Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Kids Love
Marinate the chicken ahead of time, cook it when you like and make the sauce about 30 minutes before you want to eat dinner. This dish is perfect with roasted cauliflower (especially easy when you start with a bag of frozen cauliflower!)
Ingredients
Scale
for the marinade
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6–8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
for the sauce
-
1 tablespoon butter
-
1 onion, finely chopped
-
1 clove garlic, minced
-
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
-
1/4 cup tomato paste
-
2 15-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk
-
2 teaspoons garam masalsa
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- Cut the chicken thighs into bite size pieces.
- Combine all the marinade ingredients — yogurt, lemon zest and juice, cumin, cinnamon, smoked paprika, garlic, ginger, salt — in a large bowl or casserole dish (with a lid) and stir.
- Add chicken and move around so it’s completely covered by the marinade.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Cook the chicken
- In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter over medium/high heat.
- Cook chicken in batches until the edges are lightly browned.
- Move the cooked chicken to a platter.
Make the sauce
- Using the same saute pan, add another tablespoon of butter on medium heat.
- Cook the onion for 5 minutes until it’s soft.
- Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.
- Add smoked paprika, garam masala and tomato paste, stirring until the spices start to pick up heat.
- Stir in coconut milk and cook until sauce begins to thicken, about 20 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve over jasmine rice with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro on top.