Topic: Chicken Tikka Masala

[lagathy]

hi folks,
  been a while since ive posted here,but have been following the developments avidly!!...anyway,found this on the web,looks v promising.


CTM of the Year 2002 as voted in the Best in Britain Awards (BIBA)

Chef Manzoor Ahmed of Tabaq Restaurant South Clapham, London

Ingredients :

1lb large diced boneles chicken breast
1 oz garlic
1 oz ginger
4 tbs fresh natural yoghurt
2 small fresh green chillies
1 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbs red paprika
4-5 fresh green coriander

Method :
Grind fresh green chilies, fresh coriander, garlic and ginger with 2-3 tbs water until a thick paste is formed. Marinate the chicken in the paste then add the salt and yoghurt. Next add the lemon juice, cumin, coriander powder and red paprika and mix thoroughly. Leave chicken to marinate in the paste overnight.

Sauce :
4 oz chopped onions
3 oz ghee
1 oz ground garlic
1 oz ground ginger
3 oz yoghurt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tbs desicated coconut
4 oz fresh single cream
2 medium tomatoes (liquidised)
1.2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
pinch dried methi

Method :
Take marinated chicken and cook on skewers in tandoor or 10-12 minutes under a grill on a moderate high heat.
Fry onions in the ghee
Add tomatoes and yoghurt and mix on low/moderate heat. Add cumin powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, desicated coconut, dried methi and fresh single cream and mix thoroughly. Water may be added if more liquid is required. Add cooked pieces or chicken to the sauce and mix well. Leave to simmer on low heat. Transfer to serving dish garnish with a little single cream and sprinkle liberally with fresh coriander and garam masala.
 

 

[joshallen2k]

Hi lagathy - as one in the pursuit of BIR CTM, I can say that I tried this about 18 months or more ago.

My conclusion was that it was yet another good "made for home" CTM... but nowhere a good BIR CTM.

Note it contains no sweetener. That in itself rules itself out for me.

-- Josh

[Cory Ander]

I finally got around to trying CBM's chicken tikka masala last night. 

It certainly made for an enjoyable curry and I'm sure that many people would be very happy with it.  However, for me, I didn't much like the tartness imparted by the yoghurt and Patak pastes (which was much as I anticipated before trying it).

For me, a decent BIR CTM is far more savoury, rich and creamy than this.

When I've made a masala paste, I've generally used single cream instead of yoghurt and tandoori masala instead of Patak pastes.  I'd certainly cut back on (or remove) the yoghurt and Patak pastes if I made this again.

Excellent videos by CBM though! 

[joshallen2k]

Hi CA,

Yes, If there was one criticism I could make, it was the tartness of the yoghurt (I dont' personally think the Pataks was as much to blame).

Would you suggest simply replacing the yogurt with single cream? If so, how much of the 150ml of added cream (per CBM spec) would you eliminate?

Thx,
Josh

[Cory Ander]

Hi Josh,

I think you're right about the tartness coming primarily from the yoghurt

Too much of the Patak stuff can certainly cause tartness, too, I find.  There are about 2 tsp of Patak pastes in this CTM (to my reckoning) which isn't a huge amount.  However, I am generally reluctant to use any more than about 1 tsp (usually less) of any Patak (or any other brand) pastes in any curry.  I generally don't use any, but adding a little can pick up the flavour a bit, I find.

I'd just replace all of the yoghurt with single cream and still add the 150ml of cream at the end (or add enough to get the desired consistency).

[Curry Barking Mad]

I too have tried this several times now,
I find the brand of yoghurt makes a large difference to the tartness you speak about, I use Sainsburys basic yoghurt (which I'm assuming you won't have), its fairly mild,
I find some of the greek style yoghurts can be too sharp,
Regards,
Bob

[976bar]

Hi Josh,

I think you're right about the tartness coming primarily from the yoghurt

Too much of the Patak stuff can certainly cause tartness, too, I find.  There are about 2 tsp of Patak pastes in this CTM (to my reckoning) which isn't a huge amount.  However, I am generally reluctant to use any more than about 1 tsp (usually less) of any Patak (or any other brand) pastes in any curry.  I generally don't use any, but adding a little can pick up the flavour a bit, I find.

I'd just replace all of the yoghurt with single cream and still add the 150ml of cream at the end (or add enough to get the desired consistency).

I find the Tesco Greek Yogurt to be quite mild and certainly nowhere near as tart as their plain yogurt.

Try adding some natural palm sugar instead of the granulated stuff you buy in a packet, it makes all the difference to the sweetness of a dish.

If you want to keep it relatively healthy, and I am sure CTM is not at the top of the list here, why not use half yogurt and half cream?

[Cory Ander]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I often use Greek yoghurt (in tikka marinade for instance) precisely because I find it is less tart and more creamy than most other yoghurts.  I used run-of-the-mill full fat yoghurt when I made this CTM (as suggested by CBM).

However, no matter which I use in a main dish I have always found it adds a tartness I do not like.  So, for me anyway, I refrain from using it in CTM preferring, instead, to use cream.

[joshallen2k]

Interesting discussion. Here, believe it or not, there only seems to be one brand of plain yoghurt that is commonly available. It just says "Mediterranean Style", which I'm guessing is Greek. Even in the Indian grocery.

The family unanimously voted the CBM CTM as the best I've made (and like JerryM, they hate it when I change things up with my recipes). The tartness of the yoghurt bothered me about the result personally.

I will try CA's suggestion and swap out the yoghurt for cream and try the result.

-- Josh

[JerryM]

The family unanimously voted the CBM CTM as the best I've made (and like JerryM, they hate it when I change things up with my recipes).

-- Josh

I'm under orders to stick to my trusted carnation and CK's recipe for the mo.

one thing that i forgot to mention when i tried the CBM "all in" method of cooking the kasmiri dish was the very good words of BE. he said chilli is only a problem in the morning if it's not fried in the curry the night before. i did not doubt his words but can now say i have gained valuable experience in such matters.