Chicken Tikka Masala

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe, via a recommendation from my sister Heather

Ingredients:
for the marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt (Heather said she's used sour cream, too, with good results)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger (I used 1 teaspoon ginger powder)
1 teaspoon salt
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips or chunks

for the masala:
1 Tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup cream (I used the 1/4 cup melted butter + 3/4 cup milk trick for this)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
For the marinade, combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour sauce over chicken and refrigerate for one hour or up to 8 hours (I had mine in the marinade for 2 hours). Grill or cook chicken in frying pan (I did the latter in a little bit of oil). Discard marinade.

For the masala, melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for one minute. Season with cumin, paprika and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream.  (I actually just melted half a stick of butter right at first and used it to saute the garlic and jalapeno, then when I added the milk it became the "cream".)  Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes (I only did about 10 minutes for the initial simmer). Add grilled chicken and simmer for 10 minutes (but then after I added the chicken it simmered for probably nearly 20 minutes while I waited for Gregg to get home). Garnish with fresh cilantro (this was a must - it really made it taste so fresh). Serve over hot rice.

Notes:
Heather had told me about (raved about, actually) this recipe multiple times and since we are officially out of the fun Indian spice packets we've received from Gregg's sister Heather over the years, I decided I'd try my had at a from scratch Indian recipe.   This really was quite easy and so awesomely delicious.  I'll be keeping this one in the rotation, for sure.  Oh, yum!