A made-from-scratch Chicken Tikka Masala recipe with the signature yoghurt marinated chargrilled chicken smothered in an incredible spice infused curry sauce. It’s astonishingly straightforward – and no hunting down hard to find ingredients!
Chicken Tikka Masala is an Indian favourite along with Butter Chicken and Biryani. Serve with Basmati Rice, else add a side of chewy and fluffy Naan or basic Homemade Flatbreads to mop up the sauce!
Chicken Tikka Masala
There are various tales about the origins of Chicken Tikka Masala, and most are along the lines of the following: That a British aristocrat was served Chicken Tikka (chicken on skewers chargrilled in a tandoor) and sent it back to the kitchen, complaining it was dry. In response to which the enterprising chef added a curry sauce and sent it back out again where it was well received.
And thus, one of the most popular curries in the world was born. 🙂 And even though it’s not a traditional Indian dish, the roots of it certainly are!
Proper Chicken Tikka Masala served at good Indian restaurants is made with yoghurt marinated chicken which is then chargrilled so it has that gorgeous smokey flavour.
Regretfully, I don’t have a tandoor sitting in the middle of my kitchen. So this recipe aims to replicate the flavour using my good old stove.
How to make Chicken Tikka Masala
We start off with a Chicken Tikka yoghurt marinade for chicken thighs. Thighs, my friends. Not breast! We need juicy meat for this recipe because we’re going to blast it with some serious heat to replicate the char grilled flavour of Chicken Tikka!
Leave it to marinade for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Then heat your pan until it’s smoking hot – and I mean smokin’ hot!! – then cook those chicken pieces so the yoghurt coating gets chargrilled.
After that, we make the sauce, then toss the chicken back in to bring all the flavours together. And this is the vision that you will be bestowed with – your very own homemade Chicken Tikka Masala, made from scratch. With the signature deep orangey red sauce, wafting with aromatic curry flavour, smothering chicken with a beautiful chargrilled flavour.
Tikka Masala is deceptively easy!
This isn’t your everyday mid week meal. The ingredients list in the recipe looks alarmingly long, but it’s deceptive because there are duplicate ingredients. And we’re making a serious curry here! We can’t skimp on flavour!
And though the list might be long, here’s the best news – no hunting down unusual ingredients. You can get every single ingredient from the major supermarkets here in Australia (Woolies, Coles, Harris Farms, most Aldi’s and large IGA’s).
RECIPE REFERENCES
This recipe is the result of a mountain of reading, researching, tasting and cooking we did in pursuit of the ultimate Tikka Masala recipe for the home cook.
We visited some of our favourite Indian restaurants in Sydney just to taste the chicken tikka masala, and recounted our memories of curries we experienced in the UK and India.
We looked at existing recipes by authors both well known (Madhur Jaffrey and Heston Blumenthal) and unknown, including many Indian food bloggers. We even watched Youtube videos in Hindi and went to the library and dug up faded old Indian cookbooks!
We pulled out the best bits from every source of inspiration as well as adding our own ideas to come up with this recipe!
Difference between Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken
In case you are wondering about the difference between Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, the main thing is the char grilled flavour of the chicken which Butter Chicken does not have. Also, the sauce of Tikka Masala is more intense and complex. 🙂
For curry lovers everywhere, it’s truly worth making your own curry from scratch at least once in your life. Like Thai Red Curry, a store bought curry paste (even a really great one) simply doesn’t compare. If I were to make this using a jar of paste, I would pimp it up quite a bit with fresh garlic, ginger and spices, and it would be not much less effort than making it from scratch!
I really hope you love this. This is a recipe that my brother and I developed together, tag teaming with the recipe until we “got it right” (meaning, as close as possible to good Indian restaurants). Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
MORE GREAT CURRIES OF THE WORLD!
-
Butter Chicken – one of the most popular curries in the world
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Rogan Josh – fall apart lamb in a rich creamy tomato sauce
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Biryani (it’s amazing!)
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Dal (Indian lentil curry)
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Goan Fish Curry (Indian) – an amazing seafood curry from the tropical beaches of Goa
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Browse the Curry Collection
ON THE SIDE
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Samosas – The perfect appetiser / starter. Or snacks and lunch tomorrow!
