CHICKEN TIKKA BIG GREEN EGG

Gorgeous succulent chicken tikka marinated in fresh ginger, garlic, lemon, chilli and curry spices, chargrilled over coals on the big green egg adding that authentic flavour makes this chicken sing.

I like to serve this chicken tikka stuffed in a warm naan breads loaded with dried mint mayonnaise, sliced red onions sprinkled with dried mint, crispy iceberg lettuce, sliced chillies, fresh coriander and a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

The Chicken Tikka Marinade

4 chicken breasts cut into chunks

2 lemons juiced

1 bulb (yes whole bulb) garlic blitzed

3” ginger blitzed

1 generous pinch of sea salt

1 cup Greek yoghurt

1 tbsp ground coriander 

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp garam masala 

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp amchoor powder

1 tsp sweet paprika

3 fresh chillies diced

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 small bunch fresh chopped coriander

1 tbsp tandoori masala (see below)

Tandoori Masala

(store any unused in a mason jar)

2 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or 1/2 stick

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp heaped garlic powder

1 tbsp heaped onion powder

1 tbsp heaped amchoor powder

1/4 tsp ground mace

Gently toast the whole spices, place in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder add the remaining ingredients and blitz to a powder.

To Marinate…

Toss the chicken in the garlic, ginger, salt and lemon juice and rub in well, then mix all the remaining marinade ingredients together and coat the chicken in the spice mix and well.  Leave chilled for a few hours or overnight.

BIG GREEN EGG

Fire up your barbecue or smoker to 250 C / 482 F

Skewer the marinated chicken and cook over hot coals until the chicken reaches 75 C or 165 F.  Remove and rest for a few minutes before serving.

I like to serve these  stuffed in a warm naan bread loaded with dried mint mayonnaise, sliced red onions sprinkled with dried mint, crispy iceberg lettuce, sliced chillies, coriander and a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  Enjoy.

BIG GREEN EGG CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

 BEST RECIPE EVER…

The beloved world famous chicken tikka masala, created in Glasgow when a customer ordered the chicken tikka and the chicken was served without a sauce, the customer asked for a sauce and ta-da this iconic dish was created and is loved by so many the world over, myself included.

This recipe is sooooo worth the effort and for my family a wonderful weekend cook.

A authentic British Indian chicken tikka masala, with the chicken tikka being chargrilled over coals before being added to the sauce.

There are several components to this recipe, you will need to make a tandoori masala powder mix, mixed spice powder, this is a finishing spice mix and a base curry sauce, all recipes are below, I find making these first helpful.

First marinade the chicken tikka, preferably overnight but a few hours is fine too.

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

The Chicken Tikka Marinade

4 chicken breasts cut into chunks

2 lemons juiced

1 bulb (yes whole bulb) garlic blitzed

3” ginger blitzed

1 generous pinch of sea salt

1 cup Greek yoghurt

1 tbsp ground coriander 

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp garam masala 

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp amchoor powder

1 tsp sweet paprika

3 fresh chillies diced

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 small bunch fresh chopped coriander

1 tbsp tandoori masala (see below)

Tandoori Masala

(this is used a couple of times in the recipe)

2 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or 1/2 stick

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp heaped garlic powder

1 tbsp heaped onion powder

1 tbsp heaped amchoor powder

1/4 tsp ground mace

Gently toast the whole spices, place in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder add the remaining ingredients and blitz to a powder.

To Marinate…

Toss the chicken in the garlic, ginger, salt and lemon juice and rub in well, then mix all the remaining marinade ingredients together and toss the chicken in the spice mix and coat well.  Leave chilled for a few hours or overnight.

BIG GREEN EGG

Fire up your barbecue or smoker to 250 C / 482 F

Skewer the marinated chicken and cook over hot coals until 75 C or 165 F.  Remove and leave to one side to rest while you make the sauce.

BASE CURRY SAUCE

First you need to make a curry base sauce.

Ingredients 

3 tbsp ghee

3 large Spanish onions chopped

1 carrot peeled and finely chopped

1/4 white cabbage diced

1/2 red pepper diced

1 can of chopped toms or 6 fresh diced

1 whole bulb of garlic chopped

4” ginger peeled and grated

1 tsp garam masala 

1 tsp turmeric 

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander 

1 tsp fenugreek 

1 tsp sweet paprika

1litre chicken or vegetable stock

500ml water

Heat the ghee, soften the onions, carrots, cabbage, peppers, ginger and garlic for around 15 minutes, add in the tomato, all the spices except the garam masala and cook for a further 2 minutes add the stock and simmer for a hour, blitz.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Final sauce stage

4 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp grated garlic

1 tbsp grated ginger

4 heaped tbsp tom puree

100g ground almonds

 2 tbsp tandoori masala (made earlier above)

1 tbsp sweet paprika 

1 litre base curry sauce

300ml single cream

1 lemon juiced

1 bunch fresh coriander chopped

1 tsp garam masala

Salt to your taste

(Sugar or mango chutney to taste optional)

2 tbsp mixed powder (recipe below)

MIXED POWDER SPICE MIX

2 tbsp ground coriander

2 tbsp ground cumin

3 tbsp madras curry powder

2 tbsp sweet paprika

1 tbsp turmeric 

1 tbsp garam masala

FINALLY THE CURRY SAUCE !

Heat the ghee soften the ginger and garlic, next add the tomato purée and cook for a minute, then add the ground almonds and mixed powder, tandoori masala and sweet paprika along with the base sauce.

Bring to a gentle simmer, and when your sauce is at the desired thickness add the cooked tandoori chicken and cream, bring back up to a simmer, add the lemon juice, coriander and garam masala, taste and season with salt and / or sugar to your taste and enjoy this glorious curry.