To begin, make the gram flour roux by warming the flour with 20ml of the oil in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Mix and cook out a little, then set aside
20ml of vegetable oil
30g of gram flour
2
To marinate the chicken, add the ginger-garlic paste, yoghurt, ground spices and salt to a large bowl and mix well. Add the boneless chicken thighs, gram flour roux and remaining 10ml oil and mix well to combine. Transfer to a container and leave to marinate for a minimum of 4 hours in a refrigerator
To make the makhani sauce, heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chilli, sauté for a couple of minutes, then add the puréed tomato, honey, chilli powder, cardamom powder, kasoori methi and garam masala. Simmer for 20 minutes, covered with a lid
To make the onion and tomato masala, heat the oil in a saucepan and add the chopped onion. Sauté until translucent, then add the ginger-garlic paste, followed by the ground spices. Sauté for a further 2 minutes
Allow the marinated chicken to come up to room temperature for roughly 30 minutes before grilling
9
Preheat the oven 200°C/gas mark 6
10
Place the chicken tikka on a wire cooking rack (with a drip tray below) and grill in the oven for 10–15 minutes. Turn on the grill and finish cooking the chicken tikka on the top shelf, turning occasionally until brown at the edges. Remove and set aside
11
To serve, heat the onion and tomato masala in a pan and add the chicken, along with the makhani sauce. Serve drizzled with cream and a garnish of coriander cress
Alfred Prasad’s years at Tamarind saw the restaurant awarded one Michelin star, which it retained, and a stack of accolades (including numerous ‘Indian Restaurant Of The Year’ titles).
