Conor’s ultra secret Chicken Tikka Masala recipe
Posted on October 13, 2006, by Conor O'Neill, under Cooking.
Handed down through generations of sufi mystics and carried by the Priory of Sion to Bandon where it remained undiscovered in a secret vault until excavations found the ancient stone etchings, I can now reveal the best chicken tikka masala recipe on the planet.
More accurately, I was given a stocking-filler cookbook by my sister years ago which came with packets of spices. It did lay undiscovered for over five years until I finally used it to make a tikka paste and then used their recipe for chicken tikka. And it really is awesome. Up there with Mumrez Khan’s lamb and spinach karahi from “Rick Stein’s Food Heroes“.
The book is called “Great Curries” by Manisha Kanani and was published in 1997. I’d be surprised if you can still get it. Actually I just checked Amazon and someone is trying to sell it for £48! Original RRP was £9.95.
First the tikka paste. I normally make 3x these amounts and put it in a sterilised Tupperware and keep it in the fridge. Easily lasts a month, might even last longer but I always use it up before the month is out. Our regular Friday curry sees to that. I get (or actually Catherine gets) most of our spices in Mr Bells in the English Market. Great value in the big bags. Grinding cumin and coriander seeds is a pain in the ass with a pestle and mortar and doesn’t work with the multiquick type blenders so I usually use a coffee grinder and forget to clean it. Mmmmm, cumin coffee.
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1.5 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp chilli powder
- .5 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp dried mint
- .25 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- drops of red and yellow food colouring (I know, I know but it gives you that “authentic” UK-style curry colour)
- 150 ml white wine vinegar
- 150 ml vegetable oil (I use sunflower, I don’t recommend olive, I guess nut oil works too)
Put the oil in a frying pan and put on a medium heat. Grind up what needs to be ground (or buy pre-ground) and mix all the dry ingredients together. Then add the liquids plus some water if needed to have a thin paste. Pour into oil and let it bubble gently for 10 mins or so. Let it cool before putting in tupperware. Warning – it does stain.
For the Chicken Tikka Masala itself, I usually do 6 chicken breasts for 3.5 people (us, Fiona, Ois/Shibs nibbling). Yeah, we’re hungry savages.
- 6 chicken breasts cut into thick strips
- a thumb of fresh ginger peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 or 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped (or to taste)
- 1 chilli roughly chooped (or 1 tbsp of harissa or jarred chillis)
- 8 tbsp of the paste
- 1 pot natural yoghurt
- 2 medium onions roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 4 tbsp ground almonds
- 300-400 ml water
- 150-200 ml cream
- half a lemon
- vegetable oil
Mix 3 tbsp of the paste with the yoghurt, cover the chicken all over with it and leave to marinade for as long as you have. To be honest this is rarely more than an hour for me.
Onions, garlic, ginger, chilli and some oil into big pot and sweat em down for 5 or 6 mins
Add the rest of the paste and cook for a minute. Add the puree and cook for a further few mins. Ditto the almonds which are a really surprising addition but you really miss them if they are not there.
Add enough water so it won’t stick and cook it gently for about 20 mins.
Grill the chicken for a 5-7 mins on each side (the book also coats them with butter but I don’t bother).
Put on your rice.
Zuzz this sauce using a multiquick or food processor or liquidiser and return to the pot. Squeeze the half lemon in and add cream until it is the consistency you want. Put the chicken in the sauce. Bring it back to bubbling and check for seasoning. The book adds fresh coriander but we’re not fans so I leave it out.
Naans under the grill for a minute or two each side.
Drain the rice, plate up, crack open a few tinnies and that’s Friday all nicely sorted.
Technorati Tags: curry, chicken+tikka+masala, tikka+masala, Manisha+Kanani, Mumrez+Khan
56 Replies to "Conor’s ultra secret Chicken Tikka Masala recipe"
conor on October 19, 2006
Yeah, nothing too weird in it. If ya can find some place that sells the bags of spices, it saves a fortune compared to Schwarz.
