A made-from-scratch Chicken Tikka Masala recipe with the signature yoghurt marinated chargrilled chicken smothered in an incredible spice infused curry sauce. It’s astonishingly straightforward – and no hunting down hard to find ingredients!
Chicken Tikka Masala is an Indian favourite along with Butter Chicken and Biryani. Serve with Basmati Rice, else add a side of chewy and fluffy Naan or basic Homemade Flatbreads to mop up the sauce!
Chicken Tikka Masala
There are various tales about the origins of Chicken Tikka Masala, and most are along the lines of the following: That a British aristocrat was served Chicken Tikka (chicken on skewers chargrilled in a tandoor) and sent it back to the kitchen, complaining it was dry. In response to which the enterprising chef added a curry sauce and sent it back out again where it was well received.
And thus, one of the most popular curries in the world was born. 🙂 And even though it’s not a traditional Indian dish, the roots of it certainly are!
Proper Chicken Tikka Masala served at good Indian restaurants is made with yoghurt marinated chicken which is then chargrilled so it has that gorgeous smokey flavour.
Regretfully, I don’t have a tandoor sitting in the middle of my kitchen. So this recipe aims to replicate the flavour using my good old stove.
How to make Chicken Tikka Masala
We start off with a Chicken Tikka yoghurt marinade for chicken thighs. Thighs, my friends. Not breast! We need juicy meat for this recipe because we’re going to blast it with some serious heat to replicate the char grilled flavour of Chicken Tikka!
Leave it to marinade for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Then heat your pan until it’s smoking hot – and I mean smokin’ hot!! – then cook those chicken pieces so the yoghurt coating gets chargrilled.
After that, we make the sauce, then toss the chicken back in to bring all the flavours together. And this is the vision that you will be bestowed with – your very own homemade Chicken Tikka Masala, made from scratch. With the signature deep orangey red sauce, wafting with aromatic curry flavour, smothering chicken with a beautiful chargrilled flavour.
Tikka Masala is deceptively easy!
This isn’t your everyday mid week meal. The ingredients list in the recipe looks alarmingly long, but it’s deceptive because there are duplicate ingredients. And we’re making a serious curry here! We can’t skimp on flavour!
And though the list might be long, here’s the best news – no hunting down unusual ingredients. You can get every single ingredient from the major supermarkets here in Australia (Woolies, Coles, Harris Farms, most Aldi’s and large IGA’s).
RECIPE REFERENCES
This recipe is the result of a mountain of reading, researching, tasting and cooking we did in pursuit of the ultimate Tikka Masala recipe for the home cook.
We visited some of our favourite Indian restaurants in Sydney just to taste the chicken tikka masala, and recounted our memories of curries we experienced in the UK and India.
We looked at existing recipes by authors both well known (Madhur Jaffrey and Heston Blumenthal) and unknown, including many Indian food bloggers. We even watched Youtube videos in Hindi and went to the library and dug up faded old Indian cookbooks!
We pulled out the best bits from every source of inspiration as well as adding our own ideas to come up with this recipe!
Difference between Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken
In case you are wondering about the difference between Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, the main thing is the char grilled flavour of the chicken which Butter Chicken does not have. Also, the sauce of Tikka Masala is more intense and complex. 🙂
For curry lovers everywhere, it’s truly worth making your own curry from scratch at least once in your life. Like Thai Red Curry, a store bought curry paste (even a really great one) simply doesn’t compare. If I were to make this using a jar of paste, I would pimp it up quite a bit with fresh garlic, ginger and spices, and it would be not much less effort than making it from scratch!
I really hope you love this. This is a recipe that my brother and I developed together, tag teaming with the recipe until we “got it right” (meaning, as close as possible to good Indian restaurants). Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
MORE GREAT CURRIES OF THE WORLD!
- Butter Chicken – one of the most popular curries in the world
- Rogan Josh – fall apart lamb in a rich creamy tomato sauce
- Biryani (it’s amazing!)
- Dal (Indian lentil curry)
- Thai Red Curry
- Beef Rendang
- Massaman Curry
- Goan Fish Curry (Indian) – an amazing seafood curry from the tropical beaches of Goa
- Browse the Curry Collection
ON THE SIDE
- Indian Tomato Salad
- Samosas – The perfect appetiser / starter. Or snacks and lunch tomorrow!
