British Chicken Tikka Masala

Protein:

Origin: British, Indian

Method: Stovetop

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If you were to take a guess as to the national dish of Great Britain, chances are you would guess something along the lines of Fish and Chips, Shepard's pie, Beef Wellington, or even Bangers and Mash. While all worthy dishes you would be wrong (sorry Gordon Ramsey). The National Dish of the United Kingdom is actually Chicken Tikka Masala.

We were first introduced to this dish while studying in England and it has been a favorite ever since. The story goes that the dish was created by an Indian chef in Glasgow, Scotland to use Indian spices and techniques to create a recipe more suited for Western palates. Well, it worked wonderfully. It is hard to find a curry house in Britain that does not feature this delicious dish on its menu. Creamy and mild British Chicken Tikka Masala is always one of the first dishes (along with Butter Chicken) that I point people to that have never tried Indian cuisine.

Making the British Chicken Tikka Masala

We have adapted this recipe from one of our favorite Chicken Tikka Masala recipes by The Curry Guy The Curry Guy has pretty much written the bible of British Style Curry and has never steered us wrong on a recipe. For this recipe you will need to make a base curry sauce and then finish the dish. It is a little time consuming but not too bad, and totally worth the effort.

Choosing your chicken

For this recipe you will need about 1.5 pounds of cooked, cubed chicken. We always make this recipe with extra chicken from our Chicken Tikka Skewers, because the extra flavor it adds is fantastic. If you do not have time to do this you can used some cooked, cubed, deli chicken, or cook a few chicken breasts seasoned with a little of the Spice Mix 1, and then dice the chicken.

Make the Base Curry Sauce

The first step in making the British Chicken Tikka Masala in making a base curry sauce. This step can be completed ahead of time and frozen until needed or kept in the refrigerator if you make it a few days before. To make the base curry sauce you will need:

• 2 Small onions, thinly sliced
• ¼ Cup Cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste
• 2 teaspoons Ginger Paste
• ½ Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 Small Carrot Peeled and diced
• 8 Ounce Tomato Sauce
• ¼ Cup Water

For the spice mix for the base curry sauce you will need ½ teaspoon each of:

• Garam Masala
• Ground Coriander Powder
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Fenugreek Leaves

Heat a medium sized pot over medium heat and add the cooking oil. You can use any cooking oil for this step, we typically use extra virgin olive oil. Next, add the sliced onions and cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened.

Add in the bell pepper and carrot and cook for 5 more minutes.

Next, stir in the garlic and ginger paste, all of the spices for the curry sauce (spice mix 2), the tomato sauce, and water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat, and when cool enough blend with an immersion blender, food processor, or blender. Set aside or refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to use it.

Finishing the British Chicken Tikka Masala

Heat the Ghee or clarified butter over medium heat

Add in all of the spices for spice mix 1 and stir constantly for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Do not let burn.

Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and stir to combine.

Next, add in the reserved curry sauce. Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes, then add in the cooked cubed chicken.

You will want to cook the chicken until it is warmed through, typically a few minutes.

After a few minutes stir in the heavy cream and remove from the heat.

Just before serving top with the lemon juice and serve. Note that traditional chicken tikka masala will be more of a red color, due to the addition of red food coloring. It does not add anything to the flavor of the dish so we choose to omit it. If you really want that traditional curry house red color, you can add some red food coloring here.

Enjoy warm with naan bread, basmati rice, and samosas.

For more international chicken recipes, be sure to try our Peruvian Anticuchos de Pollo: Peruvian Chicken Skewers, Grilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken, and Cast Iron Chicken Fajitas.

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