Josh on January 16, 2007
I’ve actually tried the recipe. Its preety damn good, and close to some of those curry places I have been to in Brick Lane, London. Very impressed, and I would recommend anyone who wants to make a Chicken Tikka Masala to try this recipe. I have used others from the book and although more simpler, doesn’t match this recipe. 5 stars!
conor on January 18, 2007
I need to try more of those recipes too.
I avoid Tikka Masala in Ireland as most of them seem to be made with far too much cream and are too cloying and sweet.
It’s easily been 10 years since I had a curry in the UK. Heading over to London (Kensington) in Feb for FoWA so might try to find somewhere on one of those night.
DARREN on June 11, 2007
HOW BIG IS THE POT OF NATURAL YOGHURT THAT YOU USE IN THE RECIPE? AS THEY COME IN LOADS OF DIFFERENT SIZES!
conor on June 11, 2007
A standard 125g single-serving pot usually does 4-6 chicken breasts but it’s one of the more “flexible” measurements.
Ange on September 26, 2007
Having realised that the chef in my local curry delivery company has either recently become a bit partial to smoked paprika (which I hate), gone mad, or more likely, been replaced by a different chef altogether, I am searching for a way to recreate the perfect ‘chicken tikka masala’. Despite the fact this is now widely recognised as the most popular dish in the UK, I have discovered that there does not seem to be an actual recipe for it. I’ve read many claims that the dish was invented in Glasgow, Newcastle (yadda yadda yadda) sometime between 1950-1970. I understand that some bloke asked for some gravy to accompany his chicken tikka (genius!), but still nothing concrete in terms of what goes into making it. Thus far I have resisted the urge to ‘throw some spices into a tin of tomato soup’, despite that being the rumour as to how the dish was born. Instead, I have launched myself on a quest to find the ultimate ‘make at home’ recipe. I realise this may take some time, after all, it did take me 10 years to recreate the delectable ‘tarragon chicken’ I sampled once in Swansea (Wales), but what an achievement when I did. I couldn’t have been more chuffed if I’d invented Penicillin! Having almost gone cross eyed reading many many ‘chicken tikka masala’ recipes tonight, I have chosen the one you recommend to begin my culinary trials. It certainly sounds the closest to what I’m looking for, thus far. (Meanwhile, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my local chinese takeaway can keep hold of their chef, or I’ll be stuffed!)
conor on September 26, 2007
I hope you like it. I think many of the ones I’ve sampled in Ireland have been of the canned soup variety (and all horrible!).
Erin on October 4, 2007
Hi there – I happened upon your recipe quite by chance. I am from the States and my boyfriend is from England. He sorely misses the great Indian food from back home so I have started making Indian dishes on the weekend. Am excited to try this recipe! Also, I found the out-of-print book you mentioned above and purchased it online today. I really thought cooking Indian would be hard, but with the food processor it is easy and fun, and delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe : )
conor on October 20, 2007
Let me know how you get on and if you make any successful adjustments.
Erin on October 20, 2007
Conor – it was a huge success! We didn’t alter the recipe at all. I had extra paste so I threw some chicken breasts in it and left in the fridge for a day, then grilled – so delicious : ) Love the book too – am going to make a lamb dish out of it next week, then the beef vindaloo. The BF says we should move to England and open an Indian restaurant – LOL!
conor on October 21, 2007
Come to Ireland and open one! We have so few good ones here. Thrilled that it worked out for you. We have it almost every week.
Erin on October 21, 2007
Ah, that can be my lottery fantasy : )
AnDy on October 31, 2007
Been searching the net for hours looking at ton’s of recipies looking for that ‘British style take-a-way style’ C-T-M. Yours seems like a good choice. I’ve got some guests coming on Saturday so I’m going to try it out. P.S. I’ce found this forum http://www.indian-recipe.org/phpbb/index.php, looks pretty intresting if your intrested it making real take-a-way style currys. I was going to use the recipie from the forum but not sure yet, but knowing me I’ll end up doing a hybrid recipe from both.
Anyway thanks for posting the recipie I’ll let you know how it ends up.
Regards Andy 
conor on October 31, 2007
Definitely let us know how it goes! I’m going to check out that forum now.