- Pakoras – Spiced Indian vegetable fritters
- South Indian-style Cabbage & Carrot Salad with Coconut
- Refreshing Cucumber with Lemon Yogurt Dressing
- Give this Everyday Cabbage Salad an Indian spin by sauteing garlic and cumin seeds in oil before mixing up with other Dressing ingredients
- Real Naan! Chewy, stretchy, fluffy – the ultimate homemade naan recipe right here
- No Yeast Easy Soft Flatbread. Perfect to use as naan, but simpler and without yeast so you can get it on the table fast!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
Chicken Tikka Marinade:
- 600g/ 1.2lb chicken thigh (boneless, skinless), cut into 3cm / 2.2″ cubes (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, full fat best (Greek is fine)
- 6 cloves garlic , minced (~1.5 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger , grated
- 1 tsp garam masala (Note 2)
- 1 tsp each salt, cumin, ground coriander, paprika (sweet, normal or smokey)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- Pinch black pepper
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Cooking Chicken:
- 1 – 2 tbsp oil (Note 3)
Curry Sauce Spices:
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp garam masala (Note 2)
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Curry Sauce:
- 3 tbsp (65ml) vegetable oil (Note 3)
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter OR ghee
- 1 onion, finely chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger , grated
- 6 cloves garlic , crushed or grated
- 1 tbsp paprika (not smoked)
- 1 2/3 cups (400ml) tomato passata (tomato puree)
- 1 2/3 cups (400ml) water
- 100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) cream (thickened or pure is fine)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter OR ghee
Serving
Instructions
Chicken Tikka:
- Combine all ingredients except chicken in a bowl and mix. Add chicken and turn well to coat.
- Cover with cling wrap and leave in fridge to marinate overnight (3 hours minimum).
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan over high heat until smoking. Add half the chicken and spread out. Leave for 2 minutes or until charred. Turn each piece and cook the other side until charred – don’t worry if not cooked inside. (Note 4, also Video helpful here) Remove into bowl.
- Scrape out charred bits left in pan and discard. Add more oil if required and cook remaining chicken.
Sauce:
- Wipe skillet with paper towels (or do this part in a pot as you need a lid). Turn heat down to medium high.
- Add oil and butter. When butter is melted, add onions, ginger and salt.
- Cook, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn’t burn, until the ginger is starting to turn golden and the onions smell sweet, about 5 – 7 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and paprika, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the Curry Sauce Spices, and cook a further 2 minutes, stirring.
- Add tomato passata and water, and mix. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour curry into a bowl, then use a stick blender to puree until smooth (Note 5).
- Return sauce to skillet. Add cream, sugar and butter. Stir to melt the butter.
- Add chicken, stir. Simmer for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Optional: Sprinkle with a pinch of extra garam masala at the end.
- Serve over basmati rice, sprinkled with coriander/cilantro if desired. Try this No Yeast Flatbread as a quick naan!
Recipe Notes:
* Indian cooking uses a lot of oil. Don’t be tempted to skimp on the butter and oil for this recipe, it really affects the resulting richness of the dish at the end. We were quite surprised at the difference it made. AT MOST you can reduce the cooking oil by 1 tbsp and omit the butter at the end (but taste it first!). And even using the full amount of butter + oil, it only works out at about 1.7 tbsp per serving which isn’t as obscene as one might expect. 🙂
* You can use ghee instead of the oil/butter used to sauté the onion. I find oil + butter produces a similar end result. I do use ghee sometimes – if I have it on hand (which I usually don’t).
* The dish is deliberately saucy because it’s SO GOOD!
* The salt level looks high but curries need it. Generally, intense flavours = more salt required. 5. Storage / make ahead – Chicken can be marinated for up to 48 hours in the fridge, or pop it straight into the freezer then it will marinate while defrosting overnight in the fridge. Cooked curry will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freezer for 3 months (defrost then reheat in microwave or on stove with splash of extra water). However, unlike stews, curries are at their prime freshly made, when the spices are at their most aromatic. A good trick to freshen up curries is to add a pinch of garam masala when reheating. 6. Recipe references: See in post. 7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings (excludes rice, naan etc).
