Creamy Chicken Tikka Masala | Restaurant Style Recipe

A homemade take on a traditional Indian chicken tikka masala recipe.This post shows how I cook the chicken and make the gravy for this dish, and combine the two to form an amazing chicken tikka masala right from home. This is the most authentic recipe I believe there is!

Pair this dish with a side of amazing homemade naan, which you can find the recipe for on this post.

Ingredients:

• 7-8 chicken thighs marinated as shown here

For the gravy:

• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1 medium or 2 small onions
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 8-10 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 inch of ginger
• salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 pinch turmeric 
• 1/4 teaspoon of green cardamom powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 

Instructions:

1. Heat your oven to 450 F. 
2. To make the ginger garlic paste, take 20 grams of garlic and 20 grams of ginger or 8-10 cloves of garlic and 1/2 inches of ginger and put it in a food processor. Add some water and blend to a smooth paste. Now, over a medium bowl, lay out some paper towel and pour out your mixture to extract excess water. Keep ginger garlic paste aside. 
3. In the same food processor, add in the onion and finely chop.
4. In the meanwhile, lay out a baking sheet aluminum foil and put the chicken thighs on. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until cooked and slightly browned. 
5. Heat a large pan with 2 tbsp of oil and add in cumin seeds. 
6. When cumin seeds begin to change colour and become aromatic, add in the onions. 
7. Sautee your onions until they start to become soft, change colour and start to turn brown. 
8. Add in your ginger garlic paste and mix and cook until the rawness of the ginger and garlic has cooked out. 
9. In the same bowl of your food processor, add in the tomato and grind into a smooth paste. 
10. Add in the freshly pureed tomatoes to the pan and cook until you see oil releasing along the side of the mixture. 
11. Add in the coriander powder, green cardamom powder, and a pinch of turmeric. Stir well and let it cook for 3-4 more minutes. Keep stirring occasionally to ensure the mixture does not burn. 
12. Add in 1/2 cup of tomato puree or grind up half a can of whole tomatoes. Add in some salt when your mixture comes to a simmer and add in the red chilli powder. 
13. Crush in some dried fenugreek leaves and honey and cook for 1-2 minutes. 
14. Cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add into your gravy. 
15. Add in the cream and stir and mix until your dish is heated through. Serve hot :)