Chicken Tikka Masala

Although I'm not what you'd call an adventurous cook, I do like trying to recreate food I've enjoyed in restaurants or at a friends' house. When I came across this recipe, it brought to mind the great Indian food we enjoyed while living in Uganda. My favorite restaurant there was an Indian place with the improbable name of Khana Khazana, and my favorite dish was a mushroom curry. I have hunted high and low for the recipe, to no avail. Every recipe I've found includes tomato, which this curry did not have.

But back to this recipe. To be honest, the first time I made it, I thought I was making butter chicken. I'd pinned both recipes, and meant to pull up the butter chicken and it wasn't until I was finishing the dish that I realized my mistake. Oops.

My other mistake was fortuitous, because I discovered that marinating the chicken for several days (instead of overnight as called for in the recipe) makes it much more flavorful.

Indian food is not something we can find here; maybe in Buenos Aires, but definitely not in Cordoba. So if we want it, I have to make it. I haven't tried a lot of other Indian recipes yet, mainly because this is so good that I keep going back to it (it made the cut for my "Favorite Recipes" Pinterest board). But if you have a good Indian recipe, please do share!

I've had to adapt this recipe a bit, because I don't have access to a few things, but they are minor and make no big difference. For instance, even when I can find boneless chicken (which is rare), it's very expensive; so instead I usually buy pata-muslos (leg/thigh sections) and don't mess with kabobs. Limes are also hard to come by, so I substitute lemon, and I use ground cumin instead of seeds.

It takes some time to put together, but it is so worth it! This dish is very flavorful, and the leftovers heat up beautifully (if you're fortunate enough to have any). One thing I started doing (after the second or third time) was doubling the masala, because we like a lot of sauce.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Combine marinade:

4 T. oil

1 T. minced garlic

2 T. lime (or lemon) juice

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. ground coriander

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

3/4 t. paprika

3/4 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

2 T. plain yogurt

Marinate 1 lb. chicken in marinade for 3-4 days.
Pour into a greased pan, bake at 375 degrees until done (leg/thigh sections take about 45 minutes).

Masala:

3 T. oil

1 diced onion

2 t. minced garlic

2 t. minced ginger

1 chopped tomato

1/2 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. ground coriander

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. paprika

1 t. salt

1-1/2 T. sugar

2 T. butter

1-1/2 T. lime (or lemon) juice

1/4 c. heavy cream

3 T. water

In a large skillet, sauté onions about 6 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and sauté an additional minute or two. Add tomato, cover and simmer on low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash into paste, stir in dry ingredients (spices and sugar) and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add butter and stir to melt.
Pour mixture into a blender and add remaining ingredients (juice, cream and water) and pureé until smooth. Return to skillet and bring to a boil. Add chicken (and pan drippings) and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with rice.