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Chef John's Creamy Chicken Tikka

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PREP TIME
25 min
COOKING TIME
45 min
TOTAL TIME
70 min
SERVINGS
4 servings
Dinner English
Chef John's Creamy Chicken Tikka
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee), or more as needed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely grated
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger, or more to taste
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (13 ounce) can coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth, or as needed
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
1
Gather all the necessary ingredients before commencing the recipe. Take the chicken and place it in a bowl, where you can coat it with vegetable oil. Mix well to ensure an even coating.
2
Next, combine salt, garam masala, cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom in a small bowl. Sprinkle this spice blend over the chicken, making sure it's evenly coated.
3
Heat up some clarified butter in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Once the butter is hot, add the chicken thighs and cook until they're browned on all sides. This should take around 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and let it cool down a bit.
4
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut it into bite-sized pieces. This will make it easier to add to the sauce later.
5
Now, let's make the sauce. Put the skillet that held the chicken back on the heat and bring it to a medium-high temperature. Add some onion to the skillet and sauté until it's soft and translucent, which should take around 5 to 6 minutes.
6
Next, add some tomato paste to the skillet and cook until it's caramelized and dark brown. This should take about 5 minutes.
7
Add some garlic and ginger to the tomato paste mixture and cook until it's fragrant, about 1 minute.
8
Pour some crushed tomatoes into the skillet. Bring the mixture to a boil by scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet with a spoon.
9
Pour in some coconut milk and chicken broth, then bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook, stirring occasionally, until all the flavors have blended together and the sauce has slightly thickened. This should take around 15 minutes.
10
Add the chicken pieces back into the sauce and stir them in. Add some cilantro and red pepper flakes, then bring the mixture to a simmer again. Reduce the heat to medium-low once more and let it cook until the chicken is cooked through and tender, which should take around 10 to 15 minutes.
11
Finally, season the sauce with some salt and black pepper to taste.