Topic: Chicken Tikka Massala

[Curry King]

I don't know where I got this it was on my desktop so I thought I would post it?to get things going :
 
For the tikka:
700g skinned chicken breast fillets
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
75g natural yoghurt
100ml double cream
1 tbsp ginger pur?e
1 tbsp garlic pur?e
2 tbsp Tandoori Massala Powder (see Tikka recipe)
? tsp ground turmeric
? tsp garam masala
? tsp chilli powder
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
40g melted unsalted butter

For the sauce:
50g blanched almonds
40g unsalted butter
1 medium finely chopped onion
1 tsp ginger pur?e
1 tsp garlic pur?e
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp paprika
? tsp cardamom, ground
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp tomato pur?e
250ml fresh chicken stock
200ml passata with 3 drops red food colouring
250ml double cream or half-fat double cream
3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
naan bread to serve
 
Method
1. Cut the chicken into cubes of about 5cm and put in a bowl.
2. Mix the remaining tikka ingredients, except the butter, until well blended. Pour this over the chicken; mix and cover the bowl with cling film. Leave to marinate in a cool place for 4-6 hours or overnight in the fridge. The longer the better.
3. Preheat the grill to high and the oven to 120C/250F/gas mark ?. Remove the grill pan grid and line with a piece of lightly oiled foil.
4. Brush 4 metal skewers with butter. Thread the chicken on to the skewers with a gap between each piece. Place on the grill pan and cook about 7.5cm from the element for 2-3 minutes. Brush with some melted butter and grill for a further 2 minutes until the edges are charred.
5. Turn the skewers over, brush with more butter and cook for 3-4 minutes until charred as before. Remove from the grill and set aside for 3-4 minutes. Ease the tikkas from the skewers and leave in the foil in the pre-heated oven as you make the sauce.
6. Put the almonds in a bowl and pour over 150ml boiling water. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, then pur?e it in a blender.
7. Saut? the onions, ginger, garlic and chilli together in the rest of the butter for 5-6 minutes, stirring often.
8. Add the spices. Cook for 1 minute; add the tomato pur?e and cook for a further minute, stirring.
9. Add the pur?ed almonds and the remaining ingredients, except the coriander leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 6-7 minutes. Stir occasionally.
10. Add the tikka pieces, and any cooking juices. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, stir in the coriander leaves. Remove from the heat and serve with naan bread.

[Mark J]

The best recipe for CTM is on Dave Smiths curryhouse.co.uk site (costs 8 quid to join but well worth it).

The key ingredient to my mind is creamed coconut (and red food colouring if you want it red  )

[tempest63]

I am not a great lover of CTM but having had numerous curry nights at home with friends and neighbours I have been asked on a number of occasions to knock-up a CTM. The following recipe is the one that I found to be closest to the restaurant dish, saying that, I have cooked it four or five times and the end result never seems to be the same.

These recipes come from Pat Chapman, founder of the Curry Club in Britain
and an acknowledged expert on Indian food, and can be found in his book
"Bangladeshi Restaurant Curries".

Part 1: Chicken Tikka for 4

675g(1.5lb) fresh chicken breasts, skinned, filleted and cut
into20-24x3.75cm (1.5 inch) cubes.

Marinade
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons garam masala
1-teaspoon ground cumin
1/2-teaspoon turmeric
150ml (5fl oz) thick natural yoghurt (home made is best but not essential)
2 tablespoons mustard oil
4 large, plump garlic cloves very finely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-tablespoon tomato puree
1-teaspoon salt
Approx 50ml (2fl oz) milk

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a large non-metallic bowl
Add the chicken pieces. Cover with cling film (Food wrap) and refrigerate
for 24-60 hours. (If chicken has previously been frozen do not exceed the
24
hour marinating period, 60 hours can be achieved with fresh chicken which
has not previously been frozen)
Just prior to cooking divide the chicken between four skewers. (Use the
marinade in a curry or discard it)
Preheat the grill to medium. Place the skewered chicken on an oven rack
above a foil lined grill tray and place the tray in a midway position.
Alternately the chicken can be barbecued.
Cook for 5 minutes, turn and cook foe another 5 minutes.
Cut through one piece of chicken to ensure it is fully cooked through,
it should be white right through with no hint of pink. Cook further as
necessary. When fully cooked raise the tray nearer to the heat and singe
pieces to obtain little flecks of blackening. Do not overdo it and burn
the chicken
Serve with Indian bread, rice etc and a raita or reserve for use in
Chicken Tikka Massala.


Part 2: Chicken Tikka Massala

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large plump cloves of garlic, finely chopped
225g (8 oz) onions, very finely chopped
1.5 tablespoons bottled mild curry paste
1.5 tablespoons bottled tandoori paste
20-24 chicken Tikka pieces cooked to the previous recipe
6 tinned plum tomatoes, chopped
1-tablespoon vinegar, any type
1-tablespoon tomato ketchup
175ml (6 fl oz) canned tomato soup
Half a green pepper, chopped
0-4 fresh green chillies, chopped (optional)
100ml (4 fl oz) single cream
1-tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large karai or wok Stir-fry the garlic for 30 seconds,
then add the onions and stir-fry for 8-10 minutes until golden brown Add
the pastes and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken and
stir-fry for about 2 minutes, adding just enough water to keep things from
sticking Add the tomatoes, vinegar, ketchup, soup, green pepper and
chillies if using. Stir-fry for 5 minutes or so. Add the cream, garam
masala and chopped coriander leaves. Simmer for a further 2 minutes,
adding a little water if needed. Add salt to taste and then serve

[Mark J]

Just made CTM this weekend, it was awesome, as good as my local restaurant.

I used both the base sauce and the chicken tikka recipe from Pete's Curry House Cookery. The chicken tikka was the best I have ever made and I only marinaded it for ~6 hours, I expect it would have been far more tender had I done so for 24-48 but it was still tender and very tasty.

I got my oven up as high as it would go and cooked the chicken tikka for about 20 minutes suspended on skewers, the only difference was I didnt do part where he puts poppy seeds and fresh corander on it. Also I only used 4 TBSP oil, only 2 of which were mustard oil.