Jacob Loves Indian Food – Chicken Tikka Masala

The other day while I was searching for an archived document on very old floppy disks, I came across recordings of my son, Jacob, singing nursery rhymes. They were adorable. He must have been about two years old. Of course, it made me think about him as a child.

He was a precocious little baby, wide awake on walks, sitting up straight, gripping the front bar of his stroller and taking it all in, while our next-door neighbor’s baby, born on the exact same day, was always fast asleep.

When he was a year and a half old we were concerned about his digestion, enough so that we took him to a pediatric gastroenterologist. We were concerned that he was allergic to dairy. My wife, Marci, was being questioned about his diet by the doctor who was surprised when a very young Jacob responded to her questions. “So, what does he like to eat?” she said, expecting an answer from Marci. “I like mashed potatoes, an apple and peanut butter, pancakes, Cheerios,” he responded in his not-yet-toddler voice. She was shocked by the knowledge and detail of response coming from this little being.

He ate other things too. I recall him listing varieties of cheese he liked: “Brie, Gouda, Cheddar, Faharti (aka Havarti),” and around that same pre-toddler age he was identifying herbs in my garden. He ate lots of foods typical suburban kids eat, chicken nuggets and pasta, for example, but he rarely ate a sandwich and only ate pizza if you peeled the cheese off for him. You could keep him occupied for hours on long car trips by handing him a huge feed bag of raw cut vegetables – carrots, snow pea pods, celery, and especially cucumbers.

At some point, probably by the time he was 12, he also developed a love of Indian food. I don’t recall how he was introduced, but it rapidly became one of his favorites. I didn’t cook much Indian food at home, and we almost never had prepared store-bought meals, but for some reason, if he was looking for an after-school snack or was alone for dinner, he would pop a Trader Joe’s frozen Chicken Tikka Masala in the microwave and be perfectly happy. He still eats them occasionally today.

During the early days of the COVID lockdown, we were fortunate enough to eat extremely well (thanks to my planning). In addition to regular nightly home-cooked meals, I would frequently prepare Small Plates Saturday Night – a series of four, five, or six fancier dishes since we couldn’t go out to a restaurant. On one occasion I prepared homemade samosas (potato filled dumplings), which I made into samosa chaat. An Indian street food, the fried samosa is crumbled and topped with yogurt, chutneys, chickpeas, and perhaps chopped herbs and vegetables, and crunchy fried Indian snacks out of a bag. It’s delicious. When Jacob realized I was cooking samosa chaat, he actually danced a little jig right there in the kitchen. He was so happy.

In college he earned an internship at a tech company in California. I joked, when he told us there was to be a company gathering at his Indian boss’s house, that instead of grilling burgers and hot dogs, someone would be making dosas, crisp South Indian crepes made of fermented rice and lentil batter surrounding a mound of spiced potatoes. It turns out I was correct; he said everyone was shocked when a) he knew what they were, and b) he proceeded to eat four or five of them.

Jacob now lives in Manhattan surrounded by the foods of the world. He eats his pizza like a normal person, cheese and all, and he even eats sandwiches. While I haven’t heard Jacob recite a nursery rhyme in some 20 years, his love of Indian food continues to this day.

Chicken Tikka Masala

The origins of Chicken Tikka Masala are murky. The dish, as most people know it, seems not to be strictly Indian, but appears to have been created somewhere in the UK – England, or perhaps Scotland. It’s similarity to butter chicken, which comes from the Punjab region of northern India, hints that it may be a less spicy version of this dish, with a creamy sauce or gravy to match British tastes. Nonetheless, Chicken Tikka Masala has spread and can be found in Indian restaurants around the world.

It is composed of two parts: chicken tikka – roasted yogurt and spice-marinated chunks of boneless chicken, and masala, a mixture of spices in a creamy tomato-based sauce. Together, served with basmati rice or naan (or pita), Chicken Tikka Masala makes for a hearty meal and is an easy introduction to curries and other Indian or Indian-inspired food. There are as many recipes for Chicken Tikka Masala as there are cooks. This recipe is a combination of numerous recipes found online. Spices can be found at an Indian grocery store or online.

serves 6, 1 hour plus marinating time

For the chicken tikka:

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt – not Greek style

¾ tsp. Kashmiri chili powder

1½ tsp. garam masala

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1½ tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. kosher salt

juice of half a lemon – about 1 Tbsp.

3 cloves garlic, crushed or grated

a 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely minced or grated

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut in 1-inch pieces

For the masala sauce:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

½ jalapeño pepper, minced, seeds and membrane removed to make it less spicy, if desired

1½ Tbsp. tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated

a 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely minced or grated

1 tsp. Kashmiri chili powder

1 tsp. garam masala

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and broken up

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. Fenugreek leaves (optional)

1 cup heavy cream

Basmati rice and/or naan (or pita) for serving

1. Stir together all chicken tikka ingredients (other than the chicken) in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken. When well combined, add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator overnight or several hours.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 ^o
3. Disburse chicken evenly in a single layer on a foil-lined sheet pan. Place in oven for 10 minutes.
4. Drain and reserve liquid released from the chicken.
5. Change oven to broil and place rack within two to three inches of broiler. Broil chicken, flipping once, until lightly charred in spots, about 10 to 12 minutes total. Remove from oven when done and allow to cool.
6. While chicken is cooking, prepare the masala sauce. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Add onions and sauté until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add jalapeño and cook for a minute or two. Mix in tomato paste, garlic, and ginger and stir constantly for a minute or two so it doesn’t stick. Add Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, coriander, and cumin and stir to let spices bloom for about a minute. Add tomatoes, sugar, salt, and Fenugreek leaves (if using), along with 1 cup of reserved chicken cooking liquid. (Do not discard the rest, you may need more.) Scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Blend sauce until it is smooth with no remaining pieces using an immersion blender or in batches, if needed, using a countertop blender. Add more chicken cooking liquid if it needs to be thinned out, heat for a few minutes, taste, and adjust seasonings. Masala sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated.
8. When ready to serve, heat sauce to just bubbling and mix in heavy cream. Add chicken pieces and heat until hot. Serve with basmati rice and/or naan (or pita).

Please like and share this post: