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Rich and creamy Homemade Chicken Tikka Masala is a heavenly dinner! Flavorful marinated chicken breast inside a rich and creamy spiced curry sauce is delicious over white or brown rice with freshly torn basil leaves.
Chicken Tikka Masala is one of my favorite Indian dishes and it is very easy to make and super delicious.
Key Notes about Chicken Tikka Masala
Marinating the Chicken
Traditionally the chicken is marinated for 30 minutes. I usually don’t like to wait that long, somewhere between 5 - 15 minutes. Normally I throw all the ingredients into a bowl for the marinade, then start sauteing the onions and garlic. By the time they are done, I will cook the chicken.
However, if you have the time, I would suggest marinating the chicken for longer, for an even more flavorful chicken.
Yogurt or Sour Cream
It is very common to use yogurt to marinate the chicken, but I have found that sour cream works just as well!
Garam Masala Spice Mix
You may not have Garam Masala Spice mix in your home, I didn’t either, so I looked up a recipe for a homemade spice mix. You could also buy a bottle at the store, but if you have the ingredients at home it is really easy to make. A few ingredients you need are - ground cinnamon, ground turmeric, ground cumin, ground cardamom, ground cloves, coriander, etc.
Heavy Whipping Cream
Heavy whipping cream is a must in this recipe! The cream creates the rich and creamy curry sauce that is very delightful! I tried to use milk instead of cream and it tasted good but it wasn’t as rich and creamy as I wanted. The cream makes a great difference!
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Print📖 Recipe
Chicken Tikka Masala
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner, Main Course
- Cuisine: Indian
Description
Rich and creamy Homemade Chicken Tikka Masala is a heavenly dinner! Flavorful marinated chicken breast inside a rich and creamy spiced curry sauce is delicious over white or brown rice with freshly torn basil leaves.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast (cubed)
- ½ cup sour cream or yogurt
- 4 tsp garam masala spice mix (divided)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 pinch ground cardamom
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 (15) ounce can of tomato sauce
- ½ cup Homemade Chicken Broth
- ¼ - ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil/ ghee
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cubed chicken breast, sour cream or yogurt, 2 teaspoon of garam masala spice mix, ground turmeric, ground cumin, ground ginger, ground cardamom, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined. Allow the chicken to marinate for 5 - 10 minutes.
- In a large cast-iron skillet, saute the onions in a few tablespoons of ghee. Saute the onions until they are just starting to brown, then add the minced garlic and 2 teaspoon of the garam masala spice mix. Cook the garlic for 30 seconds - 1 minute, stirring so it doesn't burn. Remove the onions from the skillet.
- Heat more ghee in the cast-iron skillet, then cook the marinated chicken, 5 - 10 minutes. Once the chicken has been browned, add the onions back to the skillet and the can of tomato sauce. Cook the tomato sauce for 2 - 3 minutes to remove the bitter taste of canned tomatoes.
- Next, add the chicken broth and heavy cream. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken, stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn't burn.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning. Serve with white rice and freshly torn basil leaves. Enjoy!
Keywords: chicken, chicken and rice, Chicken Broth, chicken tikka masala, curry, indian, tikka masala, tikka masala with rice
Stephanie says
Just saved this recipe to try next week! Looks delicious!
Tonya | The Midwest Kitchen Blog says
Thank you, Stephanie!