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Pakoras – Spiced Indian vegetable fritters
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Refreshing Cucumber with Lemon Yogurt Dressing
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Give this Everyday Cabbage Salad an Indian spin by sauteing garlic and cumin seeds in oil before mixing up with other Dressing ingredients
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Real Naan! Chewy, stretchy, fluffy – the ultimate homemade naan recipe right here
-
No Yeast Easy Soft Flatbread. Perfect to use as naan, but simpler and without yeast so you can get it on the table fast!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
Chicken Tikka Marinade:
- 600g/ 1.2lb chicken thigh (boneless, skinless), cut into 3cm / 2.2" cubes (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, full fat best (Greek is fine)
- 6 cloves garlic , minced (~1.5 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger , grated
- 1 tsp garam masala (Note 2)
- 1 tsp each salt, cumin, ground coriander, paprika (sweet, normal or smokey)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- Pinch black pepper
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Cooking Chicken:
- 1 - 2 tbsp oil (Note 3)
Curry Sauce Spices:
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp garam masala (Note 2)
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cardomon powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Curry Sauce:
- 3 tbsp (65ml) vegetable oil (Note 3)
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter OR ghee
- 1 onion, finely chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger , grated
- 6 cloves garlic , crushed or grated
- 1 tbsp paprika (not smoked)
- 1 2/3 cups (400ml) tomato passata (tomato puree)
- 1 2/3 cups (400ml) water
- 100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) cream (thickened or pure is fine)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter OR ghee
Serving
Instructions
Chicken Tikka:
- Combine all ingredients except chicken in a bowl and mix. Add chicken and turn well to coat.
- Cover with cling wrap and leave in fridge to marinate overnight (3 hours minimum).
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan over high heat until smoking. Add half the chicken and spread out. Leave for 2 minutes or until charred. Turn each piece and cook the other side until charred - don't worry if not cooked inside. (Note 4, also Video helpful here) Remove into bowl.
- Scrape out charred bits left in pan and discard. Add more oil if required and cook remaining chicken.
Sauce:
- Wipe skillet with paper towels (or do this part in a pot as you need a lid). Turn heat down to medium high.
- Add oil and butter. When butter is melted, add onions, ginger and salt.
- Cook, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn't burn, until the ginger is starting to turn golden and the onions smell sweet, about 5 - 7 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and paprika, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the Curry Sauce Spices, and cook a further 2 minutes, stirring.
- Add tomato passata and water, and mix. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour curry into a bowl, then use a stick blender to puree until smooth (Note 5).
- Return sauce to skillet. Add cream, sugar and butter. Stir to melt the butter.
- Add chicken, stir. Simmer for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Optional: Sprinkle with a pinch of extra garam masala at the end.
- Serve over basmati rice, sprinkled with coriander/cilantro if desired. Try this No Yeast Flatbread as a quick naan!
Recipe Notes:
* Indian cooking uses a lot of oil. Don't be tempted to skimp on the butter and oil for this recipe, it really affects the resulting richness of the dish at the end. We were quite surprised at the difference it made. AT MOST you can reduce the cooking oil by 1 tbsp and omit the butter at the end (but taste it first!). And even using the full amount of butter + oil, it only works out at about 1.7 tbsp per serving which isn't as obscene as one might expect. 🙂
* You can use ghee instead of the oil/butter used to sauté the onion. I find oil + butter produces a similar end result. I do use ghee sometimes - if I have it on hand (which I usually don't).
* The dish is deliberately saucy because it's SO GOOD!
* The salt level looks high but curries need it. Generally, intense flavours = more salt required. 5. Storage / make ahead - Chicken can be marinated for up to 48 hours in the fridge, or pop it straight into the freezer then it will marinate while defrosting overnight in the fridge. Cooked curry will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freezer for 3 months (defrost then reheat in microwave or on stove with splash of extra water). However, unlike stews, curries are at their prime freshly made, when the spices are at their most aromatic. A good trick to freshen up curries is to add a pinch of garam masala when reheating. 6. Recipe references: See in post. 7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings (excludes rice, naan etc).
Nutrition Information:
More Curry For Curry Lovers
Thai Red Curry | Chickpea Potato Curry (Chana Aloo) | Beef Rendang | Vegetable Curry | Cauliflower Chickpea Curry | Queema (Indian Curried Beef Mince) | Chicken Satay Curry
LIFE OF DOZER
Miserable, sulky post-swim hose down. No feeling sorry for him! He just spent the last hour swimming and rolling in sand!!!
