Chef Dougs Chicken Tikka Food

CHEF DOUG'S CHICKEN TIKKA

Steps:

• Combine cut chicken, 1 cup heavy cream, lemon juice, ginger, cumin, pepper, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper in a bowl and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour or more.
• When chicken is marinated to your liking, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pan over medium heat; sauté onion, jalapeno, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
• Heat remaining oil in another skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook and stir until browned and no longer pink in the center, 7 to 10 minutes. Add more heavy cream as desired to obtain a light red sauce mixture. Stir and let simmer until flavors have melded, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve.

CHEF JOHN'S CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Steps:

• Place chicken in a bowl and drizzle vegetable oil over chicken; toss to coat.
• Whisk kosher salt, garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, ground turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom together in a small bowl. Season chicken with spice mixture and turn to coat evenly.
• Melt clarified butter in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Cook chicken thighs in hot butter until browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. When cool enough to handle, cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
• Reduce heat under the skillet to medium-high. Stir onion into skillet; saute until onion softens and turns translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir. Saute until paste caramelizes, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic and ginger into tomato-onion mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour the crushed tomatoes into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Pour in coconut milk and chicken broth; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors blend and sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.
• Stir chicken, any accumulated juices from the chicken, cilantro, and red pepper flakes into tomato mixture; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

THE BEST CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Steps:

• For the chicken marinade: Whisk together the yogurt, ginger, salt, chili powder, garam masala, pepper, turmeric and garlic in a large bowl until combined. Toss the chicken in the spiced yogurt marinade until evenly coated. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to 24. (Overnight works best.)
• For the sauce: Melt the ghee in a large Dutch oven or wide heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions and serrano, season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and beginning to caramelize, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until very fragrant and the ginger starts to turn golden and sticks to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the fenugreek leaves, garam masala, chili powder and paprika and cook, stirring occasionally, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up into pieces with a spoon, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by half and the tomatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes.
• Let the hot sauce cool for about 5 minutes or so, then transfer it to a blender filling no more than halfway. (If your blender is small, you may need to work in batches.) Remove the center cap from the lid and place it on the blender. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters, and pulse until smooth. Add 1/4 cup heavy cream and puree until creamy. Pour into a clean pot and bring to a simmer. Season with salt.
• Meanwhile, position a rack directly under the broiler and preheat to high. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside.
• Arrange the chicken in a single layer on the rack. Broil until the chicken starts to brown in spots, 3 to 6 minutes per side (it will not be cooked through). Remove from the broiler. When cool enough to handle, cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces. Add the chicken to the simmering sauce, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Top the chicken and sauce with cilantro. Serve with rice and naan.

GRILLED CHICKEN TIKKA

Steps:

• Clean your chicken, and cut it into cubes for threading on skewers.
• Take a fork and prick the chicken many times.
• Put lemon juice in bowl with chicken, stir well, and set it aside.
• In a large bowl, mix yogurt, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, salt and pepper.
• Place the chicken in the bowl with the marinade, and marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably 4-6 hours.
• Thread chicken onto skewers.
• Heat your grill with a nice flame and place chicken skewers on the grill.
• Brush with butter or olive oil, and grill approximately 6 minutes on each side, or until done, having nice grill/char markiings.
• Once you have grilled one side for 6 minutes, turn them over and brush with butter or olive oil, and grill 6 more minutes or until done.
• Serve with lime wedges on the side for squirting on chicken pieces; YUM!