Paleo Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken tikka masala is my absolute favorite south Indian entree!!  I finally got around to trying my hand at making it, and I’m very pleased with how it came out!  I have one asterisk for this recipe and that is the dish normally contains cilantro; however, I hate cilantro so you will notice it is absent from my recipe.  Yes, I even pick it out of the dish at restaurants  For those who enjoy cilantro, I would say add about 1/2 cup of fresh chopped cilantro at the very end.

Paleo Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

Approximately 10 servings (because this is great left over)

5-6 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite size cubes

4 cups plain coconut milk yogurt

12 small cloves garlic, minced

8 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

10 tsp. ground turmeric

5 tsp. ground garam masala

5 tsp. ground coriander

5 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. ground ginger powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbl. + 1 tsp. kosher salt

4 tbl. ghee

2 sweet onions, diced

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

4 dried árbol chiles (make sure these chiles break if you want a spicy dish)

Two 28-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes

4 cups full fat coconut milk

Method:

Whisk together yogurt, 6 cloves minced garlic, 4 tsp. minced ginger, 5 tsp. turmeric, 2.5 tsp. garam masala, 2.5 tsp. coriander, 2.5 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 2 tbl. + 1 tsp. kosher salt.  Add chicken, stir to mix and fully coat, cover and marinate at room temperature for 3 hours.

Spread chicken across two foil lined baking sheets.  Broil one sheet at a time on high for 7 minutes, set aside.

In a large pot (I used my 9.5 quart dutch oven) melt ghee over medium heat.  Add onion, tomato paste, cardamom, chiles, and a dash of kosher salt and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add 6 cloves minced garlic, 4 tsp. minced ginger, 5 tsp. turmeric, 2.5 tsp. garam masala, 2.5 tsp. coriander, 2.5 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. garlic powder and cook for 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes and crush with a potato masher.  Simmer the mixture for approximately 10 minutes.  Add coconut milk and broiled chicken.  Bring mixture to a simmer for 40 minutes.

I served mine over sautéed cauliflower rice.

Tags: Paleo Chicken Tikka Masala