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Jamie Oliver's Inspired Chicken Tikka Masala
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5 from 5 votes

Jamie Oliver’s Inspired Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala, Britain's favourite curry? Try my take on Jamie Oliver's Chicken Tikka Masala and how easy it is to make your own. You'll love it!
Course Curry, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword fake away, take away
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Marinating 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 4 large servings
Calories 346kcal
Author Jo Allison

Ingredients

Spice Mix

  • 6 cloves of garlic finely grated
  • 1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger peeled & finely grated
  • 1-2 fresh red chillies deseeded and finely chopped (see notes below)
  • 1 tablespoon of mustard seeds black or brown are fine
  • 2 heaped tsp ground cumin
  • 2 heaped tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika optional
  • 2 tablespoon garam masala

Curry

  • 3-4 chicken breasts 500-600g cut into large chunks
  • 200 g natural yoghurt
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1-2 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) or unsalted butter
  • 2 medium onions peeled and thinly sliced in half moons
  • 2 heaped Tbsp tomato puree
  • 20 g ground almonds
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 500 ml boiling water
  • 2 heaped Tbsp creme fraiche or good glug of double cream
  • Juice of 1 lime + more to serve
  • small bunch of fresh coriander chopped

Instructions

  • Start off by toasting your mustard seeds in a pan with a glug of oil. Once they start to pop remove them from the pan onto the food processor or pestle and mortar and add all the other ingredients for the spice mix. Mix thoroughly. If you do not have food processor or pestle and mortar you can prepare the spice blend in a bowl by mixing all the spices and adding finely chopped chillies (if using) and garlic and ginger (grated on fine grater).
  • Once your mix is ready, put half of it aside and mix another half with yoghurt. This is your marinade. Mix it with chicken chunks and set aside for minimum half an hour but the longer the better.
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add sliced onions and the remaining half of the spice mix then fry gently for good 10-15 minutes until onions start getting soft.
  • Add tomato puree, ground almonds, remaining garam masala, 500 ml of boiling water and 0.5 teaspoon of sea salt. Stir well and let it simmer until it visibly reduces and thickens (approx. 5 min), set aside.
  • Now it's time to cook your chicken. I have tried cooking it on the griddle pan, under the grill and simply browning it in the frying pan which is my personal favourite as it's the quickest way and gives me the most control. Cook your chicken until nicely browned all over and cooked through. Remember not to overcrowd the pan so that it sears instead of stewing. You will have to do it in small batches. 
  • As soon as chicken is cooked, warm up the sauce, add creme fraiche/double cream and stir well.  Once it boils, take it off the heat, add your cooked chicken, lime juice and freshly chopped coriander. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
  • Serve with basmati rice, naan bread, some extra lime and sprinkle of coriander.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

  • Calories are approximate, per 1 serving of curry without accompaniments and should be treated as a guideline only.
  • If you want this dish to be kids friendly, you might want to omit fresh chilli altogether when preparing spice mix and use chilli oil to drizzle over your dished up portion instead. Alternatively, sprinkle over some dried chilli flakes. It works a treat and keeps everybody happy.

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 542mg | Potassium: 899mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1160IU | Vitamin C: 23.9mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 2.1mg