This Velvety Restaurant Style Indian Tikka Masala Sauce needs just 6 staple pantry ingredients. You will be surprised to learn that secret of your all-time favorite Indian Chicken Tikka Masala sauce was in these simple and easy to find ingredients and a 15 minutes recipe.
So ditch the delivery and serve an easy homemade Indian Authentic Tikka Masala Dinner even on weekdays!!
Sounds delicious? Isn't it?
Oh, and not just Chicken Tikka Masala dinner... I use this sauce a lot more ways! Tikka Masala Pasta, Tofu Tikka Masala and Rice, and even Tikka Masala Casserole to name a few! yumm!
Growing up, Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala had always been big part of our Sunday family dinner. My mom makes world's best tasting Chicken Tikka Masala. And it's been always in-demand among our family and friends. After marriage, I always have tried to bring her cooking magic to every plate of food I cook and serve. But, to suit my busy lifestyle and needs........ I have updated many of her classic traditional recipes. This 6 ingredients Tikka Masala is perfect example of that!
Overtime, this Tikka Masala sauce has become our family and friends favorite in most Indian-style Dinners! A evolution of classic, this recipe came into being on a very busy day and under a very short notice!!
I had few guests coming over and all they wanted to eat is Indian Curries. All food was ready when Vishal came to know... one of our guest is vegetarian. I just had some salad and rice as veggie options.
So quest was to make Indian Vegetarian Curry and time in hand was just 15 minutes.
Thing is, a good quality traditional marinara like Ragu Traditional Pasta Sauce, or Rao's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce have lots of flavor of slow simmered Tikka Masala sauce. So I simmered Ragu Traditional Pasta Sauce with Indian garam masala, butter, and some seasonings!
Viola! A velvety, buttery, fragrant Tikka Masala Sauce was ready with that signature deep orange color and amazingly Restaurant Quality flavor....... and I was ready to host a prefect dinner party!
My guests kept asking for recipe and I promised them to share on blog. Soon after I publish this post, I'm going to send'em this link. :) This sauce has become like my new modern family tradition. Everyone who tastes it wants to get the recipe.
Secret to making this easy version of Tikka Masala sauce is all in a good quality Marinara Pasta Sauce.
Remember, your Pasta Sauce is main flavor-base for the Tikka Masala sauce. So choose a good quality and smooth marinara sauce such as Ragu Traditional and then serve a delicious Indian Dinner under 20 minutes!
Today, my age-old family recipe is updated and calls for an Italian Pasta Sauce! I hope you will enjoy a taste of my heritage with this "updated classic".
Easy Indian Tikka Masala Sauce
Total Time: Prep Time: Cook Time:
Cuisine: Indian Category: Curry, Sauce Difficulty: Easy
Yields: 3-4 Cups Serves: 4
Notes:No. of servings depends on serving size. SEE PRINTABLE RECIPE
Ingredients
Tikka Masala Sauce
3 Cup Marinara Sauce (Smooth Pasta Sauce such as Ragu Tradtional)
1.5 tsp Garam Masala
1.5 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (or Paprika, add more if like heat)
1 tsp Honey
1 Garlic (clove, grated, optional if using garlic marinara sauce)
1/4 tsp Salt (adjust per taste)
Directions
1.Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy bottom deep pan. Add garam masala and cook until fragrant. (about 30 secs)
2.Add cayenne (or Indian Red Chili Pepper), grated garlic, honey, and marinara sauce with 1/2 cup of water. Bring to boil and simmer for 6-7 minute on medium-low heat.
3.Add heavy cream and remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter. Heat the sauce for 1 minute while mixing the ingredients. I usually start with 1/4 cup of cream and then taste and adjust with few tablespoons more. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from heat.
4.Tikka Masala Sauce is ready!! Serve plain with rice. Or mix with your favorite protein and serve with traditional Indian Naan. Enjoy!
Savita's Recipe Notes:
Marinara Sauce will already have salt. So add salt only at the end after tasting. You can add more honey at that point if like more sweet.
