Chicken Tikka Curry

Chicken Tikka is a Punjabi dish with small pieces of boneless chicken marinated in spices and yogurt and baked using skewers on a brazier. It is very popular, not only in the Indian sub-continent but also in the United Kingdom - apparently it's UK's national dish! The Chicken Tikka paste includes the usual spice ingredients of cardamon pod, clove, coriander seed, cumin seed, cinnamon, onion, ginger & garlic. What seems to be unique is the addition of tomatoes and cashew nuts. In my version, I added a few other spice ingredients (turmeric, chilli powder, sweet paprika & curry leaves) and made it into a Chicken Tikka Curry. I did not need to add any liquid, water, yogurt, cream or coconut milk - the chicken gave out enough liquid to produce an excellent chicken stock for the curry. I like the texture of this curry sauce which is thickened by the ground cashew nuts. It is spicy and very very tasty. I will definitely make this again!

Video Link: https://youtu.be/AH6Yb25_qv4

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken meat (thigh, wing & leg)

• Grind together:

  • 2” knob of ginger (chop)

  • 2" knob of turmeric (slice)

  • 1 Tbsp garlic flakes or fresh garlic

  • 1 Tbsp fried onions or 1/2 cup of raw chopped onion

  • 1/4 cup roasted cashews

  • 1 Tbsp water

• Mix with:

  • 2 tbsp tomato paste

  • 1 Tbsp coriander powder (or ground coriander seeds)

  • 1 tsp cumin powder (or ground cumin seeds)

  • 1 tsp chilli powder (or 2 chopped dried chillis)

  • 1 Tbsp sweet paprika

  • 1 tsp sugar

• 2 Tbsp oil

• 2 tomatoes (chopped)

• 6 green cardamom pods

• 3 cloves

• 2” stick of cinnamon

• Handful of curry leaves

• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Put all the spice ingredients into a grinder and process till fine.

2. Grind together ginger, turmeric, garlic flakes, fried onions, roasted cashews and a little water till fine.

3. Mix with  tomato paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, chilli powder, sweet paprika and sugar into a paste.

4. Heat oil and add paste. Fry over low heat till fragrant.

5. Add chopped tomatoes and stir to mix well.

6. Mix in cardamon pod, clove and cinnamon.

7. Add chicken pieces and stir well to ensure chicken is fully coated with the fried spices.

8. Cover and simmer for 30 mins. Stir the mixture from time to time (esp the first 10 mins) to prevent food from sticking to the bottom of the pot or burning.

9. Add curry leaves mid-way during the simmering process.10. Add 1 tsp of salt or to taste to finish.