Chicken Tikka

The other day I was at the gym watching the food channel while doing cardio.  One of my favorite shows to watch is Bobby Flay's Throwdown (though I must say I always feel bad when the people he competes with lose!). Anyway, the recipe of the Throwdown happened to be Chicken Tikka Masala.  Chicken marinated in yogurt and spices overnight and then added into a curry sauce.  It looks sooo good.  I decided that even though it was really complicated, I had to make it.  So I did, but unfortunately I was not a fan of the curry sauce.  Don't get me wrong, I love curry, but this particular recipe was far too spicy and unbalanced for my taste.  However, the marinated chicken was incredible! It was so flavorful and delicious and made my whole kitchen smell amazing.  So I decided to make it again with a few small adaptations.

The ingredient list is a little long, but I ended up having nearly everything in my spice cupboard and only had to buy the fresh ginger.  I snapped a quick picture of the ingredients that go into the marinade.  Like I said, it looks like a lot, but it's totally worth it!

This recipe is great because it solves two problems I constantly having:  1) My husband LOVES Indian food and I really don't know much about it   2) The chicken marinated in yogurt overnight is incredibly tender.  The acid in the yogurt really serves to tenderize it--no more dry chicken!

Here's my adaptation of the recipe:

Chicken Tikka

 (Slightly adapted from Bobby Flay)

2 cups whole milk plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons ground fennel (I only had seeds, so I had to grind them myself)
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely shredded fresh giner
10 chicken tenderloins
salt and pepper
melted butter (or ghee)

Directions:

Make the marinade by mixing together the yogurt, spices and ginger in a medium sized bowl.  Add the chicken and make sure each piece is coated by the marinade.  Cover and refrigerate overnight (8 to 24 hrs.)

Preheat the over to 400 degrees.  Line a 9x13 pan with foil or parchment paper and brush with melted butter.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and wipe off excess marinade (note: you really want to wipe off as much marinade as you can because otherwise the marinade is actually too strong once the chicken is cooked!).  Lay the chicken in the pan and brush both sides with melted butter.  Salt and pepper each side.

Place your chicken in the hot over under the broiler and turn the broiler on high.  Cook each side for about 6 minutes under the hot broiler (about 12 minutes total).  Watch closely to make sure it doesn't dry out!

Serve the chicken with hot basmati rice.  If desired use the juice from the pan as a sauce for the rice.  Drizzle a small about of plain yogurt on top the chicken and rice for extra flavor and moisture.  It is sooo good!

Here's a quick snap of the assistant chef:
(She's also the boss!)

Enjoy!