Air fryer Chicken Tikka Masala Under 40 minutes

Crisp spiced boneless chicken in a blend of creamy onion tomato gravy. Chicken Tikka Masala is basically a Punjabi dish and is very similar to it’s cousin “Butter Chicken” aka “Chicken Makani” Both are  masterful creations of a tomato and cream based sauce with a slew of spice that hit the palate and transport you into an exotic gravy land. Eat it with some aromatic basmati rice or slop it up with some garlic naan and you have yourself a damn delicious meal.

Chicken Tikka Masala is a popular dish in my home and this air fried was version was borne out of a zoom call. When Covid happened, my husband turned into this zoom- atic and he coordinates calls with  groups of people for everyone to keep in touch, I guess! Sundays we have zooms with his side of the family and since it is at 12 noon, I am often in the kitchen fixing lunch, trying to kill two birds with one stone. I have my phone propped up in front of the stove, so I am in the call but sssh I am cooking. It was during one such call that my Brother- in – law asked me what I was cooking and suggested that I try frying the chicken before simmering  it in the sauce. Now, my Brother-in-law is a very seasoned, creative, fabulous cook who puts his heart and soul into any dish he makes, not to mention his own personal touch. Not sure where  he learnt his skills, but his biryani is known all over Chennai and his other dishes are decently drool worthy too. I am a huge fan of his creations  so any cooking tip or suggestion he makes I take to heart so to speak and I decided to try the fried version.

My air fryer was on my counter, so I doused some spice over the chicken and air fried for 10 minutes and then dunked it into the spicy gravy I made while the chicken was getting fried. Now If I had one of those fancy air fryer Instant Pot combos that are popular these days, this would have been the perfect dish for it. Air fry the chicken, take it out, make a gravy and put the chicken back in and cook it for few minutes. Perfect one pot dish!  I do not have that fancy gadget yet( Secret Santa please take note), so I made do with this method. I used skinless chicken thighs which i chopped into smaller pieces. For a smooth gravy I used my immersion blender to puree the onion, tomato paste. Its important to have a smooth paste to get that creamy sauce and blending helps. Crisp chicken made slightly soggy with the tangy sauce over a bed of fine basmati rice is ultimate comfort food and spicy chicken heaven :)! My air fried version had so much more flavor than the traditional un -fried version that I am not going back to that method again.

I realized I have not blogged in almost umm 7 months ( really?)and that is probably the longest break in all my blogging life. I  am happy to break the blog silence and blog again. From my kitchen to yours: my new and improved Air Fried Chicken Tikka Masala, guaranteed to give a spicy kick that will have you wanting more!

On a personal note I feel I am having a Love-Cool relationship with social media these days. Let me try to explain: I go on social media and love to see and hear what’s happening with my friends, family and then I go off the grid for days, weeks, even months during which time I don’t even peek anywhere, let alone post anything. Now if you know me or the former me, you know this is ‘not’ usual for me and quite frankly I do not understand it myself but that is how it is. To all my friends and family who have checked in with me to see if I am OK when am off the grid, thank you! I really appreciate your concern and I love you guys. My not peeking in or interacting on SM is not because I am angry, sad, or hurt. Not to say I do not feel all those emotions; Heck during COVID-19 those emotions are heightened for most people I would think. It’s hard not to feel anger and helplessness that this virus is still claiming lives and hard not feel sadness and pain for people who have lost loved ones like my daughter’s 16 year old friend who is trying to cope after losing parents and guardian to COVID-19. Maybe it is the friends I lost to COVID-19 that has made very cognizant to not take ‘life’ for granted and be very present for those around me. This is a bonus year for me. I have all this extra precious time with my daughters which I would not have had if not for COVID-19. You see, my oldest is in her final year and would have been at college working on assignments and my youngest would have been all wrapped up in her senior year of high school, activities but instead they are home and I am trying to enjoy every moment I get with them. Whether it is watching our favorite shows together, cooking up a mess in the kitchen, chatting or just being around them, it is time I got as a big, unexpected bonus. If you have daughters in your teens and twenties who are on the brink of heading out to lives of their own, making you empty nesters you will know how valuable any extra time is. So, I think my focus has changed and  spending any extra time with my girls and husband ( even when we chew each other’s head off ) is consuming me. Ok longish rant and I should probably stop but yeah much as I love my social media pals I will be in this Love- Cool phase for some time, I think. The cool phase is not an ignore phase. It’s  a love from the background, will be there if you ever need phase. Not sure how long this will last or if it is a permanent thing, but it is like a journey, I am on which will make me a stronger better person. So anyways stay safe everyone, keep yourselves sane doing what makes sense to you to cope during these trying times and have a great thanksgiving. So much to be thankful for! Thanks for stopping by! Love and Hugs.

Please follow and like us:

0