Nutrition Information:
More Curry For Curry Lovers
Thai Red Curry | Chickpea Potato Curry (Chana Aloo) | Beef Rendang | Vegetable Curry | Cauliflower Chickpea Curry | Queema (Indian Curried Beef Mince) | Chicken Satay Curry
LIFE OF DOZER
Miserable, sulky post-swim hose down. No feeling sorry for him! He just spent the last hour swimming and rolling in sand!!!
This was absolutely delicious! I made this today for my family which includes two picky children. We all loved it. The aroma from the spice combination smelled heavenly as I was cooking. It tasted so good. My husband said it was better than a restaurant’s versionvhe recently had. It will definitely be added to our regular dinner rotation. I love your recipes and videos, they never disappoint me.
Terrific to hear Kim! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it – N x
Hi Nagi,
If I was to replace oil and butter with ghee, how much ghee would I use.
Cheers
Hi Piranee! The same amount 🙂 N x
Oh my!! I made this last night. I was a bit nervous to make this to be honest. But it was not hard to make and it was truly amazing. So delicious. My husband loved it as well. I sent the recipe to my two daughters as well. Thank you.
That’s terrific to hear Marcia! I’m so glad you enjoyed this! N xx
I made this last night along with the flat bread and it was amazing! My husband and I used to meet up for lunch many years ago at an Indian restaurant and he’d always order this so I knew he’d be a tough customer. He couldn’t stop raving about it all through dinner. He said it was better than the restaurant! Thank you for another wonderful dinner recipe!
WOWEEE! That is such a high praise Cheryl! PS I adore the vision of regular date nights over Indian N xx
Wow! I just finished making this and it is delicious! Getting a nice deep sear on the chicken is key. I marinated my chicken for 2 days. Amazing recipe, thank you!
Yes! That char is everything, it’s what makes Chicken Tikka Masala different to butter chicken!! So glad you enjoyed this Kerry, thanks for sharing your feedback! N xx
Is this recipe possible to make a day in advance or will that impact the flavours in a bad way?
I’m thinking of making this at home and take it with me to the cabin beceause we don’t have running water there and a limited kitchen compared to home.
If this dish is suitable for reheating it would be great – have you tried it before?
Gosh YES! It’s even great for freezing – I made so much of this leading up to sharing it, plus for the video and photos I had stacks in the freezer as well. So from the fridge, heat using whatever method you want (if using stove, add a touch of water otherwise sauce will get too thick). From frozen, defrost then reheat. I microwave covered in cling wrap 🙂 N xx
Is this recipe possible to make a day in advance or will that impact the flavours in a bad way?
I’m thinking of making this at home and take it with me to the cabin beceause we don’t have running water there and a limited kitchen compared to home.
If this dish is suitable for rehating it would be great – have you tried it before?
Hi Nagi
Thanks for sharing this, it looks delicious! Do you think I could use fish or prawns instead of chicken as I’m a non-meat eater? Thank you!
OMG YES YES YES!!!!!!!!! You won’t need to marinate overnight, just coat the fish or prawns in the marinade, leave for 20 minutes, then proceed with recipe and obviously cook very quickly because fish/prawns cook so fast. OK, basically you just inspired me to make this using prawns and/or fish….
Brilliant! Thank you 😊😊
Wow, this was really good, Nagi! I’ve made Chicken Tikka Masala many times, with different recipes, and this one topped them all. Mr. Fussy agreed that it was truly restaurant quality. Great flavor. I had a bit less chicken than the recipe called for, so I only added cream to half the sauce and saved the rest for another meal. The chicken would be great on its own too. (I’ve made several other of your recipes recently, adapting Chicken Shawarma to serve at my Passover Seder (with Chermoula sauce because I wasn’t using dairy) and then made the Cottage Pie for us during Passover. All received Mr. Fussy’s praise!
PS Say HI to Mr Fussy from me! N xx
YES YES YES!!! I’m so super happy to hear that Marlene, thanks so much for letting me know!! N xx
OMG! This chicken Tikka was unbelievable! Like all your other recipes Nagi, this one did NOT disappoint. Ya it was my first time making an Indian curry. Ya it took me 3 hours to make it. But when everything was said and done, I had successfully wooed my girlfriend and that’s exactly what it’s all about at this point of my life. I will continue to use your recipes as regular staples in my monthly cooking adventures. Thank you so much.
