• prep: 1 hr
• cook: 0 hr
• total: 1 hr

servings:

The secret to our Chicken Tikka Masala is a salty yogurt-based marinade followed by intense charring on a hot grill. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook. Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

• 5 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (breasts, legs, or a mix), skin removed
• 3 tablespoons toasted ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons toasted paprika
• 2 tablespoon toasted ground coriander seed
• 2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 12 cloves garlic, grated on the medium holes of a box grater, divided
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated on the medium holes of a box grater, divided
• 2 cups yogurt
• 3/4 cup fresh juice from 4 to 6 lemons, divided
• Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly mashed
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 1 cup heavy cream

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