AnDy on October 31, 2007
Oops! I’ve just noticed the link on my post does not work, think It’s the comma at the end so just copy and paste without the comma. Sorry about that, hope you like the forum I’m having a great time reading it, so many recipies and tip and tricks ………… looks like it’s going to be curry for dinner everynight for a few weeks at least 
Donna on November 11, 2007
We have recently moved to Ireland (Wexford) from the UK and I can honestly say that the indian curries here are dismal! My favourite dish is chicken tikka masala. In Ireland the dish is made like a tasteless soup! Having moved from the Midlands where on almost every corner is a curry house or takeaway, we are desperate to have a taste of home! It looks like I will have to resort to cooking my own and your recipe sounds just the ticket. Shopping list done for tomorrow, can’t wait. I hope it lives up to my expectations. Many thanks X
Peter on March 2, 2008
I googled CTM and this recipe came out on page one, so it looks like it’s pretty poular – on that basis I decided to give it a go.
So yesterday after huinting down all the ingredients I made it – and it turned out so well I thought I had to leave a message. Absolutely amazing. This is my first attempt at CTM and it came out top notch. My only yardstick for half decent CTM is the Marks & Spencer ready meal variety and this recipe is easily as good as or better than the M&S variety.
Background -I have recently tried a couple of takeaway CTMs in Dublin and found them to be (a)overpoweringly sweet and (b)have an uderlying tomato soup flavour. They are nothing like the M&S version (which I can only assume is something like the British Takeaway variety that everyone seems to be striving for). This recipe is, however, excellent.
I used Rice vinegar as I could not find white wine wine vinegar, I excluded the mint as well, but everything else I followed (I may have used a bit more ground almond too) and it came out perfectly.
I left the chicken marinating overnight and then stuck it in the oven (no grill here) for 15 mins the next day, let it cool and then diced it before adding it to the sauce.
Anyway, hats off to Conor for sharing the recipe. I don’t think I’ll be ever getting a CTM takeaway again! Brilliant.
conor on March 3, 2008
I’m thrilled that it worked so well for you. We still use it weekly here and play a bit with it like you.
The one big change I tried recently was to use thighs instead of breast-meat. It was tasty on the first eating but it was in the area of freezing that it really shone. Basically when I freeze leftovers made with breast, they all fall apart into woolly mush when defrosted. But the thighs held together brilliantly and I think may have been even tastier than fresh (as happens with a lot of “stew” type meals). Cheaper too!
Madhumita on April 18, 2008
Conor,
Hats off to you!!I hail from India which is supposed to be the birthplace of CTM.Still, I must admit I had never tried CTM until yesterday when I came upon your recipe.I was awed how meticulously you have described the ingredients.Today I am in the process of trying your recipe out practically so thought of thanking you 
)).
Conor O'Neill on April 19, 2008
You’ve made my day Madhumita! Manisha Kanani must be very happy to see the recipe get such an amazing reception from all who try it.
Paul on April 30, 2008
Hi
That forum at http://www.indian-recipe.org/phpbb is certainly fantastic site. The recipes are genuine from a resturant. Also found thecurrybook.com. They have books written by a restaurant and takeaway owner and chefs.
All looks good
Paul
dickie boy on May 24, 2008
all i can say is top man. what a fantastic recipe. having left england a few years ago to live in sweden a good ruby murray was one of the things i missed the most. this almost makes up for it. thanks conor. i’ve done this 5 or 6 times now and it just gets better every time.
Cameron on May 27, 2008
Here’s a thing. Was making a chicken biryani last week and it needed 4 tbspns of tikka masala paste, which I didn’t have and couldn’t be bothered going out again to get. Searched on line, found your recipe, made it up and had a gorgeous biryani. So tonight I’m making the whole chicken tikka with the leftover paste. You’re so casual about it, my kind of cooking, and my Irish friend from over the road (we live in New Zealand) is making her version, coz we’re going out to a jazz concert and have to feed the families first. If the meal’s as good as the feedback you’ve had so far (and I’m sure it will be) we are going to have a great night. Thank you.
