Chicken Tikka Masala

One of the first few things you learn in an Indian household is how to cook a curry.. I’ve never measured the proportions of the spices that go in it.. Mama is a great cook and she taught me to cook the way she does it, tasting it as she went along.. When the Brown Sugar Baby asked me to give her the recipe of a Chicken Tikka Masala, I had to make it and write down the proportions.

Chicken Tikka Masala though an Indian curry, is actually known to originate from Britain. It is said that the Bangladeshi chefs in Britain came up with this dish to suit it to the British palate. Legend has it a diner demanded gravy on tandoori chicken. The frustrated chef responded by adding tin of Campbell's tomato soup and pinch of spices. It is one of the most popular Indian dishes in the world, served in most, if not all Indian restaurants. However, there is no standard recipe for a Chicken Tikka Masala. There must be a zillion recipes on how to make it. It basically translates into grilled spicy chicken in a tomato cream sauce.

I don’t like really hot curries because then it just numbs the taste buds and you can’t taste anything after. The curry I made tonight was mild and flavourful. The chilli was not too overpowering. Big B gave it top marks. I served it with some fragrant jeera pilaf (cumin rice) and a cooling cucumber raita.

Before I babble on some more, here are the recipes:

Chicken Tikka Masala

1 kg of chicken, cut in cubes
1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of ginger, minced
½ cup of yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp of Rajah’s Tandoori Masala (Available at most Indian Grocery stores)
1 tsp of paprika
Salt, to taste

For the gravy:

2 onions, finely sliced (Don’t worry if you don’t like onions. They will be pureed later)
1 can of crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of ginger, minced
1 green chilly, chopped (I used to use Serrano peppers in the U.S.)
½ teaspoon of aniseed
1 inch of cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
3 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon of red chilly powder
2 teaspoons of cumin powder
2 teaspoons of coriander powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric
½ teaspoon of garam masala
3 tablespoons of coriander leaves, finely chopped (Also known as cilantro in the U.S)
¼ cup of cooking cream
50ml of cooking oil
A teaspoon of butter
Salt, to taste


Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients. Ideally, leave to marinate overnight or at least for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200deg C/ 390deg F.

Put the chicken in a baking dish and bake for about 8 minutes. Drain the juices and reserve and cook for another 5 minutes. Keep aside.

Heat the oil and butter in a pan. Add the aniseed, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom till they crackle for about a minute. Then, add the finely chopped onions and let the cook till golden brown. This should take about 10 minutes on a low flame. I’ll like to get them to a translucent stage and then I add about a teaspoon of water and cover to let them caramelize. This gives the curry a slightly sweet flavor.

Once the onions are a golden brown, add the green chilly, ginger and garlic. Let it cook for a minute. Then, add the tomatoes, cook till the water evaporates. Next, add all the dry spices. Cook for about 2 minutes more till the spices are roasted.

Then put all the ingredients in a blender with a little water. Once pureed, put back into the pan. Add the chicken and the reserved juices from the pan. Add ½ cup of water and let it come to a boil. This would be a good time to season the curry to taste.

Now, just before serving add the cream and cook for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves just before serving.


If you can’t find the Rajah’s Tandoori Masala, then use the following mix of spices to marinate the chicken. I just prefer the Tandoori Masala because it has a great taste.

1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
½ teaspoon of chilli powder
1 teaspoon of garam masala powder


Jeera Pilaf

2 cups of Basmati Rice
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
1 chicken stock cube
1 tablespoon of butter
4 cups of hot water

Heat the butter in a pan and add all the ingredients except for the rice and stock cube. This flavors the oil and gives the rice a nice flavor. Then, add the rice and toast in the pan till slightly opaque. Add the hot water and stock cube. Cover with a lid and cook till rice is done. The best way to check if the rice is done is to see if the grain of rice mashes between your thumb and index finger.

This should give you a really fragrant pilaf with fluffy grains of rice.

Cucumber Raita

1 cucumber, peeled and cubed
1 cup of yogurt
A handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon of cumin powder
1 green chilly, finely chopped
½ teaspoon of ginger, minced
A pinch of sugar
Salt to taste.

Mix all the ingredients together and chill.

To vary it a little, you could put some pineapple and sliced onions. Eitherways, it helps to take the edge of curry.