Chicken Tikka Masala

Submitted by treehuggingmom

"An excellent, authentic Indian recipe of a favorite dish that can be made days ahead. Easy steps include: Marinade chicken; toast almonds; cook sauce, rice and chicken. Don't let the array of spices daunt you; they're simple to add. Directions lightly modified from the original published by Food and Wine. Can refrigerate up to 3 days before service: Skip step 17, and reheat gently before serving. Sauce is delicious over other proteins and vegetables besides chicken. Serve with basmati rice, which unlike white rices have a medium glycemic index, so is a pretty good alternative, akin to whole wheat bread, for diabetics. Directions for the rice are not included here. I'm listing this as 6 servings, to be served accompanied by a vegetable dish or salad."

 

• Ready In: 9hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 25
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• FOR THE MARINADE

• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• salt
• fresh ground pepper

• FOR THE CHICKEN AND SAUCE

• 2 1⁄2 lbs boneless chicken thighs, skinless and trimmed of fat
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1⁄4 cup blanched whole almond
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons garam masala
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons pure chile powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• one 35-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream

directions

1. MARINADE CHICKEN 6-8 HOURS:

2. In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine marinade ingredients.
3. Using a sharp knife, make a few shallow slashes in each piece of chicken. Add the chicken to the marinade, turn to coat and refrigerate 6-8 hours.

4. COOK CHICKEN:

5. Preheat the broiler and position a rack about 8 inches from the heat.
6. Remove the chicken from the marinade; scrape off all the marinade and season with salt and pepper.
7. Spread the pieces on a baking sheet and broil, turning once or twice, until just cooked through and browned in spots, about 12 minutes.
8. Transfer to a cutting board and cut it into 2-inch pieces.

9. WHILE CHICKEN IS COOKING:

10. TOAST ALMONDS: Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet. Cook almonds over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, about 5 minutes. Cool completely on a cool plate, then finely grind in a food processor.

11. MAKE THE SAUCE:

12. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Cook onion, garlic and ginger over moderate heat until tender and golden, about 8 minutes.
13. Add next 3 ingredients and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
14. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the sugar and season with salt and pepper.
15. Cover partially and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
16. Turn heat to low. Add cream and ground almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes.
17. Stir in the chicken; simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and serve.

18. SERVE WITH:

19. Steamed basmati rice, rice pilaf or warm nan.

Reviews

[Outta Here]

Wow! Great dish with lots of flavor. I mistakenly grabbed a package of boneless breast out of the freezer instead of the thighs, but this worked great with those (I cut the cooking time down to compensate). Will be making this again. Made for Spring 2014 PAC.