This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
As many of you know I love to cook Asian inspired recipes. Most of the time I go with the flavors of East Asia but have yet to tackle South Asian cuisine. Well for this recipe I took a recipe from one of my favorite sites (Food & Wine) and translated it to the Big Green Egg. Not only was this dish a lot of fun to cook outdoors but it tasted fantastic! The Buddha clan all raved of the authentic flavors this recipe produced. Now sit back, grab an ice cold Kingfisher, and enjoy this recipe for Big Green Egg Chicken Tikka Masala .
Big Green Egg Chicken Tikka Masala
First step is to make a yogurt marinade with garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cayenne, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Then you cut slits in to the chicken thighs and submerge the chicken in the yogurt marinade. Toss the chicken to coat evenly.
Place the chicken and marinade in a large Ziploc bag and put in the refrigerator overnight.
Now preheat your Big Green Egg to 400°. Get your ingredients ready. And start the cook!
First step is to grill the chicken thighs to get a nice char. I cooked them direct for 4 minutes per side.
Pull the chicken off, chop in to 2 inch strips, and set aside. While you are chopping the chicken place a Cast Iron Dutch oven on the grilling surface to preheat. Once hot add your oil and aromatics.
Now add the tomatoes and sugar. Cook until reduced by half (about 20 minutes).
Add the cream, almonds, and spices to the tomato reduction. Mix well and let reduce another 10 minutes.
Now add the chicken and let that reduce another 10 minutes.
Serve in a bowl with Naan and a nice cucumber, tomato, and cilantro salad. Enjoy!
Big Green Egg Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- Masala Marinade:
- 1 c plain yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbls grated fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- Salt and pepper
- Chicken:
- 2 1/2 Lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed
- Salt and pepper
- 2 Tbls plus 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 c blanched whole almonds
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 Tbls. garam masala
- 1 1/2 tsp pure chile powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- One 35-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved
- Pinch of sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the yogurt, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cayenne and turmeric. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make slashes in each piece of chicken then add the chicken to the marinade, toss to coat and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat your Big Green Egg to 400°
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and scrape off as much of the marinade as possible. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook direct on the BGE for 4 minutes per side.
- Transfer to a cutting board and cut it into 2-inch pieces.
- In a small skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil and add the almonds, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until golden (about 5 minutes).
- Transfer the almonds to a plate and let cool completely.
- In a food processor, pulse the almonds until finely ground.
- Preheat a large cast-iron Dutch oven on the BGE.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering then add the onion, garlic, ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 8 minutes.
- Add the garam masala, chile powder and cayenne and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes with their juices and the sugar and season with salt and pepper.
- Cover partially and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Add the cream and ground almonds and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes longer.
- Stir in the chicken; simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and serve.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve never made a tikka masala from scratch before but you make it look so easy and delicious that I have to try.
It is worth the effort. This dish came out really good!
I was just in London and had such great Indian food! This recipe looks so delish!
London is a great food town for sure! And yes this recipe is really good!!!