times before, make sure you have everything ready all the equipment, etc. lol.

Captain_Tightpants

I'll post my recipe for Korma here. It took me literally a year of experimenting to get this right in terms of taste and consistency. I wanted the taste of Korma the way British Indian curry houses got it and I finally found it.

The one thing I learned in my quest, is that the base part of any curry recipe is essentially always the same. It's pretty much only the sauce that changes. So in this case, you could create exactly the same recipe except replace the sauce with a pre-made jarred sauce for Masala as Taunto already mentioned.

This should serve 4 at least....

Sauce...

1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 small tin of tomato paste

Spices...

1tsp garam masala
1tsp coriander powder
1tsp turmeric
1tsp cumin powder
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 split cardomom pods
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp garlic and ginger paste

Other stuff....

1-2lbs fresh chicken breast
1/4 cup golden raisins
some fresh cilantro for garnish
1-2 cups basmati rice
1 large red onion, finely chopped
bit of finely chopped jalapeno (if desired)
Anything else you like come to think of it. Potatoes, tomatoes... most things fit into this.
mushrooms (if desired)

0. You may want to consider marinading your chicken in a plain yoghurt and tandoor seasoning for a few hours ahead of time. This does have a small positive affect on flavor, though not as much as you might think.

1. Soak cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes, Then blend them with the coconut milk and the tom paste until the mixture is smooth. (this makes the korma sauce - not needed in your case)

2. Put some oil in a skillet and throw in the bay leaf, cardomom pods, cinnamon stick and cloves. Fry for a few minutes to flavor the oil.

3. Throw in the onion and ginger/garlic paste. Fry until transclucent (5 mins) - this is by far the most important step. I've found if I don't do this part until I've created a golden/transluscent paste, the flavor of the whole curry is altered.

4. Add the chicken and other ingredients and fry until chicken is white on the outside (doesn't have to be done all the way through).

5. Throw in all the other spices and fry until it's all evenly coated. This is the bit where it starts smelling like a real curry.

6. Pour in the cashew/coconut milk/tom paste mixture, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. (In your case pour in a Masala sauce)

7. If too liquidy, mix 1tsp of cornstarch with 1tsp of water and add, simmer for another 5 mins.

8. Cook rice in rice cooker (it's the only way). I like to throw in cardomom, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cloves to flavor it.

9. Remove curry from heat, stir in the raisins and the cilantro. Serve with rice and naan bread.

Happy om noms! :-)

Beezil

Bump... I want to try making something Indian - I love curry and I wish my husband was more open to new foods. He is such a picky eater and although I've suggested making Indian food before, he always shoots it down. I don't think he's tried it more than once... It's kind of hard to judge an entire culture's food on one dish. There are so many!

What is coconut ladus and how do you make them? I must know!

Romans624

Thank you Captain Tight, I ♥ chicken korma too. I used to eat it at whole foods all the time when I was in Denver.

Love that stuff. I so appreciate you all sharing your precious, and tested recipes because I know that indian food is not easy to get right right away... so I really am feeling pretty lucky!

Spanaval

What is Gajar ka Halwa??

Gajar = carrot. Halwa is well, halwa (similar to the kind you find in the middle east). My version is more solid and also WAY more labor intensive than the stuff you normally find in restaurants (also, more delicious).

Romans624

What is Gajar ka Halwa??

Gajar = carrot. Halwa is well, halwa (similar to the kind you find in the middle east). My version is more solid and also WAY more labor intensive than the stuff you normally find in restaurants (also, more delicious).

OoOoh... are you willing to share??? =D

lyttlewon

I have adapted this recipe http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/01/01/chicken-tikka-masala/

Marinade:
1 6 oz container non fat greek plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice, from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves

Combine in container and marinate 30-60 minutes, discard marinade
Brown chicken, I don't use oil, and cut into bite size pieces

Sauce:

This is where your taste preference really affects what you add:

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
1jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon coriander
1 sweet bell pepper
1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup fat free milk
6-8 roma tomatoes, chopped
chopped veggies, usually whatever is in the fridge: carrots, green beans, cauliflower, zucchini
Browned marinated chicken
Sometimes I add premade Tikka Curry paste but not always

The key is to make a dry masala. Melt your butter and then add your spices, garlic and jalapeno. Cook stirring these about 1 minute. You will smell the spices reach the point where they are ready. They will form a fragrant paste. Mix remaining sauce ingredients together and cook until veggies are completely cooked, usually 30 minutes. Check thickness and if too thick add fat free broth or water

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish)

I serve with rice

Spanaval

What is Gajar ka Halwa??

