Cooking Class: Chicken Tikka Masala

Bindweed kitchen was on fire last night as good friends gathered for our last class of the season, Chicken Tikka Masala.  (More about that later.)

Tikka is the Hindi word for cutlets or "chunks" of meat and masala translates as "heat" and is used to describe a mixture of spices.  Thus Chicken Tikka Masala is a dish of marinated cutlets of chicken simmered in a creamy tomato based sauce flavored with a mix of traditional Indian spices.  From what I have read it is more British in origin than Indian, but is a standard at Indian restaurants.  RT and I had some from a street vendor in Portland and I was not content until I could make it myself and as you well know, once I fall in love with a recipe, I just have to share it.

 

Cooking Indian dishes is a sensual delight--beautiful colors, savory and pungent spices for the nose and taste buds.  Just gathering the ingredients gets my juices flowing, especially when you toast some spices right off the bat!  Here we start with paprika, cumin and coriander toasted in dry skillet just until fragrant.   

Then you add tumeric and cayenne pepper.  Mix all the spices together and then set aside 3 tablespoons of the mixture for the sauce and put the remainder in a medium bowl.

 

Peel and grate some ginger and peel and mince a LOT of garlic and mix the two together, creating a garlic/ginger paste.  Divide this mixture in half and reserve one part in a small container for the sauce.  

Combine the spice mixture in a medium bowl with one half of the garlic/ginger paste and about a cup of plain yogurt.  Mix this up well, add a bit of salt and the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  

Use this yogurt marinade to sink your chicken thighs in.  Mix it all around so that every surface of the chicken is coated--seriously, get your hands in there and massage those thighs.  Just remember to wash your hands well with soap.  Another sensual element to this dish.  

 Cover and pop this in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to 8 hours.  Much of the heavy work is done so go put your feet up, read a good book or watch an enchanting movie--Monsoon Wedding, Outsourced, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or Bride and Prejudice--just to put you in the mood for something rich and spicy!

About 45 minutes before you are ready to serve, start the sauce.  

Peel and chop an onion.

Locate the 3 tablespoons of spice mixture you reserved and the remaining half of the garlic/ginger paste and set them near the stove top.

Open two cans of diced tomatoes and wash and mince some fresh cilantro.  

Cover and line a broiler pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray--unless you love soaking and scraping broiler pans.

Set your broiler to 500 degrees.

Set some basmati rice to cook.

Open an icy Indian beer for company and you are ready to rock this curry.

Place your beautifully marinated chicken (tikka) on your prepared broiler pan.

Put a heavy bottomed Dutch oven (I am using Sophie) over medium high heat and add in a generous amount of canola oil.  As soon as the oil begins to shimmer--a good sign the oil is hot and ready--add the onion and a pinch or so of salt.  Saute the onions until they begin to color.

Now add the garlic/ginger paste, cook this while stirring for about a minute, do not let the garlic burn!  Add in the reserved spices, stir, cook and enjoy the aromatic halo that swirls around your head, and will "perfume" you and your hair for quite some time.  You will make everyone near you hungry, craving Indian food.

Now pour in the diced tomatoes and all of their juices.  Stir up any browned bits that might be on the bottom of the pan, add some cilantro and let this simmer for 15 minutes.

While your sauce is perking away cook the chicken.  Slide the pan under the broiler and set the timer for 6 minutes.  You want the chicken to show browned bits, but not to burn.  Last night we broiler the chicken for 8 minutes on each side.  The chicken will not be cooked through, you will finish the cooking in the sauce.  Remove the chicken to a cutting board and cut it into bite sized pieces.  

If you are lucky and own an immersion or stick blender, use it to puree your sauce.  If not, carefully transfer your sauce to a blender or food processor to puree.  (Yes, those are tulips that RT just cut and brought in.  That means my days of leisure are numbered and cooking must give way to farming--and unfortunately an end to cooking classes this season.)

Set the sauce back on the heat to simmer and add the chicken.  Cook until the chicken is done, about five minutes.

 

 As soon as your chicken is perfectly cooked add a cup of cream, stir and remove from the heat. Serve immediately over steaming basmati rice, garnished with fresh cilantro.  Enjoy this rich delicate curry with good friends and another icy Asian beer.

Chicken Tikka Masala

3 lbs. chicken thighs, boned

2 TB cumin

2 TB paprika

1 TB coriander

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp cayenne pepper

8 cloves garlic, grated fine

3 TB fresh ginger, grated fine

1-2 c. plain yogurt (you need enough to cover and coat all of the chicken)

2/3 c. lemon juice, freshly squeezed, divided

1 tsp salt

4 TB  butter or ghee or canola oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 (28 ounce/quart) tomatoes

½ c. cilantro, chopped

1 c. cream

If chicken thighs have skin, score skin at 1-inch intervals and place in a shallow dish or pan.

Marinade:

Combine cumin, paprika and coriander and toast in a dry skillet.  Slide spices into a small bowl and add the turmeric and cayenne, and mix well. Set aside 3 TB of spice mixture.   Add half the garlic, ginger, lemon and all the yogurt and salt.  Stir until combined.  Pour over chicken and massage into every part.  Cover and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.

Sauce:

Heat butter, ghee or oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat until melted and foaming subsides.  Add onions and cook for 5 min.  Add garlic and ginger and continue cooking until dark spots begin to appear, about 5 min. more.  Add reserved spice mixture and cook, stirring 30 seconds.  Add tomatoes and half of the cilantro.  Simmer for 15 min., then puree using a hand blender.  Sitr in cream and remaining quarter cup lemon juice.  Season to taste with salt and set aside until chicken is ready.

Chicken may be cooked on the grill or in the broiler.

To grill:

Wipe off excess marinade and cook flesh-side-down over medium heat on a well-oiled grill for 4-5 min. without moving.  Flip and cook the other side for another 4-5 min.  Chicken may not be completely cooked.  Remove and let rest 5 min. 

To broil:

Wipe off excess marinade and cook flesh-side-up 6 in. under a hot broiler for 8 min.  Chicken may not be completely cooked.  Transfer to cutting board and allow to rest 5 min.

After chicken has rested cut into bit sized pieces and add to sauce.  Simmer until chicken is cooked through.  Serve over rice garnished with remaining cilantro.

Adapted from Serious Eats