So, here you have it… one of the most popular Indian dishes in the world. It is so famous that it has been declared one of the UK’s national dishes! I did some digging and from what I have gathered, it is more of a restaurant-born dish than a traditional Indian dish (unlike its close cousin chicken makhani – aka butter chicken), but both dishes have uncertain origins.
Anyhow, I am not sure I need to know… it tastes so good that my taste buds are usually too busy to care! It is one of the first Indian dishes I have eaten and it is still one of my favourite!
You may be surprised to know that making chicken tikka masala at home is not hard, despite the long list of ingredients it requires. The key is to have some chicken tikka at home. I usually make a little extra of my chicken tikka so that, the next day, I can make chicken tikka masala with it… clever eh?
It is a rather mild dish, but you can add a little more chilli powder if you like. This is great with my Kashmiri pulao, garlic naan or simple naan, but it can also be served with some steamed basmati rice. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
500 gms 1.1 lbs. chicken tikka (click here for the recipe)
½ onion, cut in thick pieces
½ green capsicum, cut in 2.5 cm (1 inch) pieces
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
½ tsp cumin seeds
3 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
3 cloves
2.5 cm – 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
2 big onions, finely chopped
500 ml – 2 cups tomato purée (passata)
2 tbsp ground cashew nuts
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 ½ tsp coriander powder
1 tsp (or more) chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric
½ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp melted butter
½ tsp garam masala
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Put the vegetable oil in a big pot and heat it up. Add the bay leaf, cumin seeds, green cardamoms, black cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and fry them for a minute. Add the chopped onions and sauté until golden brown. Now add the ginger and garlic pastes and cook them for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato purée (passata), stir and cook it for a couple of minutes.
Now add the coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric. Stir in the ground cashew nuts and salt to taste. Cook this masala until the oil separates from it. Add the chicken tikka and 250 ml – 1 cup of water and let it cook for 5 minutes.
Now add the onion and capsicum and cook for another 5 minutes. At this point, add the cream, melted butter, garam masala, lemon juice and coriander leaves. Cover it and let it simmer for a few minutes on a medium flame until the sauce thickens.
Serve hot with some simple basmati rice or my Kashmiri pulao, garlic naan or simple naan!
Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 500 gms 1.1 lbs. chicken tikka
- ½ onion cut in thick pieces
- ½ green capsicum cut in 2.5 cm (1 inch) pieces
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 3 green cardamoms
- 1 black cardamom
- 3 cloves
- 2.5 cm – 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 2 big onions finely chopped
- 500 ml – 2 cups tomato purée passata
- 2 tbsp ground cashew nuts
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 ½ tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp or more chilli powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
- Salt to taste
Instructions
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Put the vegetable oil in a big pot and heat it up. Add the bay leaf, cumin seeds, green cardamoms, black cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and fry them for a minute. Add the chopped onions and sauté until golden brown. Now add the ginger and garlic pastes and cook them for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato purée (passata), stir and cook it for a couple of minutes.
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Now add the coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric. Stir in the ground cashew nuts and salt to taste. Cook this masala until the oil separates from it. Add the chicken tikka and 250 ml – 1 cup of water and let it cook for 5 minutes.
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Now add the onion and capsicum and cook for another 5 minutes. At this point, add the cream, melted butter, garam masala, lemon juice and coriander leaves. Cover it and let it simmer for a few minutes on a medium flame until the sauce thickens.
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Serve hot with some simple basmati rice or my Kashmiri pulao, garlic naan or simple naan!
Enjoy!
Looks mouthwatering!! Chicken Tikka Masala is my favorite dish to order when we eat out. I have been searching for a recipe but have yet to find one that is anything like the one we get in restaurants. Green peppers is always in it but the recipes I found don’t add it and are more of a butter chicken. Look forward to giving yours a try but I will toss in some kasuri methi too! Thx for sharing!
You just made me so happy! I have made this once before but didn’t love the way that recipe turned out…yours looks easy to follow and so delish! Can’t wait to try it! 🙂
Yum! Love chicken tikka.
This is a favorite dish of mine and yours looks so perfect!! Yum.
Tried this today and it tasted great. Everyone in the family relished it. I avoided the cream to reduce the fat and it still turned out to taste like something we’d order in a restaurant! Thanks for sharing.
i tried this recipe….it was really tasty …thanx for recipe Manu…..
Very delicious recipe. I have tried making Chicken tikka masala multiple times by following different recipes but none of them taste as they should. This recipe is easy to follow and tastes delicious. Very similar to the dish we get in the restaurants.
Thanks for posting this.
Manu Can i try this with Beef? Please reply me soon Iam waiting…
Hi Tasmeen, yes you can. Just make sure to use the right cut of meat. I would use something good for slow cooking/stewing and cook it longer in the gravy, as you would do with any other beef curry.
Can I try this recipe with beef. Please let me know soon please.