{"id":11157,"date":"2019-10-02T11:14:26","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T17:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icecreaminspiration.com\/?p=11157"},"modified":"2020-02-25T09:39:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T16:39:38","slug":"easy-chicken-tikka-masala-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icecreaminspiration.com\/easy-chicken-tikka-masala-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get the best, easy Indian Chicken Tikka Masala recipe right here! Tender chicken in a creamy tomato sauce with mild Indian spices. The essential Indian dish to add to your repertoire!<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/p>\n

When I think of Indian dishes, the first one that comes to mind is Chicken Tikka Masala. Not only does it taste amazing, but it’s really fun to say \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Where does Chicken Tikka Masala come from?<\/h2>\n

There is some debate over whether or not this dish is even Indian. One account has it being invented in England; another says it was invented in Scotland–both by Bangladeshi chefs. But a food critic said he first had it in the Punjab region of India. (You can check out the differing stories here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Quite frankly, I don’t care where it came from. All I care about is that it’s delicious!<\/p>\n

Does Chicken Tikka Masala have dairy, nuts, gluten, peanuts, or sugar?<\/h2>\n

I know there are lots of us who are being careful with what we eat and have chosen to avoid certain types of foods. So let me give you the rundown on Chicken Tikka Masala.<\/p>\n

Dairy:<\/strong> Yes, and lots of it. Traditionally, the chicken is marinated in yogurt, and heavy cream is added to the sauce.<\/p>\n

Nuts:<\/strong> No nuts or peanuts.<\/p>\n

Gluten:<\/strong> No gluten<\/p>\n

Sugar:<\/strong> Only 2 teaspoons of brown sugar are added. There will be slightly more natural sugar due to the tomato paste, but the amount of sugar overall is minimal.<\/p>\n

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Do I have to marinate the chicken in yogurt?<\/h2>\n

Now traditionally, the chicken for this dish is marinated in plain yogurt with some spices. I wanted to see if this was really necessary and made any kind of a difference in the flavor and texture of the chicken versus just cooking plain chicken.<\/p>\n

I will say that the chicken that was marinated overnight in the yogurt and spices was more tender than the chicken that was just cooked right before adding it to the sauce.<\/p>\n

However, if you don’t have plain yogurt or don’t want to bother marinating the chicken overnight, you can certainly skip it. The dish will still be delicious, although the chicken won’t be as tender.<\/p>\n

If you use thighs rather than breasts, you’ll need a much shorter marinating time, as thighs are naturally more tender than breasts.<\/p>\n

I also don’t know if it’s necessary to add all the spices to the yogurt marinade. Since the chicken is covered with sauce eventually, I don’t think you can even taste the spices from the marinade. But that’s just my opinion.<\/p>\n

Ingredients for Chicken Tikka Masala<\/h2>\n

Let’s talk about the ingredients for this dish so you can see if you have everything you need on hand, or if you need to make a trip to the store.<\/p>\n

First, you need to decide if you’re going to marinate your chicken. If so, you’ll need the following:<\/p>\n