Name: Salmon Tikka Masala
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: British Indian Curry House
Ingredients: 3 tbsp ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil; 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 1/2 tbsp sugar (more or less to taste); 1 tbsp ground almonds; 1 tbsp coconut flour; 70ml (1/4 cup) passata; 1 tbsp mixed powder; 1 tbsp tandoori masala; 1/2 - 1 tbsp paprika; 300ml (1 1/2 cups) base curry sauce; 300g (11 oz) tandoori salmon tikka; 100ml (scant 1/3 cup) single cream (more or less to taste; 1 tsp red food colouring powder (optional); Juice of one lemon; Salt to taste; 1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi); 1/2 tsp garam masala; 2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro) to taste

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Seafood fans will love this salmon tikka masala, cooked as they do at curry houses.

This is of course a play on the hugely popular curry house curry, chicken tikka masala. The salmon tastes amazing in the tikka masala sauce so I hope you give this salmon tikka masala a try soon.

About this recipe.

You probably won’t find salmon tikka masala at many curry houses but this one is just too good not to make at home. The recipe is similar to chicken tikka masala done restaurant style but using salmon tikka give the famous dish a delicious new twist.

You can use my tandoori style salmon tikka for this one. Using the marinated and grilled salmon gives the dish another layer of amazing flavour. For ease, you could also use leftover salmon or even raw salmon chunks. Just let the fish cook through in the sauce.

If you use tandoori salmon tikka, be sure to add any leftover marinade to the curry sauce while cooking. It’s a flavour bonus not to be missed.

How do you prepare the base sauce for this recipe?

Using a base curry sauce as they do at curry houses plays a big part in getting this recipe right. I have three recipes I’d like to recommend below. You can choose the version that best suites your lifestyle and/or available time.

Authentic Base Curry Sauce: This is a slowly simmered base sauce that you cook exactly like they do at curry houses. It will take about 90 minutes to make or you could even let it simmer longer. It’s the recipe I use most often for restaurant style curries like this salmon tikka masala.
20 Minute Base Curry Sauce: If you’re short on time but still want to make this recipe, try this 20 minute base sauce. Like the authentic version above, you could also simmer it longer if more convenient.
Multi Cooker Base Curry Sauce: If you have a multi-cooker, this could be the base sauce recipe for you. Just throw all the ingredients in and let the cooker do the work.

So there is no way around making a base curry sauce?

Making the base curry sauce is an easy job whichever recipe you follow! You could cheat though and try making this curry in the way I demonstrate in my book ‘The Curry Guy One Pot’ .

If you don’t have a copy yet, you could look at the one pot, no base curry recipes I have for you on my blog. Try using this one pot chicken tikka masala recipe but use tandoori salmon tikka instead of chicken.

Can you make this curry taste even more amazing?

Yes! Try adding homemade fish stock to the base sauce instead of water. This will really give the curry a flavour that is all its own while staying true to the tikka masala flavour.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. Both the salmon tikka and the tikka masala sauce can be prepared ahead of time if more convenient. Curry house curries were developed with economy, speed and flavour in mind. You prepare the different components of the curries ahead of time and then put them all together at the end.

Go ahead and cook your salmon tikka a couple of days ahead of cooking the curry. You can do the same with the tikka masala sauce. In fact, if you do make the sauce ahead of time, the flavours will develop further and it will be even better.

Then all you need to do is heat it all up and serve.

Do you have to use red food colouring?

Many tikka masala recipes are a bright red in colour. This is done with food colouring.

In many of my chicken tikka masala recipes, I do use food colouring. I didn’t use it in this salmon tikka masala recipe. It’s up to you as the food colouring adds no flavour. It’s there for presentation purposes only.

How long can you store salmon tikka masala in the fridge?

When cooking with fish, it’s best to serve the curry as fresh as you can. You can keep this curry in the fridge for 1 to 2 days but it’s best to cook it and serve it immediately.

That said, you can precook all the different components as I mention above is time is an issue.

Can you freeze salmon tikka masala?

In theory yes but keep in mind that dairy products like cream don’t freeze well. The flavour will still be good but you might notice a slight different in the texture of the sauce.

If you are thinking about freezing this curry, I recommend just making the sauce without the cream. Then defrost it completely and heat it up in a pan before adding the cream. Make a new batch of fresh paneer tikka.

When freezing be sure to label and date the container. You can freeze this for at least three months. If you are freezing in freezer bags, try to get as much air out of the bag as you can before sealing.

Step by step photographs.

The ingredients for the recipe laid out on a countertop.

Get all your ingredients prepared and ready before you start cooking. It’s quicker and easier that way.

Adding the garlic and ginger paste and frying for 30 seconds.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and stir in the garlic and ginger paste to fry for 30 seconds.

Stirring the paprika, mixed powder, tandoori masala, coconut flour and ground almonds.

Stir in the mixed powder, sugar, coconut milk powder, ground almonds, tandoori masala and paprika.

Adding the passata and a ladleful of the base sauce to the pan.

The pan will look dry from all these dry ingredients so stir in the passata and a ladleful of the base sauce.

As this simmers, the sauce will thicken quickly. Stir in another ladleful of the base sauce and bring to a simmer again.

Adding the kasoori methi and more base to the pan.

Again the simmering sauce will begin to dry up and caramelise around the pan. Scrape that in for additional flavour. Add more base sauce as needed and stir in the kasoori methi.

Add the salmon tikka to the sauce and stir carefully, turning the salmon to soak up the sauce and heat through.

Pouring the cream and butter into the curry.

When the salmon is just about heated through, pour in the cream and the butter. Season with salt to taste and add the lemon juice, also to taste.

Salmon tikka masala garnished with cream and chopped coriander (cilantro).

Plate it up and enjoy. You could garnish with a little more cream and some chopped coriander (cilantro) if you like.

If you like this salmon tikka masala, you might like to try some of these curry house favourites too.

Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Dhansak
Lamb Rogan Josh
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia
Lamb Bhuna

Have you tried this salmon tikka masala recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

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Yield: 2