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!!!
Dear Nagi,
Without a doubt you do my favorite food blog. The recipes are unfailing delicious. I usually tweak recipes but yours I confess I do not–sometimes because I am unfamiliar with the style of cooking and now because I realize you have it down! Please do a cookbook!
Best,
Claire (from Oregon, USA)
PS I tell everyone I can about your recipes. I’m a one woman promotion!
Hi there! First off, this was great! The thing is though, we didn’t have thighs at home and the wife had already pulled out breasts from the freezer. So I did not use the pan searing method, rather, I did pieces on a skewer and right up under the broiler. I’m sure it’s way better your way, but just wanted to say that it can be done with white meat too…
That’s great! So pleased you enjoyed this John – N x
Simply love your recipes. This one comes out well. Every single time.
Was wondering if I can try the same recipe with Paneer( Indian cottage cheese)
Can you please share a curry based paneer recipe?
Hi Dee! If you could pop the request in the Recipe Request post then I will get to it! Paneer has been on my personal list for ages! N x
This is absolutely fabulous! Thank you for this delicious recipe and your useful notes. This is our new family favorite!
Thanks for this great stuff. Really liked your way of cooking and description of contents
You’re so welcome! 🙂
Hi! I’m from the US, and hoping you see this soon. For the coriander, is that dried cilantro leaves, ground cilantro leaves or ground cilantro seeds? I’ve read that we call it different here. I want to be sure to use the correct ingredients.
Amber, ground coriander is the seeds, not the leaves. Cilantro is the Spanish word for coriander leaves.
Hi Amber! it’s ground coriander in the spice mix 🙂
When I first tasted the sauce a bit while cooking I was afraid that I had over seasoned it and it would be overpowered with cumin flavor. But after letting it finish and putting it over some rice the flavor is perfect. Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Nagi,
Thanks for all the sensational recipes…not one has been blah!!
I have a query re: the paprika in the Tikka masala: do you use sweet paprika or the spicy one?
Thanks!
Cath
PS I’ve introduced my daughter in Texas to your site – she’s a huge fan now too!!
I use sweet, normal or smokey. Thanks for picking that up Cath! Will update recipe! N x
Hi Nagi
We cooked this and it was fantastic thanks – Interestingly we cooked it in early August 2018. We went to cook it again on the 3rd of September and the recipe had changed – No fenugreek / methi or capsicum etc.
I’ve lost the print out of the old recipe. Is there any chance you have a record of it? If so, would it be possible for you to email please.
We’d be very grateful to you. Loved the Rendang as well.
Thanks
Mark and Caroline
Hi Mark! 100% promise this has not changed. It never had fenugreek or capsicum in it. Promise!!!
Nagi this is the 4th time im making this using your recipe, you are amazing I cant thank you enough. All other recipes I have tried were off or too bland, but yours is perfect!
Love that you enjoyed this Luna! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Tikka masala is my go-to dish when I go to indian restaurant. However when I make it myself (I tried several different recipes), it never come near my expectations. Sauce not creamy enough (never thought of blending it), chicken not half as tender as in restaurants (I always marinade it for at least 24hr AND I use thighs), sauce a little to blend… I absolutely love the way you describe your way of making it, all the notes and the passion of cooking. The marinade is in the frig, can’t wait for tomorrow! Thx Nagi 🙂
Absolute winner here Nagi! I ran out of paprika so I subbed with Kashmiri chilli powder – it probably made the dish a tad spicier, but we weren’t complaining. The sauce was so good that I almost didn’t care about the chicken! Served with your flatbread, this was a brilliant dinner.
I’ve made this twice now and it’s delicious. Thanks so much for the cool recipe
Thanks for such an awesome home made recipe!
nice blog that i ever seen. thank you
Thank you fore the compliment Talha! N x
Love your recipes ! Funny thing, Im an Australian who recently moved to the US and I only just found you here !
Just wanted to know if the Curry Sauce would freeze well ?
Thank you for bringing back the love I had for cooking !
Hi Wendy! What are the chances!!! Hopefully you’ll like some home-grown recipes I have coming soon – like the great Aussie Meat Pie! This freezes so super well. Thanks for reminding me – will pop it in the notes! N x
Could I substite the chicken for lamb or beef in this Tikka Masala recipe ?? Thanks for sharing your recipes. Nagi.
Absolutely Judy! Whichever you please 🙂 What I would do is as follows: Brown the meat per recipe. After you puree the sauce, return to skillet and add some water, add the meat and cook until tender. It will depend on what cut you are using. If using a stewing cut, it might be 1 hour or so. Once the meat is tender, revert back to following the recipe ie adding spices, cream etc etc. YUM!
Soooo delicious! I’ve tried many Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala recipes. The search is finally over! Yay! Now I just need to try and substitute the Chicken to make a Mushroom Tikka Marsala dish I once had. Thank you for the amazing recipe.
Great to hear Nadika! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! N x PS Mushrooms would be phenomenal. I would even marinate them and I’d probably roast rather than pan fry 🙂
Hi Nagi,
Can you make this dish in the crockpot?
Hi Kelly! I’d have to play around with it to check the cook times and how the sauce might be affected 🙂 Sorry I can’t give you an answer straight out!
Yum yum yummmmmmmmmmmmm😃😃😃😃
Nagii Thankuu sooo much for the recipe..it was soooo good 👍👍
Tomorrow I’m going to try out ur strawberry up side down cake…
Wish me luck😬😬
You don’t need luck! 🙂 N x
wow… it is 1am and I just found your website from my friend’s FB.
Thank you for a nice and easy cook and well organized printable recipe.