Skip the takeaway and jazz up your dinner with this delicious, flavorful and authentic chicken tikka masala recipe. It’s all about grilled chicken pieces in a rich tomato-based sauce for a lip-smacking meal you’ll want again and again. Serve this with naan or rice, and pappadums for an awesome, flavor-packed meal!
Even though life is super busy these days, sometimes I try to find time to cook and enjoy classic recipes. This is the kind of comfort food that make me feel at home. And I want to enjoy this day with a big bowl of this chicken tikka masala and obviously, a big, fluffy naan to dunk in that rich, colourful sauce. A super satisfying, comforting meal, indeed!
Obviously, this chicken tikka masala paired with rice or naan makes for a simple dinner. However, it’s also perfect when you want to throw a party.
This authentic chicken tikka masala recipe is all about chicken cooked in a delicately spiced sauce. The tomato based sauce makes this absolutely lip-smacking. There are a few tomato based curries in Indian cuisine. I’m talking butter chicken, paneer butter masala and this tikka masala curry. To be honest, it’s hard to pick a favorite.
This curry is not a simple recipe. And not a quick one at all. In fact, it’s a three step process that involves marinating the chicken, grilling the tikkas and lastly preparing the curry. Ok, let’s go through each and every step in detail.
The recipe for this chicken tikka masala starts with marinating the chicken pieces. Actually, the marination itself is a two-step process. First, chicken is marinated with salt and lemon juice for ten minutes. Then it’s marinated with a mixture of garlic, ginger, cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, chili powder, paprika, and yogurt for another two hours. A tad of oil keeps it moist while grilling.
Now the grilling. Well, this is the best part of the recipe. Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and grill them. Just sit back and relax until they are done. Or you can start making the sauce.
To make the sauce, throw in some onions into hot oil and sauté until lightly browned. Add ginger and let it release all its awesome flavors. Next, all the ground spices – turmeric, coriander, paprika and chili powder – goes in. The tomato paste and the canned tomatoes give this curry its beautiful red color. Substitute the canned tomatoes with fresh ones if you like. Finely chop two large tomatoes and add it to the curry to make thick sauce. Canned tomatoes are more convenient, so I decided to go that way.
Add cream to make the sauce rich and luscious. Finally, a touch of garam masala and plenty of coriander (cilantro) leaves. And the tender grilled chicken goes into the sauce to make lip-smacking chicken tikka masala.
Doesn’t this authentic chicken tikka masala recipe sound totally delicious?
Make this chicken tikka masala in Instant Pot – Recipe here.
More Authentic Indian Recipes
- Fish Tikka Masala
- Chicken Tikka
- Butter Chicken
- Tandoori Chicken
- Chicken Lollipop
- Chicken Vindaloo
- Chicken Madras
- Chicken Jalfrezi
- Chicken Korma
- Lamb Rogan Josh
- Paneer Butter Masala
Jazz up your dinner with this flavor-packed curry. Rich, delicious, and easy chicken tikka masala made in instant pot Amazing restaurant style butter chicken that will tickle your taste buds! Simple and flavorful! Ready in just 30 minutes! Indian style flat bread. This traditional Goan chicken vindaloo curry depicts the perfect combo of spicy and tangy flavors. So easy to make and delicious! Best of all, it’s the ultimate comforting dish to warm up in winter Grilled chicken skewers Indian style The homemade tandoori paste makes this tandoori chicken a stunner.Authentic Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe| Video
Ingredients
CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA:
Instructions
Nutrition Information
Yield
4
Serving Size
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 403Total Fat 57gSaturated Fat 18gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 37gCholesterol 243mgSodium 752mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 11gSugar 7gProtein 45g More Indian authentic recipes
I might have to do this and substitute the chicken with paneer! Looks great Nisha!
Love this delicious & authentic recipe of chicken tikka masala, Rose. A must try recipe.
Looks so so so good 🙂 Especially with rice!
Lovely color and flavorful recipe. Delicious 🙂
Love the colour.
I love this recipe. I have been using it for over a year now. I am a personal chef and this is a favorite of all my clients as well. When it is to cold to fire up the grill I put a rack on a sheet pan and broil the chicken for about 15 minutes. Works just as well. Thanks Nisha!
Wow this is such a great recipe! I first did the recipe from the tasty website and it didn’t have a 100% authentic taste. I follow this recipe on my second try and adjusted the serving number, it came out AMAZING! Wow so authentic and flavored very well. Instead of using puree i just used tomato sauce and it was just as great. I made it for dinner for my family and they were surprised with how well it was. Thanks for sharing!
It was my first attempt at making chicken tikka masala, and I was hoping for an authentic, no shortcuts recipe. It turned out divine!!!! We enjoyed it so much, it is definitely going into my recipe collection. Thank you for sharing
Can a coconut milk/cream be a substitute for the heavy cream?
Yes 🙂
I remember having chopped/ground almonds and also cashews in restaurants which adds thier own unique flavours and sweetness, however I have had it with coconut and for me it overpowered the taste, and frankly its not for me, but if that’s your preference, why not, you know what you like👍
your recipe is so good, I tried making it and it was so delicious. Thank you.
Can you make this dish spicy?
Yes, with more red chili powder. 🙂
Such a lovely combination of ingredients. Looks amazing. Can’t wait to try this out
I just made this!! My Wife and I both LOVED this recipe. thanks
Hello! I have made this recipe several times and it always goes down a treat! I would like to make this for a big family get together but I am at a wedding the day before and so I am wondering how well this freezes if I make it in advance (or if certain bits could be done ahead of time)?
Thanks!
Yes, to store this in the freezer, make the dish without cream and then add cream before serving.
Hi there, the red chili powder. Is that this kind? Kashmiri red chilli powder
You can use your favorite – regular red chilli powder for spicy curry, or Kashmiri red chilli powder for mild curry
Hi Rose, I have made this several times for big family get-togethers and it has been requested for a Christmas gathering this year – but as we already have a couple of chicken options I was wondering if you have ever made it with lamb, or if not if you think it would still work ok? I know I’d need to figure out the cooking of the lamb differently, but flavour-wise do you think it would work?
Thanks!
Lamb tikka masala sounds perfect, but you’ll need to adjust the cooking time.