Chicken Tikki Masala

Last night I took on my own kitchen stadium to make Chicken Tikki Masala. This came at the request of a sister missionary when we fed her in July. She, Sister P, was in culinary school prior to serving her mission. I asked what her favorite dish was and she said it was Chicken Masala.

I had never heard of it. In fact, I thought it was Italian when she said it (it's an Indian dish). But I was not daunted. I googled it.

Now, I am not a cook. So pictures with recipes are a must. And if the picture looks gross, I don't preview the recipe. Luckily, I found a good looking picture and a good looking recipe, here.

But I changed it a bit. Here's what I did:

chicken tikka masala

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons good paprika

2 teaspoon chicken curry masala  regular curry powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala cumin, 1/4  teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 crumbled bay leaf, and a dash of cloves

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 4 ounce can tomato paste
3  4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1/2 serrano pepper, thinly sliced, with ribs and seeds removed
1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves maple syrup and a whole bay leaf
1 tablespoon sugar

In a skillet set over medium-heigh heat, cook onions in the oil until just beginning to brown on the edges.  Stir in spices and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.  Add in tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to deglaze the pan and transfer to a crockpot.  Stir in garlic, ginger, hot pepper, maple syrup, bay leaf, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cover, and cook on low for 4 

hours.  While it cooks, prepare the chicken.

1 pound chicken tenders, cut in 1 inch pieces (I used 5 chicken breasts)
1/2 teaspoon good paprika
1/2 teaspoon chicken curry masala regular curry powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Toss chicken and spices together and let marinate in fridge for 2 hours.  Stir 1/2 cup plain yogurt in and allow to marinate for another hour.

*I probably mixed 3 or 4 batches of the spices to make sure I covered all my chicken pieces. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Stir chicken, 1 cup of yogurt, cream, and cilantro into the crockpot.  Allow to cook for about 30 minutes more.  Served with brown basmati rice.

Here is the result:

Looks tasty, eh? Well it turned out delicious. Just spicy enough but not too spicy. I'm going to eat some more for lunch today.

The sisters were sure excited for it. Can I just say that I love feeding people who appreciate good food? 

We also made peach stacks, again. Here's the results: (And here is the recipe)

The only casualty from the evening was I got a steam burn from my thumb while making the bastami rice. But I prevented a blister, it's just sore today. Well! Until the next adventure in the kitchen....