Chicken Tikki Masala

This is another AMAZING curry recipe from my aunt. I have made this one a couple of times before and every time it has been great. This time I didn't plan ahead enough to marinate the chicken so I decided to cook it in a regular pan, seasoning it with the ginger, garlic, cardamom, turmeric, cumin, and coriander. When the chicken was fully cooked I set it aside and continued with the rest of the recipe as written. The only other change I made was that I added about 1/2 cup plain yogurt with the coconut milk. This was probably the best curry I have ever had.

Masala Marinade

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP ginger, finely grated
1 TBSP lemon juice
salt & pepper, freshly ground
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander

2.5 lbs chicken, boneless, skinless thighs, fat trimmed
Thighs are best, can use breast meat

Sauce

Salt and Pepper, freshly ground
2 lg onion, finely chopped
4 TBSP +2 tsp veg oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 ½ TBSP Garam Masala
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper
¼ to 1/2 cup almonds or cashews
Pinch of sugar
2 cup coconut milk
2-35 oz can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved
or use tomato sauce or puree for really smooth sauce.

1. Make the masala marinade:
In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine all the spices and yogurt.
Season with salt and pepper.

2. Prepare the chicken:
Using a sharp knife, make a few shallow slashes in each piece of chicken.
Add the chicken to the marinade, turn to coat and cover, and refrigerate
overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade;
remove as much of the marinade as possible. Spread the chicken on a baking
sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until just cooked, turning once or twice.
Transfer to a cutting board and cut into bite size pieces.

4. Meanwhile, in a blender, grind almonds or cashew until finely ground.
Remove nuts and set aside. Grind onions, garlic and ginger to keep sauce
smooth. Add little water to make paste.
5. In a large heavy duty pan, heat 2 TBSP oil until shimmering. Add ground
onion mixture from blender and cook about 5 minutes. Add the garam
masala and cayenne powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the
tomatoes with juices and sugar and salt and pepper. Cover partially and
cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly
thickened, about 20 minutes. Add coconut milk and ground almonds and
cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes
longer.
Stir in chicken; simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and serve.
Garnish with ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Serve with warm steamed Basmati rice, rice pilaf or warm naan.

Optional:
Try it with shrimp, lamb and vegetables.
Using tomato sauce/puree thickens sauce faster.
Heavy cream can be used instead of coconut milk, better with coconut milk
Can make ahead and gently reheat before serving
Freezes great
Grilling the meat is the best method, do not overcook!

Note:
Garam Masala adds pepper heat to the recipe
Increase or decrease spices/pepper heat to personal taste
Can add Garam Masala to marniade