Last week I posted a recipe for naan, an Indian leavened flatbread. So it only seemed appropriate to make an entrée to compliment the soft, pillowy bread I just made. Chicken Tikka Masala is guaranteed to be on the menu of every Indian restaurant, but is it Indian? 
The history of this Anglo-Indian dish is long and varied, but through some research I’ve tried to condense things for you. In India, when agriculture first began to take hold, chickens were cultivated, prepared, and cooked in a tandoor (a large cylindrical clay oven). The small roasted pieces that we know as ‘tikka’ were actually born out of the paranoid behavior of emperor Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty in South Asia almost 500 years ago. He was so concerned with choking on a chicken bone, that he ordered his chefs to remove all bones before being cooked in the tandoor. Over time, chicken tikka came to be marinated in yogurt and spices. During British rule, aspects of Indian food, such as curry, became popular in British cuisine. However, it wasn’t until a large immigration movement in the 1950s from India to the UK, that Indian restaurants began sprouting up and chicken tikka made its way onto local plates. 
Here’s where the history of the dish starts to get a little fuzzy. There are various stories as to how Chicken Tikka Masala actually came to be, but the most popular one is from the 1960s. A British gentleman was dinning in an Indian restaurant when he claimed that his chicken tikka was too dry. Out of desperation and a little ingenuity, the chef added tomato soup, some spices, and a dollop of yogurt – the resulting dish was an immediate sensation. No matter the true origins of the dish, one thing is for certain – Chicken Tikka Masala is delicious and could very well be the most well-known fusion dish around. 
- ¾ cup Greek-style yogurt
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- kosher salt
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamon
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ lime, juiced
- ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- cooked basmati rice or naan for serving
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the yogurt, garlic, ginger, cayenne, garam masala, and 1 teaspoon salt. Puree until smooth. Add the yogurt mixture to a large bowl.
- Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound out until they are the same Take a fork and prick the chicken thighs all over, to help the marinating processes. Add the chicken to the yogurt marinade and marinate for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight.
- To make the sauce, warm a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamon, cayenne, and black pepper. Stir the spices around constantly to toast until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of the ghee or vegetable oil. Then add the onions and stir to coat. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, until thickened, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon as they cook. Once done, carefully puree the sauce in a blender.
- To cook the chicken, heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee or oil a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade (you may discard the marinade at this point). Be sure to skim any excess marinade off of the chicken (this will give you a nice browning on the outside when it's cooked). Add the chicken (in batches, if needed). Cook 5 minutes on the first side, flip and cook 4 minutes on the other side. Place the chicken on a plate and cover with foil to rest for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Add the chicken to the sauce and toss to coat. Add the lime juice and cilantro, toss again. Serve immediately with rice or naan. Enjoy!
You can use unsweetened coconut milk en lieu of the heavy cream, if you like.
This was such an amazing tasting sauce! Just made it tonight. SO flavorful and the best home cooked Indian food I’ve made. I love how all the ingredients are easy to find and I don’t have to go to a special market to get anything, And it doesn’t take a long time to cook any of it. It’s amazing how much flavor there is with such a short cooking time. I think marinating the chicken over night really makes it too! Thanks!
Amanda, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the dish! Getting thoughtful comments from readers who have made my recipes truly makes my day! Thank you.
I hope your New Year is off to a great start and is filled with lots of wonderful food 🙂
Do you use the marinade when cooking the chicken?
Hi Cee! Oh my gosh, I meant to write that into the instructions – so thank you for asking so that I can add it!
After marinating, I discarded the marinade. Before cooking, you actually want to skim the excess marinade off of the chicken so that when you add it to the hot pan, you’ll get a nice browning on the meat.
Thanks again for your note! I’ll be sure to update the recipe right away! Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! 🙂
This is my go to at any India restaurant and now thanks to you I can make it at home. YUMMY! You make it look so easy too! 🙂
It is easy! I hope you give it a try – just a ton of wonderful flavors!
THis dish looks amazing and I am totally going to make it this weekend. One question though, you list heavy cream in the list of ingredients, but you use coconut milk in the recipe. Which would you recommend using? I’m leaning towards coconut milk just because I love it.
Hi Karin! Thanks so much for pointing that out! Orginally I used coconut milk, but found the dish to be overall just a little too sweet for my tastes. I made it again using the cream and thought it added a nice richness without the added sweetness. But feel free to use whichever one suits your tastes. I’ll make a note of that in the post.
Thanks again for pointing that out, and I hope you enjoy the dish! 🙂
Oh. My. God. You are killing me. KILLING me. This is MY KIND OF FOOD. Please will you stop posting such things?? God I can just imagine the thick, rich, spicy flavours of this. Oh man. I could totally eat that everyday. Breakfast lunch and dinner.
You know how I get when I become obsessed with a dish of yours. Like the Thai soup which I now know off by heart because I have made it SO many times!
