Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala
From the Kitchen of Amy Day

Ingredients:

Chicken (2-3 breasts or bone-in chicken breasts)
Plain Yogurt
3-5 TBSP Butter
1 small onion, diced
1 TBSP fresh ginger
1 TBSP Garam Masala Blend
1/2-1 tsp each of gound ginger, freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and curry powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 TBSP fresh garlic, minced
1-2 boxes of creamy tomato soup
half and half

1.  Cook some chicken (I like to roast bone-in, skin on breasts, but I'm sure you can handle this part on your own.  I think it's best for this recipe if you marinate your chicken in plain yogurt before cooking, but basically a few chicken breasts cooked any way will work).

2.  In a large pot, melt a few tbsps of butter and sautee a diced onion in it.  Add about 1 tbsp of minced fresh ginger.  Cook over low heat for a while.  (It's important to use fresh ginger.  While there are other spices that go into it, they're not "spicy" at all, and the fresh ginger is really the one thing that adds any heat).

3.  Add your spices.  I start with about a tbsp of garam masala blend, and then I add about 1/2 tsp each from the list of ingredients in garam masala (increase quantities of these things if you don't have garam masala): ground ginger, freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom (go a little heavier), cumin (go a little lighter), and curry powder.  Cook the spices with the onion and ginger for a little while (you might need to add more butter).  Add a decent amount of salt and pepper. 

4.  Throw in a tbsp of minced fresh garlic.  Cook for a little while.

5.  Add any creamy tomato soup.  I get boxes of it from Henry's.  I use about 2 boxes for this, depending on how much I'm making (I like to keep a large quantity in the fridge for the week); 1 box is fine for a small quantity.  Sometimes I do 1 box of creamy tomato soup and one can of diced tomatoes.

6.  Rip or chop up your chicken and add it.  Cook it all for a while.  Taste the broth, and if it's underseasoned, add cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg or curry powder.

7.  Add a splash of half-and-half to make it as creamy as you want it.  More is tastier, but more calories :)

The traditional way to serve it is with jasmine rice and naan bread.  Since that's not the healthiest, I've been eating it over lentils lately, and that's super yummy.  I've also been adding a lot of various light-colored beans and cauliflower to bulk it up and add nutritional value.