Easy Chicken Tikka Masala

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 small onions
• 5 garlic cloves, finely minced
• seeds from 10 cardamom pod (or 1 tsp ground)
• 1 teaspoon peppercorn
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (optional, but i love it)
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 14 ounces diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup yogurt (i use fat free)
• 3/4 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 1/8 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

Recipe

• 1 make your spice blend: put the cardamom seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin and pepper flakes in a spice grinder and -- grind.
• 2 melt 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet. saute onions until they begin to caramelize.
• 3 add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• 4 add your spice blend, ginger, garam masala (if using) and paprika.
• 5 stir everything together until it's well combined and let it all mix together in the skillet for a few minutes.
• 6 add tomatoes and water and stir everything together. turn your heat down and simmer for about 10-15 minutes - it will thicken up a little and reduce.
• 7 whisk the yogurt into the sauce, then add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and the half and half, and whisk everything together.
• 8 when the sauce is simmering again, add the chicken pieces and let it simmer until they are completely cooked.(about 10 minutes).
• 9 serve over rice, hopefully with some kind of bread to sop up all the sauce.