Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM) - probably the most globally well known Indian curry. I still remember being excited about finding this quintessential curry in a train from London to Edinburgh. This is one curry that I would try first in a new North Indian restaurant to assess the "repeat value" depending on how good they can make it. Some of the key characteristics of a CTM is its tangy, spicy, silky, juicy, orangy and of course yummy. Now I have a lot of vegetarian friends who've been asking for a recipe for Paneer Tikka masala. It's quite simple - just replace - yes literally replace the word Chicken with Paneer in this recipe and there you go. One needs a bit of patience with this recipe since it has a few steps involved and a variety of ingredients.

Ingredients

Boneless Chicken - either breast or thigh pieces 1/2 kg or 1 pound

Tikka Marinade

• Turmeric - 1 tea spoon
• Green Chillies - 3 or 4
• Yogurt - 2 table spoons
• Lemon juice - 1 table spoon
• Red chilli powder - 1 table spoon
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2 table spoons
• Salt - 1 tea spoon

Masala Dry Ingredients

• Raw cashews - 4 or 5 pieces
• Cumin seeds -  1 table spoon
• Bay leaf - 1
• Cinnamon sticks - 3
• Green Cardamom - 4 or 5
• Cloves - 1 tea spoon
• Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 or 2 tea spoons
• Onions

Masala Wet Ingredients

• Tomato paste - 2 table spoons
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 table spoons
• Full cream milk - 1/2 cup

Other 

• Coriander powder - 2 table spoons
• Garam masala powder - 1 table spoon
• Kasuri methi leaves - 1 table spoon
• Coriander leaves - for garnish - a handful
• Vegetable oil - few table spoons

The Method

1. Blend all the ingredients in the Tikka Marinade ingredient list to a smooth paste.
2. Marinade the chicken either as a whole or in cubes for a few hours - preferably overnight
3. Heat a large sauce pan with vegetable oil and saute the ingredients under the "Masala Dry Ingredients" group for a few minutes until the onions turn brown. Start with the spices first and then the onions.
4. Set this aside to cool to room temperature.
5. Heat a large grill pan or tava and grill the marinaded chicken until they are almost cooked. 
   
   Spray with oil as necessary. This should probably take about 5 - 7 minutes per load. If you are using paneer just grill it for a few minutes until the masalas are browned up.
   
6. Once cooked cut it into bit size chunks in case they were not cubed up already.
7. Blend the sauteed masala into a smooth paste. 
8. Transfer the paste back into the sauce pan through a metal sieve. You may add some water as needed since the paste will not filter through easily.
9. Saute the masala paste along with ginger garlic paste on medium flame/heat for a few minutes.
10. Add the tomato paste, coriander powder, garam masala and crushed up kasuri methi.
11. Saute this mixture until oil separates.
12. Add the milk and few cups of water to required consistency.
13. Bring it to a boil and add the chicken pieces and mix evenly.
14. Let the curry come to a boil for another 5 - 6 minutes.
15. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Chicken Tikka Masala ready!! Serve hot with rotis or steamed basmati rice.

Happy Cooking!!

C

Ellu Urundai a.k.a. Sesame Laddu

I am sure we all grew up with a variety of sweets and desserts from wherever we came from. Usually that brings joyful memories since sweets are usually made or bought on special occasions. Salem has a variety of such delicacies of which one is being presented here - Ellu Urundai meaning Sesame Ball. Ellu Urundai is usually made or consumed around the festival of Saraswathi Puja or Ayudha Puja. I tried making it a few times and it was a hit with the kids. However I couldn't get the exact colour, taste and consistency, which I managed to get this time. Sweets as in baking are quite finicky that you have to watch out very carefully during the cooking process. A few seconds here and there can change the outcome totally.  So here it comes...

Ingredients

1. Sesame seeds (white) - 1 cup
2. Jaggery - 1 cup (Jaggery and Sesame seeds should be in 1:1 ratio)
3. Cardamom seeds - 1 teaspoon
4. Ghee - 3 tablespoons

Method

1. Dry roast the sesame seeds in a large wok until they start to splatter or some of them start turning brown.
2. Set it to cool in a large mixing bowl.
3. Smash the jaggery if in the hard form and mix it with about 1/4th cup of water along with the cardamom seeds.
4. Boil the jaggery water for a few minutes and drain the content to remove any impurities.
5. Continue to boil the drained jaggery water until you get to the required consistency. This is THE most important step in the entire process. As soon as you feel the syrup thickening try to add a drop of the syrup in a small cup of water. If the syrup dissolves you need to continue boiling. If the syrup coagulates and if you are able to make a small ball, that is when you need to stop boiling the syrup.
6. Pour the syrup over the seasame seeds, add the ghee and mix it well.
7. Give it a minute or so to cool down - but not more than that.
8. Quickly start making balls greasing your palm with ghee. This is the next most important step to take care because if you delay this process the mixture hardens up really quick and goes beyond redemption.

Happy Cooking!!

C