Ingredients
- Chicken Tikka Marinade:
- 600 600 1.2lb 3cm 2.2" 1) thigh (boneless, skinless), cut into 3cm / 2.2" cubes (Note 1)
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, full fat best (Greek is fine)
- 6 6 6 cloves garlic , minced (~1.5 tbsp)
- 1 1 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 1 2) tsp garam masala (Note 2)
- 1 1 1 tsp each salt, cumin, coriander, paprika
- 1 1 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/8 1/8 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- Pinch Pinch black pepper
- 2 2 2 tsp lemon juice
- Cooking Chicken:
- 1 2 1 2 3) - 2 tbsp oil (Note 3)
- Curry Sauce Spices:
- 2 2 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 1 2) tbsp garam masala (Note 2)
- 2 2 2 tsp coriander
- 1 1 1 tsp cumin
- 1/8 1/8 1/8 tsp cardomon
- 1/8 1/8 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- Curry Sauce:
- 3 3 65ml 3) / 65ml vegetable oil (Note 3)
- 30 30g 2 / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 1 1 onion, finely chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 1 1 1 tsp salt
- 2 2 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 6 6 6 cloves garlic , crushed or grated
- 1 1 1 tbsp paprika (not smoked)
- 400 400 1 2/3 / 1 2/3 cups tomato passata (tomato puree)
- 400 400 1 2/3 / 1 2/3 cups water
- 100 100 1/3 1 / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp cream (thickened or pure is fine)
- 1 1 1 tsp sugar
- 50 50g 3 / 3 tbsp unsalted butter
Preparation
Step 1
Instructions
Chicken Tikka:
Combine all ingredients except chicken in a bowl and mix. Add chicken and turn well to coat.
Cover with cling wrap and leave in fridge to marinate overnight (3 hours minimum).
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan over high heat until smoking. Add half the chicken and spread out. Leave for 2 minutes or until charred. Turn each piece and cook the other side until charred - don't worry if not cooked inside. Remove into bowl.
Scrape out charred bits left in pan and discard. Add more oil if required and cook remaining chicken.
Sauce:
Wipe skillet with paper towels (or do this part in a pot as you need a lid). Turn heat down to medium high.
Add oil and butter. When butter is melted, add onions, ginger and salt.
Cook, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn't burn, until the ginger is starting to turn golden and the onions smell sweet, about 5 - 7 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and paprika, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the Curry Sauce Spices, and cook a further 2 minutes, stirring.
Add tomato passata and water, and mix. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low.
Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour curry into a bowl, then use a stick blender to puree until smooth (Note 3).
Return sauce to skillet. Add cream, sugar and butter. Stir to melt the butter.
Add chicken, stir. Simmer for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Optional: Sprinkle with a pinch of extra garam masala at the end.
Serve over rice, sprinkled with coriander/cilantro if desired. Try this No Yeast Flatbread as a quick naan!
Recipe Notes
1. Please don't try this with chicken breast! The high temp cooking required to achieve the char grilled crust on the chicken will overcook it and dry it out.
2. Garam Masala is a spice mix that is found in major supermarkets in Australia (Woolies, Coles etc) that is commonly used in Indian cooking. It smells like curry powder.
3. Or canola, coconut, grapeseed or other neutral flavoured oil with a high smoke point. NOT olive oil.
4. I do this step because it's difficult to use a stick blender in a skillet. If you're making this in a pot, you can probably tilt the pot to use a stick blender. Or let cool slightly and do this in a blender - do not blitz piping hot sauce in a blender, it might blow the lid off and curry sauce will hit your ceiling!
GENERAL NOTES:
* Indian cooking uses a lot of oil. Don't be tempted to skimp on the butter and oil for this recipe, it really affects the resulting richness of the dish at the end. We were quite surprised at the difference it made. AT MOST you can reduce the cooking oil by 1 tbsp and omit the butter at the end (but taste it first!)
* You can use ghee instead of the oil/butter used to sauté the onion. I find oil + butter produces a similar end result. I do use ghee sometimes - if I have it on hand (which I usually don't).
* The dish is deliberately saucy because it's SO GOOD!
* The salt level looks high but curries need it. Generally, intense flavours = more salt required.