Indian chicken tikka masala

Chicken tikka masala (Hindi: चिकन टिक्का मसाला; Urdu: مرغ تکہ مصالحہ) is a curry dish of roasted chicken chunks (tikka) served in a rich-tasting red or orange-coloured sauce. The sauce is usually creamy, lightly spiced and contains tomatoes. The origins of chicken tikka masala are disputed. An Indian expert on street food from Delhi, Rahul Verma, has stated that the dish originated (probably by accident with subsequent improvisations) in Punjab during the last 50 years. Another view is that it originated in the first Indian restaurants in Soho, London, during the 1970's. In 2009, a Glasgow MP suggested it should be given EU Protected Geographical Status as a Scottish food. No application for such status was actually made. A number of Indian chefs, believe that it is merely a variation on an Indian dish known to the Mughal Emperors.

Chicken tikka masala is chicken tikka, or chunks of chicken, marinated in spices and yogurt then baked in a tandoor oven, served in a masala ("mixture of spices") sauce. The sauce usually includes tomatoes, frequently as puree, and either/or both cream and/or coconut cream and various spices. The sauce or chicken pieces (or both) are coloured orange with food dyes or with orange foodstuffs such as turmeric powder, paprika powder or tomato puree. Other tikka masala dishes replace chicken with lamb, fish or paneer.

Indian chicken tikka masala

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 small onion - finely chopped
• 1.5 inch piece cassia bark (or cinnamon)
• 2 green cardamon pods
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger - very finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic - very finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 3/4 teaspoon good chile powder
• 5 tablespoons Greek-style full cream yoghurt (3/4 of a 150 gm tub)
• 1 teaspoon (or a little more) concentrated tomato puree
• salt to taste
• 2 chicken breasts, skinned and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon chopped up pieces from a block of creamed coconut
• chopped fresh coriander leaf (cilantro) to garnish

How to cook it

Heat the oil in a large heavy pan then add the chopped onion and stir for a few minutes with the heat on high. Add the cassia, cardamons, cloves and fennel seeds and stir a little then turn the heat down to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic, stir and cook for another 10 minutes on low heat stirring now and again to make sure nothing browns or burns. Add the turmeric, coriander and chile powder and fry gently for a minute. Add 1 tablespoon of yoghurt, stir round and turn the heat up so the yoghurt sizzles in the oil.

When the yoghurt has lost a lot of its moisture add another

tablespoon. Stir and fry as before. Repeat until all the yoghurt

is incorporated. Add the tomato puree and stir in.

Stir in hot water - enough to make the mixture very fluid. Bring

to the boil and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Add

salt to taste.

Heat a little oil in a large heavy frying pan and stir-fry the

chicken pieces over a moderate heat until they are sealed and have turned white. Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer gently for another 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Stir from time to time. If the sauce gets too dry add a little hot water.

10 minutes from the end add the creamed cocunut pieces and stir to melt them. Adjust the consistency of the sauce with some hot water as the creamed coconut will thicken the sauce.

At the end of the cooking you should have a fairly thick, creamy sauce with little patches of oil appearing at the top. Remove the cassia and cardamons (if you can find them! Don't worry about the

cloves)

Serve, garnished with chopped fresh coriander leaf (cilantro).

© Text and image: Wikipedia / Recipe: www.world-recipes.info