Cauliflower Tikka Masala Recipe - Real + Vibrant (2024)

FAQs

How to add more flavor to tikka masala? ›

Garnish with Fresh Coriander: Just before serving, sprinkle some freshly chopped coriander leaves over your Chicken Tikka Masala. This adds a burst of freshness and enhances the overall presentation of the dish. Add a Squeeze of Lemon: To brighten up the flavors, squeeze a little lemon juice over the finished dish.

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.

So, instead of cream, I use yogurt and butter (cream's close cousin) to get that rich and velvety tomato gravy for my Chicken Tikka Masala.

Add more spices: Store-bought curry sauces often lack the depth of flavour that homemade sauces have. To remedy this, you can add more spices like cumin, turmeric, coriander, and garam masala. Use fresh ginger and garlic: Fresh ginger and garlic add a lot of flavour to curries.

Tikka masala is a blend of aromatic and warm spices. The sweet paprika powder and chili give it a signature red colour.

Skip: Chicken Tikka Masala

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 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.

Tikka Masala is a Food of Celebration

Even though tikka masala is popular in the West, in India, it's actually quite rarely eaten. In fact, many Indians consider chicken tikka masala to be a Western invention! Most Indians eat more traditional cuisine, like dal with roti, almost every day.

Tikka masala is pieces of meat or chicken marinated with spices, whereas garam masala is the term used for 'hot spices' that are not spicy but can keep the body warm. Garam masala powders may contain chilli and peppers, although they can be aromatic but are not spicy.

Is butter chicken or tikka masala creamier? ›

Taste. Butter Chicken has a milder and creamier taste, while Tikka Masala has a spicier, earthy, and tangier taste. Butter Chicken is a buttery and creamy tomato-based sauce. At the same time, Tikka Masala has a slightly sour and tangy tomato-based sauce.

What You'll Need To Make Chicken Tikka Masala. Whole Milk Yogurt: Used for marinating the chicken, the yogurt helps tenderize the meat and adds a subtle tanginess to the flavor. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: The main protein in the dish, marinated in yogurt and apices, then broiled before being added to the sauce.

You can make your tikka masala red by using pinch of red food colour available in the grocery stores. This red colour is used in many dishes like cauliflower manchurian, fritters and pakoras to make it attractive.

That bright red sadly comes from Food Dyes like Red 40. Growing up, I never even realized this, but in recent years when I picked up a jar of pre-mixed Tandoori spice blend and read the ingredients – there it was – Red 40 right in the ingredient listing.

The sauce usually includes tomatoes (frequently as purée), cream, coconut cream and a masala spice mix. The sauce and chicken pieces may be coloured orange using foodstuffs such as turmeric, paprika, tomato purée or with food dye.

The easiest way to fix a bland and tasteless curry is by adding spices like red chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, curry leaves and turmeric. Just make a quick tempering and pour over the curry to give it a nice punch of spices and herbs.

Pro-Tip – How to make a hotter version of Chicken Tikka Masala. Add in 1-2 tsp of hot chilli powder with the spice ingredients when you're making the sauce. Alternatively, you can add in 1-2 fresh red chillies (finely chopped) when you add in the red bell peppers. Or you could do both if you like it really spicy!

Enhancing Flavors Through Indian Cooking Techniques

The technique known as tadka, or tempering, is a great example. It involves cooking spices in hot oil or ghee. This process releases the spices' oils, adding depth to the dish. Slow cooking is another key technique.

Tomato puree/ paste

Adding tomato puree is probably the most common method of thickening curry sauces. Simply add the tomato puree during the cooking process rather than adding it at the end.