This chicken tikka masala mac and cheese is a fun and flavorful twist on this classic Indian dish and classic American dish! It’s creamy, cheesy, and has tons of flavor!
1teaspoonkashmiri chilican substitute normal chili powder
1teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonbrown sugar
1- 14ouncecan tomato sauce
1 ¼cupscream or canned coconut milk
1eggbeaten
3-4cupsmozzarella cheesedivided (some for sauce, some for topping)
fresh cilantrochopped
Instructions
Mix together the plain Greek yogurt and seasonings listed under the marinade. Thinly slice chicken and cover in the yogurt marinade. I like to place mine in a bag or Tupperware container. Let the chicken marinade for a minimum of 15 minutes to overnight.
After chicken has marinated, heat a skillet over medium-high, place a tablespoon of oil in the skillet and cook the marinated chicken until fully cooked. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Before you start on your sauce, get your water boiling for your pasta. Take a large pot, fill it with about a gallon of water, and salt it generously. Place the pot on the stove on high and bring to a boil. You can continue onto your sauce while you wait for your water to boil, then follow these instructions. Place pasta into pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally,and cook until al dente (about 8 minutes). Drain pasta water and set aside.
Melt your butter in the skillet, add your diced onion and minced garlic. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Add in your tomato sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garam masala, cumin, coriander, kashmiri chili, and salt. Let simmer for 3 minutes.
While it’s simmering take your egg and mix it with your cream or coconut milk. Then add the mixture to your sauce on the stove, Once thoroughly incorporated, let simmer for two minutes and add 2-3 cups of cheese. This really depends on how cheesy thick you want the sauce. If you like your mac a little more saucy, start with 1 ½ cups, if you like it really cheesy add 3!
Stir your pasta and sauce together. Now at this point you have two options, you can either just serve it straight from the pot and top each portion with some mozzarella cheese and chopped cilantro.
OR, if you’re like me I loveee baked mac and cheese. So if you want to bake it follow these instructions. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a large 9x13 baking dish. Pour pasta and sauce mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly throughout the pan. Top with an additional 1 cup of shredded mozzarella (or more!) and bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Top the dish with chopped cilantro and Serve immediately.
Notes
If you don’t have cream or coconut milk you can substitute 5 tablespoons of butter and ¾ cup + 3 tablespoons milk.