Gajar = carrot. Halwa is well, halwa (similar to the kind you find in the middle east). My version is more solid and also WAY more labor intensive than the stuff you normally find in restaurants (also, more delicious).

OoOoh... are you willing to share??? =D

Sure thing. Keep in mind that I don't measure *anything*. Everything is done by taste, so I can give you guidelines, but not recipes (this is why I don't post my recipes as a general rule).

Grate carrots. Food processor makes this easier. Cook (in a pressure cooker if you have one) with a little milk and a little ghee. Once cooked, mash the carrots, and cook on a low flame until the moisture is mostly gone. Add sugar to taste, more ghee, and keep frying down until the carrots stick together and release the ghee. In a little ghee, stir fry some cashews until lightly brown. Add to the cooked carrots and mix well. Finish by adding powdered green cardamom (to taste; I love it, so I put a ton in). The finished halwa would be solid enough to be shaped, but still soft.

The whole thing takes about 8 hours for me. Usually, I start it in the evening with the cooking of the carrots, then finish it the following day, picking up from the add sugar/ghee part.

lyttlewon

Sure thing. Keep in mind that I don't measure *anything*. Everything is done by taste, so I can give you guidelines, but not recipes (this is why I don't post my recipes as a general rule).

Me too. I made two versions, at the exact same time, of this last week, one without chicken for my sister. I used tofu in hers and even though I made them with the same spices they came out tasting different. The vegetarian one was more earthy and everyone preferred it.

Romans624

Thank you for the recipes!!


You know... I have made some absolutely delicious chicken tikka masala TWICE, out of dozens of attempts.

But I didn't measure, and I had made it so many times different ways I couldn't remember what I did. I have an idea, I could video myself doing it, then record it later. (count up the pinches and half handfuls and all that).

You guys are awesome.

lyttlewon

Some of it depends on the mood for me. Like some days I just can't get enough of the garam masala or I might add cloves or cardamom. It seems to make it more sweet. Other days I am all about pumping up the cumin and the heat. I just throw things in it until it tastes good. My kids eat it like crazy too.

taunto

The "easier" version of Biryani: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/taunto/view/biryani-241390

Salan. S thinner version of Korma, a bit different technique and taste. Korma is essentially the base that goes into a Biryani
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/taunto/view/salan-stew-221609

lyttlewon

The "easier" version of Biryani: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/taunto/view/biryani-241390

Salan. S thinner version of Korma, a bit different technique and taste. Korma is essentially the base that goes into a Biryani
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/taunto/view/salan-stew-221609

Do you buy premade ginger paste or do you make your own? I want to make my own but I haven't tried to yet.

taunto

Some of the commercial brands are good (Shaan. Seriously any indian/Pakistani cooking spice or ingredient made by them are awesome). But you can make it at home too. Its easy. Put just enough water in the ginger or garlic while in a blender to make it smooth

3dogsrunning

I have to bump this thread. I love cooking from scratch but have never tried Indian. I recently found a box mix in the all natural section of my grocery store. The brand is Gourmantra. We tried the Tandoori Chicken. OMG, we both agreed it was one of the best meals we have ever made. We also tried their Korma and tried the Butter chicken one last night.

JayByrd107

I'll have to try some of these this weekend.

Captain_Tightpants

Biggest thing to remember for successful curry of any kind is that the order of steps really does matter. It's tempting to think you can seal the chicken before the base onion/ginger/garlic step, but ti makes a difference. It's tempting to think you can skip flavoring the oil first, but it makes a difference. It's tempting to think you can add the spices after the sauce instead of before but it makes a difference. It took me AGES to figure this out. I was using identical recipes but not adhering to the step order and they were coming out different each time. For what it's worth, the most successful order I found is:

1) Flavor oil
2) Onion/Ginger/Garlic base
3) Seal chicken
4) Add spices
5) Add sauce and simmer

Hope that helps everyone!

