Chicken Tikka Masala

When in college I became addicted to Indian food.  During my last semester it became a Sunday tradition of one of my friends and I to go get Indian at the vegetarian Indian restaurant by my house.  We'd go and usually just get the special of the day.  This has caused me to not actually know the name of very many Indian dishes.  It being a vegetarian Indian restaurant I never actually had Chicken Tikka Masala.  So to actually have a memory of that dish we have to go back even farther in my college years.  My first experience with Indian food came while in London with my brother.  Since I had moved to KY I never went for Indian until last year.  I convinced D to go for a lunch buffet from a restaurant that I heard a lot of good things about.  Guess what?  D loves it too!  Our favorite dish on the buffet is always the Chicken Tikka Masala, so we decided to attempt this dish at home.  

We decided to go with a recipe from the last Food Network Star, Aarti.  The original recipe is located here.  Below are my changes:

Marinade:

1 cup Greek Yogurt (I actually didn't have enough yogurt so I used how much I had and used cream to fill the cup the rest of way)

1 TBS ginger (we have a tube of already grated Ginger)

3 tsp minced garlic (or 3 cloves)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

1.  Mix the marinade and add chicken.  Marinade at least a few hours.

Sauce

3 TBS butter

2 tsp olive oil

6 tsp minced garlic

1 TBS grated ginger

2 TBS tomato paste

2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cups water

1/2 c. heavy cream

1.  Heat a pan on medium and add butter and oil.  Once butter is melted add garlic and ginger.  Saute until beginning to brown.

2.  Add tomato paste, cook until it begins to change color.  Add paprika and garma masala and allow to cook about 1 minute until fragrant.

3.  Add the tomatoes and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Remove the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

4.  While sauce is cooking, remove chicken from marinade and either grill or place under broiler for about 7 minutes per side.  Allow the chicken to char on the outside.  Don't worry too much if it is not cooked through it will cook through in sauce later.

5.  Place cooled sauce in blender and puree sauce.

6.  Add sauce back into pan and bring to boil.  Add chicken, cover, and reduce to simmer.  Cook for 10 minutes.

7.  Stir in cream and remove from heat.

8.  Serve with rice or naan.