Tip: For more flavor, slice half of a medium white onion into half moon slices and sauté with butter and garam masala until onions are soft, then proceed to Step -2 as described in the Recipe Card.
Homemade Garam Masala: Fresh ground (preferably homemade) garam masala will give even more distinct spice flavor to Tikka Masala Sauce. Try my Garam Masala recipe to make masala at home.
Toasted spices bloom in sauce. So flavors keep improving as sauce sits. For the record, the leftovers of all curries are more flavorful the next day. This makes recipe perfect to make ahead.
Tikka masala is a tomato and cream (either in the form of heavy cream, yogurt or cashews) based sauce with lots of traditional Indian spices, including ginger, turmeric and red chili powder (to give it that quintessential orange-hue), garam masala, coriander and cumin. It is slightly sweet and earthy in flavor.
Depends on what taste you're trying to achieve with yogurt. If it is a sour taste you want, you can use tomatoes instead of yogurt. If you are looking to make the curry mildly spicy and creamy, you may use milk/cream instead. If you like to just make the curry mild, you may use coconut milk.
Recipes for both use the same seasonings, and appear pretty much interchangeable, except that curry often has coconut-something in it, and tikka masala is heavy on butter and cream.
Tikka is grilled or roasted meat marinated in yoghurt or spiced base before being cooked on skewers.Masala is a sauce made with cream, yoghurt, tomatoes, or spices to add flavour to the food.
Chicken tikka masala is usually made with heavy cream, but I like to use coconut milk instead; its subtle sweetness works beautifully with the spices in the dish. Serve with steamed rice.
But like many Indian dishes that were originally low fat, the modern recipe for chicken tikka masala is anything but. An average portion has whopping 1,249 calories and 90.8 grams of fat. A lot of that comes from the ghee and heavy cream.
Tikka Masala is a tomato and cream-based sauce that's smoky from the chargrilled chicken, rich and creamy, with a slight sweetness and tanginess with mild heat (although we like it hot!) punctuated by earthy spices, ginger and garlic.
Tikka refers to grilled or roasted pieces of meat that are either marinated in yogurt or spiced water before being cooked on skewers. Masala refers to a sauce made with cream, yogurt, or tomatoes; or a mixture of spices used to flavor food.
Chicken Tikka masala is a well-known Indian cuisine both in India and abroad. It is created using chicken tikka, which are pieces of Chicken marinated in spices (such as chili powder, cumin, and coriander), grilled or broiled, and then stewed in a rich tomato-based sauce.
It's red food dye. The concentrated liquid one works best for me, but you can also use powdered red cabbage or beetroot for a less intense colour. Some tandoori spice mixes come with the coloring in it.
Boneless chicken traditionally baked in a tandoor oven then coated in a creamy tomato sauce, the tikka masala combines the creaminess of milder curries with a hint of spice from hotter variants to form the perfect medium dish.
The main difference between butter chicken and tandoori chicken tikka masala is the level of creaminess; butter chicken is much creamier, whereas chicken tikka masala relies on tomatoes and other spices, giving it its earthy and spicy flavor profile.
Tikka Masala Sauce is basically a tangy spicy onion tomato sauce that has a dash of sweetness. It is frequently served with other dishes like paneer, chicken, chickpeas, and multiple vegetables in restaurants like Tikka's N's Curry's.
The primary source of protein in Chicken Tikka Masala is chicken. It also helps control blood pressure and weight loss and reduces harmful cholesterol levels. In addition, the body uses protein to repair and fix tissues and grow hair and nails. Muscles, cartilage, bones, skin, and blood are also built with protein.
Chicken tikka is a dish made by marinating chunks of chicken in a mixture of yogurt and spices, then grilling or broiling them. Chicken tikka masala, on the other hand, is a dish made by cooking chunks of chicken tikka in a tomato-based sauce, which is often creamy and spicy.
Hobby: Flower arranging, Yo-yoing, Tai chi, Rowing, Macrame, Urban exploration, Knife making
Introduction: My name is Madonna Wisozk, I am a attractive, healthy, thoughtful, faithful, open, vivacious, zany person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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