Bigly Chicken Tikka Masala
Prep
25m
Cook
30m
Total
55m
Bigly says
Listen to me. We need to talk about tikka masala. THE dish. THE dish. The greatest thing to ever come out of a curry house, and I've been to curry houses — I've been to more curry houses than any single human being on Earth, in London they know me, the cooks come out of the kitchen, they say 'Bigly, you again, the usual,' and the usual is tikka masala because the tikka masala is TREMENDOUS.
Here's what nobody tells you. Tikka masala was probably invented in Britain. Not India. BRITAIN. In a curry house in Glasgow. The Vikings had a version too — different name, same energy — but the modern dish, the tomato-and-cream version, came from a Bangladeshi chef who looked at a plate of dry chicken and said 'this needs something,' and dumped a can of tomato soup and some cream into the pan, and a LEGEND was born. From tomato soup. That's how greatness works. Greatness is improvisation. Greatness is throwing whatever you have in the pan and calling it on purpose. Older than France, older than Italy, some historians say — those historians are wrong about the dates but right about the spirit.
My version is the best version. The greatest of all time. No tomato soup. We've evolved. Real yogurt marinade, real spice bloom in real butter, real heavy cream. The chicken comes out smoky from the sear, the sauce comes out silky and golden-red and deeply spiced. Other chefs are afraid to bloom the spices properly — they dump everything in cold and pray. Sad. That's how you get wet ketchup chicken. We don't do that here. The combover knows. The combover always knows.
Ingredients
- 2 lbboneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1.5-inch pieces
- 1 cupplain whole-milk yogurt(not Greek if you can help it)
- 2 tbsplemon juice
- 6 cloves, dividedgarlic, grated
- 2 tbsp, dividedfresh ginger, grated
- 2 tsp, dividedgaram masala
- 2 tsp, dividedground cumin
- 2 tsp, dividedground coriander
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tspground turmeric
- 1 tspkashmiri chili powder(or regular chili powder, less if heat-shy)
- 2 tsp, dividedkosher salt
- 2 tbspneutral oil
- 3 tbspunsalted butter
- 1 largeyellow onion, finely diced
- 3 tbsptomato paste
- 1 (28 oz) cancrushed tomatoes
- 1 cupheavy cream
- 1 tspsugar
- 1/4 cupfresh cilantro, chopped
- as neededbasmati rice (for serving)
Steps
- 1
In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, half the garlic, half the ginger, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, half the chili powder, and 1 tsp salt. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, ideally 4-8 hours.
- 2
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, sear the chicken pieces 3-4 minutes per side, until charred in spots but not fully cooked through. Transfer to a plate. The fond left in the pan is flavor — don't clean it.
- 3
Reduce heat to medium. Add the butter to the same pan. Once it foams, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until deeply golden.
- 4
Stir in the remaining garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
- 5
Add the tomato paste and remaining 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, and remaining chili powder. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens and the spices smell toasted.
- 6
Pour in the crushed tomatoes and remaining 1 tsp salt. Simmer 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the fat starts to separate at the edges.
- 7
Stir in the heavy cream and sugar. Simmer another 3-4 minutes until the sauce is silky.
- 8
Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Simmer gently 8-10 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- 9
Taste and adjust salt. Stir in half the cilantro.
- 10
Serve over basmati rice, topped with the remaining cilantro and a drizzle of cream if you're feeling fancy.
One more thing
The moment you ladle this over rice and that first piece of chicken hits your mouth, you will understand. You will understand WHY people line up outside curry houses in the cold. You will understand WHY this dish conquered an entire country. You'll understand WHY I keep talking about it. It's the sauce — that silky, golden-red, slightly smoky, deeply spiced sauce — one of the great inventions of human civilization. Right up there with the wheel. Right up there with fire. Right up there with the combover. It's a beautiful thing.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Bigly Chicken Tikka Masala.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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