Chicken Tikka Masala

How to make it

1. Cut the chicken thighs into 3-4 cm pieces. Toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice, Kashmiri chili powder, and salt, and massage the mixture into the meat until each piece is evenly orange-red.
2. Let the chicken sit for 20 minutes so the salt and acid can penetrate the meat before the yogurt goes on as a coating. The surface will change from glossy to matte. ⏱ 20 min · passive
3. Stir the yogurt, grated garlic, grated ginger, garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, and oil together into an even yellow-orange marinade. It should be thick enough to cling to the spoon, since a thin marinade will run off the meat in the oven instead of charring onto it.
   Chef's tip Thick, strained-style yogurt matters more than the spice ratio here; thin yogurt slides off under the broiler and pools in the pan. If yours is loose, drain it in a coffee filter for 30 minutes first.
4. Toss the chicken pieces in the yogurt marinade until each piece is fully coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate (see Advance Prep).
5. Rinse the basmati rice in cold water several times, until the water runs nearly clear. This washes off the loose starch so the grains don't stick together during cooking.
6. Let the rice soak in plenty of cold water for 20 minutes, until the grains have turned milky white and snap cleanly between your fingernails. ⏱ 20 min · passive
7. Preheat the oven to 250°C with the broiler element on, and set an oven rack over a roasting pan in the top third of the oven. Wait until the element glows evenly red, or the chicken will steam instead of getting charred edges. ⏱ 10 min · passive
8. Shake the excess marinade off the chicken pieces and place them on the oven rack with space between them. Broil for 8 minutes, until the surface has dried and dark spots appear at the edges.
   Chef's tip Spacing is what separates charring from stewing: pieces that touch trap steam between them and stay pale grey. Listen for an active sizzle rather than a quiet hiss.
9. Turn the pieces with tongs and broil for another 6 minutes, until the meat is cooked through with no pink center and dark juices have collected in the roasting pan. Save the juices — they go into the sauce.
10. Melt the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and sauté the finely chopped onion for 10-12 minutes, until completely softened and golden brown all the way through. Stir frequently, since burnt onion edges will give the sauce a bitter note that can't be fixed afterward. ⏱ 10 min
    Chef's tip If the onion starts sticking to the bottom in brown streaks, stir in a couple of tablespoons of water and scrape it loose. That fond is sweetness and color, but if it burns on, the bitterness will pull through the whole sauce.
11. Add the grated garlic, grated ginger, and finely chopped green chilies and sauté for 2 minutes, until the raw garlic smell is gone and the aroma has become round and sweet.
12. Stir in the ground coriander, ground cumin, Kashmiri chili powder, and turmeric, and toast the spices for 1 minute in the fat, until they smell toasted and the color darkens. Spices toasted in fat taste rounder than spices simmered in liquid.
    Chef's tip Ground spices scorch in under half a minute in a dry pot. If you can't see fat around the onion, add another spoonful of ghee first — they should smell nutty, not singed.
13. Add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, and 1 tsp salt, and let the masala simmer for 12-14 minutes, stirring occasionally. It's ready when it has thickened and the fat separates out as red beads along the edge of the pot. ⏱ 10 min–15 min
    Chef's tip Fat beading at the edge is the classic sign the masala has cooked out — it means the water has gone and the tomato's raw sharpness with it. Rushing this leaves a thin, tinny sauce.
14. Blend the masala smooth with an immersion blender directly in the pot, until there are no strands of onion or tomato skin left and the sauce is uniformly silky.
15. Drain the soaked rice in a sieve and add it to a pot with the measured water and the salt for the rice. Bring to a boil and cover with a lid. Reduce to the lowest heat and let the rice cook for 15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed and small steam holes appear on the surface. ⏱ 15 min · passive
    Chef's tip Don't lift the lid while it cooks — the steam is what finishes the top grains. Turn the heat down the moment the lid goes on, or the bottom will burn before the top is tender.
16. Remove the rice pot from the heat and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes, so the top grains finish cooking in the steam and the bottom doesn't stick. ⏱ 10 min · passive
17. Stir the cream into the blended masala over low heat and let it warm through for 3 minutes, until the sauce is evenly orange-red and flows slowly off the spoon.
    Chef's tip Keep the heat gentle after the cream goes in — a hard boil can cause the sauce to look grainy or split, especially with the tomato acid present.
18. Add the broiled chicken pieces to the sauce along with the reserved juices from the roasting pan. Let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring, until the meat is heated through and the sauce has taken on color and smokiness from the charred edges.
19. Crush the kasuri methi between your palms and sprinkle it in along with the garam masala, then season with salt to taste. Let the sauce sit for 2 minutes, until the fenugreek aroma has infused and settled over the spices.
20. Gently fluff the rice with a fork and give each person a mound of rice in a deep plate. Spoon the masala with the chicken next to the rice and sprinkle the coarsely chopped fresh cilantro over the top. At the table, everyone stirs the sauce into their rice a little at a time, so the rice doesn't drown.