Tikka Masala Coated Chicken Recipe

Tikka masala is a traditional English dish at curry houses. Here I reimagine it as a modernist dish by turning the sauce into a gelled coating. It's a fun play on a old classic that many people really enjoy.

Tikka masala coated chicken cubes

Modernist Tools, Ingredients, and Techniques Used

If you would like more information about the modernist techniques, ingredients, and equipment used in the tikka masala coated chicken recipe you can check out the following.

Also, if you are just getting started experimenting with molecular gastronomy and modernist cuisine then I highly recommend one of these molecular gastronomy kits. They have everything you need to do many different dishes.

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Tikka Masala Coated Chicken Recipe

  • Published: April 14, 2015
  • By Jason Logsdon
  • Prep Time: 15 Minutes
  • Total Time: 2 Hours
  • Makes: 10 to 20 servings
  • Cooks: 141°F (60.5°C) for 2 to 4 hours

Tikka Masala Coated Chicken Ingredients

Because they use modernist ingredients, these amounts are given in metric by weight. For more information on how to measure modernist ingredients check out this article.

For the Chicken

4g garlic powder
4g ground cumin
4g ground coriander
1g cayenne chile powder
Salt and pepper
900g chicken breasts

For the Tikka Masala Coating

Canola oil
100g onion, diced
20g fresh ginger, minced
15g cloves garlic, diced
10g serrano chile, deseeded and diced
50g tomato paste
20g garam masala
400g crushed tomatoes
100g water
20g honey
Salt and pepper
3.6g agar, 0.9%
0.4% locust bean gum, 0.1%
200g heavy cream

To Assemble

Cilantro leaves, chopped

Tikka Masala Coated Chicken Instructions

For the Chicken

Preheat the water bath to 60.5°C (141°F). If you don't have a sous vide machine, the chicken breasts can be grilled or pan seared.

Combine the spices in a small bowl and mix well. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts then coat with the spice mixture. Seal them in a sous vide bag and place into the water bath. Cook for 2 to 4 hours. Remove from the sous vide pouches and pat dry. Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes.

For the Tikka Masala Coating

Heat a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add oil and warm. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and serrano pepper and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and garam masala and cook, stirring regularly, for 3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, and honey then bring to a simmer for around 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add the agar, puree well, and bring to a boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream then reduce the heat to just below a simmer and keep it there while dipping the chicken.

To Assemble

Stick a toothpick in a chicken cube then dip the chicken into the tikka masala coating. Set the cube on a plate, the coating should begin to harden quickly. Once the coating has set, you can re-dip it if you want a thicker coating. Repeat for the remaining chicken.

The dipped chicken can be re-heated in an oven set below 80°C (175°F).

Place a coated chicken cube on a dish, sprinkle on some cilantro and serve.

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Related Amazing Food Made Easy Articles

All tags for this article: Agar Agar, Agar Gel, Agar Gel Coating Recipes, Agar Gel Recipes, Appetizer, Chicken, Gelling, Locust Bean Gum, Party Foods, Sous Vide, Sous Vide Chicken , Sous Vide Recipes


Jason logsdon headshot This article is by me, Jason Logsdon. I'm an adventurous home cook and professional blogger who loves to try new things, especially when it comes to cooking. I've explored everything from sous vide and whipping siphons to pressure cookers and blow torches; created foams, gels and spheres; made barrel aged cocktails and brewed beer. I have also written 10 cookbooks on modernist cooking and sous vide and I run the AmazingFoodMadeEasy.com website.
Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links on this site might be affiliate links that if used to purchased products I might receive money. I like money but I will not endorse something I don't believe in. Please feel free to directly go to any products I link to and bypass the referral link if you feel uncomfortable with me receiving funds.
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