Chicken Tikka Masala – Dairy-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Mix the chicken with the unsweetened soy yogurt, turmeric, cumin and salt and refrigerate 1 hour.

   BowlRefrigerator

   💡The unsweetened soy yogurt in the marinade tenderizes the chicken, and the spices in it cling to the chicken and brown with it when seared.
2. 2
   Heat the oil in a wide pot and brown the chicken on all sides. Remove to a plate.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveWide, shallow pot

   💡Brown the meat in batches, without crowding: in a crowded pot it stews in its own juices instead of searing.

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
3. 3
   Add the onion to the oil left in the wide pot and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStoveWide, shallow pot

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and ginger and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
5. 5
   Add the garam masala and hot paprika and fry 30 seconds, until fragrant.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
6. 6
   Add the tomato paste and fry 1 minute, stirring.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
7. 7
   Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.

   Stove
8. 8
   Turn down the heat and simmer 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
9. 9
   Return the chicken to the pot together with the cream.
10. 10
    Turn down to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes, until the chicken soft.

    ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid
11. 11
    Serve with the cilantro and rice.