I always love your enthusiasm for food, Nagi! It truly is a passion. I’m so happy you’re enjoying the Thai soup! Hopefully you’ll like this curry dish just as much 😉
I love learning the history behind this dish! How interesting. And the way you’ve styled these pics is just magical. I’m feeling very inspired!
Thanks, Allie! I had a lot of fun not only doing the historical research on this one, but also pulling out the old dishes my mother gave me to use in the photographs.
I always leave your blog feeling nourished from my stomach to my brain. Thank you for sharing in the way that you do! And your pictures? The styling? Forget about it! And this dish…can you believe I’ve never had it? I need it!! Pinned!
Aw… thanks, Annie! That means a lot to me 🙂 I hope you give this dish a try, I’m pretty sure you’re going to love it 😉
I loved reading the history behind this dish! We always order Chicken Tikka Masala whenever we go out to our local Indian restaurant. I can’t wait to try yours! It looks amazing! Yum!
It certainly makes dishes more interesting when there’s a historical background, doesn’t it? I hope you enjoy 🙂
oh my gawd, Kathleen . . this is one of my fave Indian food dishes!!! I am so excited to try this! Pinned!!
Mine too! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂
Yum! I love love LOVE tikka, it’s the best! I also appreciate the history on the dish. I never thought to wonder about that. 🙂 Lovely food styling. That overhead photo with the turquoise dish on the metal plate… amazing!
Thanks, Meggan. I had a lot of fun doing the historical research on this one – I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And I’m glad you like the food styling… compliments of my mom 😉
The great thing about bloggind is how we both have the same dish yet our recipes are tots different!!! Love your pics and the antique looking dishes!
Absolutely! I love seeing how people can interpret the same dish differently – it’s so interesting! The dishes came from my mom – I’ll tell her you like them 🙂
Loved reading the story and of course looking at this lovely dish! I really enjoy the variety of recipes you post Kathleen! Pinning!
Thanks, Mira! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, as well as the variety.There are just so many wonderful recipes from around the world – it’s a bounty of inspiration! And I’m hoping to see more fantastic Bulgarian recipes on your blog 😉
I have never had this dish but it sounds so fragrant and delicious! I love your tableware. The bowl and plate/charger are gorgeous!
Thanks, Thao! The bowl and charger come from my mom 🙂 I hope you give this a try! If you like curry dishes, I’m sure you love it!
Delicious-looking food and a really pretty and unique bowl, too! Chicken tikka masala is one of my all-time favorites, I could eat it every day. 🙂
Thanks, Nicole! I actually just had some more tonight for dinner 😉
I’ve never made tikka masala at home and I’m am definitely going to try this recipe. I bet this is just loaded with flavor!
Give it a try! It’s surprisingly easy to make and it’s packed with a ton of flavor!
I love this recipe but when I try to prepare it at home it doesn’t taste the same, need to try yours! Thank you for sharing 😀
Hi Lily! I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what you think 🙂
Kathleen, you won’t believe this, but naan is NOT Indian. I just received the cookbook “Complete Book of Indian Cooking” by Suneeta Vaswani, and she states that naan originated in Afghanistan! It was very interesting to learn that. This Chicken Tikka Masala sounds wonderful – something I need to think seriously about trying.
Hi Susan! Wow, thanks for the info! Very interesting. I know south Asia and even some countries further west like Iran and Turkey have similar flatbreads, but I didn’t realize that it originated in Afghanistan! My understanding of Afghan naan, is that it doesn’t use yogurt like Indian naan – is that something Vaswani talks about? I’d be interested in picking up her book!
Kathleen, I just checked the book and she has a recipe for naan – which does not include yogurt. I was not aware of that distinction. What I’m liking about this book is that it covers the foods of the different regions of India. Like Mexico, the food is different in every state in India. I haven’t gotten into the recipes yet. So far I’ve just been reading the introductory information, but based on what she’s said so far, and her passion for the food of her home country, it should be good.
Wow – thanks for checking that for me! You’re absolutely right about the food varying from state-to-state. I just checked with my cousins husband, who is from Uttar Pradesh, in Northern India, and he said sometimes yogurt is added, sometimes it’s not – it depends on who’s making it. He also mentioned that when used, the yogurt adds fat to the dough and makes it softer (something I never thought about, but totally makes sense).
That cookbook sounds really interesting – I love when history is tied into food. I’ll have to check it out 😉 Thanks so much for sharing, Susan! I always love learning something new.
This is my go-to favorite Indian dish to make and yours looks so authentic and delicious. I want to take your naan and mop it all up 🙂
Lol! Mopping up this chicken tikka masala with naan, is exactly what I did 😉
Chicken Tikka Masala is so good. I always order it when I dine at Indian restaurants, but now I can enjoy it in the comfort of my own home. YAY!
Me too! I actually started making it at home so I could branch out and try something new when we dined at an Indian restaurant 😉