My family is visiting from the UK which always stirs up conversation about what is hot and what is not in the “curry capital (country) of the world”. Back in 2001 (ten years ago!), foreign secretary Robin Cook claimed Tikka Masala as the national dish of England overriding fish n’ chips. Who knew?! I’m not surprised. The winner of Gordon Ramsay’s F Word best local restaurant competition in all of UK went to Lasan (meaning garlic in Hindi) last year. Now that’s another UK Indian restaurant on my ‘to-eat’ list!
This is a good reminder for me to let you know Arvinda’s Tikka Masala–our new formula–launches on this Black Friday! Although not as popular in Canada as the US and UK, we had many requests from customers for a Tikka Masala recipe using one of our blends and our new improved formula will do just that! See recipe below.
I usually make Paneer Tikka Masala as a vegetarian substitute.
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Tikka Masala
Chicken Tikka Masala (a.k.a. CTM) is the curry that took Britain by storm. You can now get delicious and healthy restaurant-style results in your own home!
Ingredients:
Marinade:
1 lb. boneless chicken breast OR paneer, cubed
¼ cup thick plain yogurt
1 tbsp. Arvinda’s Tikka Masala
1 tsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
Sauce:
1 large onion (or 2-3 medium sized)
3 tbsp. oil
2-3 each cardamom pods, star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks and black peppercorns from Arvinda’s Whole Spices
½ cup crushed or ground tomatoes
3 tbsp. Arvinda’s Tikka Masala (use 2 tbsp. for milder flavour)
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt or salt to taste
½ cup light cream
1 tsp. lemon juice
¼ cup water + extra
½ tsp. Arvinda’s Garam Masala, to garnish
¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped, to garnish
Method:
Marinade: In a large bowl, mix marinade ingredients together. Add chicken (or paneer) and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 400F. Put chicken on baking sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked. {Option: Grill on BBQ}. Set aside.
Quarter onions. Boil onions in water until softened. Drain and puree in a food processor until onions are fine and smooth.
In a large pan, heat oil on medium-high. Add Arvinda’s Whole Spices. Gently fry for one minute until they sizzle.
Add pureed onions. Cook for 10-15 minutes until they are reduced and become a thick paste.
Add ground tomatoes. Mix. Add Arvinda’s Tikka Masala and blend to make a masala paste.
Add cream, sugar and salt and mix into a sauce. Add cooked chicken. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add water and mix. Cook for a few more minutes.
Add a squeeze of lemon. Garnish with Arvinda’s Garam Masala and cilantro.
For a printable version of this recipe, download here.
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Enjoy! Please share your Indian restaurant recommendations in the UK, US, India or Canada – would love to hear your Indian dining experiences!
A teaspoon of: Radiohead. Listening to: I Might Be Wrong.
[…] After India, the UK consumes the most curry in the world, which I’ve talked about in a previous post. After all, it was the British who conceived curry […]
[…] Tikka Masala vs Fish n’ Chips: Which one won? (ateaspoonofturmeric.com) […]
Enjoyed the video Preena. Thanks
Alex
Thanks Alex!
Hi where can I get this new product in Oakville?? My mouth ( and my family’s is watering) Barb
Hi Barb, Whole Foods Market in Oakville should have the new Arvinda’s Tikka Masala on the shelves. Hope you get the chance to try it! Please let us know your thoughts!
Preena
Toria, congrats on the baby! What a lovely idea of having friends and family over for a Christmas Curry! For the paneer, you can make your own — really easy process the only thing is that for the amount of milk you use the yield of paneer is not that much–so you’ll need a lot of milk if cooking for a crowd!
Here is my paneer making workshop -http://ateaspoonofturmeric.com/2010/05/06/homemade-paneer-workshop/
Otherwise you can purchase at these two stores. They are located in Oakville.
Centre Golden Grocers – 579 Kerr Street – 905.849.8058
East Indian Supermarket – 2427 Trafalgar Road (south of Highway 5) – 905.257.2578
All the best with that!
Preena – I am now settled in my own home for Christmas – with our first child born in September 🙂 and I would like to invite family and friends over for a Christmas Curry. I aim to make my own paneer one day, but for this Christmas it may be easier to buy pre-made 🙂 do you have an idea where I could buy this (I live in Hamilton ON) – unless you have a straightforward recipe….. thanks so much!