Chicken Tikka Masala and Murray’s Icon 2 IPA
I made Chicken Tikka Masala and rice with Minted Yoghurt (Raita)
It’s really easy to make…
You can play around with making curry pastes, but to be honest I find it a lot easier to buy a decent packaged one and add some extras to it. The following recipe makes enough for 2-4 people (2 if you’re both super hungry).
Peel and slice a large brown onion
Start frying it off in some ghee (or oil ) and then add 2 heaped Tbs of Tikka Masala Curry paste
Throw in a decent chunk of grated ginger and 2 diced cloves of garlic
Add some diced chilli if you like it hot
Fry this off for about 10 minutes
(It’s best to marinade the chicken in tandoori paste overnight but it is not necessary. To marinate just rub the paste into the chicken and place it in a covered bowl in the fridge)
Add 400-500g of sliced free range chicken breast or thigh fillets
After browning the chicken a little, add a cup and a half of diced tomatoes and a small tub of yoghurt
Add some sliced red capsicum
Simmer for 25-30 minutes
Stir in some cream and chopped fresh coriander leaves
Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper
Serve with Rice and Raita
(Raita : 1 cup yoghurt, some grated peeled and de-seeded cucumber and a handful of finely shredded mint)
And how could you eat curry without a bit of garlic Naan?
Now while I don’t have a tandoor to make proper naan, I can share with you an easy cheats way to make some thats almost as good.
Naan Bread:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp dried yeast
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 tsp sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup yoghurt
1tbs oil
Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl
whisk the warm water and yoghurt together
make a well in the flour mixture and combine wet and dry ingredients
(you may need to add a bit more flour to make a nice dough)
Knead the dough and place it back in the bowl
Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave to proof for 40-1 hour
Place on a floured bench and knead the mixture
Cover again in the bowl and leave for 20 minutes
Break the dough into small balls and roll them out on a floured bench
I use a super hot cast iron pan (it needs to be at smoking point)
Place a small amount of ghee or vegetable oil in the pan and cook Naan for a couple of minutes on each side
Paint a mixture of melted butter and garlic on your cooked naan
DONE!
(Don’t be intimidated by Naan, it looks like a lot of steps but most of them are just letting the dough sit and kneading it)
We drank Murray’s Icon 2IPA with the curry.
Kris: IPA’s are a great match for curry, Murray’s worked really well with the creamy, tomato based sauce of the Tikka Masala. Murrays’s Icon 2IPA is one of my favourite Australian craft beers from NSW. It is a great example of a Double or Imperial IPA.
It’s really malty with an amazing hop aroma and massive hop bitterness. I try not to make the curry too spicy as the hop bitterness tends to intensify the chilli.
Caroline: I loved this beer (and not just because it’s an american style Imperial IPA). It might be the the hoppiest beer I’ve ever tasted! And even though it had huge flavor it was still really easy to drink (I could easily finish off a few myself). It was delicious with the curry, thirst quenching but still holding its own flavor-wise. Kris’ curry was also delicious, if i do say so. I’m a sucker for a spicy, creamy curry.