Chicken Tikka Masala

Mods this time make this into a casserole, no pre-marinating and grilling.

Questions:

1)  does the sauce break if entirely baked in the oven as opposed to cooked over the stove?  No

2)  do the spices really need to be toasted/fried in fat first, the sauce assembled and cooked, and the grilled protein added in later?  Apparently not

3)  how thin/thick does the sauce get, as the rendered chicken fat plus juices will thin it?  It stays thick because of the almond meal

4)  whole thighs, or cubed?  Is it better for flavor/juiciness to cook whole and cut up after cooking?  Cubed worked great

Tripled the protein, doubled the sauce from the “original” modified recipe, and omitted the cashews.  The marinade and sauce ingredients are now combined.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Sauce:

2.5 T ground ginger

2.5 T ground cumin

1.5 T ground coriander

4 T garam masala

1 T 3 pepper powder (this amount makes the dish quiet peppy.  don’t say you weren’t warned)

1 T fennel seed

1/2 T truffle salt

1/4 C allulose or Splenda

1/4 C lemon juice

2 6oz cans tomato paste

2 28oz cans petite dice tomatoes

1/2 C dried currants

1/2 C TJ’s almond meal

4 C greek yogurt

5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in ~1” chunks (for this amount of sauce, anywhere from 4-6lbs of chicken would work)

Place chicken chunks in a min 7 Qt dutch oven or other oven-safe pot.  Mix the sauce ingredients all together in a very large bowl and pour over the chicken, mixing well. Bake uncovered in 375F oven for 60 minutes.  Test for doneness (165F in thickest part).  

Serve with your favorite veggies (either separately or mixed in) and over hemp hearts (or rice, if that’s your thing).