Chicken Tikka Masala

A long time lover of curry, I decided to have a go at making my own! For best results leave the chicken to marinade overnight, but if you don't have time for that, then an hour should do fine.

Ingredients;

-One chicken breast per person. This recipe serves four, so I will use 4 free range chicken breasts :)

For the marinade;
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 4cm root ginger
- 200ml natural yogurt
- 1tsp chopped coriander leaves
- 1 red chilli
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds (optional)

Finely chop the garlic and ginger, or blitz in a food processor. Chop the chilies and mix well. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, followed by the garlic, ginger and chili mix. Add the paprika, cumin, garam masala, coriander and gently fry. Add the yougurt, mix, and add to chopped chicken pieces. Leave to marinade in the fridge.


For the Sauce;
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 115ml double cream
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 3.5 cm ginger
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3 tsp coriander
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 1/2 a pint of chicken or vegetable stock
- Pinch of salt

Melt butter in a pan and when heated, gently fry the chopped onion. as before, blitz the ginger in a food processor or finely chop/grate. Add the cumin, coriander and ginger into the pan and cook for 15 minutes. Add the tomato Puree, 1/2 a pint of stock and bring to the boil. Salt to taste.
Fry the marinated chicken, and when fully cooked add to the sauce. Add cream and garam masala. Garnish with paprika and coriander leaf!

Serve with Basmati , and enjoy :) To make the rice extra tasty, add some cardamom pods whilst cooking. You can also add turmeric to the rice to make it yellow! If you like it spicy, why not try adding more chili, or even adding chili powder to the sauce? I added 1 tsp to the marinade for some extra spicy chicken, but you could add it to the sauce if you preferred!