Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

One of my favorite meals coming directly to you today, Chicken Tikka Masala is creamy, packed with flavor and will easily become a staple in your home.

Chicken Tikka Masala Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need for this recipe:

Chicken thighs: Cut into cubes

Full fat yogurt: For the marinade

Spices: Garam masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder, kashmiri chili powder, salt

Garlic ginger paste: I just mash equal parts garlic and ginger with some olive oil until a paste forms

Tomato puree: For the masala sauce

Heavy cream: For creaminess

Brown sugar: For just a touch of sweetness

Lemon juice: For the marinade

Onions: For flavor

Butter: To fry the onions

How to Make Chicken Tikka Masala

Here’s how to make this recipe:

Step 1: Marinade the chicken.

The first thing you’ll do is take the cubed chicken and add everything for the marinade to it. This includes the lemon juice, yogurt, a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste, and spices. Let the chicken sit overnight (or atleast for a few hours).

Note: If you don’t want to make ginger garlic paste, you can just minced a few cloves or garlic and grate an inch of fresh ginger and use that.

Step 2: Prep everything for the masala.

Now you’ll prep everything for the actual masala, like chopping your onions and measuring out the spices.

For the spices, I measure them into two different bowls.

One includes:

• Cumin
• Garam masala
• Turmeric
• Coriander

And the other includes:

• Salt
• Chili powder
• Kashmiri chili powder

Step 3: Brown the chicken.

Add a bit of neutral oil to a skillet with high sides and brown the chicken in batches, then set aside.

Step 4: Fry the onions.

Add the butter to the same skillet you browned the chicken in and dump in the onions. Fry until they’ve softened (about 5–8 minutes). Add 2 tbs of garlic ginger paste (or 5 garlic cloves, minced and 1.5 tbs of grated ginger). Cook for one minute.

Step 5: Toast the spices.

Add the first bowl of spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala) and stir to allow the spices to bloom (about 20 seconds).

Step 6: Cook the masala.

Add the tomato puree and the other bowl of spices (chili powder, kashmiri powder and salt) and stir to combine. Cook on low for 10–15 minutes or until the sauce thickens and becomes a deep red. Make sure to stir occasionally so that you don’t burn this!!

Step 7: Add the cream, sugar, and chicken.

Add the heavy cream and stir continuously until it fully incorporates with the masala. Stir in the brown sugar and then dump in the chicken and their juices. Stir, bring to a boil, and then lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Make sure to stir so that the bottom doesn’t burn.

Note: If it becomes too thick, feel free to add a touch of water to reach your desired consistency (but keeping it covered should help prevent the curry from getting too thick).

Note: Some people prefer their curry to be completely smooth. In this case, you may want to blend the sauce before adding the chicken and then straining it. I don’t personally do this because I love the consistency and don’t want to lose any flavor by blending and pouring it through a strainer, but just know that you can do that if you’d like.

Add some chopped cilantro at the end and serve with fresh naan and rice.