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!!!
Nagi, Your CTM was absolutely wonderful. So much flavour. After I marinated the chicken pieces I actually put them in the Air Fryer which cooked the pieces perfectly. Then I followed your recipe to the “T”. Another winner. Thanks Nagi
I’m testing some air fryer recipes soon Sharon so will try this one and see! Thanks for the tip! N x
Sounds wonderful! Got most ingredients, never have cream!
Can’t wait to try.
Thank you for this amazing recipe ! I was wondering if somehow I could prepare it in a slow cooker ? Thanks!
Delicious!! Partner who doesn’t normally comment on my cooking, said it tasted bloody good.
Would love to do it as a vegetarian dish at some point too but not sure what protein to use.
Could maybe try paneer? It’s like an indian cheese (it doesn’t melt).
This recipe is the real deal! Authentic and delicious. I followed it exactly as written.
Hi Nagi,
Thank you so mucb for all your wonderful recipes.
I wanted to try my hand at this one and was wondering if I could replace the meat with prawns instead?
I’ve made this a couple of times now and it’s a real problem – my brother and I always end up eating way too much of it, IT’S SO GOOD! As with most curries it takes a bit of time but it is so worth it in the end. I add a couple of green chilis and bit of extra chili powder/cayenne because I like my food to have a bit of heat but even without your ratios result in an absolutely delicious end product!
Amazing chicken tikka masala! So much better than the bright red stuff from the takeaway. Enjoyed here in S. London, by all the family 😍
Hi Nagi, I was wondering (and this is a general question as well as being related to this recipe) – with minced garlic, is it important to mince it or does crushing it achieve the same result? It’s obviously quicker to crush when the clove volume is high but not sure if that makes it more garlicky…? Thanks!
Just going to chime in with my own experience here Robert. Ever since I started mincing my garlic and ginger I’ve noticed the flavour in my dishes absolutely skyrocket. I hear you on the fact that it takes a bit of time but it’s worth the tradeoff in deliciousness for me. Hope this helps mate!
Hi – I actually just read about this. Garlic has an enzyme that gets released when cut. Whole garlic – less is released over time, so it is more mellow. Crushed – a little enzyme is released, so it turns up the flavor a bit. Rough chop – a bit more, minced – even more enzyme is released, so more sharp garlic flavor. Hope that helps!
This recipe is definitely restaurant worthy BUT, Nagy, it takes way more time than 15 minutes prep, either that, or I am a real slowpoke. This is the second time I’ve made it. Next time, I’ll time myself🤔
I’m sorry it took you longer … I will look at the time on there and check it! N x
This is hands down the BEST Tikka Masala recipe I’ve ever made! I am big fan of Indian food and have made many different curries, Tikka Masala, Murg Makhani, Veg Korma being my favorites. I loved this recipe so much and it’s going into my heavy rotation. To up the flavor I cooked the chicken on a Reqtec pellet smoker to infuse a little woodfired smokiness into the meat with sear plates. For USA peeps I recommend the Garam Masala blend from Nuts.com, it’s a cut above the supermarket stuff. I tripled the recipe and made with your Naan which I doubled and we still ran out very quickly! Thanks for the great recipe!
Outstanding recipe! Everyone in the family loved it and agreed that it’s restaurant-quality. Well done Nagi and thanks.
Thanks! N x
Hi Nagi
I live an aussie living in egypt and your website has me cooking more than ever before. There’s not a single recipe that hasn’t been spot on with taste simplicity and ease of understanding
I just had a quick question regarding the tikka masala and the butter chicken. I can’t see to get the sauce to be as thick as yours. Is it the kind of cream I’m using. Thanks again for all the inspiration
It could be the cream there…dairy varies in different places. If you want it thicker be sure to use thickened (double) cream. But regular pouring cream should work too. N x
If I could give this recipe a 50 star rating I would. This recipe is FANTASTIC!! I have made this 3 times now with the naan recipe and it is just so good. It is a lot of steps but it is so worth it. Restaurant quality!!
I never comment on recipe sites but Nagi this is the third recipe I use from you and it consistently is sooo delicious. I’m in the house by myself and I’m sure my neighbors hear me moaning because it’s that delicious!! Soo much flavor. Don’t skip the passata! I used canned tomatoes the first time and it was good but with passata it’s perfect and not bitter. Nagi. You are an excellent chef
Hi Nagi, I use your recipes at least once a week! I can’t believe you and Dozer don’t have your own show!! This recipe works really well if you cook the chicken in a hooded bbq like a Weber. You can get high heat with the lid closed and you get great char and that slightly smoky flavour – not quite a tandoor but as close as you can get. This is such a great recipe thank you!
Please add my rating- forgot to add it to review-love it!
Best tikka Masala I have had in a very very long time, if not the best! Amazing! I didn’t have yogurt so substituted for half and half (all I had), instead of cardamom and coriander used curry and nutmeg. Recipe came out amazing regardless of the substitutions! Will definitely make many more times!
I made this for the first time ever this past Tuesday and it was delicious. I cut the chicken too small so I am definitely making it again but I am going to use breasts instead. I also made your Garlic Naan and there aren’t enough words to describe how AMAZING they were! Thank you so very much
I used chicken breasts! I was a little concerned of it being dry but it came out really good! I think the yoghurt in the marinade must have tenderised the chicken! Also – I only left the chicken in the marinade for like 20 minutes in the fridge (I didn’t read recipe thoroughly beforehand) but it all turned out well!
Made this for my 9 & 11 year old boys tonight. Their rating was second best ever curry. When I asked what their number one was – it’s your butter chicken! 😁😁😁😁😁
Dear Nagi, this sounds fantastic! I‘m wondering if you have experiences with replacing Ghee and Yoghurt with non-dairy based products?
Forgot to rate recipe it in my review. I’d give ten stars if I could.