Tikka Masala

A long time ago, I promised to post about my tikka masala. Since I'm in a mood to do some corrupting, now seems like a good time!

Chicken Tikka Masala

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs

1 cup yogurt
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 Tbsp Tikka Masala spice (I get mine from http://worldspice.com)
2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 medium chopped onion
1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup tomato puree
1-2 Tbsp ginger paste
1-2 Tbsp fresh crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
2 tsp honey
1 tsp curry powder

Cut chicken into chunks.
Mix yogurt, lemon juice, tikka masala and curry powder. Add the chicken and marinate overnight.

Next day, saute the onion in the oil until it starts to caramelize.

 Scoop the chicken out of the marinade, and into the pan with the onions.  A decent amount of the marinade will come with the chicken, but leave what you can in the bowl. Set the marinade aside, and cook the chicken until there is no pink showing on the outside.

 With a slotted spoon, scoop the chicken out and put it in the bottom of a casserole dish. Most of the juices and onions will stay in the pan. Sprinkle the salt over the chicken.

And you're left with this in the pan.

Add the ginger, garlic, honey, curry powder and salt to the pan the chicken was cooked in. stir it together. Once it's mixed, add the tomato puree. Cook it all together until it starts to thicken and hold together as a sauce--about 5 minutes.

Pour the tomato sauce over the chicken. Spread it around so the chicken is covered, more or less.

Pour the leftover marinade over the top and spread it around so it's all in a fairly even layer.

Bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Start rice cooking just before you out it in the oven, and they should be done at the same time. Some steamed green beans go with it really well, although it's not exactly traditional.

I have made this with tofu instead of chicken, and it worked well. I would add some extra yogurt to the leftover marinade, because the tofu will definitely soak up a lot of moisture. Use extra firm tofu, and press it for several hours/overnight before putting it in the marinade, then follow the same procedure.