Chicken Tikka Masala starts with a great Curry Paste!! I make my own…
But, you also can start with a great store bought one to make life easier!!
There are two I would suggest…Patak’s Tikka Masala Curry Cooking Sauce
or a three pack of Sharwood’s Indian Cooking Sauce with Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken sauces!!
To make a good Curry, you have to start with FRESH, beautiful ingredients…
Then you really achieve the depth of FLAVOR that SHOUTS HOMEMADE!!
The Ginger, the Chiles and the wonderful Cilantro (or Coriander)… all meld together to became so aromatic…
You CAN’T WAIT to eat it…
But you MUST…
Try, at least, because Curries… Soups… Stews… ALL benefit from sitting around for a day or so!!
Boring, but TRUE 🍴😝🍴
To make the Paste, I find my Mini Cuisinart works the best!!
Really, it’s all about getting it all in there… in no particular order… and WHIZZING it up into a rather plain, BROWN Paste!!!
2 Garlic Cloves… an inch of Ginger…
2 fresh Red Chiles…
I like to really cut through the Ginger before it goes in… to minimize the chewy threads that I hate to come across later in my finished dish…
So, I finely mince the Ginger root… THEN chuck it in the Whizzer!! Along with the Chiles and Garlic…
Then, after adding the Coriander, I start to add the Spices…
,
1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper…
A tablespoon of Smoked Paprika…
2 teaspoons of Garam Masala…
Whizz it up… and add a couple of tablespoons of Coconut Oil–mine solidified, but it makes no difference… it soon liquifies…
1/2 teaspoon of Salt…
2 tablespoons of Tomato Purée…
A tablespoon of shredded, unsweetened Coconut…
And 2 tablespoons of Almond Meal…
Crush some Coriander Seeds and Cumin together… a teaspoon of each in a pestle and mortar…
Lightly toast the Spices in a dry frying pan… just long enough to start smelling the aromas as you wake them up!!
Then add these to the Paste…
Give it all a good mix!!
And there you HAVE IT… the base to our Chicken Tikka Masala!!!