Tast.ie » Blog Archive » Indian Feast on June 14, 2008
[...] Dishes By Deborah A couple of months ago I tried Conor O’Neill’s fabulous recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, one of Britain’s favourite dishes. It was a fantastic recipe, full of intense flavour with a [...]
adds on August 11, 2008
great attempt mate, tastes really good. I usually mix parts of jamie olivers recipe for CTM with parts of gordon ramseys recipe for korma. This turns out great, it’s the only home made curry my kids eat. They only eat CTM from the take away, if you want the recipe let me know
ry on November 23, 2008
i was a bit worryed about that white wine vinergar its quite strong when your makeing the paste i put the 150ml in .my eyes arrrrrrrrrrrrr think i might add a bit of surgar in nice1 i let you no when i eat it cheers from leicester curry capital
Erin on November 23, 2008
Conor, I have made this recipe multiple times – it is our favorite curry recipe! In fact, I am making it for Thanksgiving this year. Took a curry dish to Christmas last year and they gobbled it up. They will be fighting over the leftovers this year, no doubt : ) Who wants dried out turkey when you can have delicious tikka? Thanks again for a great recipe! Erin : )
Conor O'Neill on November 23, 2008
@ry The vinegar works, trust me. It’s balanced by the other ingredients and I think it may be needed for preservation too.
@erin Really thrilled that you like it. It remains our weekly treat.
What you read here in 2008 on January 4, 2009
[...] Tikka Masala [...]
dandatoo on January 9, 2009
hello, i will be trying this recipe tomorrow night and i must say i am really looking forward to making this recipe, from the comments so far this seems to be the best recipe i can find, so i will let you all know want i think tomorrow night, but thanks for sharing this chicken tikka masala recipe,
happy cooking Dan
Martin on February 27, 2009
great recipe, thanks. I though use boneless chicken thighs as I find that the breasts can be a little dry. martin.
Conor O'Neill on February 27, 2009
Good to hear Martin. I’ve used the thighs too and they add another dimension to it.
carverjd on May 31, 2009
Just had this recipe for supper this evening with the missus. I don’t cook much, but this is one of my favorite meals, so I am proud to add it to my limited repetoire. Thanks much, and even more thanks from the wife, John and Liz (full-bellied in Colorado)
Ellie on July 13, 2009
Excited about trying this! What colour is it without the food colouring? x
Conor O'Neill on July 13, 2009
Hi Ellie, in hindsight it doesn’t need the colouring since the turmeric and tomatoes give it plenty. It comes out a non-horrible reddish-yellowish-beige I guess
so not a cook on July 29, 2009
Hi Conor – My boys wanted CTM for dinner so I googled fora recipe & yours was the 1st to appear & when I opened it & saw bandon – i laughed so much – the boys came running. See – we’re from Bandon too – Does the reference to “the Priory” of Sion mean your living there. Anyway – Thats tomorrows dinner sorted & I’ll give you feed back tomorrow night.
SLÁN.
Marika on September 1, 2009
This is the most authentic tasting Masala- sooo delicious! I added more of the paste b/c I used plenty of tomato sauce (I like it saucy!). It did need some more spice for my taste, so I added plenty of cayenne at the end. Very tasty!!!
Conor O'Neill on September 1, 2009
Thanks Marika. We’ve been loading up on the chillis too recently to add some kick.
Adrian on November 19, 2009
Hi Conor. Just to say, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I’ve been wondering for the past few years how I will ever be able to make a good take-away tasting CTM… and then I found your site. The base paste is great and so far I’ve made 2 CTM. The first followed your recipe exactly and it was fantastic. While I’m not a fan of really sweet curries, there was something missing (only to match the flavour of the CTMs I’ve ever had here in Suffolk) and I thought of using coconut cream instead of the normal cream in the recipe. For me, it took the flavour from 95% of what I was looking for to 98%. Anyway, I thought you might like to know and anyone else who want to vary it a little. Let it be said though, you are a hero in my eyes because if it weren’t for you, I’d probably still be searching, rather than enjoying Thanks a million Adrian
Conor O'Neill on November 19, 2009
I’m delighted it worked so well for you Adrian. I’m always tweaking it so I’ll definitely give the coconut cream a go. A birds eye chilli last week gave it a real punch!
