A made-from-scratch Chicken Tikka Masala recipe with the signature yoghurt marinated chargrilled chicken smothered in an incredible spice infused curry sauce. It’s astonishingly straightforward – and no hunting down hard to find ingredients!
Chicken Tikka Masala is an Indian favourite along with Butter Chicken and Biryani. Serve with Basmati Rice, else add a side of chewy and fluffy Naan or basic Homemade Flatbreads to mop up the sauce!
Chicken Tikka Masala
There are various tales about the origins of Chicken Tikka Masala, and most are along the lines of the following: That a British aristocrat was served Chicken Tikka (chicken on skewers chargrilled in a tandoor) and sent it back to the kitchen, complaining it was dry. In response to which the enterprising chef added a curry sauce and sent it back out again where it was well received.
And thus, one of the most popular curries in the world was born. 🙂 And even though it’s not a traditional Indian dish, the roots of it certainly are!
Proper Chicken Tikka Masala served at good Indian restaurants is made with yoghurt marinated chicken which is then chargrilled so it has that gorgeous smokey flavour.
Regretfully, I don’t have a tandoor sitting in the middle of my kitchen. So this recipe aims to replicate the flavour using my good old stove.
How to make Chicken Tikka Masala
We start off with a Chicken Tikka yoghurt marinade for chicken thighs. Thighs, my friends. Not breast! We need juicy meat for this recipe because we’re going to blast it with some serious heat to replicate the char grilled flavour of Chicken Tikka!
Leave it to marinade for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Then heat your pan until it’s smoking hot – and I mean smokin’ hot!! – then cook those chicken pieces so the yoghurt coating gets chargrilled.
After that, we make the sauce, then toss the chicken back in to bring all the flavours together. And this is the vision that you will be bestowed with – your very own homemade Chicken Tikka Masala, made from scratch. With the signature deep orangey red sauce, wafting with aromatic curry flavour, smothering chicken with a beautiful chargrilled flavour.
Tikka Masala is deceptively easy!
This isn’t your everyday mid week meal. The ingredients list in the recipe looks alarmingly long, but it’s deceptive because there are duplicate ingredients. And we’re making a serious curry here! We can’t skimp on flavour!
And though the list might be long, here’s the best news – no hunting down unusual ingredients. You can get every single ingredient from the major supermarkets here in Australia (Woolies, Coles, Harris Farms, most Aldi’s and large IGA’s).
RECIPE REFERENCES
This recipe is the result of a mountain of reading, researching, tasting and cooking we did in pursuit of the ultimate Tikka Masala recipe for the home cook.
We visited some of our favourite Indian restaurants in Sydney just to taste the chicken tikka masala, and recounted our memories of curries we experienced in the UK and India.
We looked at existing recipes by authors both well known (Madhur Jaffrey and Heston Blumenthal) and unknown, including many Indian food bloggers. We even watched Youtube videos in Hindi and went to the library and dug up faded old Indian cookbooks!
We pulled out the best bits from every source of inspiration as well as adding our own ideas to come up with this recipe!
Difference between Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken
In case you are wondering about the difference between Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, the main thing is the char grilled flavour of the chicken which Butter Chicken does not have. Also, the sauce of Tikka Masala is more intense and complex. 🙂
For curry lovers everywhere, it’s truly worth making your own curry from scratch at least once in your life. Like Thai Red Curry, a store bought curry paste (even a really great one) simply doesn’t compare. If I were to make this using a jar of paste, I would pimp it up quite a bit with fresh garlic, ginger and spices, and it would be not much less effort than making it from scratch!
I really hope you love this. This is a recipe that my brother and I developed together, tag teaming with the recipe until we “got it right” (meaning, as close as possible to good Indian restaurants). Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
MORE GREAT CURRIES OF THE WORLD!
- Butter Chicken – one of the most popular curries in the world
- Rogan Josh – fall apart lamb in a rich creamy tomato sauce
- Biryani (it’s amazing!)
- Dal (Indian lentil curry)
- Thai Red Curry
- Beef Rendang
- Massaman Curry
- Goan Fish Curry (Indian) – an amazing seafood curry from the tropical beaches of Goa
- Browse the Curry Collection
ON THE SIDE
- Indian Tomato Salad
- Samosas – The perfect appetiser / starter. Or snacks and lunch tomorrow!
