Tikka With a Side of Masala

I adore Indian food but I find the task of cooking it quite daunting. Funnily enough, the actual recipes are not that difficult at all, it's just that Indian food implies a sort of curry feast and I've realized a long time ago that my downfall is producing a lunch or dinner with many dishes. But it seems almost inevitable when cooking Indian because I think to myself, 'oh a curry would be great with some rice, and that would be great with some naan and some veggie thing, etc.' I loved cooking for my friend and sister and Rafa a few weeks ago, but I did feel like I was a chicken running around without its head. So instead of abandoning the Indian chapter altogether, I thought I'd make it simple because it was just me and Rafa, and thankfully, he wouldn't be home until 8pm at the earliest!

53. (Sort of) Chicken Tikka - *Indian*
54. Want your tikka with masala? - *Indian*
55. ...and something from the Punjab - *Larder Salads*

So, I decided the main course would be chicken tikka masala, with a side of Indian-inspired salad.

Tom includes a recipe for tikka and a recipe for masala, because essentially, they are two different things. Many people, myself included, often order chicken tikka masala, but chicken tikka can stand on its own, and thus is prepared apart form the masala sauce that goes on top of it.

The chicken needed at least a day's marinading so I got on with that on Tuesday night. The marinade basically consisted of some hot smoked paprika (I used mostly sweet smoked paprika and a smidgeon of the hot because the picante I bought in Spain is BITCHIN' HOT!), cumin, ground corriander, and chopped ginger and garlic.

To this mixture I added some full-fat yogurt and light olive oil. I had to make a trip to the Russian supermarket for the yogurt - you could always count on them to have things in full-fat! Actually, the store is quite interesting in that Russians are big on importing goods from all over the place - they have a whole aisle of jams and preserves from various Eastern European countries. This is where I found greek yogurt closest to me, and they also have a selection of cheeses from all over the world. Since the store is only about a ten-minute walk from my apartment, it is a good alternative to posh, fancy Manhattan grocery store.

Ok, now back to the marinade. I rubbed the chicken breasts in salt and pepper and then sprinkled on some lemon juice. I then added the yogurt marinade, and it was ready to rest in the fridge for about a day.

So, as soon as I got home this evening, I thought it would be a good idea to start with the masala portion of the meal. I had full confidence that the sauce could be made in advance, and I was happy to find that I was right. The sauce was so simple -- I sweated some garlic and onions in some butter for a few minutes with some salt. To this I added some passata, and continued to cook on a low flame for a few more minutes. I finally stirred through some heavy (double) cream and full-fat yogurt, and then added the garam masala. The last step was just to add some corriander leaves (I decided on parsley as detest corriander!) but I thought that could wait until everything was more or less ready.

I popped the lid on the masala and got on with the salad. Tom's salad is inspired by Madhur Jaffery. It is basically a greek salad (hence the reason it is in the Larder Salads chapter) but instead of oregano and black olives and feta, the salad is flavored with Indian spices, and paneer is added at the end. Now, Tom says that buffalo milk mozzarella or feta would be a good substitute since paneer is crumbly like feta and similar in taste to the mozzarella. I really didn't want to use the substitutions because paneer is attainable. However, I couldn't make a trip to Jackson Heights again, so I had to make do using feta, as it was what I had in the house. I bought the rest of the ingredients right before making the salad --- what lovely colors they were!

The salad was first prepared by cutting some ripe tomatoes from top to bottom and deseeding them. They were chopped roughly and added to a sliced red onion. I got on with the dressing, that was chopped ginger and garlic mixed with ground cumin and black pepper. Some lemon juice was added to the other ingredients, and that was the dressing done.

I decided that I would add the dressing at the last moment, so as not to have a soaked salad.

Rafa had called that he was on his way home, so I wanted to get started on the chicken tikka. I took the chicken breasts out of their marinade and grilled/seared them on both sides on a hot grill.

grilling chicken with masala in the background -- with parsley added

Then, I transferred the chicken onto a roasting tray and put them in my oven at its hightest setting (but not the Broil setting! -- Ilana learning from experience!) for just a few minutes. Since the breasts were boneless and skinless, I knew they needed less time than Tom stipulates -- his breasts (tee hee) had the skin on.

I let the chicken rest for a bit....

And sliced them up and added them to the masala.

While all this was going on I also had cooked up some coconut rice, courtesy of Bill Granger, from Delicous Australia March 2006. It was my first time making coconut rice but I thought it would mesh well with the tikka masala.... and I was right!


The flavors were amazing together. I can't believe how well the tikka masala turned out. Creamy, warm, flavorful, probably better than any tikka masala I had eaten at an Indian restaurant. I think the difference was the richness and deepness of the sauce, and the fact that the chicken breasts were cooked to perfection. Perfectly moist and not dry, as some restaurant versions tend to be. My other bad experiences have been getting cheap cuts from the chicken - I am a chicken breast lover through and through.

The salad turned out really well too! I added the dressing to the salad shortly before eating and then some chopped mint leaves. I had completely forgotten about the feta cheese, and only realized it when I was already digging in at the table. I'm not sure it really needed it, as the chicken and rice were already so full of flavor, the crunchy and sharp tomatoes and onions did the trick in cutting through that richness. Part of me thinks the feta would have been too overwhelming, so if any of you were to make this salad to go with some curry, I'd suggest to use the milder paneer.

I did add the feta after dinner (there was lots of salad left since Rafa didn't feel like having any) and put in the fridge for leftovers.

The whole time I was cooking I was thinking how proud I was of myself for chilling out and taking my time with things. I find that when I am a nervous cook, the food doesn't always taste as it should be. Tonight's meal exceeded expectations. The only thing missing was that I couldn't be arsed to warm up some naan, as it would have been delightful to continue eating the sauce long after the chicken was gone. Oh well, there's always next time. These recipes are truly keepers!