Chicken Tikka Masala

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Recipe from What's Cookin, Chicago?

We rarely eat Indian food, but J and I have decided I should make it more often.  This chicken was so delicious!  We absolutely loved the mix of flavors in this dish.

I completely prepped the chicken and made the sauce the night before, so all I had to do the next day was cook the chicken and heat the sauce back up.  I know there are a lot of ingredients to this dish, but it is so easy to put together.

I served it over Garlic Fried Rice.

Ingredients:
Chicken:
1 t ground cumin
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 t salt
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c plain yogurt
1 T vegetable oil
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 T fresh grated ginger

Sauce:
2-3 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 t fresh grated ginger
1 T tomato paste
1 T garam masala
1 can (28 ou) crushed tomatos
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
2/3 c heavy cream
1/4 c chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:
Combine cumin, garlic powder, salt and cayenne in a small bowl and sprinkle onto both sides of chicken.  Press to adhere.  Place chicken in a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the yogurt, oil, garlic and ginger with a whisk.  After chicken is refrigerated for allotted time, cover it with the yogurt mixture - turning chicken to coat both sides.  Recover with plastic wrap and return to refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

For the sauce, heat oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat until hot.  Add onion and cook until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add garlic, ginger, tomato paste and garam masala and cook for about 3 minutes more.

Add crushed tomatos, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.  At this point, remove from heat, let cool, and place in a storage container to refrigerate overnight.

The next day, adjust oven rack to about 6 inches from top of oven and preheat the broiler.

Remove sauce from fridge and heat up in a saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat.  Stir in cream, return to simmer, then remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Place chicken on a parchment lined baking sheet. Broil until the thickest parts register at 160 degrees, about 10-18 minutes, flipping once about halfway through cooking.

Let chicken rest about 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and add to warm sauce.  Before serving, stir in or garnish with cilantro, if desired.