- Pakoras – Spiced Indian vegetable fritters
- South Indian-style Cabbage & Carrot Salad with Coconut
- Refreshing Cucumber with Lemon Yogurt Dressing
- Give this Everyday Cabbage Salad an Indian spin by sauteing garlic and cumin seeds in oil before mixing up with other Dressing ingredients
- Real Naan! Chewy, stretchy, fluffy – the ultimate homemade naan recipe right here
- No Yeast Easy Soft Flatbread. Perfect to use as naan, but simpler and without yeast so you can get it on the table fast!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
Chicken Tikka Marinade:
- 600g/ 1.2lb chicken thigh (boneless, skinless), cut into 3cm / 2.2″ cubes (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, full fat best (Greek is fine)
- 6 cloves garlic , minced (~1.5 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger , grated
- 1 tsp garam masala (Note 2)
- 1 tsp each salt, cumin, ground coriander, paprika (sweet, normal or smokey)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- Pinch black pepper
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Cooking Chicken:
- 1 – 2 tbsp oil (Note 3)
Curry Sauce Spices:
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp garam masala (Note 2)
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Curry Sauce:
- 3 tbsp (65ml) vegetable oil (Note 3)
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter OR ghee
- 1 onion, finely chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger , grated
- 6 cloves garlic , crushed or grated
- 1 tbsp paprika (not smoked)
- 1 2/3 cups (400ml) tomato passata (tomato puree)
- 1 2/3 cups (400ml) water
- 100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) cream (thickened or pure is fine)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter OR ghee
Serving
Instructions
Chicken Tikka:
- Combine all ingredients except chicken in a bowl and mix. Add chicken and turn well to coat.
- Cover with cling wrap and leave in fridge to marinate overnight (3 hours minimum).
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan over high heat until smoking. Add half the chicken and spread out. Leave for 2 minutes or until charred. Turn each piece and cook the other side until charred – don’t worry if not cooked inside. (Note 4, also Video helpful here) Remove into bowl.
- Scrape out charred bits left in pan and discard. Add more oil if required and cook remaining chicken.
Sauce:
- Wipe skillet with paper towels (or do this part in a pot as you need a lid). Turn heat down to medium high.
- Add oil and butter. When butter is melted, add onions, ginger and salt.
- Cook, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn’t burn, until the ginger is starting to turn golden and the onions smell sweet, about 5 – 7 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and paprika, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the Curry Sauce Spices, and cook a further 2 minutes, stirring.
- Add tomato passata and water, and mix. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour curry into a bowl, then use a stick blender to puree until smooth (Note 5).
- Return sauce to skillet. Add cream, sugar and butter. Stir to melt the butter.
- Add chicken, stir. Simmer for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Optional: Sprinkle with a pinch of extra garam masala at the end.
- Serve over basmati rice, sprinkled with coriander/cilantro if desired. Try this No Yeast Flatbread as a quick naan!
Recipe Notes:
* Indian cooking uses a lot of oil. Don’t be tempted to skimp on the butter and oil for this recipe, it really affects the resulting richness of the dish at the end. We were quite surprised at the difference it made. AT MOST you can reduce the cooking oil by 1 tbsp and omit the butter at the end (but taste it first!). And even using the full amount of butter + oil, it only works out at about 1.7 tbsp per serving which isn’t as obscene as one might expect. 🙂
* You can use ghee instead of the oil/butter used to sauté the onion. I find oil + butter produces a similar end result. I do use ghee sometimes – if I have it on hand (which I usually don’t).
* The dish is deliberately saucy because it’s SO GOOD!
* The salt level looks high but curries need it. Generally, intense flavours = more salt required. 5. Storage / make ahead – Chicken can be marinated for up to 48 hours in the fridge, or pop it straight into the freezer then it will marinate while defrosting overnight in the fridge. Cooked curry will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freezer for 3 months (defrost then reheat in microwave or on stove with splash of extra water). However, unlike stews, curries are at their prime freshly made, when the spices are at their most aromatic. A good trick to freshen up curries is to add a pinch of garam masala when reheating. 6. Recipe references: See in post. 7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings (excludes rice, naan etc).
Nutrition Information:
More Curry For Curry Lovers
Thai Red Curry | Chickpea Potato Curry (Chana Aloo) | Beef Rendang | Vegetable Curry | Cauliflower Chickpea Curry | Queema (Indian Curried Beef Mince) | Chicken Satay Curry
LIFE OF DOZER
Miserable, sulky post-swim hose down. No feeling sorry for him! He just spent the last hour swimming and rolling in sand!!!
5 stars…I have made it on rotation.. but I use chicken breast instead.. it’s bloody good.. and so tender.. marinate as normal.. quick sear in a hot pan..out while still undercooked, poach in the sauce at the end to cook it through.. divine 🤤 thanks Nagi x
Scaled this up for a party of 30. It was absolutely delicious and they loved it.
I have made lots of Nagi’s recipes. They’re amazing. The butter chicken was an amazing discovery.
