Chicken Tikka Masala


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I’m back to the world of blogging after a break. Now I feel to blog and I crave to take pictures. Sorry for the long wait. Thanks to my readers, fellow bloggers and friends who cared about me during the break. Today is a pleasant sunny day, the dawning rays falls on the blinds forming thin lines on our table presenting morning bliss. 

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Chicken tikka masala is originated in London but it is Indian by its soul. It has Indian style of masala and simultaneously not spicy. The best pairing of chicken tikka masala goes with any Indian flat breads like chapattis or nan or with any pulavs. It is lightly sweet too. This is Raghavan Iyers recipe for Chicken tikka masala. Other non vegetarian gravy dishes in this blog are Gumbo with shrimp and shrimp roast.

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Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients:
Bamboo skewers

Marinade:
2 tablespoons of ginger paste
2 tablespoons of garlic paste
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds (heated and ground)
2 tablespoons of cumin seeds (heated and ground)
1 ½ teaspoon of kashmiri red chili powder or paprika
½ teaspoon of cayenne
Salt as required (1 teaspoon)
½ teaspoon of garam masala
½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
½ cup of yoghurt
1 ½ pound of boneless chicken (cut into 1 inch stripes)

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons of ghee
1 small red onion chopped
1 small red bell pepper (red capsicum) stemmed seeded and chopped
¼ cup of silvered blanched almonds
¼ cup of golden raisins
1 cup of diced tomatoes
¼ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of cayenne
¼ teaspoon of garam masala

2 tablespoons of minced cilantro leaves for garnish

Method:
Soak the bamboo skewers in water for an hour (prior to use). This prevents burning while on the grill.
In a large bowl, mix the marinade well. Stir in the chicken so that every piece of them gets uniformly coated with the marinade. Cover it and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 6 hours (not more than that).

Just before you are ready to cook chicken, make the sauce. Heat the ghee in a skillet on medium high flame. Add onion, bell pepper, almonds and raisins. Stir them regularly, until vegetables soften and then acquire a golden brown about 10 to 12 minutes. 

Stir in diced tomatoes and scrape the bottom of pan to deglaze it. Pour this chunky sauce into the blender and add cream, salt, cayenne and garam masala and puree them well. You will get a nutty, thick and sweet sauce. Put this sauce back to skillet and simmer while you cook the chicken.

Preheat broil/grill to high. While broil/grill warms up, insert chicken pieces on skewers and grill/broil on the rack nearest to the heating element for about 6 to 8 minutes until their juices run clear. The skewers must be turned occasionally to ensure heat uniformly. 

Slide the chicken off the skewers into the sauce. Stir the sauce to coat well and garnish with chopped cilantro.

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Notes:
If you don’t have an oven/grill, then you can fry chicken pieces and put them in a sauce.

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This was a comforting experience for our taste buds and we all loved it every bit. Thank God that it came out well. Try this chicken tikka masala and have a soothing experience to your taste buds too :-) 



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