Chicken Tikka Masala With Indian Rice Pilaf 香料烤雞咖哩加印度抓饭

Another hectic day or rather a headache day, sometimes really no idea what to prepare for the family, as the father and son love different dishes ....haha ..... I tried not to cook extra dishes cause they don't like taking leftover food the next day either. See what I mean by "headache day" !  Me is OK with anything but not them. So, final decision making spicy food for them. Not actually spicy but this masala chicken tastes a little bit similar to nyonya chicken kapitan, except the smell its different. But very very tasty and best to go with the rice. I am glad I am making the right choice. Please read on for more.

Ingredients for simple pilaf rice :
2  bay leaves
2  star anise
1  cinnamon stick
5  cloves
1 tspn   cumin powder (mixed with 2 tspn water)
1 shallots, sliced
2 cups  rice, wash & rinsed
2 cups  water
some olive oil

Method :
(1)  heat up a pan with some olive oil and saute sliced shallots till fragrant, then add in bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves and cumin paste, continue cooking till fragrant then off the heat.
(2)  now, put everything into rice cooker and cook till done.

Ingredients :
1/2 chicken, cut into bite size
1/2 cup  yogurt
1 TB  red chili powder
1 TB  paprika powder
1 tspn   turmeric powder
1  green chili, sliced
1  red chili, sliced
1/2  yellow onion, sliced
1  lime
1 TB  biryani mixture powder/masala mixture powder (mixed with 1-1/2 TB water)
1  cinnamon stick
2  star anise
5 pcs  cloves
2 pcs  bay leaves
salt & chicken granule to taste

Ingredients for tomato puree :
220gm   tomato puree (one small canned)
3 large  tomato,  sliced
1-1/2  yellow onion, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, skinned
1"  ginger, sliced
1/2  cup  yogurt
(grind with electric blender till smooth, set aside)

Method :
(1)  marinade chicken with chili powder, paprika powder, turmeric powder & yogurt for 30 minutes.
(2)  then pan fried till brown, as picture shown below.

(3)  remove chicken from pan then add in some cooking oil and stir in star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick & bay leaves. Cook with low heat till fragrant then add in masala paste and continue cook with low heat till fragrant.
(4)  once its ready, add in the tomato puree mixture and cook with high heat.

(5)  when the mixture starts bubbling, now add in chicken, green & red chilies and onion.
(6)  best to cook over medium heat at this point, till tomato puree became nice thick. Finally add in lime juice, salt to taste and a little bit of chicken granule. If you prefer more liquid then you may add some cooking cream & extra tomato puree.

As my family prefer dry version, I cooked a little bit dryer which you can see the paste is starting to separate from oil (pecah minyak as the Malay saying). Gosh, smells really inviting ! Hope you guys will love it too. Enjoy.