You May Ask Why Share Just The Tikka Sauce
This tikka sauce is super versatile and can be paired with meat, paneer, tofu, grilled veggies, lentils, chickpeas and more.
Double the recipe and store the left overs in the freezer. Defrost and add them to your curries for a quick meal.
Tikka tikka is the part where vegetables, paneer or meat is marinated with yogurt and spices and grilled till done.
Masala Sauce onion-tomato are cooked with aromatic spices and finished with cream
How Do You Make Chicken Tikka Masala
The BEST part about this recipe and just like our Butter Chicken you may already have these ingredients in your kitchen. If not, they are so easy to find in any grocery store, you wont need to go searching high and low to find them! Authentic Chicken Tikka Masala is usually made with yogurt marinated chicken, skewered and chargrilled for incredible bbq flavours. For the sake of making this recipe much easier for us to make at home, we are using a skillet or pot to cook it all in, while still keeping those amazing flavours.
This Easy Stovetop Chicken Tikka Masala Tastes Just Like Your Favorite Indian Take
My husband is British, and therefore incredibly picky about Indian food. He bemoans the lack of restaurants that serve proper curries in our neighborhood.
This is why, on our annual trek back to the United Kingdom to visit his family over the holidays, we’ve started the tradition of going to an Indian restaurant on New Year’s Eve. We skip the champagne, the sparkles, and the countdown in favor of eating our fill of spicy curry.
In an effort to ensure that were not deprived of Indian food the rest of the year, I am learning how to cook more Indian dishes at home. Im starting off with the quintessential British Indian dish: chicken tikka masala.
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You Can Add The Main Ingredients Of Your Choice To This Tikka Masala Sauce
When most people think tikka masala sauce, theyre probably picturing chicken tikka masala. It is the most popular curry in the world after all.
Use any meat, seafood, paneer or veggies in this tikka masala sauce.
That said, using tandoori chicken in your tikka masala sauce is just one of the options.
Think about it when you go out for a good curry, most menus will give you the option of tikka masala sauce and then list which tikka can go into it.
Tandoori chicken tikka might be the most popular option but you could also order lamb tikka, paneer tikka, jumbo prawns and even keema.
The main ingredient you use in this British Indian restaurant style tikka masala sauce is completely up to you.
Make The Tikka Masala
6. Pour 3 tablespoons oil or ghee or a mix of both to a pot or pan. When it turns hot, add 1 ½ cups onions and sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt. Saute on a medium heat until they turn deep golden. We dont want the onions to be half cooked here.
7. Add 1 chopped green chilli and 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste. If you dont have it, you can make your own by following this Ginger garlic paste recipe. Saute for about 40 to 60 seconds until you begin to smell the ginger garlic.
8. Turn the heat to low, add
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin powder
9. Stir well quickly. We dont want to burn the spices.
10. Immediately pour the tomato puree. If using fresh tomatoes, you will puree 500 grams ripe red tomatoes in a blender to a smooth puree. Or use 1 ¼ cup canned/ bottled tomato puree/ passata.
11. Cook this on a medium high heat stirring often until the masala thickens as shown in the picture. This step takes some time so be patient and cook down the tomatoes as the curry develops a flavor at this stage. You may check the video in the recipe card for consistency. While you cook the tomatoes here, bring 2 cups of water to a rolling boil in another pot.
12. When the tikka masala turns thick, pour the hot water and give a good mix.
13. Cover and simmer on a low heat until the sauce becomes fragrant and thick.
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Freezer Tikka Masala Sauce
There are two options – in one large airtight container or individual portions. For both, make sure to cool completely before storing.
- One Container: Place in a tight-sealing container, label, date and freeze for up to 2 months.
- Individual Portions: Portion into round silicone molds and place in your freezer until set, about 1 hour. Transfer to a freezer-safe plastic storage bag, seal tight, label, date and freeze for up to 2 months.
What To Serve With Low Sodium Chicken Tikka Masala
Rice seems to be always the go-to base for the tikka masala to be served over. You will have plenty of time to get some brown rice cooking when making this recipe. But white rice is always another quicker option if that is what you prefer.
Also, try some of my Low Sodium Naan Flatbread with this dish! It is excellent either as a side or with the tikka masala dished right on top in place of the rice.
For some great vegetable ideas that pair with this wonderful sauce and would be delicious as a side, try some roasted asparagus, cauliflower or even zucchini. A baked potato in place of the rice would be a good choice too!
I have also experimented by adding a few spoonfuls to an omelet before. It surely was a different taste but pretty darn good.
