Chicken Tikka Masala

"Chicken tikka masala" is a famous dish and may be one of the most popular Indian meals in the world.

It is made of chunks of roasted marinated chicken in a spiced curry sauce made of yoghurt and tomato.The curry is usually creamy and orange-colored.

Some believe that it was invented in the 1970s by a Bangladeshi chef in Glasgow, Scotland, who in order to please a customer, he added a mild tomato-cream sauce to his chicken tikka, which is pieces of boneless chicken marinated in yogurt and curry spices and served on a skewer, kebab-style.

I made my chicken masala in a very different and delicious way.

Please check my recipe!

Ingredients serves 4:

• ½ cup plain yogurt

• 2 teaspoons garam masala

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• ½ teaspoon ground coriander

• ½ kilo of skinless, boneless chicken breast - cut into cubes

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 large onion, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

• 2 red chili peppers, minced

• 2 tomatoes, diced

• ½ cup tomato paste

• 2 chopped carrots

• 1 cup water

• ½ cup heavy cream

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 tablespoon syrup or honey

• A handful of coriander for garnish

• 2 cups round grain rice

• 1 teaspoon ground curcuma

Here's how to prepare it:

• Combine yogurt to the chicken cubes, garam masala, paprika, black pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, coriander and cinnamon in a large bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

• Heat vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook and stir onions, garlic and ginger until lightly golden and aromatic, about 3 minutes.

• Add chili peppers ,carrots and tomatoes and continue to cook for a few minutes.

• Add the tomato paste,syrup, sugar, cream and water into onion mixture until tomatoes begin to break down and incorporate into the mixture, about 10 minutes.

• Finally add the marinated chicken and cook on low heat.

• Cook the rice, by adding 1½ cups of water to each cup of rice.

• Don't forget to add curcuma to the rice, it gives a nice aroma and yellow color to it.

• Garnish with chopped fresh coriander

BON APPETIT!