Spanaval

Butter Chicken

Grind onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, garam masala, green chilis, red chili powder, bay leaves and a few strands of soaked saffron. Clean chicken and marinate it in a little salt, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder, mixed into yogurt (plain, non-fat works fine) In a little hot oil, fry a few fennel seeds, chopped onion and chopped tomatoes. Add the chicken and brown. Add the ground stuff, the yogurt marinade, and cook until chicken is done, and the gravy is thickened. Pour some melted butter over it and garnish with coriander leaves.

My recipes are often not the "traditional" methods, but what works in a crunch.

Romans624

Some of it depends on the mood for me. Like some days I just can't get enough of the garam masala or I might add cloves or cardamom. It seems to make it more sweet. Other days I am all about pumping up the cumin and the heat. I just throw things in it until it tastes good. My kids eat it like crazy too.

The complexity of all this... I need to get used to, what "effect" certain spices will have. I know that I love Cumin... maybe my favorite just by sniffing it.

But curry powder and garam masala... I know they are supposed to be in there but they are spice mixes so I don't really know exactly what effect they will have at any given point as I make a recipe. Like sugar is obvious and so is salt and pepper. Been with those all my life. These spices have so much potential I just have to learn how to use them. I think that if I make indian food often it will hopefully become second nature and I can start knowing how to tweak recipes.

Romans624

Its too bad you all are so spread out. I'd invite you to an indian food fest.


Good times, good food and outdoor games as the sun sets.


sigh..

cateyjo

this sounds really good. Have never tried it before.

taunto

Some of it depends on the mood for me. Like some days I just can't get enough of the garam masala or I might add cloves or cardamom. It seems to make it more sweet. Other days I am all about pumping up the cumin and the heat. I just throw things in it until it tastes good. My kids eat it like crazy too.

The complexity of all this... I need to get used to, what "effect" certain spices will have. I know that I love Cumin... maybe my favorite just by sniffing it.

But curry powder and garam masala... I know they are supposed to be in there but they are spice mixes so I don't really know exactly what effect they will have at any given point as I make a recipe. Like sugar is obvious and so is salt and pepper. Been with those all my life. These spices have so much potential I just have to learn how to use them. I think that if I make indian food often it will hopefully become second nature and I can start knowing how to tweak recipes.

Heres the thing many people forget about Indian foods, Indian foods are spice heavy and wrong use of spice can upset your tummy really fast. Which is why if somebody eats at a place where the spices aren't mixed properly, a person not used to those spices will have a bad reaction to the bad mixture while a person who's been used to said spices will simply recognize bad taste but their stomach won't go crazy.

Time spent cooking with these spices is the key. When I started cooking, I was seriously a horrible HORRIBLE cook. I knew the basic methods and my family have taught me how to cook Indian/Pakistani/Afghani/Arabic and I picked up some Italian cooking on my stay in Italy but didn't really put the cooking to use till I came to US. In the start I managed to turn water into Black tar lump. I have to this day no idea how I did it but it happened. Now I cook for my friends all the time and they dig it. Its all about spending time cooking and experimenting

BTW, no Indian cuisine ever use curry powder. Curry powder is a british invention. Same for chicken tikka masala. Chicken tikka masala is a british dish, not indian

lyttlewon

Some of it depends on the mood for me. Like some days I just can't get enough of the garam masala or I might add cloves or cardamom. It seems to make it more sweet. Other days I am all about pumping up the cumin and the heat. I just throw things in it until it tastes good. My kids eat it like crazy too.

The complexity of all this... I need to get used to, what "effect" certain spices will have. I know that I love Cumin... maybe my favorite just by sniffing it.

But curry powder and garam masala... I know they are supposed to be in there but they are spice mixes so I don't really know exactly what effect they will have at any given point as I make a recipe. Like sugar is obvious and so is salt and pepper. Been with those all my life. These spices have so much potential I just have to learn how to use them. I think that if I make indian food often it will hopefully become second nature and I can start knowing how to tweak recipes.

You can make your own blends of either one, curry and garam masala. I have a bag of garam masala that a friend gave me that has much better flavor than what I was buying before. I don't make yellow curries often. I like tumeric but the flavor is strong to me so when when I make yellow curries I always use my own mix so I can play with the amount of tumeric that is in it.

I worked with some IBM programmers this summer that were from India and one of them gave me this site when I told him I wanted to learn how to cook Indian food. http://www.talimpu.com/. I have eaten several of her recipes and she does a really good job explaining the steps. She has a recipe for masala popcorn that is just heavenly.

lyttlewon

Some of it depends on the mood for me. Like some days I just can't get enough of the garam masala or I might add cloves or cardamom. It seems to make it more sweet. Other days I am all about pumping up the cumin and the heat. I just throw things in it until it tastes good. My kids eat it like crazy too.