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Chicken Thighs Or Breasts
We are still coating and marinating our chicken with an aromatic spiced Tikka yogurt, using chicken thighs instead of breasts for juicy and succulent results. Using thighs also cuts down on marinating time, needing only a minimum of 10 minutes to soak all of those flavours in!
You CAN use breasts if you wish, but I suggest marinating them overnight for better results. This gives the yogurt time to tenderise them, yielding a better result when cooking over high heat.
About Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken tikka masala is a classic curried dish with soft tender chunks of char-grilled chicken, simmered briefly in a delicious & super aromatic tikka masala sauce/gravy. The dish comprises of 2 components one is chicken tikka and the other is the masala, which is the gravy or sauce in which the tikkas are simmered.
The word tikka literally means a piece or chunk and here chicken tikka are grilled chunks of chicken that are first marinated in spiced & herbed yogurt and then char-grilled to perfection. These smoky and aromatic tender chunks are simmered in a creamy, delicious and flavoursome onion tomato masala, known as tikka masala.
The finished dish has a super addictive smoky flavour, tastes creamy and supremely delicious!!!
This world popular dish has its origin from Northern India, where chicken tikka kebabs were cooked in a tandoor consisting of live charcoal or wood fire. These are served as an appetizer with coriander/ Cilantro Chutney and Mint Chutney. However tikka masala sauce/gravy is said to be a British curry, popularized by the Indian Chefs, working in Britain.
As you research, you will find many stories on the origin of chicken tikka masala and a few dozens of variations to cook this dish.
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Should I Cook The Recipe In A Pot Or Skillet
I have made this using both my cast iron skillet and an enameled cast iron Dutch oven pot. Both work, but I prefer the cast iron skillet as it seems better able to give that char-grill exterior to the chicken I am looking for.
The enameled pot lightly browned the chicken more than a real char-grilled exterior but it does give you more spatter-free stirring room for the final dish.
Be Ready Before You Start Cooking Indian Restaurant Style
This is Indian restaurant cooking. It goes fast. Prep your ingredient. Make your curry base and have some heated and ready to go.
Measure out your ingredients. Put on some old clothes the curry sputters.
You can make most of the recipes here with just about anything. This is chicken tikka masala. But you can still do what you want. Lamb tikka is really nice as an example
Try this one if you always order chicken tikka masala in restaurants. Or if you are just getting into learning Indian restaurant cooking. Or if you just want a nice mild but still tasty curry. Its a great place to start.
The chicken
- Pre-heat your oven to 400F.
- Combine 2 Tbsp tandoori masala powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 3-4 Tbsp vegetable oil in a bowl that won’t stain. Cut the chicken into big bite size pieces and combine with marinade. Let stand briefly.- or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
- Transfer chicken to a sturdy cookie sheet and roast until it reaches an internal temperature of about 165F, about 15 minutes.
Chicken Tikka Masala
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Curry House Style Curries Are Usually Made With Pre
You will want to plan ahead so that you have everything you need, at the ready to use in your tikka masala sauce. I have a lot of recipe options for you on this site.
You could choose tandoori chicken tikka or lamb tikka, paneer or even pre-cooked potatoes.
For your information, the reason pre-cooked ingredients are used it both or flavour and to save time.
Deliciously marinated and grilled ingredients add a lot to the flavour of the curry. It would also take up to an hour to cook ingredients like lamb or beef until tender.
So pre-cooked is the way to go.
This Is The Real Deal
In my best selling cookbook The Curry Guy I featured a chicken tikka masala recipe to serve 4.
That recipe is made just as it would be at an Indian restaurant. This recipe has been downsized to a curry house portion to serve 1 2 people.
I have seen tikka masala sauce being made many times at restaurants. If you want to make a curry that is even better than you find at the best British curry houses, make this tikka masala sauce.
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If You Like This Tikka Masala Recipe You Might Like To Try Some Of These Curry House Favourites Too
Tuesday 15th of December 2020
Maybe turn the heat down a bit, the pan must be too hot.Dan
Geri Ryall
Sunday 15th of November 2020
You are an absolute legend. I am so thankful i stumbled across your recipe for the curry house batch gravy. I am now using portions of it to work my way through your sauces. We eat veggie so we had this tikka masala sauce with soya, mince which i marinated and grilled with your tandoori chicken recipe before adding to the sauce. It went very well as a substitute!
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 18th of November 2020
Hi GeriThanks very much for your lovely message and I am really glad you are enjoying my recipes.Dan
Make Paneer Tikka Masala Gravy
10. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Optional You can add any whole spices if you have 2 cardamom, 1 small cinnamon piece or even 2 cloves.
