Chicken Tikka Masala From Cooks Illustrated Recipe 45

Steps:

• CHICKEN: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside. SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160°F on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.

Steps:

• For the chicken marinade: Whisk together the yogurt, ginger, salt, chili powder, garam masala, pepper, turmeric and garlic in a large bowl until combined. Toss the chicken in the spiced yogurt marinade until evenly coated. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to 24. (Overnight works best.)
• For the sauce: Melt the ghee in a large Dutch oven or wide heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions and serrano, season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and beginning to caramelize, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until very fragrant and the ginger starts to turn golden and sticks to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the fenugreek leaves, garam masala, chili powder and paprika and cook, stirring occasionally, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up into pieces with a spoon, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by half and the tomatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes.
• Let the hot sauce cool for about 5 minutes or so, then transfer it to a blender filling no more than halfway. (If your blender is small, you may need to work in batches.) Remove the center cap from the lid and place it on the blender. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters, and pulse until smooth. Add 1/4 cup heavy cream and puree until creamy. Pour into a clean pot and bring to a simmer. Season with salt.
• Meanwhile, position a rack directly under the broiler and preheat to high. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside.
• Arrange the chicken in a single layer on the rack. Broil until the chicken starts to brown in spots, 3 to 6 minutes per side (it will not be cooked through). Remove from the broiler. When cool enough to handle, cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces. Add the chicken to the simmering sauce, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Top the chicken and sauce with cilantro. Serve with rice and naan.

Steps:

• Combine yogurt, 2 teaspoons garam masala, paprika, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cayenne pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon coriander in a large bowl. Add chicken strips and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
• Place chicken strips on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each piece, and bake in the preheated oven until browned and no longer pink inside, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir cumin seeds until lightly toasted and aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir until onion begins to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, and green chiles and continue to cook until onion is browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Cook and stir tomatoes, tomato paste, and water into onion mixture until tomatoes begin to break down and incorporate into the onion mixture, about 10 minutes.
• Cook and stir 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, and turmeric into the tomato mixture. Mix in the cooked chicken, add cream, and stir to coat. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and garnish with cilantro.

Steps:

• Combine garam masala, turmeric, cumin, paprika, 1½ teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl.
• In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup yogurt, lemon juice, 3 cloves of garlic, half the ginger and half the spice mixture together. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, up to 8 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned in spots, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add tomato paste, remaining garlic, ginger and spice mixture and cook, stirring frequently until spices are fragrant and tomato paste has started caramelizing on the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes.
• Crush tomatoes with your hands, leaving some larger bits and add them and any liquid left in the can to the pot along with the heavy cream and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper and stir, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until flavors meld and the sauce is thickened slightly, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and cover until chicken is ready (or after cooling, refrigerate if marinating chicken for more than 4 hours).
• Once chicken is ready, turn on the broiler and place oven rack about 6 inches away from heat source.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminium foil and place a wire rack inside the pan. Remove chicken from the marinade, scraping off any excess, and place the pieces on the rack. Broil just until lightly charred in spots, 5 to 7 minutes on the first side, before flipping pieces and broiling an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
• Bring tomato sauce to a simmer if it's not already. Remove chicken from the oven and transfer to spiced tomato sauce along with remaining ½ cup yogurt. Continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened nicely, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Divide chicken among four bowls and top with cilantro. Serve with rice or naan for dipping.

Steps:

• Combine tomatoes, yogurt, garlic, and ginger in a blender and process until smooth.
• Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and fry until soft, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in curry paste and fry until fragrant, 1 minute more, stirring once or twice. Add the tomato mixture and chicken to the pan and mix together. Season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat.
• Mix water and flour together in a bowl. Stir into the chicken mixture in the frying pan. Return pan to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until thickened, about 15 minutes more. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately.