Curry House Chicken Tikka Masala
Make British curry house Chicken Tikka Masala with smoky chicken tikka, base sauce, tomato, almond and cream. A mild recipe serving four.
Ingredients
- 45 ml ghee or rapeseed oil
- 20 g garlic and ginger paste about 1 heaped tbsp
- 2 tsp mixed powder
- 2 tsp tandoori masala
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ¼ to ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder optional
- 25 g ground almonds
- 15 g coconut milk powder
- 80 g double concentrated tomato purée mixed with 80ml water
- 600 ml hot curry house base sauce
- 600 g cooked chicken tikka
- 10 to 20 g caster sugar to taste
- Food grade red colouring optional and used according to packet directions
- 150 ml single cream
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves crushed between your fingers
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 to 2 tsp lemon juice to taste
- Fine sea salt to taste
- 3 tbsp finely chopped coriander
Instructions
- Heat the ghee or oil in a wide frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir for about 30 seconds, until fragrant and no longer raw smelling.
- Lower the heat slightly. Add the mixed powder, tandoori masala, paprika and optional Kashmiri chilli powder. Stir for 20 seconds, taking care not to scorch the spices.
- Stir in the ground almonds and coconut milk powder, followed immediately by the diluted tomato purée. Cook for 1 minute, stirring until the mixture is smooth and bubbling.
- Add 200ml of the hot base sauce. Return to a strong simmer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the sauce from the sides of the pan as it reduces.
- Add the chicken tikka and 200ml more base sauce. Stir well and simmer for 3 minutes, until the chicken is hot and coated. Add the remaining base sauce and optional colouring, then reduce until the gravy reaches your preferred consistency.
- Stir in 10g sugar, then lower the heat and pour in the single cream. Simmer gently for 1 to 2 minutes without allowing the sauce to boil aggressively.
- Add the crushed fenugreek leaves and garam masala. Taste and adjust with more sugar if needed, followed by lemon juice and salt until the sauce is balanced.
- Stir through most of the chopped coriander. Serve immediately with the remaining coriander scattered over the top.
Notes
Have the chicken tikka cooked and the base sauce hot before starting. The stated sugar range allows for differences between tomato purées and base sauces. Begin with 10g and taste before adding more. Add base sauce in stages to maintain the pan temperature and encourage reduction. Food colouring is optional and contributes no flavour. Chicken thigh tikka remains particularly juicy when reheated in the sauce, although breast also works if it is not overcooked. Keep the heat gentle after adding cream.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Calories: 546kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 41gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 155mgSodium: 142mgPotassium: 577mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 831IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 93mgIron: 3mg
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