Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan
Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan Dish Guide
Serves 4
For the Naan
3 and ½ cups all purpose flour plus a handful for rolling
¼ cup Greek yogurt
2 t salt
2 T honey
½ t baking powder
1 cup warm water
1 egg
1 packet instant/active dry yeast
Olive oil for frying
Add all ingredients except the water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for 1 minute or until combined. Slowly stream in the water and mix until the dough comes together to form a tacky ball. You may need to scrape the sides down a couple of times. You can make this with a bowl and spoon or spatula as well by the same process … it just takes a bit of elbow grease.
Cover the dough in the bowl and let rise for 1 hour at room temperature or until roughly doubled in size.
Flour a work surface and turn the dough out. Cut into 8 roughly even pieces and form each into a ball. Roll out into a circle or oval about 8” in diameter.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add 1 T of oil. Place one piece of dough in and cook for 3-4 minutes. Bubbles should start to form on the top and the bottom should get a nice golden brown crust. Flip and cook 2-3 minutes more or until golden brown on the second side.
Serve immediately or wrap in foil to keep warm. Leftovers freeze well, tightly wrapped, for up to 6 months.
For the Chicken
1.5-2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup Greek yogurt
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 T minced ginger
1 T garam masala
1 t cumin
1 t cayenne pepper
½ t turmeric
Juice of half a lemon (not shown in video)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Trim chicken of any excess fat and cut into bite sized chunks. Add all other ingredients to a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the chicken and stir into marinade. Marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours. If you don’t add the lemon juice you can leave it up to 24 hours.
To cook, place in a baking dish and broil for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is charred on top and just cooked through. If it gets charred before it is cooked through this is fine as we will be adding it to our sauce later and it can finish cooking there.
For the Tikka Masala Sauce
1 white onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T minced ginger
1 finely sliced serrano pepper
1 T brown sugar
14 oz crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
2 T unsalted butter
1 T garam masala
1 t cumin
1 t turmeric
1 t ground coriander
1 t cayenne pepper
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add the oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until it is beginning to soften. Add the ginger, serrano, garlic, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, coriander and cayenne to the pan. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the spices and garlic are toasty and aromatic.
Add the tomato puree, cream, butter, brown sugar and season to taste. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until all the flavors are well combined and the onions are soft. At this point you can either blend the sauce to make it smooth or proceed with it a bit chunky. Add the cooked chicken to the sauce and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.
Serve with cooked white rice and garnish with cilantro and additional slices of serrano … and of course fresh naan.
Dish Notes
You can also grill the chicken over high heat or cook in a skillet over high heat. Any technique that will result in deeply charred/browned chicken will work. Making this curry vegan is pretty easy. Omit the butter and swap the cream for coconut milk. Make sure the brown sugar is vegan or use maple syrup. Swap the chicken for tofu, chickpeas or hearty vegetables! Yum!
