Fish Tikka Masala Recipe
Tilapia in a creamy tomato sauce with cashews and raisins. Served with rice.
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Ingredients
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Fish & Marinade
Sauce
Add-ins & Garnish
Rice (side)
Method
Fish & Marinade
- 1
Prepare the marinade
In a medium bowl combine 0.5 cups plain yogurt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 0.5 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp Kashmiri chili/paprika, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Whisk until smooth.
- 2
Rice (side)
- 3
Rinse and start rice
While the fish marinates, rinse 1.5 cups basmati rice under cold water until the rinse runs clear to remove excess starch. Drain well.
- 4
Cook rice
In a medium saucepan bring 2.5 cups water to a boil with 0.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp oil or butter and 1 bay leaf. Add the drained rice, stir once, reduce heat to low, cover tightly and simmer 12–15 minutes until water is absorbed and grains are tender. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and discard bay leaf.
Sauce
- 5
Make cashew paste
While rice cooks or fish marinates, place 0.5 cups raw cashews in a small bowl and cover with hot water for 10 minutes to soften. Drain and transfer to a blender with 0.5 cups water (from the stock/water measure in ingredients) and blend to a smooth paste; set aside.
- 6
Sauté aromatics
Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tbsp butter in a wide sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 medium finely chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and beginning to brown at the edges, 6–8 minutes. Add 4 minced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp minced ginger and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- 7
Toast spices
Add 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 tsp garam masala to the onion mixture and stir 30–45 seconds to bloom the spices.
- 8
Build the tomato base
Stir in 1.5 cups tomato puree, 0.5 tsp sugar and 0.75 tsp salt. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Simmer 6–8 minutes to reduce and concentrate the tomato flavor.
- 9
Add cashew paste and cream
Whisk in the cashew paste and an additional 0.5 cups water/stock if the sauce is too thick. Simmer 4–5 minutes until slightly thickened and creamy. Reduce heat to low and stir in 0.5 cups heavy cream and 1 tsp kasuri methi (rubbed between your palms). Adjust salt to taste.
Add-ins & Garnish
- 10
Plump raisins
Meanwhile, place 0.25 cups raisins in warm water for 5 minutes to plump, then drain. Stir the drained raisins into the sauce and simmer 2–3 minutes so they absorb some flavor.
- 11
Finish sauce
Taste the sauce and adjust balance with up to 0.5 tsp more sugar or a pinch more salt if needed. Keep sauce warm on the lowest heat setting while you cook the fish.
Fish & Final Assembly
- 12
Sear the marinated fish
Heat 1–2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove excess marinade from the tilapia fillets (shake off but don't fully wipe). When the oil is hot, sear fillets 2–3 minutes per side until lightly browned and just cooked through (internal flake). Avoid overcooking — tilapia cooks quickly. Alternatively, you can broil at high for 4–6 minutes.
- 13
Combine fish with sauce
Gently nestle the seared tilapia fillets into the warm tikka masala sauce and spoon sauce over the top. Simmer together on low 2–3 minutes so flavors marry and the fish finishes cooking through. Be gentle to avoid breaking the fillets.
- 14
