Chicken tikka masala

Before you start

• marinate 4 hours ahead
• a blender
• a grill at full heat — the char is the whole difference between this and butter chicken

Ingredients

Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard

• 320gchicken thighs, boneless
• 80gnatural yoghurt
• 80gbasmati rice
• 40mlcream
• 1½ tbspghee
• 1 tintinned tomatoes
• 1onion
• 1 thumbginger and garlic
• 1 tbspkashmiri chilli, cumin and garam masala
• 1 tspfenugreek leaves — kasuri methi
• 1 handfulcoriander

Method

9 steps

1. fold · 6m

   Chicken into big pieces and turned through the yoghurt, ginger-garlic and half the spices.

2. rest · 4 hours walk away

   Four hours in the fridge, uncovered for the last hour if there is room — a drier surface takes colour faster.

3. grill · 16m

   Under a grill at full heat, close to the element, and left until the edges are properly black. Pale tikka makes a perfectly pleasant gravy and a completely different dish.

4. grill · 4m

   Cooked right through before it comes out — no pink in the thickest piece, juices clear.

5. fry · 16m

   Onion in the ghee to soft gold, then the rest of the spices, then the tomatoes cooked down until the oil comes back out at the edges.

6. blend · 5m

   Blitzed smooth, and sieved if the gravy is meant to be silk rather than rustic.

7. simmer · 12m

   Back in the pan, the tikka in with everything scraped off the grill tray, and ten minutes together so the burnt edges bleed into the sauce.

8. boil · 12m walk away

   Rice: rinsed, twice its volume of water, lid, lowest heat.

9. finish · 3m

   Cream off the heat, fenugreek crushed over, coriander, salt.