BIR-Style Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala made in the style of British Indian Restaurants (BIR)

Ingredients

Seasoned Oil

• 500ml neutral oil (vegetable, sunflower, rapeseed, etc)

• 2 onions

• 2 garlic cloves

• Spices of choice (coriander seeds, peppercorns, cloves, star anise, bay leaves, fennel seeds, cardamom pods)

Base Gravy

• ~15 onions

• 2 carrots

• 1 red pepper

• 2 chillis

• Bunch of fresh coriander

• Handful of white cabbage

• 500ml seasoned oil

• 1 chef spoon garlic and ginger paste

• 1 chef spoon cumin

• 1 chef spoon paprika

• 1 chef spoon tumeric

• 1 chef spoon ground coriander

• 1 chef spoon curry powder

• 1 chef spoon salt

Chicken Tikka

• 4-5 chicken breasts

• 1 tablespoon dried methi leaves

• 1 tablespoon curry powder

• 1/2 tablespoon tandoori masala powder

• 1/2 tablespoon garam masala powder

• 500g natural yogurt (low-fat)

• ~280g jar of tikka paste

• ~280g jar of tandoori paste

• ~280g jar of kashmiri masala paste (if you can find it)

• 1 lemon

• 1 chef spoon garlic and ginger paste

• 1/2 chef spoon tomato puree/paste

• 1 chef spoon oil

• 1 chef spoon ground almond

• 1 chef spoon sugar

• Red food colouring

• Single cream to taste

Directions

Marinating the chicken

1. In a large bowl, add the yoghurt, dried methi leaves, tandoori masala powder, garam masala powder, tikka paste, tandoori paste, optional kashmiri masala paste, garlic and ginger paste, oil, red food colouring, and the juice and some zest of 1 lemon. Whisk thoroughly to combine. The pastes already contain salt and salt will be added when cooking so no additional salt is needed at this point.

2. Cut the chicken breast into bite size pieces.

3. Mix enough of the marinade into the chicken to coat.

4. Leave to marinade for at least 4 hours.

Seasoned Oil

1. Place oil in a pot with all of the other ingredients (you can keep the skin on the onions and garlic)

2. Fry for about 20 minutes until everything has gone crispy

3. Strain oil into separate container and discard the solid ingredients

Base Gravy

1. Roughly chop the onions, carrots, peppers, coriander, cabbage and chillis and place into a large pot or dutch oven.

2. Add the garlic and ginger paste, the seasoned oil and roughly 400ml of water.

3. Roughly mix everything together and then bring to low simmer.

4. Once simmering, reduce heat to very low and cook for about 60-90 minutes, until the onions and carrots are super soft.

5. Take off the heat, and then use an immersion blender to blend the mixture into a paste.

6. Add all of the spices and salt, and about an equal amount of water as there is paste.

7. Bring back to a low heat and cook for about another 45 minutes, until the oil has risen to the top of the pot.

8. The tikka masala recipe will only use about 1/4 of the gravy, the rest can be frozen for future recipes.

Cooking the chicken tikka masala

1. On a BBQ or frying pan, cook the chunks of marinated chicken in batches until cooked through and charred.

2. In a large frying pan or pot, add about 2 chef spoons of oil and heat.

3. Add the tomato paste and let it fry for about a minute.

4. Add an optional tablespoon of methi leaves and cook for another 30 seconds.

5. Add approximately 6 ladles of warmed base gravy and bring to simmer.

6. Add the ground almond and stir to combine.

7. Add about 2 chef spoons (or enough to get the desired colour) of the remaining masala sauce (the portion that wasn’t used to marinade the chicken).

8. Add the sugar and stir to combine.

9. Add the cooked chicken tikka pieces to the pot, and then reduce the sauce to the required thickness if necessary.

10. Add a small amount of cream to taste and turn off the heat.

11. Serve with rice and garnish with coriander leaves, tandoori masala powder and cream.