Delicious, I used Hot Paprika and a tsp of chilli powder to spice this up a bit and was perfect. Also as my wife is a pescatarian I substituted the chicken tikka for cod and prawns cooked in the sauce at the end. Worked very nicely as a fish curry, I’ll try it as a chicken tikka next time I have meat eating friends over. I’ve made 5 or 6 things from this site and they have all been spot on, very good recipes 😊
Is the cream in this recipe heavy cream?
Been a while since I cooked this and forgot how much sauce there is. Have made a note on my recipe card to increase the chicken. This is one of my fav recipes. Once you get all the spices out of the cupboard the prep time is fairly close (my spice cupboard is messy lol)
This was super delicious!!! We had 900gm of chicken thigh to use so marinated that (and adjusted the marinade ratios). I kept the same amount of sauce ingredients (banking on there being extra sauce like with the butter chicken recipe). Next time, I think I might even double the chicken and keep the sauce amount the same (lots left over.. which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!). Such a tasty curry – my partner declared it even better than the few we’ve tried at restaurants! Thanks Nagi!!!
I followed the recipe exactly as written. It was fantastic! I served it with basmati rice and naan. My family loved it!
I’ve just made this for the umpteenth time and again it’s turned out wonderfully. I added spinach to the sauce to sneak some vegetables into my husband without him knowing. I always make double so I have some stashed in the freezer. My favourite recipe of yours Nagi ☺️
Love your recipes
These were 10/10. They tasted better next day, because I didn’t marinate overnight, lol.
cooked this today, used chicken tenderloins as not a fan of the thighs. Turned out perfect, juicy and full of flavour and very tender,
I’ve just made this for the umpteenth time – I love it!
Only thing different I do is to grill the marinated chicken as I’ve never had success charring it in a skillet. Oh, and I add fenugreek leaves to the finished dish instead of garam masala.
This recipe was spot on! I followed it exactly except I doubled the yogurt since I made it in the instapot and added chicken broth. The combination of ingredients was just awesome. It came out AMAZING! Thank you!!
Made this over the last 2 days together with the naan and it was an absolute hit! Loved it 😍
Nagi
Could I mix the marinade and chicken thighs in a freezer bag and freeze til needed.
Yes, you absolutely can. Freeze straight away and it will marinate as it defrosts. Works for butter chicken and chicken shawarma too
Yes
Found this just okay unfortunately! It was a lot of effort and didn’t find it paid off.
I have been making this recipe for a while now and I think it’s the best like all Nagi’s recipes . Yeah it’s time consuming but it’s worth it . One person said that you can line up the chicken in the oven on broil and the flip them and would cut down in the time for sure .
I will cook this tomorrow and I’m sure it will be as good as all your other recipes I’ve tried. Just one problem, I am in Germany and it is nearly impossible to get de-boned chicken legs. I did it myself and it is kind of hard work. Could I try this recipe with any other meat? Best regards, Linda
I make this with chicken breast and it’s not dry in the slightest. I just keep the chunks really big so they don’t dry out. Then either broil/grill/fry at a very high temp just to get the char and finish off cooking in the sauce. It’s perfect.
I make mine with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. It is soooooo good!
Great recipe. Time consuming though. Can I cook the chicken beforehand and leave the cooked chicken in the fridge for a day or 2? Then add to the sauce when I make it?
My 25 year old daughter proclaimed this the best dish I’ve ever cooked!
I made it for a dinner party and it was utterly delicious. I quadrupled the recipe and it fed 14. It’s very time consuming to make, particularly charring the chicken but well worth it for a special occasion. So so good.
Excellent curry, the sauce was so nice. Definitely going to be a favorite.
This is perfection. Though it’s more time consuming, I like to skewer the chicken and char it on the BBQ. I have made it a dozen times and it’s never not delicious.
My 10 year old daughter wanted to try her cooking skills. I recommended your recipe to go for as it’s foulproof method. It’s instant hit at home. That silky smooth sauce was finger licking taste. Thanks for inspiring everyone to cook. Really a huge fan of yours!
Awaiting for your cooking book to start selling internationally so that I could buy and start enjoying more recipes.
Absolutely wonderful recipe! Now if only I also knew how to make my other favorite curry dish, Chicken Kashmiri!!!! Maybe that one will be next.