Chicken Tikka Masala is the UK's most ordered curry — officially declared UK's national dish by the late Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in 2001. It outsells every other Indian restaurant dish in the country, and "chicken tikka masala recipe" is one of the highest-volume food searches in the UK year-round. Yet most home versions taste nothing like the restaurant original, and the reason is simple: they skip the char. Real Tikka Masala starts with chicken tikka — yogurt-marinated chicken chargrilled until smoky and blackened at the edges — THEN added to the masala sauce. Most home recipes just simmer raw chicken in the sauce, which produces a decent curry but not a Tikka Masala. The char-grill step is what gives the dish its signature smoky depth that Butter Chicken doesn't have.
People often confuse Chicken Tikka Masala with Butter Chicken. They're related but distinctly different dishes. Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) is a Delhi creation from the 1950s — milder, creamier, sweeter, with a silky-smooth sauce. Tikka Masala is a British-Indian invention — spicier, chunkier, with more onion in the sauce and that crucial chargrilled smokiness from the tikka. At Pick N Save, we stock the exact products that define both: Patak Tikka Masala Paste for the authentic restaurant-style sauce base, and Patak Tikka Paste for the marinade. These are the same pastes used by thousands of UK Indian restaurants — and we've been supplying them from our Harrow store since 1999. When customers ask us the difference between Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala, we always say: try our Butter Chicken recipe for creamy comfort, and this Tikka Masala for smoky depth. Make both, and you'll taste the difference immediately.
Cut 600g of boneless chicken thighs into large chunks — about 4cm pieces, bigger than you'd normally cut for a curry. Larger pieces stay juicier during the high-heat charring. In a bowl, combine the chicken with 3 tablespoons of thick natural yogurt (Desi Natural Yogurt 1kg), 2 tablespoons of Patak Tikka Paste (Patak Tikka Paste Mild 300g), 1 teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder (TFS Kashmiri Mild Chilli Powder — for deep red colour), ½ teaspoon of garam masala (TFS Garam Masala), 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil, and salt to taste. Mix until every piece is thickly coated. The oil in the marinade prevents the yogurt from burning before the chicken chars — this is a professional trick. Marinate for at least 10 minutes; overnight in the fridge is ideal.
This is the step that makes this recipe different from every other home Tikka Masala. You need high, direct heat to char the outside while keeping the inside juicy.
Oven method (recommended): Preheat your oven grill (broiler) to its highest setting. Line a baking tray with foil. Thread the chicken onto metal skewers or lay the pieces directly on a wire rack over the tray — the elevation allows hot air to circulate. Grill for 8–10 minutes, turning once halfway, until the edges are blackened and blistered with dark char spots. Some pieces will have charred tips — that's exactly what you want.
Air fryer method: Preheat to 200°C. Arrange the marinated chicken in a single layer. Cook for 10–12 minutes, flipping at 6 minutes. The air fryer produces excellent char on the surface.
Stovetop method (quickest): Heat a heavy cast-iron pan or griddle to smoking hot — the highest heat your hob can produce. Add no oil (the marinade has enough). Place the chicken pieces flat and don't move them for 2–3 minutes until a dark crust forms. Flip and repeat. You won't get full tandoori char, but you'll get good colour and smokiness.
Once charred, set the tikka pieces aside. They don't need to be fully cooked through — they'll finish in the sauce.
Heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil and 1 tablespoon of butter (Anchor Butter Salted 500g) in a large, deep pan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds (Fudco Cumin Seeds 300g) and let them sizzle for 10 seconds. Add 1 large onion, finely diced (White Onions Prepack 4Kg), and cook for 5–6 minutes until softened and light golden — not deeply caramelised like for biryani, just soft and sweet.
Add 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste (Fudco Ginger Garlic Paste 300g) and cook for 1 minute. Now add 3 tablespoons of Patak Tikka Masala Paste (Patak Tikka Masala Paste 283g) — this is the backbone of the sauce, containing the specific blend of tomato, spices, and aromatics that define restaurant Tikka Masala. Stir and cook for 2 minutes until the paste is fragrant and the oil begins to separate.
Add 1 tin of KTC Chopped Tomatoes (400g) and stir well. Add 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (TFS Dhana Coriander Powder), 1 teaspoon of paprika or Kashmiri chilli powder for extra colour, ½ teaspoon of garam masala, and salt to taste. Simmer for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and the sauce thickens. Unlike Butter Chicken, do NOT blend this sauce — Tikka Masala is meant to be slightly chunky with visible onion and tomato pieces. This is one of the key textural differences between the two dishes.
Add the chargrilled tikka pieces to the sauce. Stir gently to coat every piece. Add 100ml of double cream (or Elmlee Double Creamy Taste 270ml) and stir until the sauce turns a rich orange-red colour. Simmer on low for 5 minutes — this finishes cooking the chicken through and allows the smoky tikka flavours to infuse into the creamy sauce. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but still pourable — add a splash of water if it's too thick.
Taste and adjust: add more salt if needed, a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are acidic, and a squeeze of lemon for brightness. If you have dried fenugreek leaves (TFS Dried Fenugreek Leaves 100g), crush a teaspoon between your palms and stir it in — the same finishing touch used in our Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani recipes.
Transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle a thin swirl of cream on top, scatter chopped fresh coriander (Fresh Coriander Bunch), and add a final crack of black pepper. Serve immediately with basmati rice (Tilda Basmati Rice 5kg), garlic naan (Shana Naan Garlic 300g or Leicester Garlic Naan 2s), or both. A side of cucumber raita and a spoonful of Mango Pickle completes the ultimate Friday night fakeaway.
Every single ingredient for this recipe is available at picknsave.co.uk with home delivery across London and the UK, or click and collect from our store in Harrow. Here's your shopping list:
*RI = Reference Intake. Values are approximate and may vary based on ingredients.
