3.08.2011

Chicken Tikka Masala

{it's fun to try new things; this is a good place to start}
I'm an Indian food virgin. Until now I hadn't had it before. I always kind of thought Indian was a bit spicy and carried a lot of heat, ya know with the curry and everything. I first tried this at a friends house not knowing it was really Indian until she told me it was, and ya know what? I fell in love with it! It was spicy, but not too spicy. It felt healthy and kept me full for longer than normal. The next day, I was craving it! Mmm, it was so good, people. Take my word for it! Oh also, it wasn't really that hard to make. But if you want to cut out the middle man, you can just buy the jar of sauce at your local grocery store.
Ingredients: (Don't get overwhelmed. There's a lot but it's so worth it.)
5-6 thinly sliced chicken breast (that way, all the nasty fat and stuff is already trimmed off)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 large onion, diced
4 gloves garlic, minced
1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches), minced (cut brown edges off first)
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cup light cream
2 cups Basati rice (or regular white rice if you prefer)
Salt
Cumin
Ground Coriander
Garam Masala (can be found in the spice isle, sometimes called "Indian Masala")
Brown sugar
Fresh cilantro
Sour cream

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with foil, flip your oven to broil. Lay chicken breast on foil and sprinkle both sides with salt, cumin and coriander spice. Then spoon a little yogurt on each one, coating them thoroughly.

Broil for 7-8 minutes on each side (make sure chicken is 10-12 inches from top of oven). Once chicken is done, set aside turn off broiler.
In a large frying pan (you want one with tall edges), melt 2 tablespoon butter over medium heat, saute onion until tender. Add garlic, ginger, and a little salt and stir until combined and fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
Make sure to buy the coolest looking piece of ginger you possibly can... Note to self: Get a manicure.
Next add 3 tablespoons Masala spice, stir to combine (should kind of stick to bottom of pan) then add tomatoes and stir immediately as the tomatoes will deglaze the bottom of the pan, also add 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. By now, it should look like this.
Once your tomato sauce has simmered, add the cream, and some chopped cilantro if you'd like. Also, chop up your chicken breasts into 1 inch chunks and add to mixture. Stir and let simmer for another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare rice as per directed.
To serve, scoop some rice, then some Tikka Masala and top with chopped cilantro and sour cream.

Source: The Pioneer Woman via Pastor Ryan

5 comments:

  1. Kelsey!! You are an amazing cook! Seriously!! I haven't looked at your food blog in a long time (I don't know why, definitely won't let that happen again!) and wow. I am totally amazed. I am also an Indian food version and had similar feelings about it as you did before too...so I think I'm ready to give it a shot!

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  2. Whoops I meant Indian food virgin not version. HA!

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  3. This looks delish. I must try it. I love yogurt and chicken and I have a large container of Garam Masala I've never opened. Thanks!

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  4. Oh YES! I love Indian FOOD!!! Have you ever had Thai food. I love it, If you want a recipe let me know. I am so making this!

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  5. Nice to see that you have tried cooking Indian food! Eating Indian food is the easy part. Trying to cook it, with its intimidatingly long list of ingredients is yet another ! BRAVO!

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