THE CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Does this humble,yet hugely popular curry need an introduction? This is like the voice of India.Whichever restaurant you go to here, this is on their menu for sure! I even like the way it sounds.This was never a curry we had at home while growing up. A good Butter Chicken would appear once in a while on the dinner table when Amma was in a mood for a change. But,never a Chicken Tikka Masala.

I like all curries with a thick smooth sauce made with onions and tomatoes. And to go with that, I'd love some Garlic Naan,with some butter slathered over it.

I made this curry a month or two back and this post was in my drafts for the longest time. I don't know why,but,everytime I saw it, I did not feel like posting it here.I am trying my best to stop procrastinating things these days because,once I do that,it never gets done later on. It's a bit difficult at times but,when I am done with it,it feels awesome! There are days when I don't feel like doing anything, but,just sit and watch some movies or catch up on some idiotic reality shows.

Back to the curry.This is really an awesome one! Once you make it,you will feel like a kitchen goddess. Trust me, you will! Your kitchen will smell amazing while it's cooking and your tastebuds will feel pampered when you taste it! None of Mr. Raghavan Iyer's recipes, that I've tried so far, have failed to impress.It's not just me. It's been impressing a lot of our friends too! I paired it with a simple Peas Pulao, that I love making with some red onions, cumin & cilantro. It would pair well with just steamed Basmati rice too! This curry is bursting with flavours and you will wonder why you didn't make it earlier!

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
You will need some bamboo skewers

For the marinade:
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons ginger paste
2 tablespoons garlic paste
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons coriander seeds,ground
1 teaspoon cumin seeds,ground
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 pound boneless,skinless chicken breasts,cut lengthwise into 1 inch wide strips

For the sauce:
2 tablespoon ghee
1 small red onion,coarsely chopped
1 small red bell pepper,seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon garam masala

2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

Method:Soak the bamboo skewers in water for an hour.
Whisk all the ingredients given under the marinade,stir in the chicken and toss thoroughly. Refrigerate covered, for atleast 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.

When you are ready to cook the chicken,make the sauce: Heat the ghee in a small saucepan* over medium -high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, almonds and raisins, and cook, stirring frequently,until the vegetables soften and then acquire honey -brown patches,10-12 minutes.Stir in the tomatoes and scrape the bottom to deglaze it.Pour this chunky sauce into the blender and add the cream,salt,cayenne and garam masala. Puree,scraping the jar as needed,to make a thick,nutty-gritty sauce.Pour the sauce into a medium size saucepan and simmer it over low heat while you grill the chicken.

Grill or broil (on the shelf closest to the heating element) the chicken for 6-8 minutes,turning occassionally,until they juices run clear.Slide the chicken off the skewers into the sauce.Stir to coat well and serve garnished with cilantro!

*Forcing the vegetables into a small pan allows them to sweat a little,creating moisture that prevents burning.

This curry is a bomb! That's all that I have to say :) We enjoyed it to the last bite. The sauce will thicken up as it cools,so feel free to adjust the consistency with some cream,if need be.

MALAI KOFTA

You will not find many recipes using Paneer in this food blog of mine. It's because I am very picky about it. I'd eat it in an Indian-ised Cheesecake,Chili Paneer from a restaurant in Bangalore( I do not remember it's name now!), Malai Kofta from Sukh Sagar, Bangalore& Amma's Cheese Fingers.Malai Kofta was not a dish we made at home. It was never a dish we ordered when we went out together as a family. We are hard core non vegetarians and eating out only means eating meat,poultry & seafood!

But. There is always an exception when you live in a hostel which serves a not-so-good packed lunch along with breakfast.It gets cold by the time you get to the college and gets very very cold by lunch time. So, Jitha and I would eat out at the college canteen or at the close by restaurant called Sukh Sagar.They served only vegetarian food which was totally delicious by the way. We simply loved eating there.

Malai Koftas were the highlight of all the food we ordered out there.Each plate had one huge kofta with lots of gravy. The kofta was like a tennis ball. Huge! But,it was so soft and so good! I've never eaten one after that. Recently, I was going through my recipe collection and found a recipe for it which I had noted down a very long time ago from one of Smita Chechy's cookbooks. I think it is Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe.

I always run out of ideas for our dinner curries,to go along with Chapathis.I had a block of leftover Paneer after making Amma's Cheese fingers,sitting in the freezer which, I knew would go for a toss if I didn't use it immediately.That's how I landed up making this curry.Here's how I made it.

MALAI KOFTA
Serves 6

Ingredients:
Koftas:
250 grams paneer
125 grams potato,boiled,peeled & mashed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Salt & Pepper to taste

Masala 1
2 onions,sliced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
2 small green cardamom
1 inch piece cinnamon stick
3 dried red chilies
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 black cardamom
3 cloves
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 green chilies
2 inch piece ginger,cut up
3 tomatoes,chopped
3 tablespoon chopped cilantro
4 tablespoon oil

Masala 2
3 tablespoons cashews
3 tablespoons grated coconut

Other ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 cup yogurt
4 tablespoon malai / fresh cream
2 tablespoon ghee
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Method:
Koftas: Mix all the ingredients together and form a smooth dough. Divide into 12,shape them and deep fry in hot oil until browned.Drain and set aside.
Masala 1 : Heat oil  on medium high heat and saute all the ingredients through ginger,for 4-5 mins.Add the chopped tomatoes and cilantro and cook for another 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely. Once cool, grind to a smooth paste.
Masala 2: Grind together coconut and cashewnut to a fine paste using a little bit of water.

Heat the ghee in a large pan and once hot, add the ground masala (Masala 1)to it. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Then add the turmeric powder,yogurt & sugar. Cook for another 1 minute.Add the ground masala (Masala 2), 2 tablespoons malai,salt & some water and simmer covered, for a few minutes. Open the lid,add the koftas and remove from fire. Pour remaining malai on top & sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and serve immediately.

That aroma when you are sauteeing Masala 1 is incredible! It smells like you are cooking something non-vegetarian! :) This curry will thicken as it cools, so adjust the water accordingly. The sauce can be made ahead,re-heated and then add the koftas in the end, if you want to make this curry ahead of time.We shared this curry with some friends and they felt that it tasted really good and different!