Chicken Tikka Masala

If you love Indian Food (from what I understand this dish is not truly Indian, but my favorite Indian Resturant serves it) half as much as I do you will love this recipe. It is quite easy, it just has a lot of steps. I generally make homemade Naan to go with it, it is a match made in heaven.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Marinade

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon table salt

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts , trimmed of fat and cut into 3/4" cubes

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Masala Sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion , diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)

2 medium garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 fresh Serrano Chile , ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon garam masala (I bought this at the Indian store down the street)

1 (28-ounce) petite dice tomatoes

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

1. FOR THE CHICKEN MARINADE: Dice Chicken, place in large bowl with yogurt and all other ingredients in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.2.

FOR THE SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Arrange chicken on broiler pan or baking sheet. Broil chicken until tender and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes.4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then stir into warm sauce (do not cook chicken in sauce). Adjust seasoning with salt, add in cilantro and serve with basmati rice or Jasmine Rice.

**I found this recipe on line and for the life of me cannot figure out where.

Just wanted to point out this is not my recipe.**

Chicken with Pan Sauce

Don't be fooled by the photo, I know it is not the best photo and it certainly didn't capture how absolutely delicious this dish was. The sauce was amazing, I could eat it all by itself.

Chicken with Pan Sauce

Adapted from Thyme for Food

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper (the original recipe calls for grains of paradise)

2/3 cups dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 green onions, finely chopped (the original recipe calls for Shallots, I didn't have any)

2 tbsp half and half

5 tbsp butter, cold

Place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap. With the flat side of a meat mallet, pound the chicken until it’s an even thickness of about ¼ inch.

Remove plastic wrap and season with salt and fresh ground pepper.

In a 10 inch skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes or until no longer pink, turning once.

Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add the wine, chicken broth and shallots to the skillet. To de-glaze the skillet, stir and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spatula. Bring to the boil. Boil gently for 10 to 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to ¼ cup.

Reduce the heat to low.Stir in the cream. Add the remaining butter, one tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition until the butter melts. The sauce should be slightly thickened. Season to taste with additional salt and ground pepper. Spoon over the chicken and serve.