Chicken Tikka Masala

I do love ethnic food. Impromptu dinner plans with my cousin ended up resulting in a fun Indian style dinner. We made chicken tikka masala with rice, and I picked up a few sides at the local Indian grocery which has a hot food window. Here's the recipe for the masala. I started with a food network recipe and changed it some to my taste. 

Ingredients

Marinade and Chicken:

2 cups plain yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon ginger juice

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 pounds chicken thighs, cut into bites

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoons minced  jalapeno

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt 

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 cups tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup yogurt

Chopped green onions and cilantro, for garnish

Directions

For the marinade and chicken: In a bowl, blend the yogurt, lemon juice, cayenne, cumin, gingers,cinnamon, salt as needed and pepper. Once well mixed, add the chicken and allow the meat to marinate covered in the fridge for 30 minutes. Do not over marinate because it gets really spicy. You can cut the cayenne back as desired but this dish is meant to be spicy.

For the sauce: Melt the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with cumin, salt and paprika. Stir in the tomato sauce, heavy cream and yogurt. Simmer on low heat until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.

In a nonstick (very important) wok or deep rounded skillet, which you have heated on high, cook the chicken in small batches on medium high to high heat on each side for 2-3 minutes. It's important to put just enough chicken to cover the bottom of the skillet, moving so each piece is on the bottom, and let sit to brown. Don't keep stirring. Then when browned stir and flip and let sit and brown again. 

Once cooked, add a couple spoonfuls of the prepared sauce. Allow the sauce to cook for 15-20 seconds on high heat and then place in serving dish. Continue with more batches till all the chicken is done.  Garnish with mounded chopped green onion and cilantro. Serve plated over rice, with a couple spoons of sauce on top. 

Dessert tonight wasn't exactly Indian. Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes. Mmmmm. But that's okay. Eclectic is the best cuisine I know.