Chicken Tikka Masala and Lemon Curry Rice

We had the most amazing rice at this little river side restaurant in Sri Lanka and I have tried to find a recipe that is similar ever since we got back.  I found a recipe that was pretty close and adapted it to be just like it.  The Tikka recipe is just delicious and I wanted to make sure to get it on the blog.

Yellow Lemon Rice with Curry Leaves

3 cups cooked (brown or white) Basmati rice

2 tablespoons olive oil (or coconut oil)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1-2 TB chili powder

1 teaspoon mustard seeds or ground mustard

4-5 dried red chiles, chopped into thirds (more or less as desired)

15 curry leaves plus a few extra for topping

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

pinch of fenugreek

juice and zest of 1 lemon

sea salt to taste

Small handful of raisins

heaping 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped

toasted chopped cashews for garnish

To toast the cashews: Preheat oven to 400°F.  Roast 7-8 minutes, until lightly browned. Roughly chop.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. When hot, add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds, and cook — gently shaking the pan for 1-2 minutes until the mustard seeds pop.  Add the chili powder, curry leaves, and garlic, and sauté another minute or two until the garlic is softened but not browned. Add the turmeric powder, fenugreek, and lemon zest. Stir to combine.  Add the cooked rice, cilantro, raisins and lemon juice.  Season with salt to taste. Mix well. Stir another minute or so until just warmed through.

Serve topped with toasted cashews and a few more toasted curry leaves.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

For the chicken marinade:

• 3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons of vegetable/canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 small onions (or 1 large onion) finely diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic finely grated
• 1 tablespoon ginger finely grated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 14 oz (400g) tomato puree (tomato sauce/Passata)
• 1 teaspoon ground red chili powder (adjust to your taste preference)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups of heavy or thickened cream (use evaporated milk for lower calories)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water if needed
• 4 tablespoons Fresh cilantro to garnish

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine chicken with all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade; let marinate for 10 minutes to an hour (or overnight if time allows).
   
2. Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm. (You will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.)
   
3. Melt the butter in the same pan. Fry the onions until soft (about 3 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
   
4. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander. Fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
   
5. Pour in the tomato puree, chili powders and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown red color.
   
6. Stir the cream and sugar through the sauce. Add the chicken and its juices back into the pan along with a scoop of the remaining marinade and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling. Pour in the water to thin out the sauce, if needed.
   
7. Garnish with cilantro (coriander) and serve with fresh, hot basmati rice

original tikka masala recipe is from cafedelites.com and original rice recipe is from wildgreensandsardines.com