PUNJABI CHICKEN TIKKa MASALA

"This Punjabi inspired recipe for RawSpiceBar's February 2015 box is created by Chef Vishwa Mohan of Bin 421 in Vancouver, Canada and incorporates two spice blends (Punjabi Garam Masala & Tandoori Spices) from this month's spice box. A balanced blend of Punjabi spices, tender, charred chicken and garlicky ginger tomato sauce served up with rice or naan, chicken tikka masala is the perfect comforting winter dish. However, the origins of chicken tikka masala are the subject of hot debate. According to legend, a UK chef invented the dish over 50 years ago when a customer complained of the chicken tikka being too dry. One can of tinned tomato soup later, chicken tikka masala was born. Others, more seriously, claim the origins of chicken tikka masala date back to the Mughal period when Mughali chefs served royalty the dish. According to Delhi's authoritative street food expert, Rahul Verma, said he first tasted the dish in 1971 and that its origins were Punjabi. "Its basically a Punjabi dish not more than 40-50 years old and must be an accidental discovery which has had periodical improvisations," he said. Regardless of its origins, chicken tikka masala has come to be loved the world over, which is why we're so excited to cook with it using RawSpiceBar Tandoori Spices & Punjabi Garam Masala blends."
 
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Ready In:
40mins
Ingredients:
9
Serves:
8-10
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ingredients

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directions

  • Whisk the yogurt in a large bowl. Stick to a thicker yogurt if you can- we love using greek yogurt for tons of flavor and thickness without the fat otherwise a full fat or semi fat yogurt will do.
  • Chop or crush 3-4 garlic cloves and 1/2 inch ginger in a mortar pestle, food processor or with the back of your knife. Add half of this ginger garlic paste to the yogurt.
  • Add in RawSpiceBar's tandoori spice blend and blend all ingredients.
  • Cut and cube chicken, about 1 inch thick. Season generously with salt, and pepper if preferred. Add all cubed chicken, to the yogurt mixture and coat well. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least one hour and up to 5 hours.
  • When the chicken is ready to be cooked, fire up the grill, grill pan or broiler to high heat. Thread the chicken cubes on bamboo or metal skewers and add to very high heat, about 10 minutes until the chicken starts to brown and char. Leave the chicken slightly undercooked in the center, as the chicken will simmer in the sauce under low heat for another 15 minutes and will cook through.
  • Heat oil or butter in a large dutch oven over medium high heat until hot. Add 1 chopped onion and allow to brown until golden, about 10 minutes.
  • Add in chopped tomatoes (without the juice).
  • Add the remaining garlic ginger paste until the raw aroma is gone, about 2 minutes.
  • Add RawSpiceBar's masala spice blend and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  • Add in remaining tomato juice and reduce heat to medium low.Allow to simmer for 20 minutes until tomatoes cook down. Stir in cream (if using).
  • Add charred chicken to the sauce and bring to medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add a splash of lemon juice and cilantro to finish. Serve alongside rice or naan.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I'm Christine, I'm 16 years old and a junior in high school; I just recently moved to Salina, Kansas from Wichita with my mom, younger brother, and 2 cats. My life consists of school, work, and theatre. Moving to a new town and a new school half way through high school turned out to be a great event and I am very happy with my new life. I work at Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizza and absolutely love my job. It is the perfect job for me at this point in time. Since the town is pretty small, the shop has become a favorite and we have lots of regular customers which is awesome. If you haven't ever had Papa Murphy's before then you should most definitely try it because it is the closest you can get to homemade pizza without making it at home! As a first hand source, I can tell you that the dough is all made, cheese shredded, and veggies cut all in-store. My favorites are the Papa's favorite, gourmet veggie, and cheesy bread! I just love experimenting and creating new tasty combinations, but I also get to take home the mess-ups:) I have already decided that I want to be a diner owner and baker or someday (or something along those lines). I don't know if I'll get there, but that's what I wanna do. My mom has taught me everything I know, she supports me, and she always makes sure I'm happy. I could never thank her enough for what she has done for me. I also watch TV, not much, but there are a few shows that I absolutely have to watch (American Idol though it's over now and Hell's Kitchen). I also love Food Network and HGTV! I love Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter; mainly because those are the 3 holidays that my entire family gets together on and they're the big food holidays. I'm also very lucky because I have already traveled a lot inside the country mainly, but I have been to 3 of the islands in the Caribbean and Mexico. My absolute favorite places so far are California, Mexico, the Bahamas, Florida, Virginia, Colorado, and Oklahoma. When traveling, I love anything outdoors; skiing, the beach, amusement parks, national parks (Yosemite, Mesa Verde!). I used to think my mom was trying to make our summer vacations all 'educational', and now I can see that she WAS trying to teach us something, but I look back on those times and realize how great the places were. Williamsburg in Virginia and Eureka Springs in Arkansas are two of the cutest towns I have ever seen! If I could meet any 3 people in the world, I would wanna meet Paula, Jamie, and Bobby Deen:), but I'm probably not alone on that. <a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=10&imgid=263871041" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1130/4876309/14777885/t-263871041.jpg" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.picturetrail.com" /></a> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
 
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