Topic: Chicken Tikka Makhani and Spiced Basmati rice

[simmo169]

First post here on the forum, but here's my contribution.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Excellent looking curry there.  Welcome to the forum simmo.

Rob 

[rshome123]

Looks very good indeed Simmo... did you use a standard recipe ?

[curryhell]

What a superb opening post  .  Welcome simmo.  Care to share the recipes with us?  ;D

[simmo169]

Thanks all, The pic is from last December I believe, I'll post the recipe shortly

[simmo169]

This curry is a combination of a tandoori marinade, a makhan (butter) chicken, and a Tikka masala. It's adapted from a book I own; (The Curry Secret) as well as from my own preferences, and some dishes I found here on this very site.
Make sure you use unsalted butter, or else the dish will be way too salty (I found this out the hard way once before).

Chicken Tikka Makhani. Serves 3-4 (or one and a half, if you eat as much as I do)

For this recipe, you will need:

50g ghee (unsalted)
2-4 ladles of base sauce
2 tbsp Tomato puree, mixed with a little water to thin it out
1 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp, finely chopped coriander
2 tsp lemon juice
300 ml single cream
2 tsps of garlic ginger puree
1 tbsp Sugar
4 portions of marinated chicken

(chicken marinade)
cubed chicken pieces
300ml greek yoghurt
1 diced red chilli
1 diced green chilli
3 garlic cloves
1 inch piece of grated root ginger
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp garam masala
dash of red food colouring
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
3 tbsp oil

Blend all of the marinade ingredients together in a blender, empty into a bowl, and beat the mixture until it's smooth and glossy. Mix the cubed chicken with the marinade and leave to marinade in the fridge for as long as possible.

Take the marinaded chicken and cook on a BBQ or a wire rack in the oven for around 15 - 18 mins. Set the chicken aside in a bowl now until it's needed.

Take 25g of your ghee and melt it in a large, deep pan.

Next, add the garlic/ginger puree, and fry for around 30 seconds.

Add the diced chillies and fry for a further 30 seconds.

Next you want to add a ladle of base sauce, your tomato puree, the garam masala, salt, cumin, chopped coriander, and mix well.

Add the remaining base sauce until it's reduced and thickened, and add your lemon juice.

Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook on a medium heat, stirring constantly, before adding the remaining 25g of ghee, and sugar.

Add your marinated chicken and cook for another minute or so.

Stir in the cream and cook for a final minute before taking the curry off the heat.

Garnish with a swirl of cream and some chopped coriander.

Sit back, relax, and admire your handy work before demolishing the whole lot. You could also garnish it with a few toasted almonds, or even pistachios if you really want to impress people.

Rice recipe to follow...

[simmo169]

This rice dish is based almost entirely on Madhur Jaffrey's, Spiced Basmati Rice recipe, with a couple of tweaks and alterations. It uses the absorption method of cooking, so your measurements must be precise.

Spiced Basmati Rice, serves 3-4

For the rice you will need:

2 cups Basmati rice (the rice is measured by volume rather than weight, hence the cup. I just used a plain mug in this case.

4 tbsp's of cooking oil

1 medium sized onion, peeled and finely diced

1 medium sized green chilli, very finely diced

2 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 tsp Garam masala

1/2 tsp salt (1 if your stock is unsalted)

2 2/3 cups of chicken stock (use the same sized cup as the one you measure your rice out with)

6-8 cracked cardamoms

1 decent sized stick of cinnamon

1-2 star anise, depending on how strong you wish the flavour to be

2-3 curry leaves, dried or fresh (fresh is better)

Place your rice in a bowl and carefully wash in several changes of cold water. When you think your rice is clean and starch free, wash it again!

Drain.

Cover the rice with fresh cold water, and leave it to soak for 30 minutes.

Drain the rice again, and leave it to dry in a sieve for around 30 minutes.

Heat your oil in a deep sided pan, over a medium flame, and when hot, add your diced onion.

Stir and fry until your onion pieces have browned ever so slightly. If they burn, bin the lot, shout and swear (like I did) and start again. Make sure your onion pieces do NOT burn, even in the slightest.

Add your diced garlic and chilli, stir, and fry gently for around 3 minutes.

Next, add your aromatics. So in goes the cinnamon stick, the cracked cardamoms, the curry leaves, and the star anise. Stir them for around 30 seconds.

After 30 seconds, add the garam masala and gently fry for a further 30 seconds.

Now add your washed and dried rice grains, and GENTLY fold them around the pan, until every single grain has been coated in oil. Be careful not to mix the rice too vigorously, or else it will become mushy whilst cooking. This process should take around 2-3 minutes.

pour in the chicken stock, stir gently, and bring the rice to a gentle rolling boil. (If you're using stock pots, or cubes, just dissolve 1 or 2 with the water, before adding to the pan).

The level of the water in your pan should be around 1 inch above the rice.

Next, take the lid of your sauce pan, cover the lid with foil, and place it tightly and firmly on top of your rice.

Turn your heat to very, very low, as low as you can get it, and cook very gently for 25 minutes. DO NOT lift the lid and have a look at how it's doing. It will cook, you just need to have faith.

If you're using gas, and a very low flame, make sure that your doors and windows are closed, or else you run the risk of your flame being blown out (again, I found this out the hard way, which did not go down too well).

After 25 minutes, lift the lid, and admire the result. All of your aromatics will now be on the surface of your rice, so you can easily remove them, rather than running the risk of biting into a cardamom pod whilst eating your tea.

Once your aromatics have been removed, if you wish to add colour, add the colour, place the lid back on, and leave for another 10 minutes or so. The residual steam will continue to gently steam the rice when the lid is back on.

After 10 minutes, fluff your rice to combine the colours, and jobs a good un. 

It looks like a lot of work, but it only takes around one hour in total, and you can just rinse the rice quickly and stick it straight in if you're on a schedule.

[curryhell]

Thanks Simmo.  I'll definitely add the main to the "to do" list.  From the pic it certainly looks good  As for the rice, I think my own recipe pretty much mirrors MJ's other than the washing, which i do not find necessary, and slight spice variation based on my own dissection of pilau from favourite restaurants. I believe i took her recipe some twenty odd years ago from her first book and modified it over time. And i've had to adapt since i use  electric 

[madsam]

Looks brilliant will try it next weekend!