Dee on December 29, 2009
Hi Conor, I’m cooking this for forty people on New Year’s Eve. I have the chicken marinating in the fridge and I am now tackling the sauce. I am going to skewer the chicken tomorrow, grill, add it to the sauce and keep cold for a day. That way I figure all the flavours will work through. I am serving herby rice salad with it. It smells wonderful as I cook. Wish me luck!
Conor O'Neill on December 29, 2009
40, wow, I wish I could scale like that.
I did it for 13 on Dec 26th. Went down very well
Best of luck!
Americanmezzo on January 4, 2010
Thanks for sharing this recipe and information about the book! I was able to snag a copy of this book on a rare book website, and you weren’t kidding when you said how wonderful this book was.
I’ve made the tikka masala paste, and that alone smelled amazing! Can’t wait to do the whole recipe!
One question I did have, though – when you grill the chicken, do you grill the chicken straight from the marinade or do you remove the excess marinade first? I’ve done a recipe where the marinade stays on, and my grill pan gets really gunked up.
Conor O'Neill on January 4, 2010
We were just discussing the book over Christmas dinner. They really should re-publish it.
I actually empty all the marinade over the chicken when I grill it.
Oops, I’ve just realised you are in the the US. We use the word “grill” over here like you use “broil” over there. I can see how your grill/BBQ might get gunked up.
On the “broiler” I just put a sheet of aluminium/aluminum foil under the rack so I only have to scrub the rack itself (right after cooking so it doesn’t dry in)
For a “grill” I guess removing the excess makes more sense.
Hope that helps
Dee on January 5, 2010
Thank you Conor. The CTM for 40 was a great success and everyone loved it. I lost count of the amount of chillis I was putting in, so it had a bit of a ‘poke’ to it. Someone described the curry as having “depth” which I thought was a wonderful description of your recipe.
Americanmezzo on January 5, 2010
Actually, that does. I’ve seen either grilling or broiling options in nearly every recipe, which makes sense – a broiler is really an upside-down grill, when you think about it.
Thanks for the tips!
Conor O'Neill on January 5, 2010
@Dee Well done! I have that problem with chillis too.
@Americanmezzo My next project is the Thai Massaman Curry from Rick Stein’s new book. I’ll blog that if it goes well
Sophiie on January 7, 2010
wow your food is no nice im servin this for 1 person ME!!! care to join fo a bite xx 
xx
David on January 16, 2010
This was a superb recipe, thanks for sharing. I think I messed up the paste by not reducing it enough, but the marinated chicken was still tastey enough and the final product once I had the sauce was off the chains! I moved to Germany from the home of Tikka Masala (Glasgow) so I had been pining for a good curry since I got here and this is the best yet.
Conor O'Neill on January 16, 2010
I think the blog is somehow tapped into our kitchen. It seems like I get a new comment on this post every time I use the recipe myself! Just finished the latest batch and it was as tasty as ever.
Whilst not up at tikka masala level, I’ve always been a fan of a German curry wurst after a few pints of weissbier.
Next step is to plan a trip to Glasgow.
adamjblakey on January 23, 2010
Thanks for the recipe which I tried last night. Personally it was too hot for me so next time around I am only going to use half the dried chilli and no fresh chilli.
Conor O'Neill on January 23, 2010
Hi Adam,
The chilli is the one big variable alright. Every CTM I make has different heat due to different chilli powders and fresh chillis. Glad you liked it.
Buster Rose on February 13, 2010
Hi Conor, quality recipe. I’ve been making your version of this dish for about a year now and there’s nothing better. I’ve been making all sorts of curries recently and this one still sits at the top of the list! Cheers!
Conor O'Neill on February 13, 2010
Thanks Buster. I hope that Manisha Kanani decides to print a new version of her book. There are lots of great recipes in it.
dNa on March 13, 2010
yum was first recipe tried and will be the one to stick with
The Swearing Lady on October 19, 2006
You know, I might actually be able to find the ingredients for this in the ould vicinity! Huzzah!