I sometimes play that game where you ponder what foods you could live on forever. Not nutritionally, of course, because that one's a clear winner: hard-boiled egg, shell included. Nope, I just like to think about foods that I could eat for the longest period of time without getting sick of.
Chicken tikka masala is at the top of that list. Rich, tomatoey sauce, dense, smothered cardamom seeds, tender chunks of broiled chicken all on top of fragrant coriander basmati rice.
I only tried to make tikka masala once before, and it was a total disaster. This time, it turned out great.
I'm not going to re-type the whole recipe here, since I just followed this one pretty much exactly. But here are a few tips and photos:
- Buy almonds pre-blanched (skinned). While blanching almonds is not difficult, it adds time to an already time-consuming dish.
- Garam masala: go easy on it. Better to add some later than too much to begin with. It is overpowering.
- Note 2 on garam masala: the cheapest I could find was at Whole Foods. Surprise! Same thing for ground cardamom.
- Use whole cardamom seeds/pods in the mix. They are so wonderful to bite into.
- Don't be afraid to add more tomatoes. I doubled the amount for this recipe and didn't regret it even a little bit.
Toasted almonds! Yummm...
Broiled "tikka" chicken.
And the whole delicious dish.
