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!!!
Hi Nagi
Referring to Terry’s comment, that this recipe won’t taste like the real thing … reminded me about an ingredient that is supposed to be the secret in Indian cooking; asafoetida (called hing in India). Have you used this? Evidently, it’s very stinky but adds that something special. I have some; keep intending to use it but I’m a little bit afraid. Why don’t you use it first and let us all know how it works out 🙂
Hi Karen! I have in previous recipes but it wasn’t called for in any of the recipes we researched so we didn’t use it in this 🙂 N x
I live in Iowa, USA. I enjoy your blogg. I want you to know Dozer has a following here also. I don’t like mice either, however, I believe Dozer was protecting you. For him to do that, he had to be beside you. Please give him a hug for me.
I love your faith in him!!!! Hug given – always gladly passed on!!! N xx
Oh yum! Dinner tonight sorted!
Thank you Nagi.
Rating it 5 stars even before I’be made it as I could
almost smell the aroma while watching the video!!
Ooooh!! Hope you love it Adele, I’m so proud of this one! We worked really hard on it 🙂 N xx
Oh My! I absolutely have to make this on my next set off! I have an obsession with butter chicken so I’m thinking I might have the same issue with this. 🙂
Laughed out loud seeing you and Dozer cowering on the couch (in my minds eye, of course)…then toned it down somewhat cuz I’d be doing the same thing were a spider the size of your pinkie finger nail come toward me! Yep, that small, versus this big…and I’d be the one running for cover! 😀
Hugs for Dozer dawg, he has his own following here too!
I really don’t think Dozer would protect you from a teeny tiny spider either…. he’s useless!!!! 😩
That’s why you love him so much!!
On the bright side…nothing, and no one is useless…it/they can always be used as a bad example! 😀
Hi Nagi,
Do you have the “ nutrition facts” please? It IS early morning but I can’t see them. I need to know how much of this delicious sounding dish I can eat while I am trying to lose weight. I may have to use almost all my points to try this recipe. Sounds yummy. Remember that Bill offered to help with your mouse problem free of charge!!
Added! But…see this as a treat 🙂 Thank Bill for the offer, the mouse catcher is empty day after day so I think it’s gone!! N xx
I will definitely try this – sounds wonderful and I love curry. I made the chocolate cake a couple of weeks ago and it was delicious. Thank you. Dozer is featured in my office (pics on filing cabinets) he has a following in Bermuda. LOL. Love you story today about the mouse. Happy Weekend.
Dozer has a following in Bermuda!!! GOLD!!! 😂
Love love LOVE golden retrievers!!!! We’ve had them for over 30 years. Our fav breed. Thanks for the recipe! Love Indian food too 😉
I’ve adored them since I was a kid!! We couldn’t afford one back then, and then when I started working I waited and waited until I stopped travelling so much for work before I got my own!! N xx
This sounds ab fab! Chicken Tikka is one of my favorite dishes, and I can’t wait to make it from scratch.
PS: condolences about the mouse. I too am terrified of rodents, bats, over-the-top insects and snakes, which is probably one reason I don’t live in Australia.
Love that Dozer!
I too am terrified of all the above…. 😩
Sounds fab!! As a constant cooker of your beef rendang, I will certainly give this one a go. Homemade curries are sooooo much tastier 😊. Any chance you could provide us with a recipe for dhansak?? 👍🏻
Just got added to the list!!! PS Love that you love the rendang…it’s one of my show off curries! N xx
Unfortunately, this isn’t going to taste like the real thing. I have tried and tried and tried and used the same ingredients like you have, but something is missing…a true Indian seasoning that I just can’t figure out. Nothing on the internet has come close to the real taste of Chicken Tikka Masala, believe me, I have tried since it is my all time favorite Indian dish.
Hi Terry! As a curry expert, I’d love to know what you think if you do try it 🙂 I agree that ingredients are similar across many recipes, but we found that lots of small little things we do in the recipe collectively made a difference – long taking the time to sauté the ginger and garlic WITH salt, sautéing the paprika alone before the other spices, even the quantity of oil + butter we use. Also, pureeing the sauce is a must, and finishing with butter. Each time we changed / added one of these steps it brought the end result closer to restaurant standard Indian curry here – albeit we do curb the oil a bit. There’s no denying restaurants use even more butter / oil / ghee – we feel this has enough to yield that rich, almost creamy taste that tikka masala curry sauce has. 🙂 Thank you for your insight! N x
Oh, I love Tikka Masala so much I make it at least once a month (really!) It freezes nicely too. I was planning to make a batch this week and I think I’ll try your recipe instead of the one I’ve been making. I found an Indian spice blend called Rogan Josh that very closely replicates the flavor of all the spices used to make Tikka Masala. When I’m in a hurry and don’t feel like pulling out a dozen spice jars from my cupboard, I will use the Rogan Josh. Thanks for sharing this!
Oooh! I have to see if I can find it!! N xx
I love the recipe and cant wait to make it but your mouse story really hit home. I am terrified of mice. I would of been right up there on the couch with you and Dozer. I can just visualize it now. I garden and am tout in my yard screaming sometimes when one appears Love your stories and recipes..
Oh believe me, there was plenty of screaming…. High pitched wailing too….
Do I need an iron skillet for this or can I use a regular pan?
Non stick is best for this Shaz! Ensures the crust on the chicken adheres as best as it can! I do sometimes use my cast iron pan but I ensure it is extra well seasoned 🙂 N xx
Am I the first to comment? Woo hoo! Being up at 5am in Canada to make my grocery list pays off 😉 Thanks for this delicious recipe – I’ll be making it tonight! Hope Dozer has recovered from his fright (I get it…my brave mutt jumps at garden hoses that aren’t even turned on…).
p.s. Step 8 of sauce is corresponding to note 3 instead of note 4 (me at 5am = unusually alert…)
Ahh fixed! Thank you! PS 5 am grocery list writing…. I bow to you…