Perfecting the Chicken Tikka Masala gravy was a game-changer for me. There's nothing quite like recreating restaurant-style magic at home. Store-bought mixes are convenient. However, the taste of a homemade sauce is unbeatable. With just a little effort, you can create a luxurious, celebration-worthy dish that truly delivers!
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Why you'll love the chicken Tikka Masala Gravy?
- Rich, Restaurant-Style Flavor: A luscious, great-tasting gravy paired with grilled chicken that makes every bite irresistible.
- Better Than Takeout: The homemade version rivals, if not surpasses, the best restaurant Chicken Tikka Masala.
- Versatile Pairings: Enjoy it with rice, roti, naan, or any of your favorite Indian breads.
- One Gravy, Many Variations: Use the same base to make paneer tikka masala, veggie dumplings, or mixed vegetable curries.
- Paneer or Chicken: Your Choice: Similar to my Delicious Paneer Tikka Masala, this version swaps paneer for chicken but keeps all the rich and vibrant flavor.
- The flavors are bold, comforting, and incredibly satisfying, and just the kind of dish that impresses every time.
- Serve it to guests with confidence; the compliments are guaranteed.
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, Coriander leaves, Ginger garlic paste, Dried Fenugreek leaves
- Cashewnuts, Fresh Cream
- Spices used: Red chili powder and a homemade garam masala blend
- Butter, Sugar, Salt to taste
How to make Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy?
Make Grilled Chicken
Traditionally, Chicken Tikka is cooked in a tandoor, but you can easily bake the chicken in the oven and finish it under the broiler for that signature charred flavor. Making Chicken tikka in air fryer is another great option for a faster, cleaner cook, or simply just cook it on a grill pan.
I used a grill pan with high ridges to make it and get those perfect sear marks. The chicken is marinated in a flavorful mix of yogurt, ginger-garlic, and aromatic spices. The longer it rests, the deeper the flavor becomes.
You can even add bell peppers and onions to the marinade for extra color and taste. Once grilled, the chicken and veggies are drained of excess oil and set aside, ready to be folded into the rich, creamy gravy.
- Step 1: Marinate the chicken with yogurt, spices, ginger garlic paste, onions, and bell peppers.
- Step 2: Grill on a grill pan until well done.
Make Gravy for the Chicken Tikka Masala
To make the onion-tomato gravy, start by sauteing onions, tomatoes, cashews, and spices in a little butter until everything softens and turns fragrant. Once cooled slightly, grind the mixture into a smooth paste. This is the base that gives the dish its signature richness.
Return the paste to the pan, add your spices, and fold in the grilled chicken pieces. Let everything simmer together so the flavors deepen and meld.
- Step 3: Sauté onions, tomatoes, cashews, and spices in a little butter and grind when cooled into a smooth paste.
- Step 4: Transfer the gravy back into the pan and add all the spices, salt, and sugar(if adding).
When the gravy is cooked and leaves oil from the sides, add the grilled chicken and mix well. Add water and adjust consistency if needed. Let it cook for a while. Finish with a swirl of fresh cream and a sprinkle of dried fenugreek leaves for that classic restaurant-style aroma.
- Step 5: When the oil leaves the sides, add grilled chicken and adjust the consistency of the gravy. Finish with a little cream and powdered fenugreek leaves.
- Step 6: Garnish with chopped coriander leaves if you like.
Useful Tips
- The Chicken Tikka Masala gravy recipe uses boneless chicken breasts, and it works best for this recipe. Cutting the chicken into small, flat pieces helps them cook evenly and quickly on a grill pan.
- Letting the chicken sit longer in the marinade allows the spices to fully soak in.
- Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy goes best with Naan bread, bhatura bread, Roti, Ghee Rice, or Basmati Rice. This rich gravy tastes best when dipped with bread and mixed with rice.
- If you want an extra burst of color and tang, mix in a little canned tomato paste along with the fresh tomatoes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves just before serving for a fresh, bright touch.
If you loved this, you may also love the tandoori chicken oven-baked and air fryer chicken tikka, which is popular among my readers. For those who love dry chicken, do check out chicken 65 fry recipe, spicy chili chicken, minced chicken patties, and airfryer chicken bites.
Related Recipes
If you tried this Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy
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
- ¼ tsp salt
For Gravy
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder optional
- 1 tsp sugar optional
- 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.
- 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 .
Video
Notes
- The Chicken Tikka Masala gravy recipe uses boneless chicken breasts, and it works best for this recipe. Cutting the chicken into small, flat pieces helps them cook evenly and quickly on a grill pan.
- Letting the chicken sit longer in the marinade allows the spices to fully soak in.
- Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy goes best with Naan bread, bhatura bread, Roti, Ghee Rice, or Basmati Rice. This rich gravy tastes best when dipped with bread and mixed with rice.
- If you want an extra burst of color and tang, mix in a little canned tomato paste along with the fresh tomatoes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves just before serving for a fresh, bright touch.
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!