Sunday Roast Left Overs Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

It's said that Chicken Tikka Masala is the U.K's favourite curry, and of course, it differs from traditional Indian curries as it originated from here in the U.K.

Milder than most traditional curries, this recipe, made from Bumblebee Cottage Tikka Masala curry powder, is very slightly hotter than some Tikka blends. That said, it's still very mild and any mild heat is tempered by the use of yogurt and cream anyway.

If you don't want to use the sauce with chicken, it also lends itself nicely as a pour-over sauce to have with fish and chips or similar. We actually used left over Sunday Roast chicken for this recipe, but you can use fresh chicken breast or thigh fillets, or boned drumsticks, thighs.

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Chicken (breast/thighs, fillets or on bone)
Butter or Ghee
Bumblebee Cottage Tikka Masala Curry Powder
Onion
Garlic (3 or 4 cloves)
Greek Yoghurt
Double Cream
Coriander
Tomato Paste
Fresh Ginger
Mushrooms

Start this dish with marinating the chicken. The longer it's allowed to marinate, the tastier and more succulent the finished dish will be. To marinate, add a few dollops of yogurt to a bowl, add in a tablespoon of Bumblebee Cottage Tikka Masala powder, mix, and then coat the chicken in the mixture by massaging it in with your hands (remember to wash them before this step and again straight afterwards!) Allow the chicken to rest for at least a few hours in the fridge.

To make the main sauce mixture (the masala), start by peeling and then blitzing the onion, garlic and ginger. Heat a little butter or ghee if you have it in the bottom of a wok or saute pan, and start frying off the puree on a medium heat.

Then add in any other vegetables - we used mushrooms, but sweet bell peppers are perfect too. But you can use peas, okra or really any fairly firm vegetable of your choice. At this stage add in a tablespoon or so of Bumblebee Cottage Tikka Mssala powder and mix. Then add in a couple of big squirts of tomato puree and mix this in too.

Turn the heat down a little now to low, and add in around 100ml or so of thick (double) cream. If you have the heat too high, the sauce will start to split and could taste bitter. Add more cream if you wish.

Whilst the sauce is 'ticking over', heat a griddle pan, or frying pan with no added oil. Ideally, you'd actually use a BBQ to get a really lovely authentic taste for your marinated chicken, but needs must in mid winter in a U.K kitchen! Add the marinated chicken and on a medium to hot heat, brown off and seal the chicken pieces. If you marinated whole breasts or thighs, you can consider cutting these into smaller pieces (if you didn't already before marinating).

With no added oil, the chicken marinade will stick to the pan, so keep an eye on the heat and keep turning the meat so it browns and crisps evenly. Once the chicken is all blackened (not cremated) on the outside, you can add using a fish slice or large spoon, the chicken to the simmering sauce. Whilst it'll be browned, the chicken will not be cooked or edible at this stage (even if it looks cooked). Increase the heat of the sauce once again and stir so the yogurt marinade and masala sauce mixes together.

Keep this pan on a medium heat for 20 minutes or so. You may find that the sauce splits slightly with a red, oily top...this is fine (it'll be the tomato puree separating from the cream), but keep mixing it back in.

When the chicken looks finished, take a sample chunk, and remove from the pan and cut open on a chopping board. Feel the internal flesh with your finger. The meat should be hot to the touch (around 75-80 degrees if you have a meat thermometer) and the chicken should be white, and not pink or red. If you are cooking meat on the bone though, you may find some redness by the bone, so it's imperative that you check the temperature to make sure the food is cooked and is edible.

Once cooked, add chopped coriander to the served dish, alongside a rice of your choosing. For this dish, we made lemon fried rice.

Marinate the chicken overnight for the best results and when you cook the chicken pieces, a BBQ really does give a wonderful added taste to the overall dish if you have access to one outdoors, near your kitchen (so you can keep an eye on it cooking).

You can add crushed almond pieces and/or sultanas too to this recipe for a little more ommpf, or, if the dish is too mild for you, add in a punch of chilli flakes or a shake of Bumblebee Cottage Chilli sauce.