Name: Tikka Masala Chicken and Vegetables
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. *I use organic chicken that is antibiotic free.; 4 large carrots, sliced diagonally; 4 large stalks of celery, sliced diagonally; 1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets; 1 medium onion; 2 tbsp of coconut oil, clarified butter or ghee; Saffron Road Tikka Masala Simmer sauce 7 oz packet; 1/2 cup of heavy cream

I love Indian and Pakistani Food. I don’t like it super hot like my husband does but when I get a dish with a mild flavor, it is hard to pry me away from it. The ingredients just marry each other so well, and it’s great served with Nan bread.

Normal Chicken Tikka Masala takes quite a long time to cook. The dish uses chunks of chicken marinated in spices and yogurt, that is then baked in a tandoor oven, and served in a masala sauce. The sauce usually includes tomatoes, frequently as puree; coconut cream; and various spices. Commonly used spices in the dish are turmeric , paprika, nutmeg, fennel seed, cardomon and cloves.

Since I had neither the tandoor oven, nor the time tonight, I made a short cut version of the dish. My local Harris Teeter has a Tikka Masala simmer sauce that takes all the work out of the dish. You just cook the veggies and chicken and then let them simmer in the sauce.

I chopped up a lot of my favorite vegetables. You can use anything you like. Normally, the dish has peas, onions and potatoes in it. Tonight I had celery, broccoli and carrots that needed using so my recipe includes those.

Serve it with rice cooked with turmeric, clarified butter, peas, raisins, and salt. The turmeric gives the rice a lovely golden color.

And best of all – my heat seeking Husband loves this just the way I made it…with no heat!

Yield: 6

Tikka Masala Chicken and Vegetables

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. *I use organic chicken that is antibiotic free.
4 large carrots, sliced diagonally
4 large stalks of celery, sliced diagonally
1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets
1 medium onion
2 tbsp of coconut oil, clarified butter or ghee
Saffron Road Tikka Masala Simmer sauce 7 oz packet
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Instructions

Heat the coconut oil in a skillet and cook the onions, carrots and celery until slightly tender.

Cut the chicken into chunks and add to the vegetables. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink and just starting to brown. Add the broccoli florets and cook for a couple of minutes.

Reduce the heat and stir in the Tikka Marsala sauce and heavy cream. Cook gently until it starts to bubble and the flavors mix well. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve it with rice cooked with turmeric, butter , peas, raisins, and salt.