Chicken Tikka Masala!

Is this your favourite curry?

?

When you think how much we all love Chicken Tikka Masala and how tasty it is you do start to think it is the ultimate curry of all time. But where did it come from? India probably, Pakistan more likely, Bangladesh maybe?  No Actually, it's from England.

Ok. Now that's out in the open you can Google it and make up your own mind on its origins. Personally I don't want to think that my all time mid-life (Aages ago - I'm waay ahead of you) favourite indian takeaway (when ordered with a tri-coloured pulao rice (no picture available! Internet what are you playing at?) and a plain naan) was invented anywhere else but India. Preferably Jaipur. Inside the walls of the Pink City. Where Moghul kings gave elephants as gifts to their children and the princes and princesses rode their elephants proudly and loved them so much and rode them endlessly between the hill forts of colonial British India.

Any truth in any of that? It's the popular story, but honestly who knows? I'm going with it.

Anyway.

Things to consider when cooking this are that it's a curry with a smooth sauce not messed about with too much and not really too many ingredients except for the sauce and chicken pieces. You eat it with rice and you definitely try to have some vegetables with it. Like Spinach or Peas which are easily cooked in a microwave. Or Cauliflower which needs to be cooked separately but is so tasty I had to mention it.

Here is our recipe for Chicken tikka Masala that will work in any kitchen anywhere the ingredients are available and has a cooker of some sort.

350g Raw Chicken breast or (preferably) thighs cut up into large sized chunks. About two inches 5cm pieces. Not too small.
1 x Onion, Standard cooking variety. finely chopped, Yes finely. As small as you can manage. Actually in India they would make a smooth paste of it so don't stop chopping until you're sure you are too bored to continue.
500ml  x Tomato passata. About half a bottle of that plain smooth tomato stuff. No added garlic or herbs here. Just the basic product. See picture.
350g x Coconut cream. Or milk. Coconut products are difficult to pin down as they are so badly described. Milk, Cream, block? See picture.
1 x Huge heaped tsp butter. Salted or unsalted. About 35g.
2 x Tsps Garam Masala
2 x Tsps Ground Coriander
Juice of half a Lemon
50-100g Fresh Ginger grated (Chloe has a grater). Yes it is a lot but this stuff is tasty so be brave.
1 x Small pot double cream

Cook the onion in the oil over low heat until it's a bit see-through. Add the spices and stir around to get them going. It doesn't matter if it all looks too dry for a minute or so at this point. What you are doing is toasting the spices to magnify their flavour.

Carefully add the passata and ginger and heat through gently. I would be extra careful here because if your pan is too hot it will splash everywhere. Although you want it to be properly hot you really do have to be careful with tomato sauces and boiling because they can go funny and bitty. You'll be fine but be careful until the coconut goes in.

Add the coconut. If you are using the block stuff then I would chop it up a bit on a board first. It is deceptively easy to use. It just melts away really easily but doesn't look like it's going to coooperate at all. It will. A tin of canned coconut is also stressful because it contains a lot of water at one end and strangely is solid coconut at the other end. Use block if you can but tins do work too. Carton is best. Just do it.

Now add the raw cubed chicken. Stir well to coat. hopefully it will be about the right quantity and the chicken won't be lost in a sea of sauce. No problem if it is though because it is very tasty.

Again bring back to heat and then simmer carefully with lid on for 15 to 20 minutes until it has thickened a bit and the chicken is cooked through. Taste. Got enough salt? Add some more if it needs it. Black pepper will also help here. Squeeeze in the lemon but avoid those pesky pips. Finally add the butter and stir through until it's all melty and delicious.

That's it. There is a proper description of how to cook rice on the blog so you can cook that too. Spinach? Well just follow the instructions on the packet but if you really want to make it happen then cook the spinach for a few minutes then chop it up on a board with a sharp knife drain. Use your hands to squeeze as much liquid out of it as you can. Now fry some sliced garlic in butter and then briefly reheat the spinach in the garlicky buttery juice.

Vindaloo, Vindaloo... (Keith Allen song. Spotify)