YES YES YES!!! I’m so super happy to hear that Jeff, thanks so much for letting me know!! N xx
Wow!!!!!! This meal was totally amazing. The flavours were incredible and so much sauce. The sauce was out of this world.
Also made your flat breads to go with it and rice.
My son in law begged to take the few leftovers to work to next day.
A really enjoyable family meal was had by all.
I love opening my emails to see what new delights you have in stall for us.
You really do inspire me to go to the next level in my meals.
My family are truly thankful.
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!! Your son in law is lucky…. N xx
Made this over the weekend and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. This is going to be a regular on our weekend dinner menu.
And Dozer … we love him!!
WHOOT! I love hearing that! Thanks so much for letting me know Vim 🙂 We worked really hard on this recipe so it’s especially great to hear when people enjoy it! N xx
This looks fantastic and I can’t wait to give it a try! I wonder if you’ll ever grace us with your take on a simple/easy Vindaloo recipe? 😀
YES YES YES! It’s on our list 🙂 Curries are hard, they take ages to develop cause you can’t just tweak them at the end by adding more of this or that, gotta get it right from the very beginning. 🙂 N x
My favorite Indian restaurant closed and I have been searching for a Chicken Tikka Masala recipe that came close. This is the best I’ve made! Your recipes never fail me. Made it tonight for my husband and my mom and it was a huge hit. Now that I have all of the spices in my cupboard this will become a regular on the dinner menu. Thank you! You and Dozer came through again.
(And I know it is not the least bit authentic, but the throw in a couple of handfuls of frozen peas at the end. It adds color and a tiny taste of sweetness that my kids always liked. )
WHOOT! I’m so thrilled to hear that Judi! And actually, pops of peas is something you definitely see in Indian colours, great for colour and pops of sweetness! N xx
HONOSLY woman WHAT NEXT?? Mouse, tiny baby I would play with him. H would love cheese. Chicken looks good not sure that I would venture to make it. Today we had 30C was down the beach, water is still warm.have good week!
HA!!! I need YOU to come protect BOTH OF US!!!!
I am of Indian origin and usually make this recipe with all the spices but it doesn’t turn out as good as this one. The charring of the chicken makes a difference as well as adding the spices in different sequences. The entire family thought the recipe was delicious ! GREAT JOB !
BEST MESSAGE EVER!! Thank you so much for trying the recipe Sonal, and even more so taking the time for leaving this message. 🙂 I hope everyone on the fence about trying this sees YOUR comment!!! N x ❤️
Absolutely delicious! It does make a heap of sauce, so I added a tin of chickpeas, a tin of lentils and a couple of diced zucchini which bulked it out to a out 8 decent serves. A perfect Sunday night dinner.
Ohhhh! That’s such a great idea Lisa!! So glad you enjoyed this, thanks for taking the time to let me know! N xx
Dozer wasn’t terrified of the mouse, he was just up with you on the couch so as to protect you from a direct attack. As for Mr or Ms mouse, it was likiely just house hunting and you know, mice love curry..
Great recipe, I marinate with a similar mix, but then skewer the chicken and cook it on the barby.
Nothing is sadder than a wet dog. Poor Dozer!
We all like to think that…. but he was QUIVERING. I kid you not. Quivering like a girl!!!
Hello Nagi,
Your recipe asks for cardamon ,is that pods or is that ground , as i can not get ground cardamon where i live , recipe sound delicious as most of your recipes are , have tried many very rarely disappointing .
Hi Kevin! It’s ground, will update the recipe thanks for that 🙂 If you can’t get it, leave it out – it’s not a major spice in this, it will still be terrific! N x
Hi Navin,
Thanks for your reply I tried it last night before I got your reply , I toasted the cardomon first and then ground in pestle and mortar . The dish was great ,very rich in flavours, but mine was not the same red colour you normally associate with tikka masala , but i think my garam masala may have been old , and I was trying to reduce quantity’s for 2 people . Thanks .
Wow I am delighted to have a Tika masala.recipe from you👍not sure if I mentioned I am Anglo Indian and born in Calcutta India.. and yes we do need the smokiness for the Tika..Don’t mean to LOL but the sight of both of you on the couch would have been priceless😂😂 off to Singapore sunday April 8 will send you a pic or two cheers and keep on sending those wonderful recipes xo
I DIDN’T know that!! So I love the validation about the char grilled flavour!! Safe travels Gillian! N xx