The famous 'Chicken Tikka Masala' Gravy recipe was a great find and discovery for me. There's nothing more exciting than recreating a restaurant-style chicken recipe at home! This is very similar to the delicious Paneer Tikka Masala version of this recipe which I posted a while ago. The main difference is replacing chicken with Paneer.
These days there are ready-made mixes available in the stores and online, that can cut short the elaborate method to make this gravy. However, nothing can beat the taste of the homemade version made from scratch. It is a little bit of effort, but surely worth it. This gravy is rich with the cashew and fresh cream used in it and perfect for special occasions, get-togethers, and celebrations.
Why you'll love the chicken Tikka Masala Gravy?
- A great-tasting gravy that is rich and delicious with grilled chicken in it.
- The homemade version is on par or even better than the one that you get in the best restaurant.
- It can be had with rice, roti, or naan bread.
- The same gravy base can be used with paneer, veggie dumplings, or vegetables.
Ingredients you will need
- Boneless chicken - Grilled after marination in a marinade made with yogurt, ginger garlic paste, spices like red chili powder, garam masala, lemon, bell pepper, and oil.
- Onions and tomatoes
- Ginger garlic paste
- Cashewnuts
- Dried Fenugreek leaves
- Fresh Cream
- Spices like Red chili powder and homemade garam masala blend
- Coriander leaves
- Butter
- Sugar
- Salt to taste
How to make Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy?
Make Grilled Chicken
The Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy recipe uses Boneless chicken breasts. They are best suited for this recipe. It is preferable to cut the chicken into small pieces so it cooks easily on a grilling pan. I prefer it to be flatter in shape. The original recipe requires the chicken pieces to be cooked in a Tandoor . You can even bake it in the oven and then broil it to get the char on it. Another option is to make chicken tikka in air fryer.
I made it by cooking on a grill pan with high ridges. The marinade is made with yogurt, ginger-garlic, and special spices. The longer the chicken pieces sit in the marinade, the better the flavor will be. You can also optionally add the bell pepper and onions to the marinade. The chicken and the veggies are grilled on the pan, drained of oil, and kept aside.
Make Gravy for the Chicken Tikka Masala
To make the onion tomato gravy, saute tomatoes, onions, spices, and cashews in butter. Make a smooth paste by grinding it. Add the spices and cooked chicken and cook it well. Later, top it with fresh cream and dried fenugreek leaves. You can also use a little canned tomato paste along with the tomatoes, to bring out a nice color and tangy taste to this dish. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves if you like.
What is served with Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy?
Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy best goes with Naan bread, Roti, or Basmati Rice. This rich gravy tastes best when dipped with bread and mixed with rice. It tastes unbelievably good, so you can proudly serve it to your guests and be sure to receive great compliments.
If you loved this, you may also love the tandoori chicken oven-baked and air fryer chicken tikka, which is popular among my readers. If you prefer a dry chicken, then do check out the chicken 65 fry recipe, spicy chili chicken, and airfryer chicken bites. Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
For Marinating Chicken
- 1 lb chicken boneless cut into small rectangle pieces
- tsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder Kashmiri red
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- 1 - 2 tbsp Tandoori masala Shaan brand optional
- ½ cup yogurt The yogurt should be completely drained of water.
- ½ bell pepper green diced into big triangles
- ½ onion diced into big triangles
- ½ lemon juice squeezed
For Roasting and Grinding
- 1 large onion
- 3 large tomatoes
- 10-12 cashews
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder Kashmiri
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp salt
For Gravy
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 3 tbsp cream
- ½ tsp fenugreek leaves kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) crushed with your palms
- ½ cup coriander leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- Make a mixture of ingredients in the "For Marinating Chicken" section in a medium bowl.
- Add the cut chicken pieces into it .
- Marinate for 20 to 30 minutes ,the longer the better.
- Grill the chicken on a Grill pan or oven or air-fryer
- In a medium sized pan , heat up some butter .
- Add the cashews, chopped onions and tomatoes .
- Sautee and fry till it is wilted, browned and cooked well.
- Add salt to taste , cool and grind to a smooth paste.
- Add red chilly powder and garam masala .
- Heat some butter or oil in the same pan used to roast the tomatoes and onion gravy.
- Add ginger garlic paste .
- Sautee till the raw taste goes away.
- Add the onion tomato gravy and mix well.
- Add red chilly powder ,sugar, salt and garam masala.
- Cook till the oil is released from the sides .
- Add water as required to loosen up the gravy .
- Add grilled chicken pieces and cook for a while.
- Add cream and adjust salt as required.
- Add the dried fenu greek leaves and mix well.
- Switch off flame and add the chopped coriander leaves.
- Chicken Tikka Masala is ready to be served .
Nutrition
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The flavors in this recipe are incredible! The marinated chicken is grilled to perfection, which adds a smoky depth that you just can’t get from cooking it in a pan.
Chicken tikka masala looks delicious perfect with homemade sourdough naan. My family enjoyed it.
I had tried this at a restaurant and had to make it at home. I think mine was better than the restaurant's (LOL!). Great recipe, instructions and the results. Thank you! 🙂
This is delicious! It's just as good as anything I've ever ordered at a restaurant.
My youngest adores Indian cuisine so when I found your recipe, I knew I had to make it for our family when he was home to visit. We all adored it...so yummy and flavorful.
Yum! Appetizing 😍
Thank you so much Ishita, yes indeed it is very appetizing !
Lovely tikka color , looks delicious and super creamy ! Your recipe looks simple and straight forward , like how you have marinated the chicken and then added it to the curry, should have been so flavorful right? I cant wait to try it!
Thanks a lot, Aarthi. This is a simple and fail-proof recipe and most of my guests who have had this thoroughly enjoyed it! Do let me know how it turns out. Enjoy!
Never made Chicken Tikka Masala myself but it's one of my favorite dishes to order. Love your recipe and will save it so maybe I can give it a try:)
Ah ! I see it's a favorite dish of our family at the restaurants as well . I am pretty sure you will love this homemade vesion .Thank you so much .
Oh gosh, I've had this dish at a restaurant but never made it at home! Thanks 😀 Sharing to Pinterest now xo
Wonderful Christy , hope you will try this at home with this fail proof recipe ! Thank you so much for the share to Pinterest , truly appreciate it!
Serve this dish with rice is pure bliss!
Yes couldn't agree more .This simply tastes out of the world. Thank you so much!
Mmmmm yes please! These photos make my mouth water. I love chicken tikka masala. I always go for rice with it but I've never tried making the actual sauce/gravy myself. I'd like to give this one a try. Yum!xx
Thank you so much Caz, am pretty sure you will love the homemade version as well!
This looks amazing. I'm getting hungry just reading the post. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much for the wonderful comment , it sure is very tempting!
Looks delicious.! This is the dish I always order in Indian restaurants, so it's great to have a reliable recipe to make at home. 🙂
Wonderful to hear that Ronit, am sure you will not be disappointed with this recipe!Thank you so much.
Finger licking recipe Nisha. 💕
True that Suni, Thank you!
Awesome!
Thank you so much!