Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka
1½ lb	Chicken Breast
¾ c	Plain Yogurt
1 Tbs	Fresh Ground Ginger
2 ea	Garlic Cloves
1 tsp	Chili Powder
1 Tbs	Ground Coriander
1 ea	Lemon
2 Tbs	Ghee
to taste	Salt
1.	Juice Lemon.
2.	Dice Chicken and marinate overnight in remaining ingredients.

Masala Sauce
4 Tbs	Ghee	2 ea	Onion
2 ea	Garlic Cloves	1 Tbs	Fresh Ground Ginger
1 tsp	Chili Powder	2 tsp	Ground Coriander
1 tsp	Ground Cinnamon	6 ea	Crushed Cardamom Pods
¼ tsp	Ground Clove	2 Tbs	Tomato Paste
4 Tbs	Water	1 c	Heavy Cream
½ tsp	Sugar	To taste	Salt
1.	Thread chicken on skewers and grill.
2.	Dice onion, chop garlic and sauté in hot ghee until caramelized.
3.	Add coriander, cinnamon, cardamom and clove and continue cooking for about 2 minutes.
4.	Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes.
5.	Add chicken and serve with rice.

Indian food is full of flavor and varies from region to region with influences of many different cultures.  These include Moguls, Portuguese, Persians, and British.  You can also find a big influence in Fiji.  The basic ingredients include rice, ghee (clarified butter), warm spices, and milk & yogurt.

I get most of my spices at Vitamin Cottage in bulk because they are cheaper then the little jars.  Spices should be fresh to get the full flavor of each one.  They shouldn’t be more then a year old and less then 6 months is even better.  So all those spices you got in the fancy little jars for a wedding present you can get rid of them.

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!