I set out on an adventure to make my own Tikka Masala earlier this year, and have been getting requests from folks smelling it to get the recipe.
First….
The Marinade. This is fairly standard from any recipe you’ll look up.
1 cup Plain Yogurt
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1 TBS Garam Masala
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Ceyenne pepper
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp ginger
Mix that up and marinate your chicken for several hours. I like to get it going first thing in the morning. Now, I’m always using 2 lbs of frozen chicken, and as it thaws, it naturally thins out that marinade, so if yours is more fresh or pre-thawed, you might want to thin it a bit with some water.
Once ready, take that chicken and cook it on the grill. You don’t want to really char the chicken, just cooked all the way through. Then dice it up and set aside. I assume you could even do this a day in advance if you wanted.
PART II
The Sauce. This is where we go a little off the standard. Most recipes, first of all, don’t have enough sauce for our taste.
~2 TBS butter
1/2 onion minced
3 cloves garlic
Sautee the onion and garlic in the butter.
Add a quart of tomato sauce. If you haven’t seen, my homemade sauce makes a fantastic starting point. I’ve come to like the Kirkland brand as an alternative as well.
Stir well, then stir in the following:
2 TBS Garam Masala
1 TBS Cumin
2 tsp Coriander
2 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp paprika
Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, then add…
*Sriracha to taste*
The precooked chicken. Stir well and bring back to a simmer.
Stir in 1-2 cups of cream while simmering, to get the desired consistency you want.
Serve with rice.
You can easily make your own naan by using some Rhodes roll dough, just let it rise and punch it down into the shape and bake per package directions.