Everyone’s favorite tikka masala sauce
Chicken Tikka Masala is probably the best known of all Indian restaurant dishes and one of the most beloved. A secret about this creamy tomato-flavored sauce: It’s not a traditional Indian dish at all. Tikka masala was created in a London restaurant by an Indian chef who wanted to meld in South Asian flavors with western sauce ingredients in order to appeal to English audiences. The end result is this sauce that features both garam masala and ginger and tomato paste and heavy cream.
This is a great simmer sauce to make ahead and keep in the refrigerator for a quick Indian-inspired meal. It’s equally good with chickpeas, lentils, boneless chicken, fish or shrimp. Simply cook your main ingredient, and then add it to the tikka masala sauce and simmer together for 20 minutes to combine the flavors. One of our favorite, easy preparations is to cube chicken breast and season them with garam masala, ginger and tandoori seasoning, which is now widely available in the spice aisle of grocery stores. We bake the pieces in the oven or grill them and add to the tikka masala sauce. Fenugreek leaves add an authentic flavor to this dish but if you can’t find it feel free to omit or simply garnish your finished dish with parsley or cilantro leaves.
Ingrediënten
MAKES: about 480 ml
- 30 g butter
- 9 g garam masala
- 9 g tandoori seasoning
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 30 ml tomato paste
- 360 ml Chicken Stock
- 360 ml heavy cream
- 6 g salt or more to taste
- 1 g dried fenugreek leaves optional
Instructies
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat and add the garam masala, tandoori seasoning and ground ginger.
- Cook for 1 minute, stirring well.
- Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 more minute.
- Pour in the chicken stock and use a whisk to stir well and break up lumps.
- Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the heavy cream and salt.
- Whisk well, until smooth, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- If using, rub the fenugreek leaves into a powder between your palms and add to the sauce.
- Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add cooked chicken, fish, lentils or shrimp and simmer on the lowest heat setting for 20 minutes.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Alternatively, store the finished sauce in a tightly sealed container in your refrigerator to use within 3 days.
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