Chicken Curry Tikka Masala
One of our favorite meals, Chicken Tikka Masala, is a staple in our house. This meal is hearty and layered with spices without being too spicy for spice-intolerant midwesterners like us. The hint of coconut adds brightness and makes this recipe dairy free!
The star spice of the dish is garam masala which is a mixture of spices that creates a strong depth of flavor. It usually contains cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. We like to use McCormick brand of garam masala.
Ghee is another unique ingredient. Traditionally, ghee is made by melting butter and skimming off the white milk proteins that rise to the surface. This allows ghee to have a higher melting point than butter which helps prevent burning. Most of the lactose is removed from the butter in this process, so pure ghee only contains a trace amount of lactose. If you don’t have ghee, substitute any neutral cooking oil to keep this recipe dairy-free. This includes grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil. Alternatively, use butter.
We like to the let the onions soften for as long as possible. To make the sauce even smoother: saute onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeño, spices, and tomato paste as written. Then scrape out the ingredients into a blender with the coconut milk. Finally, add the blended ingredients back to the pan to cook the chicken.
Serve this over rice with cilantro and naan bread. We like to keep store-bought naan bread in the freezer to bring out whenever we make this dish.
Notes
Heavy whipping cream or half-and-half can be used in place of the coconut milk.
Another option to make an even smoother sauce is to saute the onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeño, spices, and tomato paste as written, but then scrape out the ingredients into a blender with the coconut milk before adding back to the pot with the chicken broth to cook the chicken.
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon ghee (or other cooking oil)
- 1 white onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons ginger
- 1 jalapeño
- 3 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 8 ounces (1 can) coconut milk
Instructions
- CUBE 3 chicken breasts, set aside
- MINCE 1 white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 T. ginger, and 1 jalapeño
- HEAT 1 T. of ghee in medium pot. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño and stir frequently 4-5 minutes.
- ADD 2 t. garam masala, 2 t. ground coriander, 1 t. cumin, and 1 t. chili powder. Stir until fragrant. Add 2 cups chicken broth, 6 oz. tomato paste, 8 oz. coconut milk, and salt to the pot.
- SIMMER Add cubed chicken breasts. Simmer, stirring occasionally 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce begins to thicken.
- SERVE Over rice, with cilantro and naan bread.
