Leftover turkey tikka masala
By:
Jen Bedloe
Former head of food delicious.
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Published: 26 Nov 21
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Updated: 18 Mar 24
Create a turkey curry buffet even Bridget Jones would love. This fragrant turkey tikka masala makes the perfect dish for a Boxing Day or Twixmas spread.
Gather more inspiration for your festive feast with our Christmas buffet recipes.
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Serves 8 as part of a buffet or 4 as a main meal
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Hands-on time 20 min, plus marinating and 45 min simmering time
Ingredients
- 500g leftover turkey meat, carved into generous chunks, or 8 small free-range boneless chicken thighs, uncooked
- Small bunch coriander, chopped
- Roti, naan or a gluten-free alternative to serve
For the marinade
- 200g thick natural yogurt
- 1 fat garlic clove, crushed
- 2cm fresh ginger, grated
- 1 green chilli, chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garam masala
- Juice 1 lime, plus extra wedges for serving
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the filling
- 3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 black cardamom pod (or use an extra green cardamom)
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 onions, chopped
- Thumb-size piece fresh ginger, grated
- 6 fat garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 100ml single cream
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper or chilli powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp fenugreek leaves, crushed in a pestle and mortar
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp sugar
- Juice ½ lime, plus wedges for squeezing
Method
- Put the turkey/chicken in a glass or ceramic bowl with the marinade ingredients and mix well to combine. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge (see Make Ahead).
- To make the curry sauce, heat the ghee/oil in a deep frying pan, then add all the cardamom and the cinnamon and cook for 20 seconds until they start to smell aromatic. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook for 6-8 minutes until they start to turn brown at the edges. Stir in the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chopped tomatoes and tomato purée, then simmer for 15-20 minutes until you can see the oil is starting to separate in the sauce. Use a stick blender to purée until smooth, or leave it a little chunky if you like.
- Heat the grill to high. Transfer the meat from the marinade to a baking tray lined with foil. Reserve the marinade.
- Grill the marinated cooked turkey for 5 minutes on each side until heated through and the marinade is charring in places. If using fresh chicken, grill for 10-15 minutes, turning, until the meat is cooked through.
- Slowly stir the reserved yogurt marinade into the tomato curry sauce, along with the cream and 100-200ml water (just enough to make it saucy), then add the cayenne/chilli powder, paprika, fenugreek, garam masala and sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the grilled meat. Taste and season, adding salt, sugar or lime juice as needed. Serve sprinkled with coriander with extra lime for squeezing and bread for mopping up the sauce.
Recipe from December 2021 Issue
Nutrition
Nutrition: per serving
- Calories
- 264kcals
- Fat
- 14.8g (6.4g saturated)
- Protein
- 23.1g
- Carbohydrates
- 8.5g (7.2g sugars)
- Fibre
- 2.1g
- Salt
- 0.8g
delicious. tips
Marinate the meat the night before for extra tenderness.