Chicken Tikka Masala

I’ve been dying to make chicken tikka masala for ages…not only because it is so, so, so delicious, but because it is also fun to say.  Tikka Masala…it’s up there with Zucchini Carpaccio in terms of things you can say you are making for dinner and sound super-exotic.

 So in order to do this, I needed two things.  One was garam masala, which is a special spice blend.  If you don’t have any and neither does your supermarket, you can get some by clicking here.  Or you can do what I do, which is ask my mom if she has any.

Of course she did.

The next thing you need is an absolutely totally reliable recipe, because while the end result is wonderful, I’m not gonna lie to you.  You are going to be spending some quality time with your kitchen (so plan this one for a lazy Sunday afternoon.)  I went where I always go for totally reliable, which is Cooks Illustrated.  And sure enough, there it was, and now that I had Garam Masala I was ready to rock.

First you make a lovely, aromatic spice mixture that you are going to coat your chicken with.  Next, you are going to make a lovely aromatic creamy sauce.  Next, you are going to dunk your chicken into a lovely aromatic mixture of yogurt, garlic and ginger and broil it until it is gorgeously cooked with a little bit of char.

Now cut up that chicken into chunks, stir it into the sauce, and then spoon the whole thing over some rice.  Sprinkle with cilantro or parsley.  Say Chicken Tikka Masala three times fast and dig in.

Chicken Tikka Masala, from Cooks Illustrated