Nader's Chicken Tikka Masala recipe

This is one of my favorite dishes, and a lot of people who eat this tell me it's one of their favorite meals as well. They often ask for the recipe, so I decided to open source it. This will probably evolve over time as I improve and experiment with it. Enjoy!

Ingredients ℹ️

Chicken marinade 🐔

• 28 oz boneless and skinless chicken thighs or tenders cut into 1 inch cubes or so
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 3.5 teaspoons chicken tikka masala seasoning (MDH, Shan, or Rasoi Magic brand)
• 1/3 teaspoon Kashmiri chili (or 1/4 teaspoon ground red chili powder)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons butter for sauteing / cooking the chicken

Sauce 🍲

• 5-8 tablespoons butter
• 3 small onions (or 1 - 1.5 large onion) finely diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic finely grated
• 1 teaspoon ginger finely grated
• 3.5 teaspoons chicken tikka masala seasoning (MDH or shan brand)
• 12-14 oz  tomato puree / tomato sauce
• 2 medium fresh tomatoes diced
• 1/3 - 1/2 teaspoon teaspoon Kashmiri chili (or ground red chili powder)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups of heavy or thickened cream
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water if needed

Instructions ℹ️

The chicken (Chicken Tikka) 🐔

• Put the chicken in a bowl with all of the ingredients of the chicken marinade, stir everything together well and let it sit for 10 minutes to a few hours

• When ready to cook: in a frying pan, add butter and saute the chicken until it is fully cooked and browned on each side. Set to the side until later.

The gravy (Masala) 🥣

• In a large and tall cooking pot, melt the butter and fry the onions until soft while stirring occasionally.

• Add ginger and garlic and let cook for just about 30 seconds while continuing to stir. Then add chicken tikka masala seasoning, chili powder, and salt.

• Add in tomatoes and tomato sauce. Let this simmer until the tomatoes start to break down.

• Once the tomatoes are breaking down, use a masher to crush the tomatoes and onions into a paste / sauce with no large pieces left. You can also use a blender.

• Add the heavy cream and the brown sugar, stir everything in.

• Finally, add the chicken and let it simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. From here, check the consistency and decide to your taste to add more cream or water.

Serve with butter rice or naan bread. 🚀