Chicken Tikka Masala
Charred yogurt-marinated chicken, tomato-cream masala and rice.
Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓
The char on the broiled chicken is the whole point - that smoky edge is what separates tikka masala from regular chicken curry. Don't be afraid of a few black spots.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 servings.
- 1½ lbboneless skinless chicken thighscut into 1.5-inch chunks
- ¾ cupplain whole-milk yogurt
- 1 cancrushed tomatoes
- 1 largeyellow onionfinely diced
- 5garlic clovesminced
- 1½ tbspfresh gingerminced
- ½ cupheavy cream
- 2 tbspghee
- 2 tspgaram masala
- 1½ tspkashmiri chili powder
- ¼ tspcayenne pepper
- ½ tspground turmeric
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspground coriander
- ¼ cupfresh cilantrochopped
- 1½ cupsbasmati ricerinsed
- 1½ tspkosher salt
- 2¼ cupswater
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 510calories
- 38gprotein
- 22gcarbs
- 28gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Cube chicken into 1.5-inch chunks.
- Finely dice onion. Mince garlic and ginger.
- Chop a small handful of cilantro.
- Rinse basmati.
Marinate
Toss chicken with yogurt, garam masala, kashmiri chili, turmeric, ginger (half), garlic (half), and salt. Let sit 15-30 min while you start the sauce.
15 min · hands offRice
Combine basmati with water and salt. Bring to boil, cover, reduce low, simmer 15 min, off heat 10.
25 min · hands offSauce base
Heat ghee in skillet over medium-high. Add onion and salt; cook 8 min until deeply golden. Add remaining garlic and ginger, cook 1 min. Add remaining garam masala, cumin, coriander, remaining turmeric, remaining kashmiri chili, and cayenne - toast 30 sec.
10 min · hands onBroil chicken
While sauce builds: arrange marinated chicken on a foil-lined sheet pan. Broil 6 inches from element 6-7 min per side until charred at the edges.
13 min · hands offSimmer masala
Add crushed tomatoes and 1/2 cup water to the skillet. Simmer 12 min, stirring occasionally, until darkened and thickened.
12 min · hands offCombine
Stir cream into the masala. Add broiled chicken (and any juices on the pan). Simmer 5 min to meld. Taste and adjust salt.
5 min · hands onServe
Plate tikka masala over rice. Shower with cilantro.
1 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Broil 5 min per side instead of 7; breasts dry out fast. Saves about 3 minutes.
Cube paneer, marinate same as chicken, broil 4 min per side. Saves about 5 minutes.
Skip marinade and broil. Add 2 cans drained chickpeas to finished sauce, simmer 10 min. Saves about 15 minutes.
Warm naan 1 min per side in dry skillet.
What keeps
Sauce and chicken keep 4 days, freeze 2 months. Rice fresh each meal - leftover basmati gets gummy reheated.
Meet Maui,
the three-legged cat
who plans your dinner.
Think of her as a sous chef for your whole table. She plans dinner everyone will look forward to - built around your schedule and working in everyone's taste and dietary restrictions. That's the mental load of dinner, off your plate.
Join The WaitlistCurrently in closed beta on iPhone.
