Chicken Tikka

Here is my first recipe scrapbook attempt: Chicken Tikka.  Why did I choose this recipe?  I was flipping through my scrapbook to see which recipes were the most difficult.  I read through the recipe for Chicken Tikka thinking it would be challenging, but I was rather shocked to see that everything was just regular ingredients and, in fact, I already had nearly everything in my fridge/pantry.  The only ingredients missing were ginger root, jalapenos, cilantro, and heavy cream.  Nothing a quick trip to the grocery store couldn't resolve.  I took that as a sign that I must make this recipe.  I tried my best to follow the recipe exactly but... well, read on.

Chicken Tikka

For the Marinade
1 cup yoghurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp minced ginger
4 tsp salt
3 boneless chicken breasts (cut into small pieces)
4 long skewers

For the Sauce
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
3 tsp salt
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1.  In a large bowl, combine yoghurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and salt.  Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for an hour.
2.  Pre-heat a grill for high heat.
3.  Lightly oil the grill/oven.  Thread chicken onto skewers and discard leftover marinade.  Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side. 
4.  Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.  Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute.  Season with cumin, paprika, and salt.  Stir in tomato sauce and cream.  Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.  Add grilled chicken and simmer for 10 minutes.
5.  Transfer onto serving platter and garnish with cilantro.

I got as far as step 3 and realized I did not have a grill.  So I broiled it instead for about 15 minutes (turning half-way).  The chicken still came out nice and browned like on a grill.  (Sidenote:  I had to squeeze it onto 5 skewers as they would not fit on 4.  No biggie.)

At this point, I cut off a piece of chicken and tasted it.  It was delicious but HOLY MOLY!  It was SPICY.  AND way salty.  Yikes.  OK recipe tweaking time.

I scraped off a bit of the marinade from the chicken which helped a little.  Then for the sauce, I only added half of the cumin, half of the paprika, half of a jalapeno, and no salt.  This seemed to do the trick.

The dish came out looking beautiful (as you can see from the picture) and smelling authentically Indian (just take my word for that).  I can't really judge what authentic Chicken Tikka is supposed to taste like, but I really think this probably tastes like the real deal.  I also happened to have some brown basmati rice which I steamed and some hummus and naan bread from Trader Joe's.  So all in all, quite a feast.

Would I make this recipe again?  Definitely.  And so should you!  But here's what I recommend doing differently:
1)  Cut the spices in half.  (You can always add more to suit your taste.)
2)  Add maybe 1/2 or even 1/4 of the salt (to your liking).
3)  Use low sodium tomato sauce.
4)  Depending on your spice tolerance, use only half of the jalapeno.
5)  Use 1% or 2% milk.  Or even half-n-half.  Just to cut some extra calories.

See?  I told you it's impossible for me to stick to recipes.  Actually I was Googling Chicken Tikka and found this recipe on All Recipes.  Nearly all of the comments said to decrease the salt and spiciness.  So it's not just me!  But overall the reviews were very positive and it got 4.5/5 stars with over 1000 reviews.  Not bad.  I'm still glad I (mostly) followed the original recipe though.  Aside from the spice proportion, I, too, think it's a great recipe.

oo,