Chicken tikka masala pie recipe
All the flavours of the classic curry, encased in a hearty, comforting pie, this recipe takes chicken tikka masala as its starting point.
The creamy curry dish is said to have been invented in Glasgow in the 1970s, when a customer complained their chicken tikka was too dry. Restaurant owner Ali Ahmed Aslam had his chefs come up with a solution: adding a can of tomato soup and some spices to create what would evolve into a classic.
Here, two British favourites combine to create the ultimate comfort food.
TIP: allow 6 hours for marinating.
Ingredients
For the pastry- 250 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 250 g cold, unsalted butter
- 1 small knob of butter, melted
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp chaat masala or garam masala
- 250 g Greek-style yogurt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 0.5 tsp chilli powder
- 0.5 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 tsp gram flour
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled
- 1 cm (½ in) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 0.5 lemon, juice only
- 1 kg boneless chicken thighs, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 small onion, peeled
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 glug of vegetable oil
- 6 cm (2½ in) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
- 3 tsp ground coriander
- 3 tsp chilli powder
- 3 tsp turmeric
- 3 tsp garam masala
- 2 large bunches fresh coriander, leaves picked
- 3 ripe tomatoes
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Pie
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 45 mins
- Cooking Time: 75 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- For the first marinade, finely grate the garlic and ginger and place in a bowl. Add the chilli powder, lemon juice and chicken, then set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
- For the second marinade, add all of the ingredients to the bowl containing the chicken, mix together well and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for a further 4–6 hours.
- Pre-heat the barbecue to hot, or the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Skewer the marinated chicken pieces and cook over the barbecue or in the oven for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Brush with a mixture of butter, lime juice and chaat masala or garam masala and set aside.
- For the pastry, sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Cube the butter, then rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add up to 50 ml (1½ fl oz) cold water, and slowly and gently mix into a dough until just combined but not wet.
- Dust the dough with flour, wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Turn the oven down to 160°C/325°F/gas 3.
- For the masala, chop the onion and garlic, then add with a little vegetable oil to a pan over a medium heat and sauté for 5 minutes until soft. Finely grate the ginger into the pan and cook for 2 minutes until golden.
- Stir through the spices, then chop the coriander and tomatoes and add to the pan, stirring to combine. Stir for a couple more minutes until everything is cooked through. Toss the chicken in the masala.
- Roll out the pastry to just under ½ cm (¼ in) thick.
- Line the base of a pie dish (roughly 20 cm x 20 cm x 6 cm/ 8 in x 8 in x 2½ in) with pastry, reserving some for the lid.
- Add the chicken filling to the dish. Lay the second piece of pastry on top, seal the edges, trim off any excess and poke a small hole in the top.
- Bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is hot.
This recipe is from The Really Quite Good British Cookbook, images copyright © Lizzie Mayson, recipes copyright © Atul Kochhar. Nourish Books.
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