Chicken Tikka Masala

I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to Indian food.  But I've made one dish so far that's consistently good, and also fairly forgiving if you screw it up.  Chicken tikka masala, one of the more common dishes on Indian restaurant menus, is surprisingly easy to make, if you look past a possibly intimidating list of new ingredients.  But go to your nearest ethnic food store and you should have no problem finding all of these things.  And to those Indian people who cringe by my saying 'garam masala' because it's a spice blend that varies heavily from region to region (even from shop to shop) in India, I will respond by saying that I am not enlightened enough to appreciate the differences, and bow to you all as the kings and queens of the spice world.  But I do know about at least a few of the spices: I used a sweet paprika with a mild level of heat (not smoked), and I recommend getting whole seeds of cumin and coriander, then lightly toasting and grinding them yourself.  This will bring out a lot more flavor.

If you've got some kind of vacuum marinator, you can cut the prep time down significantly.  Again, this is a fairly forgiving dish.  Don't have long to marinate?  Just thread the meat onto skewers and grill after 30 minutes in the chill chest.  Chicken came out tough?  Just simmer it a bit longer in the sauce.  Ran out of plain yogurt?  Use something mild, like lemon or peach (I used this once, and it was fine).  It's actually really hard to screw up.

Marinade

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 piece gingerroot, minced (1/2-inch long)
• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno chile, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup half and half

For marinade, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, red pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, salt and ginger in a medium bowl or food-safe plastic bag; stir in chicken, marinate in refrigerator 2-4 hours.

Get the chicken into your marinade (not marinate, that's a verb) and let it party down for at least a few hours in the fridge

Toss the ingredients together to make sure you get even flavor distribution

Skewer the chicken after it's been marinating.  Give it as long as you can stand to let the flavors get in there.

For sauce, melt butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, add garlic and jalapeno; cook 1 minute.  Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt.  Stir in tomato sauce, simmer 3 minutes, stir in cream; simmer until sauce thickens, then keep on low while meat is cooking.

This dish has a surprising amount of heat, which you can temper by replacing jalapenos with something milder

Saute in butter to get that creamy flavor you won't find with olive oil.

The sauce, after everything is incorporated

Meanwhile, heat grill to medium-high (or heat broiler).  Remove chicken from refrigerator.  Thread chicken onto skewers; discard marinade.  Grill or broil chicken, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.  Remove chicken from skewers; add to sauce.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Serve with basmati rice, naan, or pita bread.

You don't need to cook these all the way through, just get some char flavor on them.  They finish in the sauce.

Tikka masala, served with basmati rice and spinach (saag)