Friday, June 27, 2008

Recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala


Last night, Dennis and I collaborated on a delicious dinner. We love Indian food but often find it difficult to replicate really great ethnic meals at home but thought we'd give it a try.

In the June/July issue of Macon Magazine (a wonderful local magazine from Macon, GA, where we used to live), they had an article on Indian food and a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala that they posted from allrecipes.com. We made this and poured it over jasmine rice, along with some frozen vegetable samosas from Trader Joe's. What a meal! We were also going to heat up some Tandoori Naan (bread) but went without. Here's the recipe for the chicken, it was soooo yummy. I'll copy it as is, then tell you about the adjustments I made (I almost never make a recipe EXACTLY as it says!)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
4 long skewers

1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
3 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat a grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Lindsey's changes...
-used vanilla yogurt
-used powdered ginger
-used extra garlic
-did not use jalapeno (it was still a little spicy)
-used a 15oz jar of tomato sauce
-did not use cilantro garnish

Happy eating!!

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