Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

Chicken tikka masala is chunks of spiced chicken in a thick, tomato-based sauce. In this version the chicken is marinated in dry spices, garlic, ginger and oil, browned in a skillet, then returned to a sauce of softened onion, chilies and tomato paste that is finished with crème fraîche. It serves 4 and takes about 25 minutes of hands-on time, plus at least 3 hours for the marinade.

Jump to recipe
Print recipe

Last updated 18 September 2026

Recipe

Chicken Tikka Masala

Prep

10 mins

Cook

15 mins

Total

3 hr 25 mins

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil or olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 chilies – here you can really do something for the strength by choosing a mild, strong or stronger chili. There are many types of chili but I usually use jalapenos
• 2-3 cm fresh ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• Tomato paste
• 600 g chicken fillet
• 1 tsp. curry
• 4 tablespoons crème fraiche
• 1 broad-leaved parsley
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cumin and 1 tsp. ground coriander

Method

1. Start by chopping your chicken into smaller pieces.
2. Marinate the chicken with the spices – garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, cumin, and coriander, minced garlic, crushed and sliced into tiny bits of ginger, salt and pepper, and olive oil.
3. Leave the marinated chicken for three hours or for best results, overnight.
4. On a skillet, pour a generous amount of olive oil. Grill the marinated chicken into it until it is cooked. After which, pick up all your chicken.
5. On the same skillet, pour again olive oil. Sautee your onion until the color changes to a golden brown. Add the minced garlic, ginger (crushed and sliced), and chilies and mixed the ingredients for about a minute.
6. Afterward, add your tomato paste. Also, add the same amount again of garam masala (2 tsp.), chili powder (½ teaspoon), turmeric (1 tsp.), cumin (1 tsp.) and coriander (1 tsp.) into it.
7. Mix until the paste thickens.
8. Add again your chicken into the gravy.
9. Lastly, add crème fraiche.
10. Served with a good amount of parsley.

Step by step, in pictures

Five of the recipe’s moves, in the order you make them.

1. Cut the chicken into smaller pieces
2. Rub in the spices, garlic, ginger and oil
3. Brown the chicken, then lift it out
4. Soften onion, garlic, ginger and chilies
5. Return the chicken and finish with crème fraîche

What’s the secret to a good chicken tikka masala?

Time more than technique: give the marinade at least 3 hours, or overnight as the recipe suggests, and let the tomato paste and spices cook down until the sauce is thick before the chicken goes back in. Three things to watch:

• Marinating on the counter. The USDA advises marinating poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator (USDA FSIS).
• Undercooking the chicken when you brown it. The USDA’s safe minimum internal temperature for poultry is 165 °F (74 °C), checked with a food thermometer (USDA FSIS).
• Adding the chicken to a loose sauce. Stir the paste until it has visibly thickened (step 7). A thin sauce slides off the pieces instead of coating them.

How to make it milder or hotter

Choose your chilies. The two fresh chilies set the strength of the dish: a mild variety keeps it gentle, a hot one makes it properly strong. I usually use jalapeños. The chili powder adds heat as well, so go lighter on it if you are cooking for people who prefer mild food.

Tip: if the heat catches up with you at the table, drink milk rather than water. Researchers at Penn State found that the proteins in milk, not just its fat, help reduce the burn from capsaicin, the compound that makes chilies hot (Penn State).

Is chicken tikka masala Indian or British?

The origin is disputed, and both countries have a claim. The best-known story credits Ali Ahmed Aslam, owner of the Shish Mahal restaurant in Glasgow, who said he created the sauce in the 1970s for a customer who found his chicken tikka too dry (NPR). Food historians and Indian restaurateurs dispute that, pointing to earlier recipes and to restaurants in India said to have served similar dishes before then (Wikipedia).

The name itself leans Indian. Tikka refers to pieces of marinated, cooked meat and masala to a mixture of spices, and garam masala, the spice blend in this recipe, comes from the Indian subcontinent (Wikipedia). That is why I lean towards the dish being Indian, whoever first poured a sauce over the chicken.