How to Make Chicken Tikka Masala

How to Make Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala is boneless chucks of chicken marinated in spices and youghurt then cooked in spicey sauce. In the Kenyan cuisine, this dish defers slightly depending on which part of the country one is. In Nairobi and other parts of upcountry regions, cream is basically used to season the sauce while in the coastal regions, coconut cream is used with various spices.

Below is a simple recipe on how to enjoy Chicken Tikka Masala at home!

Enjoy….

Kenyan Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

For the Marinade

• 1/2 Kilo Bon less chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 cup thick natural youghurt
• 1 teaspoon Chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger and garlic paste
• A pinch of Methi (Fenugreek) powder
• A pinch of Turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• Juice of half a lime
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Add the spices in a mixing bowl and mix well to make a thick marinade
Add Chicken to the marinade and mix well
Cover and let it marinade for atleast 4 hours! I personally let mine marinade overnight in the refrigerator

Preheat the oven to 250°C, put inn the marinated Chicken and grill it for half an hour.

In the meantime prepare the Masala Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup cooking oil
Whole garam spices (1 bay leave, 2 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 clove,black pepper and cumin seeds) this will give your cooking oil a delicious aroma and add an exotic taste to the Masala Sauce
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped or blended
1 teaspoon grind cashew nuts
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon of fresh ginger and garlic paste
1 teaspoon of chilli, coriander and cumin powder
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/4 cup of water
Juice of half a lime
1/2 cup cream or Coconut cream (optional)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Cubed tomato, red bell pepper, onion and a bunch of fresh coriander for garnishing

Instructions

In a big cooking pan or wok, add oil, whole garam spices and heat up. Let the spices blend in with the oil while heating up till you get a nice delicious aroma

Add finely chopped onions and cook till uniformly brown and soft. Stir in ginger and garlic paste and cook for about a minute or 2

Add finely chopped or blended tomatoes together with the tomato paste and grind cashew nuts. Let the mixture cook till the fresh tomatoes are soft and pulpy

Lower the heat and add the spices; chilli, coriander, cumin and turmeric powder. Add a little bit of water to avoid them from burning. Let the paste cook for about 3 minutes while stirring constantly to avoid it from burning

Add the half grilled chicken tikka into the paste and stir well till the chicken captures the gravy flovour

Pour in the cream or coconut cream and lime juice and stir the mixture very well

Season with salt and pepper

Garnish with fresh cubed tomatoes, red bell pepper, onions and coriander

Serve hot with Chapati  or rice