I though this would be a another level above the butter chicken but I felt the flavour was much less intense. It was more tomatoey and felt a little watered down. The consistency was great and it looked amazing. But the flavour although still nice just didn’t feel as intense? Is that just me? Will try again and see if I missed something.
Well, that was pretty bloody yummy! The spices are bright and vibrant. Despite the butter it’s not the same creaminess profile as butter chicken (another favourite in this house). Is it a bit more work? Yes. Is it still worth it? Yes! Do try it. I used beautiful fresh free range chook thighs, and marinated 24 hours. I also charred the chicken in my blackened steel wok outside on the BBQ wok burner. Everything else was done in my Le Creuset Dutch oven on the stove. I might’ve been a bit heavy handed with the cayenne but it was still mild enough for all the family to enjoy.
Forgot to rate it! 5 stars of course!
(PS: I served this with snow peas and Aldi Roti – which is surprisingly fantastic (find it in the freezer section)
I’ve made many of your recipes because of how reliable and delicious you approach cooking and enjoying food.
Many thanks!!
I only to have to say this is from Nagi to get the nod from the whole family.
A first time tika masala for me and I adapted it for prawns.
Absolutely devine.
Used 2tblspn of oil instead of 3 and will next time try for 1 but didn’t skimp on the ghee/butter.
Served with basmati rice and roti, this was such a full on flavoursome and satisfying dish.
How many Nagi recipes can I have on rotation!?
I like this womans indian recipes, because not only do they taste great they are much simpler and easier to make than the other indian food recipe sites which use 8-10 ingredients which you probably wont have.
Love this recipe, so tasty.
I find that it tastes just as good without the blended step – you can skip a bit of time by starting on the sauce first, and while it simmers, cook the chicken
Just want you to know that this is my first time making tikka masala from scratch..and it did not disappoint! My family LOVE it!!! Even my extremely picky toddler likes her Naan dipped in the sauce before eating it (she only eats the bread). My wrong is that I didn’t read the entire recipe and found out the last minute that it takes a lot of preparation so I didn’t get to marinate the chixken that long. Anyway i saved some of the sauce and today I just pan sautéed some marinated chicken in garlic pepper and salt. And tossed the leftover sauce..and it is as amazing as the first time. I am thinking of making a big batch of sauce to freeze and just use grilled chicken for less fuss. Thank you for the recipe!!!
Hello I’m just wondering if the recipe is correct it says 3 tablespoons oil for the sauce and also (65ml) which is it? 3 tablespoons is only 45ml?
I made this tonight and it devoured by even the fussy toddlers!
I omitted the cayenne pepper because the family doesn’t do spice (I add chili oil to mine at the table!), and it worked a charm.
My only note is that next time I will leave the thighs whole, or potentially halve them and cook them on the BBQ to achieve the char more like what you’d get from a Tandoor oven.
first class Curry – absolutely delicious!
Absolutely amazing! I have made this numerous times it is the best chicken tikka masala I have ever made. I had friends round for dinner and they said it was better than restaurants. I also made the fluffy naan which were equally good.
I love trying your recipes Nagi. Thank you for sharing 🫶🏻 😊
This curry was incredible! Genuinely tastes as good as any tikka masala I’ve had in restaurants. Can’t wait to cook it again. Thank you!
My guests couldn’t stop complimenting this dish. Some of the adults refilled their plates more than once. The picky children all ate some without complaint.
5 stars…I have made it on rotation.. but I use chicken breast instead.. it’s bloody good.. and so tender.. marinate as normal.. quick sear in a hot pan..out while still undercooked, poach in the sauce at the end to cook it through.. divine 🤤 thanks Nagi x
Amazing recipe, easy to make, better than take out. 10 of out 10. I wanna cry sooo damn delicious 😭
If you’re ingredient can only be found in a certain country(Austriala) keep in mind. Not even India but Australia. And this ingredient doesn’t have “you can substitute with” next to it. Maybe put that’s it’s a Australian only recipe in the title so people don’t waste their time.
I made this recipe to the letter and it was PHENOMENAL. We had just ordered Indian food 2 days prior and it was amazing, but we know they use crappy oils in their cooking so I decided to find a recipe. This was it and when my husband tasted it, his eyes lit up — “this is it!!!” he said!! We’re now happily devouring a double-batch of this incredible recipe. THANK YOU!!!
This is one of my favourite curry recipes on the site. I really rate it as a ‘dippy’ curry, I literally have lots of naan with it and dip into the sauce – it’s delicious!
BANGING!! Absolutely gorgeous! 10/10 from everyone! Miss Fussypants said it was the best curry she’d ever had.