PERFECT RESTAURANT STYLE CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA (STEP BY STEP GUIDE IN ENGLISH)
If you are craving for a restaurant style chicken tikka masala then this recipe is the right choice for you and that gravy my friends it’s too delicious. Hi everyone nomoshkar & welcome to Curries With Bumbi. Today I will show you step by step how to make the perfect chicken tikka masala at your own home kitchen. So let’s get started. The very first thing you need to do is to make a ginger garlic paste which is an essential component for Indian cuisine.
We are looking for a fine paste like this. Next step we will marinate the chicken. We need Kashmiri red chili powder. If this is unavailable at your place then you can even use paprika or red chili powder. I need little bit of turmeric powder.
Do not add too much as we want a orange colored gravy which will not be possible if you add too much of turmeric powder.Then ground coriander or dhania powder for that citrusy kind of smell and garam masala powder. Add some oil , then salt , and a pinch of sugar to get that caramelization. Now mix all those spices with the oil.
Coming to the chicken.
I am a great fan of chicken thighs as they turn out to be so succulent and juicy as opposed to the dry and fibrous chicken breast. Add about a tablespoon of the ginger garlic paste. Next I need some lemon juice. Then plain unflavored Greek yogurt. You can even use regular plain unflavored yogurt but in that case keep it on a strainer for an hour in the fridge so that the excess liquid drains off and you will be left with this thick consistency just like Greek yogurt.
Keep it in the fridge and let it marinate for a minimum of 2 hours, overnight will be better. Heat some oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot add the chicken pieces one by one. Place them in a single layer. If your pan is small then fry them in batches.
Overcrowding the pan will lead to steaming the chicken and we won’t get that charred kind of appearance. Keep the heat on the high side in the beginning. See that deep brown color that’s the color we are looking for. Keep this side on high heat as well for a minute or two, then you can decrease the heat to medium low and let it get cooked while you make the gravy.
Pan on medium heat.
Then add little oil & then butter. Today we are making restaurant quality food so addition of butter is the right choice. You can even add ghee. The choice is all yours. Next we need whole cumin seeds or jeera.
Let the seeds splutter to release their flavor. I need a dried bay leaf. Then comes chopped onions. Stir till the onions become pale in color. Turn the chicken from time to time.
You want them to be about 90 percent cooked through and then the rest they will get cooked later in the gravy. You can even cook the chicken in the oven. I have given the details in the description box.
Do not brown the onions too much for this recipe. They need to turn soft and just start developing little color.
Now I will be adding Kashmiri red chili powder, ground coriander, little bit of cumin powder. Stir the spices on a very low heat for a few seconds then immediately add the ginger garlic paste to prevent the spices from getting burnt. Stir the paste on medium heat till the raw smell goes away. This will take about 2 to 3 minutes or when the mixture looks dry. Then as always I like adding little bit of sugar.
I know, the tikka masala gurus probably will raise their eyebrows if they watch this video but as I always say the sugar helps in balancing the flavor . When you see that oil around the sides you will know that the mixture is well fried and it’s time for the tomatoes to dive in. I am using canned crushed tomatoes but you can even use tomato purée or a combination of fresh tomatoes and tomato purée. Whatever you use you want to keep on stirring on medium heat till they give a concentrated dry kind of look.
I added some salt.
Okay the tomatoes have reduced down and everything looks well fried now so time for the chicken to enter. The chicken is almost done so I will add them to the tomatoes. And no I did not waste that leftover oil from the chicken. I fried some potatoes in there as my husband will go on searching for potatoes and will go on on digging & digging in the bowl of chicken with this hope of finding a molecule of potato whether the recipe calls for potatoes or not. You can use the same pan to fry the chicken and then make the gravy.
I leave that up to you. I added little water to loosen up everything. Next we need to use dried fenugreek leaves that is kasuri methi. It has this strong pungent smell. I like to crush it to release all those aromatic oils but do not add too much as that will overpower your dish and turn it bitter.
Then garam masala powder. Now cover it for about 6 to 7 minutes on low heat. Let’s now see what’s happening in that pan. Look at that gorgeousness. Do a taste test at this point.
Then comes the star of the show, the cream. I am using heavy cream. Tikka masala calls for a lot of cream my friends. I mean go for a walk or go biking,hopping , dancing, prancing do whatever your heart desires after having this but please add some cream in order to get that restaurant kind of flavor. Cover it for 2 minutes on low heat.
Remove the bay leaves before serving. Finally some coriander leaves to add up to the freshness. Serve this with basmati rice, naan or paratha. Please pop down those comments as I love reading them. This is Bumbi & thanks for joining me.
Please take care & stay healthy. Bye bye..