11. When the spices begin to sizzle, add 1½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste. Saute on a low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until it turns aromatic & the raw smell goes off.
12. Pour the onion tomato puree to the pan. Be careful it will begin to splash out of the pan, you can partially cover and cook. To adjust the color you can add more red chilli powder at this stage. I did not use more.
13. Pour ½ to ¾ cup water to bring to a desired consistency. Mix everything well and cook on a low flame until the sauce simmers well and thickens.
14. When the gravy is done, it turns thick & you will see some specks of oil separating on top of the gravy. Add kasuri methi . Continue to cook for another minute. Taste test and add more salt if needed. Set this aside.
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What Is The Difference Between Butter Chicken And Chicken Tikka Masala
This dish may seem somewhat similar to my Low Sodium Butter Chicken Instant Pot recipe in texture and appearance. However, chicken tikka masala has more of a kick to it and other flavor nuances.
This Loso version of chicken tikka masala has more spices and a tomato flavored gravy with onion and garlic and is less creamy than Indian butter chicken. Also, tikka masala is traditionally made with skewered chicken pieces and grilled for a real char-grilled taste. Here we are recreating the char-grilled flavor of the chicken in our skillet and also deglazing those charred bits into the sauce for an intense flavor.
Indian Vs British Tikka Masala
To summarise, Indian chicken tikka masala has fresh flavors due to the use of fresh tomatoes. Its creamy, rich and delicious and wont make you feel bloated as there is a very small amount of cream used. Cashews impart a magical creamy texture and flavour without making you feel heavy.
The British tikka masala has more deep flavors due to the use of passata and you will love this if you love the delicious umami flavour. But this requires plenty of cream to balance the taste of passata else you will only taste tomatoes in the curry.
Over the years I have tested this recipe with fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes fire roasted, bottled tomato puree/passata from different brands. So I have updated the recipe for both the versions and note that all brands of tomato puree or canned tomatoes wont work here.
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Tikka Masala Sauce Recipe
Tikka Masala Sauce is a creamy and luscious tomato-onion based gravy. This sauce is super versatile and can be used as a base for many dishes. While this recipe uses cream, I have included Vegan options.
Sharing both stove top and instant pot method.
Love Indian food? Then do check out Vegetable Pulao,Vegan Red Lentil Curry, Curry RoastedCauliflower, and Indian Style Veggie Burger.
Grilling Chicken Tikka Is An Option
If you feel like going all out you can grill your chicken tikka. Adds a nice smoky flavour. I do that sometimes. In the summer when I can get to my grill.
Indirect high heat is best. As high as you can get it. Tandoors run around 700 plus degrees Fahrenheit. So if you can get your grill to 600 F you are getting close.
Watch it closely. At these temperatures little pieces of chicken can dry out fast.
If you do grill your chicken tikka do yourself a favour and make lots extra. You will want to nibble. Its really hard not to.
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Sodium In Chicken Breast
Most of the sodium in this recipe actually comes from the chicken itself. Un-enhanced raw boneless, skinless chicken breast should only contain between 50 to 75mg of sodium per 4-ounce serving.
Much of the chicken in U.S. grocery stores is enhanced with a salt brine solution during processing. Enhanced chicken can have sodium levels often well over 400mg sodium per serving. You definitely need to check all labels for sodium levels whether fresh or frozen, and between different brands.
How To Use This Tikka Sauce
This is a versatile base sauce recipe that can build a meal based on whatever you’re craving. Below are some of my favorite ways to use tikka masala sauce. Simply add BITE-SIZE pieces of any ONE of the following to your sauce as follows:
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Make Chicken Tikka Masala
16. When the tikka sauce has cooked well and thickened, pour half cup heavy cream or thickened cream. Or make your own cashew cream. For this, make a fine powder of 30 whole cashews in a grinder, then pour 1/3 cup water and grind to smooth puree. You will get ½ cup thick cream similar to thickened cream. Pour 2 to 3 tbsps water to the grinder and swirl gently and pour that to the tikka masala. If you do not have a powerful grinder, read my tips below.
17. Add sugar and give a good mix.
18. Let it simmer until thick and aromatic.
19. Add all of the grilled chicken tikka and 1 tablespoon kasuri methi. Make sure your curry has reached a thick and almost serving consistency before you add chicken. Taste test and add more salt or sugar if required to balance the flavors.
20. Mix and cook covered, until the chicken is soft and tender. This takes only 2 to 3 mins.
30. Garnish with 2 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or thickened cream and 3 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves.
Serve chicken tikka masala with Butter Naan, paratha, roti or over Jeera rice or plain basmati rice.
