Chicken Tikka cha cha cha!

One thing I really miss is going out for Indian food. I LOVE Indian food. It's amazing. The spices, the variety, the delicious sauces. Yum! This recipe falls into my cheat category because of the rice and cream, but without the rice I don't see the heavy cream as a big deal since I try to adhere to a more 90/10 observance of my paleo plan. The *Naan and Samosas are definitely NOT paleo but they're great for a cheat day or for non-paleo friends who you want to have over for dinner to enjoy this yummy dish! 

This chicken tikka recipe came from a cookbook my mom gave me - Dave's Dinners by Dave Lieberman. I played around w/the original recipe for about 6 months until I found the combination of ingredients that I liked best. I use more curry, more cayenne and add a little bit more cream and tomato paste, but it really can be adjusted to whatever your preference is. I like my stuff HOT. All of my friends that have ever eaten this at my house, absolutely love it and have begged for the recipe since it's so amazing. It's so good you'll want to eat it every week! 

 *And if you want to add Naan and Veggie Samosas, Trader Joe's has both in their freezer section.

This is relatively easy and once you have all the spices all you really need to buy are the fresh items - chicken, yogurt and heavy cream. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Chicken Tikka Masala

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 cup plain white yogurt

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger root, grated

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 - 2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper - I like mine hot so I use at least 2+ tsps

1Tbsp paprika

10 cardamom pods, cracked lightly

2 tablespoons honey

1.5 teaspoons salt

20 grinds fresh black pepper

3 tablespoon butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 - 4 tablespoons curry powder - based on your own tastes

1 (6-ounces) can tomato paste

1 cup heavy cream

**For the rice:

1 cup basmati rice

2 cups water

8-10 whole cardamom pods

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons butter

**I think you can do cauliflower rice to make this more paleo but having never made cauliflower rice, I can't speak to how it would change the flavor of the chicken tikka masala. I do eat this without rice a lot and it's amazing on it's own. 

Cut the raw chicken into cubes. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, paprika, cardamom, honey, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken and mix thoroughly. Cover and let marinate for 1 hour or up to overnight.

Make the rice: In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, water, salt, and cardamom and bring to a boil. Add the rice, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let simmer for 16-20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is fluffy.

In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stir in the curry powder and tomato paste and mix well. Add the cream to the mixture and stir until smooth and the color is uniform. Slide in the chicken and all of the marinade, stir well, and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the mixture has thickened. Serve over the rice.

I love this recipe and hope you'll enjoy it too!