Recipe BIR Chicken Tikka Masala

[vernplum]

Parent thread: https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/british-indian-restaurant-bir-cooking.30852

Here it is - the UK's most popular curry house offering - the famous CTM! I seem to remember reading that at one point in time it was the UK's most ordered dish (even beating out Fish & Chips) and was even nominated to be named as Britain's national dish. That may well all be hyperbole, but there's no denying this is a modern classic and when you eat a spoonful of it along with some nice pilau rice you'll be getting a taste of the divine.

This recipe is adapted from the one in Dan Toombs' book 'The Curry Guy Bible' which is essential reading for aspiring BIR cooks.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp BIR garlic and ginger paste
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp almonds flour
• 1 tbsp coconut*
• 6 tbsp BIR tomato paste
• 1 tbsp BIR mix powder
• 1 tbsp BIR tandoori masala
• 1/2 tbsp paprika powder
• 300ml BIR base gravy sauce (when diluted to consistency of milk) warmed.
• 500g BIR chicken tikka
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 tsp red food colouring powder
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• Salt
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and stalks

Method

1. On a medium flame, melt the ghee into the oil and bring them up to heat.
2. Add in the garlic and ginger paste and stir fry for 1 min till fragrant.
3. Add in the sugar, almond, coconut and your powdered spices plus a splash of water to prevent them from burning. Fry a bit.
4. Add in the tomato paste and give it a mix around the pan and then about half of the base gravy. Stir well and cook for another minute.
5. Add in the chicken tikka pieces and the rest of the base gravy and half your chopped coriander plus the food colouring if using. Turn up the heat to high.
6. Cook it for about 3 or 4 minutes until you get caramelised craters at the side. Stir those in. Taste it and season with salt. I used about 1 - 1 1/2 tsp.
7. Add the cream and lime juice. Sprinkle the garam masala and give it final stir before serving with the remainder of the coriander on top.

*on coconut, you can use coconut milk (about 1/4 cup is probably alright), Dan says 'coconut flour' in his book, which I've never encountered. I expect some coconut block would do fine as well. I use something called 'Kerisik' which is a Malaysian toasted coconut paste-y sort of substance. I think you can use just about any source of coconut-y flavour with the possible exception of fresh coconut!


There's quite a bit of chicken tikka there. This recipe can serve 4 as part of a multi-course meal. I'm using plain old tomato paste (2 tbsp) straight from the tin. I add a bit of water when it goes in the pan.

Almond flour, sugar, coconut into hot ghee/oil. Add powdered spices. Garlic and ginger paste is probably in there lol. Lost track of the photo order.

Splash of water to start pasting things up and a minute round the pan. Ooh yeah. Winnie the Pooh's expression says it all.

Tomato paste has been stirred in so time to hit it with some of the base gravy. The base gravy gives the dish that 'long time stewed' sort of consistency.

 

[vernplum]

Add in our main ingredient - the tikka, plus coriander. I might have chucked my salt in here too. It doesn't matter .

Remainder of the base gravy, now get it on high to caramelize it and thicken it slightly.

She's ready:

Om nom nom! CTM in top left: