Chicken Ticca Masala

I love Indian food so much I may have spent thousands of dollars on take-out over the years.  The cook-books did not lure me, they seemed overly complicated and I just didn't want to cook with Gee, and what is it and so on.

One day my friend with a background from India saved me from my take-out addiction.  He made a huge feast of Indian food for a dinner party and I asked for a recipe. He laughed and said, '...sure' as he pulled a package out from the trash.

I was shocked and sort of horrified as if it was a box out of the trash for mashed potatoes!  He laughed and said 'It's just the spices!'  'They are pre-mixed for you, and then you add the other ingredients.'

So I tried it!!  With little attention your Indian cooking can be even better then the restaurants! Here is the way I make my all time favorite Indian Dish.

Chicken Tica Masala


Cut-up 2lbs of Chicken Breast into cubes.

Add a Tandoori seasoning packet to
1/2 cup oil and mix.
Add the chicken to pre-marinate 1hr or up to one day

Remove from marinade and place pieces on skewers.

Grill over a charcoal or gas grill.




Separately, heat a good amount of butter or oil in a medium saucepan and add a package of Indian Butter Chicken seasoning (see photo example below).

Then add:
2 cups Tomato Puree
Cook over medium heat until the flavors have come through fully

Turn the heat to low, Add:
2 cups heavy table or whipping cream (or less if you prefer).
Heat on LOW (be cautious not to over-heat now that the cream is in it).

Taste and taste again until it's just right.  If it requires more body to the sauce, add a chicken seasoning paste or buillion and withhold the salt as needed. You can also add more package spices, or ground red pepper or whatever spices are on the package that you want to increase the flavor of.  Heat through throughly but slowly.

When the taste is perfected, add the grilled chicken pieces to the Sauce.
Serve with Basamati Rice or/and Naan bread.

Note: I like to add minced garlic or fresh ginger to the oil before the package mix so I feel like I'm really cooking. I've tried several package types/brands, they were all good.

If you likeTamarind sauce go here --everything goes in the processor, it's is easy to make: http://recipesbylulu.blogspot.com/2014/01/indian-tamarind-sauce.html