How to make next level chicken tikka masala

In restaurants, tikka masala is usually made with chunks of breast meat, but thighs stay tender and juicy when slow-cooking.

2. New spice

Spices lose their aromatic qualities and taste dull when they're older, so try and use the freshest possible. We’ve used ground spices for convenience, but you can easily toast the whole seeds of the spices we’ve used and grind them yourself for the best flavour.

3. Prime time

Marinating the chicken thigh meat in a citrusy yogurt sauce for around 12 hours will give it a tender texture and a well-rounded flavour.

4. Char away

To replicate the intense heat of a tandoor oven, we’ve used a grill to char the chicken, but you could also use a very hot barbecue.

5. Added flavour

Adding the chicken juices from the grill tray and any leftover marinade adds flavour, so don't throw it away.

6. We say passata

We’ve taken the fuss out of skinning and chopping fresh tomatoes by simply using passata and giving it a tomato flavour boost with a squeeze of tomato puree.

7. Red alert

We achieved a red colour by using passata and tomato puree, but you can add a drop of red food colouring to make it more vibrant.

8. Use ghee

The recipe for tikka masala is based on butter chicken, so don’t be shy when using butter or Indian clarified butter (ghee), to make this dish.

9. Keep it fraiche

Single cream can be added, but we prefer the slight sourness you get from using crème fraiche.

10. Simple seasoning

Garam masala is often used as a seasoning, so it's added at the end, along with some smoked salt to add to the tandoor flavour we’re trying to replicate.

See the full recipe for our next level chicken tikka masala.

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