CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA RECIPE from a Dubai expat on Dubai Good Old Days site

There is quite a bit of work involved to do this one, so I have separated it into two parts to make it easier to follow through :-

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA RECIPE,

you will require:

For the first Part:

1Kg boneless chicken breast.
1/4 cup yogurt.
3 tsp minced ginger (Or paste).
4 tsp of crushed garlic.
1/4 tsp white pepper.
1/4 tsp cumin powder .
1/4 tsp mace .
1/4 tsp nutmeg .
1/4 tsp green cardamom powder .
1/2 tsp chili powder .
1/4 tsp turmeric .
3 tbsp lemon juice .
4 tbsp vegetable oil .
Melted butter or ghee (for basting).

For the second Part :

5 oz. tomato paste .
10 oz. tomato puree .
1 Kg of tomatoes, chopped .
2 tsp ginger paste .
2 tsp garlic paste.
3 medium sized green chillies .
1 tbsp red chilli powder .
2 tsp of mixed cloves.
8 green cardamoms .
Salt To Taste .
3 tbsp butter.
2/3 (75%) cup cream.
1 tsp fenugreek .
2 tsp ginger,
and lastly honey to taste.

Right, what you do is this:
Whisk all of the ingredients from the first part together in a large bowl.
Cut the breast into 2 inch cubes. and add to the bowl.
Leave it to marinate overnight in the fridge.

Then what you do is, preheat the oven to 350? F., put the chicken in, and cook for 8 minutes, basting it with the butter/ghee a couple of times.
Drain the excess marinade and continue cooking for another couple of minutes.
While this is going on, make the sauce from the second part, by Deseeding, and chopping the green chilies. Into thin rings.
Put the tomatoes, tomato paste and the tomato puree in a pot and add approximately 4-1/2 cups of water.
Then add the ginger and garlic paste, the ringed green chilies, red chili powder, cloves, cardamoms, and salt. (Go easy on the salt; usually a pinch or two does the job).
Cook over a low heat until the slurry has been reduced to a thick sauce.
Strain through a strainer and bring to a boil.
Add butter and cream. Stir.
If the sauce tastes a bit sour, add some honey to get the acquired taste.
Then add the fenugreek and ginger, stir, and serve the sauce with the chicken.

There?s quite a bit of work into preparing this dish, so we tend to cook it when we have friends over. It?s well worth the effort in the end!

TARKA DAHL (Same as served at Ravi's Satwa)

Need:
1)  450 g Pigeon pea lentils (Tuvar Dal) Washed.
2)  3 tbsps of olive oil.
3)  1 tsp of salt.
4)  1 tsp of red chilli powder.
5)  1 tsp of turmeric powder.
6)  1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste.
7)  3 medium green chilli's
  1 onion finely chopped.
9)  1 tbsp fresh tomato paste.
10)  4 garlic cloves finely sliced.
11)  Fresh cumin seeds (For garnish).
12)  1 L of water.(Approx)

Method:

1)  Mix together in a wok or deep frying pan, over a medium heat the lentils,1 tbsp oil, and a little bit of the water, the salt, red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, and the finely chopped green chilli's. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked through, and the fluid turns viscous.

2)  In a separate pan heat up the remaining oil, fry the onion until golden brown. Then add the tomato paste, and simmer for a couple of minutes.

3)  Pour the remaining oil, onion, tomato paste over the cooked lentils, and boil the lot for about 5 minutes.

4)  Garnish with thinly sliced garlic, and fried cumin seeds. Serve hot.

That?s it, with no mistakes.

Tikka Marinade - ex Ravi chef discussions with an old Dubai expat:

2 Cups plain yoghurt,
2/3 green chillies,
about a golfball size of grated green ginger,
3 large cloves of garlic,
1 and half tsp of salt,
1 teaspoon black cummin,
1 teaspoon red chilli powder,
1 and half teaspoons of garam massala,
a good slug of vinegar, 2
tablespoons of olive oil,
half a teaspoon each of red and yellow food colour.

Food process and/or beat until really smooth.
This should make about half a pint of marinade.
Use accordingly on lamb or chicken.

still using my dried chillies from last year to spice up dishes - excellent stuff - just take a couple of the hard dried chillies and crush them between my fingers and sprinkle into dish while finishing off cooking - seeds an' all. 

Problem is I tend to forget what I've just done with my fingers - and go for a pee !!!!!!!  Ain't half hot !

lost 2 of my plants in the conservatory over winter - too little water !!

2 of them still with me and looking likely to flower shortly outside

In Greater Manchester - try the Seven Spices - Cheadle & the Swadesh, Bowdon (nr Altrincham)

so where do u eat locally simco?

made the mistake of buying one of Daves curries from Makro a few years back - made school dinners taste appetising it was that bad - wrote a letter of complaint questioning the buyers abilities - no response

Thanks for that confirmation George - Asian food in Dubai is incredible and has been since the early 70s to my knowledge - even better than India itself in my experience (apart from the Taj Hotel - Mumbai - that is where the Gaylord chefs were trained !). 

I got the Dubai intro when I moved there in '76 and had the local food knowledge passed onto me by expats working for the likes of Taylor Woodrow, Wimpey, Costains, Halcrow etc.

The Ravi @ Satwa is legendary - no one should visit Dubai without trying it out - forget the decor ! - the food is fantastic, cheap and consistent - i returned to the Ravi after 25 year gap - food just as I remembered it - your taste buds don't lie - and my grandkids absolutely loved it !

not at mo m8y - but I will take some - now on winter time in conservatory and all chillies picked !