Chicken Tikka Masala-Recipe

Well...............I am back with an Indian recipe after eons!
My kids were bored of eating regular lentils & veggies so decided to make something lil fancy for lunch!
Well this is MY version of chicken tikka masala as it is usually made of chicken breast but all I had at that time was minced chicken & I was in no mood to drive out  to get fresh chicken!
How can you be a good cook if you can't spin a recipe your way...............right? So here's chicken tikka made from minced chicken.

Um................I am not really fond of frozen meat,if I have to eat a dead animal,it at-least be freshly dead ,right!
Eeew................I know it sound gross,but that's a fact!
But since my husband had already bought frozen mince,I had no option to cook it & so start with defrosting 350gms of chicken mince.

Ingredients
  
For the tikka
Fresh or frozen chicken mince-350 gms
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
red chilly powder-1/2 tsp
nutmeg powder-1/4 tsp
oil-1tbsp
coriander-1tbsp very finely chopped
mace-1/4 tsp
ginger garlic paste-1 tsp
salt to taste
oil for frying

for the curry
cumin 1tsp
1" cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
2 onions-grind to a paste
2 tomatoes-grind to a paste
2 tbsp cooking oil
tomato puree-1/2 small cup
garlic ginger paste -1 tbsp
garam masala-1/2 tsp
chicken masala- 1 tsp
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
red chilly powder-1/2 tsp(optional)
lemon juice-1 tsp
cream well beaten- 2 tbsp
salt to taste

Let's go chop chop
1. The first thing to do is to make the tikkas out of the chicken mince.Mix all the ingredients for the tikka to the mince & put it in the fridge for half an hour.
2.Just make small balls out of the mixture,they should not be too big else they won't cook through.
3. Now comes the secret behind the taste of Indian food............DEEP FRYING;)
I can hear the collective groans but sorry guys,the excess oil is the secret to the generous curves of Indian women;)
4.So yes deep fry them all on medium flame till they are cooked through

5.Put them on a absorbent paper to remove excess oil....................LOL
6.Now we will prepare the gravy or masala as we call it.
7.Heat 2 tbsp oil.Add cumin to it & let it crackle.It should not burn else it becomes bitter
8.Now add bay leaf & cinnamon & stir it for a minute
9.Add ginger garlic paste,stir for a minute add onions & fry them nicely.............till they kinda become brownish................but don't burn them:)
10.Now add tomato & tomato puree to & fry them till oil starts separating.

11.Add all the masalas......turmeric,garam masala,chicken masala & if you wish a dash of red chilly powder.
I do both the frying & preparing the gravy together.....................we women can multitask;)

12.Add 1 cup water to the gravy............you can experiment with the water depending on how thick you want the gravy to be.Add salt & lemon juice.
13.Add the fried tikkas to the gravy & cook for 10 minutes

14.Your Ticken Chikka Curry (as my 3 yr old daughter calls it....LOL) is ready!
Just put it in a serving bowl & top it off with the beaten cream....................remember NOT to put cream while it is still on heat,the cream may split !
 Enjoy:)