The complexity of all this... I need to get used to, what "effect" certain spices will have. I know that I love Cumin... maybe my favorite just by sniffing it.

But curry powder and garam masala... I know they are supposed to be in there but they are spice mixes so I don't really know exactly what effect they will have at any given point as I make a recipe. Like sugar is obvious and so is salt and pepper. Been with those all my life. These spices have so much potential I just have to learn how to use them. I think that if I make indian food often it will hopefully become second nature and I can start knowing how to tweak recipes.

Heres the thing many people forget about Indian foods, Indian foods are spice heavy and wrong use of spice can upset your tummy really fast. Which is why if somebody eats at a place where the spices aren't mixed properly, a person not used to those spices will have a bad reaction to the bad mixture while a person who's been used to said spices will simply recognize bad taste but their stomach won't go crazy.

Time spent cooking with these spices is the key. When I started cooking, I was seriously a horrible HORRIBLE cook. I knew the basic methods and my family have taught me how to cook Indian/Pakistani/Afghani/Arabic and I picked up some Italian cooking on my stay in Italy but didn't really put the cooking to use till I came to US. In the start I managed to turn water into Black tar lump. I have to this day no idea how I did it but it happened. Now I cook for my friends all the time and they dig it. Its all about spending time cooking and experimenting

BTW, no Indian cuisine ever use curry powder. Curry powder is a british invention. Same for chicken tikka masala. Chicken tikka masala is a british dish, not indian

You and I need to be friends My aunt's family are from Saudi Arabia and she sent me a gigantic box FULL of spices to play with when I got into this region of cooking. I know I haven't used them to their full potential. She gave me some black salt that I have no CLUE what to even do with. She also gave me an enormous bag of za'atar which is one of my favorite things to eat now!

Romans624

@ Taunto, I was familiar with chicken tikka masala being a british/indian dish. Some story about a cook (forget, maybe pakistani is the legend?) cooked for guests in britain and they complained chicken tikka was too dry. Turned out his creation would be loved by millions. It is the new british dish now I think, rather than fish and chips?

Good to know about those though, because I thought those were a little bit "short cut" like, and using them makes it more confusing, especially when you buy a mix that you don't know what goes into it. If they ever stop selling it, you wouldn't know how to make the dish anymore exactly the same.

teriann1979

bump...*drooling* love my indian food :happy:

Telugammayi87

I'm in Memphis... we have India Fest every November.. Food from every region... it's AWESOME!! I got to cook there last year! haha... but I have more Indian friends than American ones..... LOL

HAHA let's do this... we cook.. the guys play Cricket.. hahahahaha

I just planned out my menu for the weekend... will blog it soon.
I too don't measure spices, I just judge, taste, add.... so it's difficult to write down recipes. I just guess mostly when trying to share with someone else!

Its too bad you all are so spread out. I'd invite you to an indian food fest.


Good times, good food and outdoor games as the sun sets.


sigh..

Romans624

I'm in Memphis... we have India Fest every November.. Food from every region... it's AWESOME!! I got to cook there last year! haha... but I have more Indian friends than American ones..... LOL

HAHA let's do this... we cook.. the guys play Cricket.. hahahahaha

I just planned out my menu for the weekend... will blog it soon.
I too don't measure spices, I just judge, taste, add.... so it's difficult to write down recipes. I just guess mostly when trying to share with someone else!

Wow that is amazing never heard of such a thing. Would love to do that/something like it. Would be cool to see Memphis also, I will just have to see if I can get time off/finances for such a deal, were that to happen (not sure if you were even inviting me lol).

Anyhow... that is really awesome. I just wonder how people are able to remember what they did, when they add 13 spices (maybe I was adding a lot of unnecessary ons, as I see these recipes don't necessarily have that many) its hard to keep in my brain approx amounts of all 10-20 of them. Plus I wouldn't just do the spice in the begininnning, I would continuously add stuff until I thought it tasted good or edible. But I will learn! These recipes will be great.

neverstray

I dont' know if it's been said, my friend use to make the curry using Greek Yogurt as the base. it was delicious. Not quite as heavy, and tasted really good.