Pho - Vietnamese Soup

Pho - Vietnamese Soup
One of our favorite dishes - Pho

Monday, October 26, 2020

Chicken Tikka Masala





Happy Fall y'all!!  I hope everyone is staying happy and healthy.  Like everyone, we're cooking more than ever and I'm trying to step it up and be more adventurous with our meals.  This is a new recipe I've cooked for the family a few times and it's enough of a hit that I decided to post it.  I've been trying to replicate the Tikka Masala we get at the local, Indian restaurant, Roti Grill here in Dallas. Serve with some warm naan bread to soak up all that delectable sauce and you've got yourself a lovely, fragrant curry meal. 

I haven't tried either, but I feel like this recipe would adapt well to the crock-pot and the Insta Pot.  Enjoy!!  ðŸ˜„

1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs or tenderloins
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee), or more as needed....I use regular butter
1 yellow onion, chopped  
1 serrano pepper, chopped
¼ cup tomato paste
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger, or more to taste
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 (13 ounce) can coconut milk or coconut cream
½ cup chicken broth, or as needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Basmati Rice, cooked

Place chicken in a bowl and drizzle vegetable oil over chicken; toss to coat.

Whisk kosher salt, garam masala, ground cumin, garlic powder, ground coriander, smoked paprika, ground turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom together in a small bowl. Season chicken with spice mixture and turn to coat evenly.

*I let the chicken marinate in the spice for at least 30 minutes

Melt clarified butter in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Cook chicken in hot butter until browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. When cool enough to handle, cut chicken into bite-size pieces.

Reduce heat under the skillet to medium-high. Stir onion and Serrano pepper into skillet; saute until onion softens and turns translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir. Saute until paste caramelizes, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic and ginger into tomato-onion mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pour the crushed tomatoes into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Pour in coconut milk and chicken broth; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors blend and sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.

Stir chicken, any accumulated juices from the chicken, cilantro, and red pepper flakes into tomato mixture; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve over steaming, hot Basmati Rice.  Garnish with a few cilantro leaves.

Note: 
You can substitute tomato puree for the crushed tomatoes, if desired. You can also use 1 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream instead of the coconut milk.

**This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com and Chef John.