Mmm… Tikka Masala. It’s spicy and creamy… and you can make it ahead! Here, we’ve made ours just a smidge healthier than what you’d find in an Indian restaurant. But if you’re feeling like going all in (see: adding heavy cream), more power to ya.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total
Servings
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 5 skinless, boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts, fat trimmed, cubed into large bite-sized pieces
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 ½ Tbsp. dry garam masala spice or tandoori masala mixture (paprika, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger, and cardamom)
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 1 small jalapeño, finely chopped
- ½ Tbsp. tomato paste
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 24-oz. can of diced tomatoes with sauce
- ½ cup fat free Greek yogurt or fat free sour cream**
Let's go
- Heat oven to 375° F.
- Cube chicken into large bite-sized pieces. (They’ll shrink as they cook, so make sure they are a bit larger then you’d want to eat yourself in one bite.)
- In a large Dutch oven or oven safe pot, heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil until it sizzles with the touch of the chicken. Brown chicken on all sides. Beware: chicken can stick easily since it has no skin or fat on it, so move it around when you first put it in the pan. Once browned evenly, remove from pan.
- In the same pan, sauté onions until translucent, adding more oil if needed.
- Add in spice mixture, garlic, and jalapeño. Cook until spices become very fragrant and turn a bit darker in color, about 2 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and mix around, this will allow the mixture of onions and spices to turn an auburn color, the mixture is caramelizing (i.e. becoming extra delicious!). Once you get that darker red color, add chicken back in and then add the vinegar, deglazing pan and scraping all brown bits off the bottom.
- Add in tomato sauce and bring to simmer.
- Cover and put in oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
- Remove chicken from pot.
- Allow sauce to cool and then put the sauce into a food processor or a blender. Blend until smooth. Add back to pot. Add chicken back in.
- When ready to serve, heat up over low heat, remove from heat and add in the Greek yogurt, sour cream, or milk/cream. Stir until incorporated. Don’t put it back on the heat or the yogurt will curdle!
Serve with: naan or pita bread and cucumber raita or tzatziki (recipe here)
** If you’re feeling like a serving a slightly more decadent dish, use heavy cream or half and half. DUH it will be delish!