Tikka Masala Sauce

It took a lot of time and effort to figure out the secret to making tikka masala. I had to read many recipes, and suffer many 'not quite rights' to get my masala gravy to its current, crazy delicious version. (If this sounds like bragging, it's because it is.)

There were two things I had to figure out: 1) getting the bright orange color, and 2) the texture. The orange color is achieved through the use of cream, or another similar dairy product, and turmeric. Not so terribly difficult to figure out. But the texture was a different story!

The solution to the texture problem turned out to be in the onion - you put it in the blender, and make onion frappe. (I kid. More like blender-pulverized onion.) Fry the onion, add all the other ingredients, and voile, perfection as seen in Indian restaurants. I didn't discover the pureed onion secret on my own, I read about it somewhere on a blog, (this was a long time ago) and it was not an American one. The UK, I think, and it was by a woman of Indian descent. Wish I could find it again!

So, once I figured out these things, the next problem was where to get all the varying spices needed for the sauce. My favorite online site is iShopIndian.com. This is where I discovered Kitchen King masala, and that Indian chile powder is distinct (and a lot hotter) than the Mexican variety seen in my local grocery store.

For my garam masala, which is the spice that makes anything 'masala' , I shop at nuts.com. Some awesome stuff on this website. I can waste much time (and money) on here.

Garam masala shouldn't be added until the very end of cooking! It will turn bitter, and lose that wonderful smell.

This particular tikka masala dish I made with boiled cauliflower and potatoes, no meat. (John and I were eating healthy!) I paired it with my whole wheat Garlic Naan and basmati rice.

 - A note on the rice - Basmati should not be made sticky style! It should be more dry, to absorb sauce better. If you're using the 'finger method' of adding water to your rice, after cleaning the rice, add just enough water so that it stops below the line of your first knuckle on your pinky. You then need to allow the rice to soak in the water for half an hour, to get the maximum length out of your grains.

print recipe

Tikka Masala Sauce

by Katie Tillwick August-17-2012

Like what you get at your favorite Indian restaurant!

Ingredients

• 1 TBS Butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and ribbed, then diced
• 1 TBS ginger, grated
• Large onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp Indian chili powder
• 1 tsp Kitchen King Masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 small whole tomato, diced
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1) Place onion in blender, puree until near liquid.2) Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger, stirring constantly to prevent from browning, for about 1 minute. Then add onion.3) Add the chili powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, Kitchen King, paprika, and jalapeno. Saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.4) Add the tomatoes and can of tomato sauce. Add whatever meat or vegetables (pre-cooked, I used boiled potatoes and cauliflower. Chickpeas are another great vegetarian choice. Chicken Tikka is the classic meat to add) desired.5) Stir in cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes. Just before finishing, add the garam masala, heating for another couple of minutes or until fragrant.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 50 mins