Chicken Tikka Masala

This is a Cody cameo.  I've made Chicken Tikka Masala several times and Deb is a big fan.

Ingredients:

The Chicken
6 boneless chicken breasts
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons black pepper
2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice

The Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves of garlic
2 jalapeno peppers
4 teaspoons cumin
4 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
16 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup 2% milk
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro

Rice
Any plain white, brown, or basmati rice

First, cube the chicken breasts.  I like to make them various sizes.  No larger than an inch though.  Then put all the chicken in a large bowl.  Clean up everything that the chicken touched before progressing.  Salmonella is bad.  Now, add the 4 teaspoons cumin, 4 teaspoons black pepper, 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons garam masala, 2 cups plain yogurt, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.  Don't worry, the cayenne pepper will be mellowed out by the rest of the ingredients.  Mix everything up with your hands.  Put the bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  The longer the better.  Pictured above is the chicken in the yogurt marinade, along with many of the ingredients used in the recipe.

Now, the sauce.  Put a nice size pot on the stove burner.  Drop 2 tablespoons of butter in and heat it at around 3-4.  Chop up the 2 cloves of garlic and 2 jalapeno peppers as fine as you can.  Then dump these into the pot with the melted butter to saute.

Add 4 teaspoons of cumin, 4 teaspoons of paprika, 1 teaspoon of garam masala, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.  You can add salt here if you wish.  Let the garlic and jalapeno cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple minutes.  Then add the 16 ounces of tomato sauce, 1 cup of heavy cream, and 1 cup of 2% milk.  Stir.  This is the completed sauce.  Let it simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I prefer to serve the masala over rice.  If you're willing to splurge, basmati rice is ideal, but any plain old white rice or brown rice is fine.  Start the rice now, if you are going to serve the masala over rice, a scrumptious combination.

While the sauce is cooking, start the chicken.  The preferred method is to put the chicken cubes on skewers and cook them on the grill.  If you don't have a grill, the next preferred method is a grill pan, skillet, or any old pan on the stove top.  Important:  if you aren't grilling the chicken, strain off the excess yogurt marinade.  Do not just dump the bowl of chicken, marinade and all, into the pan.  Put some oil in the pan or spray it with non-stick if needed.  Heat the pan on high, add the chicken, and cook until done.  The small pieces shouldn't take too long, but since the pan is probably pretty crowded, it may take 10-15 minutes.  Test a piece to make sure it's done, whether from the grill or a pan.  Undercooked chicken is bad.

No grills allowed at our apartment complex.  This isn't all the chicken.  I'd already added some to the sauce before I remembered to take a picture.

Once the chicken is done, and the sauce has simmered for at least 20 minutes, preferably 30, add the chicken to the sauce.  Let the chicken and sauce cook together on low for at least 10 minutes.

To serve, put a bed of rice down in a bowl then ladle the masala over the rice.  Delightful.

Deb made some Naan bread to go with the Chicken Tikka Masala and rice.  Bread is nice to soak up the extra sauce.  This is the completed dish.  Holler!