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Axel’s Chicken Tikka Masala Curry Recipe

Chicken Tikka is an Anglo-Indian Curry Classic, this is the a cheat's version of this.

Axel’s Chicken Tikka Masala Curry Recipe
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Ingredients

marinade and roast the spiced chicken
  • 1tsp organic paprika
  • ½ tsp organic cumin seeds, dry roasted then ground in pestle & mortar
  • ½ tsp organic nutmeg powder
  • ½ tsp organic coriander powder
  • ¼ tsp organic yellow mustard powder
  • 1tsp Steenbergs organic garam masala
  • 4 green cardamom pods, opened so the flavour from the seeds comes out
  • 1 green chilli (medium heat), deseeded and chopped
  • 2tbsp lime juice
  • 3tbsp plain yoghurt
  • 500g / 1lb chicken breast, chopped into 2cm / 1 inch cubes
The Tikka Masala Sauce
  • 2 tbsp ghee or sunflower/vegetable oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
  • 1 large or 1½ medium onions, chopped finely
  • ½ sweet pepper (red or green), chopped into small dices
  • 1cm / ½ inch fresh ginger, grated
  • ½ tsp organic paprika
  • ½ tsp Steenbergs organic madras curry powder
  • ½ tsp organic turmeric
  • ½ tsp organic coriander powder
  • ¼ tsp organic chilli powder (or more to taste)
  • 1tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 4tbsp chopped tomatoes from a tin
  • 1tbsp tomato ketchup, ideally Heinz as it should be slightly sweet
  • 175ml / ¾ cup tomato soup, once again ideally Heinz as the colour and sweetness is right
  • 100ml / ½ cup single cream
  • ½ tbsp Steenbergs organic garam masala
  • 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped finely
  • ½ tsp sea salt, or Steenbergs organic chaat masala

This is the quintessential of fusion meals, Chicken Tikka Masala, which has become one of the icons of modern British food.
It tastes good, but also this recipe uses storecupboard classics that we never normally cook with – Heinz tomato ketchup and Heinz tomato soup.  Essentially this is a tandoori chicken recipe with a lightly spiced tomato-curry sauce using quick-to-hand ingredients.

This is a family-friendly version rather than adult-authentic, so if you want some heat added just add 2 – 4 green chillis to the tikka masala sauce and you should be okay.  Also, you could circumvent all the spices by using a tandoori masala for the chicken-yoghurt marinade and a tikka or Madras curry powder in the tikka sauce.

Method

Stage 1: Marinade and roast the chicken

01
Firstly prepare the spices, dry roasting the cumin and deseeding the green chilli.  Add all these to a metal or glass mixing bowl.  Stir in the lime juice until you have a paste, then add the yoghurt and mix through all the flavours. 
02
Finally, with the best chicken you can find or are happy buying, chop this into cubes and then add to the spicy marinade and stir through throughly.  Cover and leave in fridge to infuse with the flavours.  I try and leave it overnight but a minimum of 3 hours is fine. (As for chilli, you can increase or decrease those quantities to suit your desire for heat; as we have two children, they are not too enamoured of over hot food so I tend to keep the heat quotient down for them.)
03
On the next day, while you are making the tikka masala sauce, roast these curry flavoured chicken pieces by placing them evenly on a baking tray and cooking in a 180C / 350F oven for 20 - 25 minutes until nicely browned.

Stage 2: Making the tikka masala sauce

01
Start by preparing the spice mix that is needed for the sauce, i.e. the fresh ginger to coriander powder in the list.  When done, heat the ghee or vegetable oil in a frying pan.  Add the onions and garlic cloves and fry gently for 3 minutes until starting to get translucent, then add the chopped bell pepper and fry for another 2 - 3 minutes.  Add the spice mix to the onion-garlic-pepper and mix throughly and fry for about 1 minute. 
02
Now add all the liquid ingredients to the onion mix and stir completely - that is the white wine vinegar, chopped tinned tomatoes, tomato ketchup, Heinz tomato soup and single cream.
03
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 15 minutes.  Then add in the garam masala, fresh coriander leaves and chaat masala/ salt.

Stage 3: Fusion Time - bringing it all together

01
As a final stage, add the roasted spicy chicken pieces to the tikka sauce.  Stir it together and let cook together for about 15 minutes.
02
Serve with rice and naan bread.